Kelly wanted to fix jammed home-made gun

Derek Kelly

A home-made weapon used to fire fishing line over waves is believed to have exploded and killed a Kaipara man as he lifted it off the back of a ute.

Derek Allan Kelly, from Mahuta near Dargaville, was killed on Sunday when he removed the cannon-like device from his ute about 4.30pm.

The 74-year-old was a keen gun collector and volunteered in many capacities throughout Dargaville and Kaipara, taking people through their firearms licences, teaching them to shoot.

A friend of Mr Kelly for 20 years, Mike Andrews said the home-made device was built as a line-throwing gun to fire fishing lines out over waves.

The gun had operated correctly the first time but then jammed. He believed it was fired by a 12-gauge shotgun cartridge.

Mr Kelly had been unloading the weapon in order to repair it when it exploded and killed him.

"He was a collector of firearms and was always very safe around the range, very safety conscious. This is a total shock," Mr Andrews, a fellow Dargaville Pistol Club member, said.

Mr Kelly was a member of the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council's firearms instruction team for more than two decades. A successful dairy farmer, he was also a volunteer at the Dargaville Museum, involved with the RSA, and a member of many committees.