Freak bike accident kills Matua man in Fiji

By DAVID DUNHAM A TAURANGA dad who had almost finished building a family home on an idyllic island has been killed in Fiji after being knocked off his bicycle. Lloyd Reginald Hockly, of Levers Rd, Matua, was cycling alone on the resort of Denarau Island when a woman parked on the side of the road opened her car door and hit him. Mr Hockly, 49, was knocked down, hitting his head on the ground. He was taken to Lautoka Hospital and was later flown to the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva, where he died about 12 hours later. Mr Hockly's wife, Andrea, 44, was in Tauranga when the accident happened about 9am on Tuesday, the details of which emerged this morning. Mrs Hockly said she was devastated by her husband's death but said the overwhelming messages of goodwill from people in Fiji and the Western Bay were helping her cope. Mrs Hockly said she understood her husband's death had been an accident. She married at 19, following a courtship in Palmerston North where both she and her husband grew up. They have two children, Sam, 17, and Jessica, 14, and were to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary in September. Speaking to the Bay of Plenty Times today, Mrs Hockly said her children were "coping in their own way". She also paid tribute to her late husband. "He was a very genuine man and would do anything for anyone," she said. Denarau Island - considered Fiji's fastest-growing resort - is about 10 minutes from Nadi and is connected to the mainland by a small causeway. Mr Hockly first went to Denarau three years ago to help a friend build a house and fell in love with the place. The Hocklys bought land in a subdivision called The Links with the intention to build their own home. Mr Hockly had been spending about four weeks at a time building a four bedroom family holiday home on Denarau. He had almost finished when he died. His twin brother, Evan, had been helping him for about a week when the accident happened. Mr and Mrs Hockly, who have lived in Tauranga for the past 6 1/2 years after spending 18 years in Taupo, had not planned to emigrate to Fiji. Mrs Hockly said she now expected to sell the property. She said she hoped her husband's body would be flown home tomorrow night.