Eddie Collett & Robert MossPrint Page

The plaque commemorates Eddie Collett and Robert Moss who were members of the Council of Freshwater Anglers, and who drowned in 2004 at Namungo Point.

Coroner Brian Donnelly has handed down his findings and recommendations after the inquest in May into the drownings of Helmut Neubach, Eddie Collett and Robert Moss in Lake Eucumbene in 2004/2005. Pointing out that two of the anglers were drowned just two weeks before the start of summer, and the other at the height of summer, the coroner found that the anglers were caught out by the propensity of the region’s conditions to change quickly and severely. He also found that though the anglers had been carrying PFDs in their boats, they were not wearing them and once in the water they could not access them or use them. Coroner Donnelly commented: ‘Simply carrying personal flotation devices is useless in these circumstances. It is like a motorist being required to have seatbelts fitted to his car, but only being required to fasten them in the event of a collision.’ ‘Boats are in fact worse than cars and motorcycles in this respect, for when a car or motorcycle stops, the danger is eliminated. Even when stopped, a boat’s occupants are still in danger from the water. People can and do still fall from boats at a standstill, when standing up, changing positions or reeling in a fish for example.’ The Coroner formally recommended that the wearing of Type 1 PFDs at all times in alpine waters in boats of less than 5 metres should be incorporated into the proposed Maritime Safety (General) Regulation.
Canberra Anglers Association Newsletter July 2006.

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