A Tragedy, by Lyn Harpham

One Friday night in April 1959, four men drowned in Tauranga Harbour. Eight men had set off from reclamation rocks at The Strand Railway Station to row across to Whareroa to a tangi, but out in the current of the rising tide the dinghy sank leaving the poorly-clothed men in the water and too far out to reach the wharf where Coronation Pier is today. Their plight was noticed. Boats put out and four of the men were rescued.

I had stayed in town that evening to do some shopping and was eating sandwiches at my place of work, a doctor’s surgery in Devonport Road. Beyond an open window I heard cries for help.

I ran across the railway to a friend’s flat which overlooked the water. From her balcony we peered out into the darkness where men on a large launch — possibly one of the ferry boats — were trying to locate the four in the sea, who by this time were widely separated and nearing the railway bridge. We could hear conversation on the launch but it was obvious that the noise of the engine made it impossible for them to pinpoint those in the water. Running back to the office, I phoned the police station to tell the night duty constable that they needed smaller boats but of course not even “walkie talkies” were available at that date.

Back on the balcony my friend and I spent agonising minutes as, one by one, the voices from the water fell silent and we knew that the men had drowned.

A rahui (fishing ban) was put on the harbour but within the two weeks of its duration all four bodies were found. The men were Tom McMillan, Hoete (Mick) Ririnui, Rangi Tame Geer and Matthew Dixon.

from Lyn Harpham