Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Former Gulf News editor dies

From the NZ Herald:
An Auckland man who jumped from the Devonport Ferry on the North Shore on Sunday afternoon has died in hospital.
He has been named as Simon Johnston, 53.
Mr Johnston rushed through an exit door and attempted to jump off the ferry, back onto the wharf, while it was leaving the terminal shortly before 4.30pm on Sunday, witnesses told police.
A Fullers crewman alerted the rest of the crew, then put on a lifejacket and jumped into the water to help.
Mr Johnston was rescued from the sea by the Coastguard and resuscitated, before being taken to North Shore Hospital for treatment to a head injury.
Police interviewed a number of passengers and witnesses at the terminal who confirmed the man was a ferry passenger who had attempted to jump to the wharf.
Simon was until last year the editor of the Waiheke Gulf News, and you can read a selection of his work on the Gulf News website. He was also an accomplished musician who often, after a hard day's work, played his guitar at many Waiheke social events and venues.
If you have any particular memories of Simon, you can share them on his Waihekepedia page.

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