Long drowning inquiry ends for Hohepa

By CLAIRE TREVETT

A sour legacy of eight years of investigations, court cases and coroners' inquests into a drowning on a fishing trip has ended for Wayne Wills, known to most as his alter ego, Bill Hohepa.

The second inquest into Keith James Philpot's drowning on June 25, 1996, after Mr Wills' charter fishing boat Hunky Dory capsized, found little new to add to the saga.

The High Court had ordered the second inquest, saying errors by Kaitaia coroner Robin Fountain, including a failure to consider "vital" evidence, justified a second hearing.

Judge Neil MacLean said in the Whangarei District Court yesterday that Philpot's death may have been avoided if communication between the national search unit and local search and rescue about emergency locator beacon signals had been better.

But it was not the coroner's role to apportion blame and it could not be pinpointed exactly when Mr Philpot died.

Judge MacLean said Mr Wills' failure to file a trip report and check on marine weather reports that day might have influenced the outcome but such considerations were speculative.

Judge MacLean also put to rest the conflicting evidence of whether Mr Philpot had been wearing a buoyancy vest or a proper lifejacket.

Evidence from the fishers who recovered his body was that he was wearing only a buoyancy vest.

However, after hearing other evidence, Judge MacLean said there was nothing to suggest Mr Philpot had not been wearing a proper lifejacket.

Mr Wills said yesterday he hoped it was the end of the case that had led him to abandon his career as a charter boat operator.

He felt the Maritime Safety Authority had doggedly pursued the case and had made an example out of him as a high-profile figure.