British Father's Heroic Attempt to Save Son Ends in Double Tragedy
A father from south Wales drowned while attempting to rescue his teenage son after both were suddenly swept out to sea during a family holiday to Australia's Great Barrier Reef, an inquest has heard.
Robin Reed, 46, and his 17-year-old son Owen from Caerphilly were on a day trip to Round Hill Head in Seventeen Seventy, Queensland on April 13 this year when the tragedy unfolded.
Sudden Change in Sea Conditions
Gwent Coroner's Court was told that Owen had been swimming in water that was initially no deeper than waist height with other children when conditions deteriorated rapidly at the famous reef location.
Mr Reed immediately entered the water to save his son, joined by family friend Michael Evans, but both rescuers also found themselves in difficulty as massive waves began pounding the area.
Emergency services attended the scene and later recovered the bodies of both Mr Reed and his teenage son. A pathologist confirmed that both had died from drowning.
Family Holiday Turns to Tragedy
The inquest heard how the Reed family had flown to Brisbane on April 10 to visit Michael and Shayane Evans and their children. Just three days later, the group travelled to Seventeen Seventy for a beach day.
Shayane Evans described how they arrived at the car park before walking down a track to the beach. "There was no signage at all," she told the inquest. "I didn't see any 'no swimming' signs or signs saying you couldn't go down the track."
Mr Reed, Mr Evans and the children initially went into the water before getting out about ten minutes later to explore rock pools on the beach. Owen and two other children then returned to the sea.
Mrs Evans recounted the moment everything changed: "I'm not sure if a wave hit him and he lost his footing but I could see Owen starting to drift out in a rip. He was only a few metres off the rocks as he was swept past."
Rescue Attempt in Treacherous Conditions
Michael Evans described the water as "a little choppy but nothing dangerous" when they first entered, noting it appeared to have "calmed down" when the children returned to swim.
"It turned in an instant," he said in a statement. "Huge waves started coming in - one second he was there and the next, he wasn't. He wasn't anywhere near where he was originally. He was fighting to keep his head above the water."
Mr Evans described entering the water with Mr Reed to rescue Owen, saying: "The water felt like a bus hitting me. It was rough and picking me up. It was too rough to swim in. There was wave after wave rolling in the water."
He also confirmed he had not seen any warning signs and there was no fencing to prevent access to the sea.
Inquest Conclusion and Tributes
Rose Farmer, area coroner for Gwent, reached a conclusion of death by misadventure for both Mr Reed and Owen following an inquest on Wednesday.
She recorded that Owen had died "from the effects of drowning when sea conditions worsened and he was swept out to sea" while Mr Reed died "from the effects of drowning while trying to rescue his son who had got into difficulty in the sea."
The local community in Wales has been left devastated by the tragedy. Football club Treowen Stars FC paid tribute, saying: "Awful, awful news about Robin Reed and his son Owen. Robin was a good friend to many at Treowen and will be missed."
Pengam Boys and Girls Club also posted a message of condolence, saying they were "heartbroken by the sudden loss of Robin and his son Owen."
Seventeen Seventy, the coastal town where the tragedy occurred, sits at the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef and was named after the year Captain James Cook arrived in Australia.
