A tightly knit Longford community was left shattered in October 1942 when respected residents Reginald and Dorothy Thurlow died in a tragic cable chair accident above the Buller River.
On the morning of Wednesday, 28 October, a farmer on the Longford side of the river noticed the cable anchor of the chair used to ferry people across had broken and fallen into the river. Knowing Reginald was due to carry two cream cans across, he went to investigate and found only one had been delivered.
Fearing the worst, he phoned the Thurlow home but received no answer. A search was organised and Dorothy’s body was later recovered from the water. There was initially no trace of Reginald, but it was believed he had also been on the chair at the time of the accident.
It appears Reginald had already taken one cream can across and was making a second trip with Dorothy and the remaining can when disaster struck. The cables, suspended about 50 feet above the Buller, came away from the anchoring post, sending the chair plunging into the river.
Reginald’s body was found about a fortnight later on the foreshore at Westport.
The loss deeply affected the small community, where the couple were widely respected and involved in nearly every local activity.
Dorothy played a leading role in community life. She was credited with forming the South Island’s first Women’s Institute at Longford in 1929 and was its first president, later also leading the Nelson and Murchison branches. At times, she acted as honorary organiser in Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough.
Her contributions spanned many organisations. Dorothy served as president of the Murchison Women’s National Reserve, chaired the local branch of the Women’s War Service Auxiliary, and was a member of both the Murchison Patriotic Committee and the Longford School Committee. She was also an active organiser of local competitions and flower shows.
Reginald was equally committed to community service. He was president of both the Murchison Returned Services Association and the Murchison New Zealand Farmers’ Union, a foundation member of Lodge Murchison, and served alongside Dorothy on the Longford School Committee and Murchison Patriotic Committee. He was also among the district’s first Home Guard members.
Dorothy’s funeral drew people from across the Murchison district, with a cortege of 60 cars. Reginald’s service followed soon after his body was recovered.
In 1944, members of the Women’s Institute planted an avenue of trees in the Murchison Domain in memory of the couple.
An elm was planted by Mrs W Watson Snr and Mrs D Oxnam, oak trees by Mrs McFarlane, Mrs Woodford, Mrs L Hutchison and Mrs Ashton, and a walnut tree by Mrs D Winn and Mrs Drummond.
The Nelson Federation, of which Dorothy was the first president, also sent two trees for the memorial.
Following the planting ceremony, afternoon tea was served and letters and messages from members unable to attend were read aloud.
