Coroner’s inquest begins into death of Sandy Calkin in Wellington Harbour

Roger Calkin with a photo of his late son, Sandy Calkin, who fell into Wellington Harbour and is believed to have drowned in July 2021. Photo / Mark Mitchell

There’s not a day that goes by when Roger Calkin doesn’t miss his “kind and caring” son Sandy.

After the first lockdown, the 30-year-old L’affare coffee roaster moved back home to live with his parents.

But after a night out with friends in July 2021, Sandy failed to return home and his body was found in Wellington Harbour a week later.

“It’s been horrible,” Calkin told NZME. “I’ve struggled, my wife’s struggled, it’s been horrible.

“I miss saying hi to him in the evening, it was just nice having him around. I miss him every minute of the day.

“I loved having him here. Now I look back and I think, ‘At least I had him home for the last year of his life’.”

Today, a coronial inquest into Sandy’s death begins in Wellington, something Calkin hopes will bring much-needed safety improvements, including fencing and balustrades, to the capital’s waterfront – before any other families have to suffer the same loss.

“Nothing I can do can bring Sandy back, but maybe I can stop another family having to go through this and if I sit back in a year’s time and think I’ve probably stopped that from happening then at least I can feel a bit better about myself.”

The 30-year-old was last seen on CCTV footage walking in a northerly direction on Queens Wharf near Shed 6. His body was found in the water a week later.

The week-long inquest before Coroner Katharine Greig will consider a number of questions, including whether there are adequate and appropriate safety measures in place at Wellington’s waterfront and if sufficient steps have been taken to address public safety risks.

For Calkin, the inquest is a chance to question Wellington City Council staff, who he said hadn’t communicated with the family.

Through a series of Official Information Act requests and the coronial process, he’s gathered a significant amount of information. That includes two safety reports, commissioned in 2016 and 2022, which made recommendations that he claims still haven’t been acted on.

On the night of Sandy’s death, there were two other incidents at the waterfront. One involved a small child who had to be rescued by a parent, the other was a man who was injured after falling down an unprotected hole around an unlit statue.

Yet Sandy’s death – and he believes others’ as well – weren’t recorded in the council’s health and safety logs that register incidents at the waterfront, Calkin claims.

“From what I can see it was doing bits and pieces. It was only capturing what they wanted to deal with. They have said they’ve now made a commitment that everything is to go on there, but that was only after I raised with them that on the night Sandy died, his death didn’t even register,” he said.

“How can you resolve an issue if you’re not investigating it properly or looking for trends?”

Calkin believes the council places too much emphasis on lighting as a safety measure, which doesn’t stop people from falling into the water.

And he takes issue with the council’s description of wooden sleepers that sit on the edge of the wharf as “edge protection.”

“In any other workplace, that would be considered a trip hazard and it’s right next to a significant drop into water,” he said.

Calkin said he just wants the waterfront made safe for everyone, including those with physical disabilities and small children.

“My concern is that there’s been a lot of reports done in the past, there’s been a lot of reports in the past year since the coronial process has started, but there is nothing to say, ‘Yes we are going to do this’.”

Tributes outside the classroom at Elmwood School in Christchurch on April 25, 2023 where Isaac Levings (inset) taught.

‘I don’t want anyone to face this’

Two years after Sandy’s death, 25-year-old Isaac Levings also died in the harbour after becoming separated from friends during a night out.

That’s part of the reason why Calkin is now pushing so hard for change.

“I feel like I’m doing it for him, and doing it for others, because I don’t want any other family to go through this issue. I don’t want anyone to face this.

“That’s why I feel so bad for Isaac Leving’s family, I wish [the council] had been able to get [safety improvements] done before Isaac died because it might have saved his life.”

The council’s response

Last month, the council said it would be keeping the temporary fencing along parts of the waterfront it had installed for Homegrown and Matariki for up to two to three years, until it develops a more permanent solution.

In a statement, the council said its waterfront safety enhancement programme is focused on improving public safety on the waterfront for everyone and includes working with the Auckland Council. As part of that work programme the council said it was improving existing lighting, introducing “spine lighting”, proposing further edge protection, life rings, event management and CCTV.

The council’s long-term plan included more investment in waterfront buildings, seawalls, lighting, electoral infrastructure and edge protection.

Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist for 20 years, including at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently she was working as a media adviser at the Ministry of Justice.