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| Hautapu River, Taihape 1911. Radcliffe, Frederick George, 1863-1923 : New Zealand post card negatives. Ref: 1/2-007081-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. nationallibrabrynz |
"A TAIHAPE TRAGEDY.
RETURNED SOLDIER'S SAD END.
(From Our Own Correspondent.) TAIHAPE, January 30.
Quite a shock was caused to the community this morning when, it became known that the body of Mr. J. Bagley had been found in the Hautapu River. Mr. Bagley had been working on a farm at Winiata for Mr. W. J. Coutts, of Taihape. He was last seen alive on Tuesday, but not turning up on Wednesday morning, his employer made enquiries, and learned that he was not at home. Becoming anxious, Mr. Coutts instituted a search, but without success. In the meantime another employee, Mr. J. Ormond, continued searching, and at 3.30 this morning found the dead body of Bagley in the river at the foot of a sheer cliff 70 or 80 feet in height. The police were at once communicated with, and the body was hoisted to the top ol the cliff by means of ropes. Further investigation disclosed the deceased's hat on the top of the cliff in an almost straight line from where the body was found. The scene of the accident is close to a short cut deceased used to take going to and from his work, and it is surmised that deceased in passing, fell down the cliff. Mr. Bagley, was a son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Bagley, well-known in Taihape, was about 30 years of age, married and leaves a wife and three young children. He enlisted in the early stages of the war, and was through some of the hardest fighting in which the New Zealand Division took part. He was invalided, and returned home some eight months ago. A military funeral is to be accorded to him to-morrow. An inquest is being held this afternoon before the coroner, Mr. J. P. Aldridge.
THE TAIHAPE FATALITY.
CORONER'S INQUEST.
TAIHAPE, Jan. 31
An inquest was held yesterday afternoon, before Mr J. P. Aldridge, coroner, into the circumstances contected with the death of J. J. Bagley, whose dead body was found in the Hautapu River on Wednesday morning.
Duncan Anderson, butcher at the Freezing Works, said he had business at Winiata with a man who signed a receipt with the name of J. J. Bagley. This was at 1 p.m. on Tuesday.
W. J. Coutts said the deceased was employed by him on his farm, about two miles from Taihape. On Tuesday he drove the deceased to his work, and he then appeared in his usual spirits. This was the last time he saw him alive. He identified the body taken out of the Hautapu River as that of J. J. Bagley. In consequence of being told that the cows on the farm were not milked. he went there, and searched for the deceased, unsuccessfully. Deceased was found in the river about 7.0 o'clock on Tuesday morning, at the foot of a cliff some 300 ft. high. His hat was some 30 yards distant from the cliff. There were no signs of a struggle, but the grass to the edge of the cliff was trampled by stock, and the fence was broken.
Dr Boyd said he made a post-mortem examination of the body, and described in detail the result. There was a crack on the outside of the skull. The cause of death was hemorrhage of the brain, caused by the injury to the right side of the head. Death was not due to drowning; the deceased was dead before he reached the water.
Mary Ann Bingley, wife of deceased, stated that she last saw him on Tuesday morning at 7.30, when he was in his usual spirits. He did not come home on Tuesday night, and she supposed he had slept at the farm. Deceased was not subject to fits of depression since he came back from the front. She had four children, of whom the deceased was very fond.
The Court then adjourned to view the scene of the accident. Dr Boyd said that after making an examination of the place where the fatality occurred, he had come to the conclusion that the deceased, on his way from work, had been threatened by a bull, and in endeavouring to escape had slipped on a stone, and his hat fell off. Proceeding another twenty yards, he evidently tried to jump the fence close to the cliff, and the top wire had broken, the deceased apparently carrying the end of the broken wire with him in his descent of the precipice, fracturing his skull. This would account for the injuries received.
Constable Sheehan deposed that on Wednesday night, about 11.15, he went with a search party along the river, to search for the deceased. He was taken to a spot on the cliff where the hat was found. He noticed the grass on the edge of the cliff had been trampled down, as if by cattle. On the following morning he obtained ropes, and with another man descended the cliff, and saw what was apparently a body. He went further down the river, and on returning up the river-bed, found the body of the deceased lying in the river, on his back, with his nose and mouth above water, and his hands folded over his breast. He was bleeding from the nostrils and the right ear. No marks of violence and no evidence of a struggle apparent.
The inquest was adjourned until (?) a.m. the following day.
The inquest was resumed this morning.
R. D. Ormond stated that he last saw the deceased alive on Tuesday moming. He missed him at the farm on Wednesday, and with Mr. Coutts instituted a search, which was unsuccessful. On Wednesday there were some steers in the paddock where the hat was found, but he did not know if they were wild. There was a bull in the same paddock, and some railway men cutting grass seed on the line adjoining informed witness that the bull had charged them and they had to get out as fast as they could. It was the same bull as was grazing in the paddock on Thursday.
John Ormond said he had known the deceased for eleven years, and was an intimate friend of his. He corroborated Constable Sheehan's evidence as to the search for and the finding of the body. They procured ropes, and the body was hoisted to the top of the cliff.
To the Police: He heard a bull bellowing in the vicinity of the track the deceased would take in going to and from his work. He also saw other evidence of cattle.
Constable Egan said he made a careful examination of the place where deceased had gone over the cliff, and where the hat was found. He was of opinion that the deceased had gone about 20 yards when he met a beast, probably the bull already referred to. Heel-marks further down the hill gave the impression that the deceased was running away from a beast, and caught hold of the top wire in the fence on the edge of the cliff, which broke, and deceased fell to the bottom. He saw no signs on the edge of the cliff that a struggle had occurred. The fall over the cliff would account for the injuries received.
The Coroner said the statements, about the deceased being forced over the edge of the cliff by the attacks of a beast were mere conjecture, and presumption, which were probably right, but he could not admit it as evidence. His verdict would be that the deceased met his death by accident on the 29th inst. by falling over the cliff into the Hautapu River, and that there was insufficient evidence to prove what was the cause of the accident.
The deceased will be accorded a military funeral to-morrow afternoon."
- Wanganui Chronicle 31/1/1919
"TAIHAPE NEWS.
Tho victim of the Hautapu River fatality, Mr. J. J. Bagley, was on Saturday buried with military honours, the returned soldiers, under Lieut. Morren(?) turning up in full corce about 40, including some Main Body men, being present to render the last sad riles to a departed comrade. Lieut. Carol Nathan, who has just returned from France was also present. The cadets, under Sergt.-Major Forrest, were well represented. Headed by the Taihape Band, under Bandmaster Hartley, the cortege, with coffin draped with flags, passed through the town to the mournful trains of Handel's "Dead March in Saul." At the grave the service was impressively conducted by Chaplin Father Minogue. A firing party of returned soldiers fired a volley over the grave and Bugler Martin, as the grave was filled in, blew the "Last Post." The funeral was attended by about 400 people and the attendance of returned soldiers, cadets, and band (some of whom were returned soldiers) does them infinite credit."
- Wanganui Chronicle 5/2/1919
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| Bagley Grave Roman Catholic Division C, Row 10, Plot 41b Photo by Cathy Currie. |
John Thomas Bagley (75) 1937 – Printer – at Auckland Hospital
John Joseph Bagley – memorial
Edward St. Clare Bagley – memorial, buried Service Persons Area J, Row 4, Plot 4
Of
Your
Charity Pray for the
Repose
of the Soul of
JESSIE
VERONICA BAGLEY
who
departed this life
31st
Jan. 1929.
Aged
60 years
Also
JOHN
THOMAS
died
11.6.1937.
And
their sons
JOHN
JOSEPH
died
28.1.1919.
EDWARD
ST. CLARE BAGLEY
died 19.2.1958.
Sources:
Wanganui Chronicle 31/1/1919 & 5/2/1919
Image: Hautapu River, Taihape 1911. Radcliffe, Frederick George, 1863-1923 http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22310128
Image: Bagley grave , Cathy Currie
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