There appears to be much truth in the old saying that when there is one accident there must be others. First we had the accident at Eu- mundi whereby Walter Thomas lost his life, followed by the one at Buderum which cost Miss Rowland her life. The third one turns up at the Maroochy Heads, where, as the result of bathing in the open sea, Victor Gommersall is washed out and is seen no more. On Friday afternoon last at about 4 o'clock, six young men, Victor Gommersall, George Irwin, Henrick Andresen, Frank Etheridge, G. Best, and Isaac Gommersall, went in for a bathe about a quarter of a mile from the South Head of the Maroochy River. They were indulging freely in about 3 feet of water, there being a heavy sea on. A huge breaker came in and the undertow carried three of the party, Victor Gommersall, George Irwin, and Heurick Andre-sen out to deep water about four chains from the shore. Gommersall and Irwin were close together, and the former, who, by the way, was a good swimmer, got hold of Irwin, saying ' Oh, my God, help me. ' Irwin took hold of him, but after going under water had to release himself in order to save his own life. Irwin got out to land with great difficulty, but while doing so saw Gommersall washed seawards. The tide was going out at this time, so that assistance had to be rendered at a disadvantage. The alarm was raised that someone was drowning. Mr. George Histed rushed down to the beach and saw Mr. A. Saint in the water up to his waist, while a form could be seen in the billows. He went in but had to return, and procuring a rope he returned with Mr. M. D. Mitchell to the water. The rope was thrown to the form in the water, which Andresen clutched and was hauled ashore unconscious.
Restoratives were administered, and animation restored after 15 minutes.
Nothing could be seen by this time of Gommersall. Word was brought up to the deceased's parents and to Nambour. The police, Acting-Sergeant M'Neill and Constable Adams went down next morning, and with the assistance of Messrs. C. Prentis, C Pickering, J. White, and C. Nichols, jnr., a search was made ot the whole beach from Mooloolah Heads to Point Arkwright, the various islands, banks, and inlets of the Maroochy River up till Sunday night. The search was continued under Constable Adams on Monday and Tuesday Constable O'Brien, of Brisbane, arrived on Tuesday to assist in the search, and left Nambour the same afternoon for the Heads. Victor Gommersall, is a son of Mr. Joseph Gommcrsall, of Petrie's Creek. He was a promising young man of 21 years of age, and was universally popular. Much sympathy is felt for the bereaved parents by the whole community.
Drowning Fatality. (1906, January 5). Chronicle and North Coast Advertiser (Qld. : 1903 - 1922), p. 3. TROVE
