Mr A. Hunnibel, of Christchurch, was watching his son out with a surf-board, when the lad appeared to be getting into trouble.
The father, without divesting himself of any clothing, made a desperate effort to save his son, but was driven back by the force of the sea.
In the meantime three other swimmers hurried to the lad, and they were soon hurled together by the force of the breakers, and were quickly in great distress.
A crowd gathered along the beach, and a Mr Campbell, organising a human line, hand to hand, succeeded in reaching the surfers, one of whom was in a very bad way, while the two others owed their lives to a very large mass of kelp, to which they had clung.
By this time young Hunnibel had swum ashore, and had dashed in again with a lifeline and a buoy, while Mr D. Mitchell, a Sumner resident, and prominent member of the Royal Life Saving Society, was hurriedly summoned from the hill (he was just leaving), and arrived at the beach just as one lad was landed unconscious on the beach.
Mr Mitchell, with a full knowledge of methods of resuscitation, worked for about an hour on the patient, and, to the surprise of many present, restored the apparently drowned to life.
But for his skill and energy there is little doubt that a death would have been recorded.
• Over 400 infantry short and not a solitary man being sent into camp - that was the position of recruiting in New Zealand today according to the defence headquarters.
The Eleventh Reinforcements, respecting which the shortness exists, went into camp on December 14 nearly 600 men short, mostly in infantry.
The authorities asked the districts to fill all gaps, and ordered that the men were to be got into camp not later than December 23.
That date passed and still many men were required, so the time limit was extended to December 31.
Today December 31 was only two days off and the infantry shortage still exceeded 400, and the shortage in mounted was a dozen, this notwithstanding that the order to the districts was to strain every effort to get men by that date.
• A Dunedin firm, having made inquiries in Japan with respect to a supply of machine guns, has received from a Japanese exporter a letter, from which the following is an extract: - ‘‘Regarding machine guns, I regret to inform you that they are only manufactured by the Government arsenals, where orders are placed by the Allied countries in such big quantities that they cannot meet the demand by working day and night. One large private enterprise has just been started, but is not yet in working order. Under these conditions, it will be impossible to meet other demands, unless offered through the respective Governments. The Japanese Government mobilised arsenals a long time ago the meet Russian and British orders, and war materials are shipped direct to the battlefields.'' - ODT, 30.12.1915.
• COPIES OF PICTURE AVAILABLE FROM ODT FRONT OFFICE, LOWER STUART ST, OR WWW.OTAGOIMAGES.CO.NZ
