Table of Contents
Tradgedies in the Park
Unfortunately, there have been a lot of tragedies in the Park. Below is a list of the dates of the events and the types of incident. There may be others that the author is not aware of.
Stephen Maloney - 1890
April 11, 1890. Stephen Maloney was murdered. He was attacked with his own axe in the vicinity of Horton Walk. Maloney was a retired soldier. He had come to New Zealand with the 57th regiment.
Charles Francis - 1894
circa May 1, 1894, Charles Francis of Okiawa, drowned in the main lake. He was found floating in the lake. It is thought he had been in the water several days. Francis had sent a letter to Wanaganui Herald telling of his intent to commit suicide. He was thought to be about 35 years old.
George Duncan - 1895
December 16, 1895, George Duncan. Seventy-five-year-old money lender George Duncan jumped off The Poet’s Bridge to end his life. The act was witnessed by the Park’s curator Darby Claffey. Claffey was sacked soon after this incident.
Annie Way - 1897
February 10, 1897. Twenty-year-old domestic servant Annie Way drowned in the main lake at the Park. Annie thought she was pregnant. Knowing that the man who she thought was the father of the child had no interest in marriage decided to end her life. An autopsy confirmed that she was not pregnant. Annie’s body was found by the Park’s curator, Charles Edgecombe.
John Chorley - 1900
December 5, 1900, John Chorley, eighty-one-year-old resident of the old man’s refuge (The Gables) drowned in the Fountain Lake. The verdict at the inquest was that Chorley had drowned himself while temporarily insane.
Frederick James Bateman - 1917
July 19, 1917, Frederick James Bateman, forty-year-old railway guard from Waipuku. Bateman was found floating in the main lake by curator W. W. Smith. The verdict of the inquest was that Bateman committed suicide by drowning himself.
Alice Maud Hartnell - 1917
November 27, 1917, Alice Maud Hartnell. Alice Hartnell was found in the main lake. She was suffering from poor health which was made worse by her constant worrying on account of her husband Captain Frank Hartnell who was serving with the forces in France. The verdict of the inquest was that she committed suicide while in a state of unsound mind.
Emma Eliza Osborne - 1918
April 23, 1918, Emma Eliza Osborne. Emma Osborne was in a nursing home suffering from a nervous breakdown. One day she disappeared from the nursing home and was found the following morning in the Fountain Lake.
Norman Wilfred Gilbert - 1926
August 1926, Norman Wilfred Gilbert. Forty-five-year-old dentist Norman Gilbert left a letter stating, “You will find my body in the Rec., at the back of the football ground.” He had been suffering from poor health and depression. His body was found by a NPBHS student in the Park a week later, with several self-inflicted wounds.
Frederick Wilson Whitaker - 1937
April 23, 1937, Frederic Wilson Whitaker. Fifty-six-year-old Frederic Whitaker won the contract to rebuild The Poet’s Bridge in 1937. Unfortunately, he had a heart attack while working on the bridge and died.
Clara Emily Mary Bingham - 1941
July 7, 1941, Clara Emily Mary Bingham. Seventy-six-year-old Clara Bingham was found in the Fountain Lake. Concern was raised when her neighbour noticed her front door was left open, and her milk was still on the doorstep. Presumed suicide.
Barry Frank Brown - 1943
August 18, 1943, Barry Frank Brown. Four-year-old Barry Brown drowned in the lake at Brooklands. Nobody witnessed what happened and it was presumed to be an accident.
Annie Minnie McKenzie - 1945
June 12, 1945, Agnes Minnie McKenzie. Forty-two-year-old Agnes Mckenzie from Kaponga was staying with friends at Brooklands. When they got up on the June 12th Agnes was gone. A search found her body in the main lake in the Park.
Douglas Mathieson Clarke - 1950
June 13, 1950, Douglas Mathieson Clarke. Seventy-five-year-old Doulas Clarke suffered a heart attack while walking through Brooklands Park.
Rose Wilkie McKewen - 1957
May 17, 1957, Rose Wilkie McEwen. Fifty-nine-year-old Rose McEwen was found drowned in the main lake. There were no suspicious circumstances.
Auckland teenager - 1985
January 27, 1985, Auckland boy. A sixteen-year-old boy from Auckland who was part of a group of about 50 boating on the lake decided to jump in and go for a swim. Unfortunately, he got into difficulties and drowned.
Wendy Snowden - 1986
November 21, 1986, Wendy Snowden. Wendy was brutally attacked and left unconscious while jogging through Brooklands. She never regained consciousness and died from her injuries sixteen days later.
Joseph Scotty Greenwood -1993
January 6, 1993, Joseph Scotty Greenwood. Sixteen-year-old Joseph Greenwood tragically drowned in the main lake. He and a friend were riding through the Park at around midnight. Joseph must have crashed his bike and been thrown into the lake unbeknown to his friend.
Douglas Ferabend - 2001
June 23, 2001, Douglas Ferabend, aged 91, was found in the main lake.