Sandy Calkin's body was found in Wellington Harbour, near where he was last seen alive on CCTV footage.
The Wellington City Council has earmarked millions of dollars for improving lighting and “edge protection” in the area where a young man fell into the harbour and is believed to have drowned.
An inquest into Sandy Calkin’s death in July 2021 has heard about his last movements on the night he disappeared and how police believe he drowned.
The 30-year-old had been out with friends but failed to return home and his body was found in the harbour a week later.
Calkin was walking to the Wellington train station when, his family believe, he fell off Queens Wharf, close to where the East By West ferry docks, on to a pontoon. They believe he hit his head and fell into the water but was unable to climb out because of the weight of his clothes.
This evening those involved in the coroner’s hearing, including Coroner Katharine Greig, members of Calkin’s family, council staff and lawyers are walking around the waterfront, familiarising themselves with the area.
The walkabout comes after the council’s waterfront and city parks manager, Shane Binnie, told the inquest the council has trialled lights imported from Italy and installed on long poles in the Queens Wharf area to brighten the area. They had worked well and the council intended to install nine poles before the end of this year and hoped to install similar lighting near Te Papa by March.
Earlier today the council’s parks, sports and recreation manager, Paul Andrews, said work was in train to light the main thoroughfare along the waterfront. He said as part of its Long Term Plan the council had earmarked $6 million mainly for lighting and “edge protection”, although he conceded the costs were likely to exceed this.
Pressed by the counsel assisting the coroner, Josh Shaw, on how long it would take to implement the 3.5km of safety improvements, Andrews said it would easily be three years, gaining the necessary consents and council approvals.
Shaw pointed out there had been a series of reports dating back to the early 2000s which had made recommendations and outlined what needed to be done, but there had been no follow-through to ensure the safety concerns were addressed properly and efficiently.
Andrews replied that there had been a “step-change” in the council’s response and he was confident the main thoroughfare around the waterfront would be lit by this time next year and the first lot of balustrading would also be installed.
Coroner Greig also questioned Andrews about the delay in introducing the safety improvements.
But Andrews said the circumstances of many of the waterfront deaths differed and the area had changed greatly in 30 years. He said the area had always been hotly contested and debated in terms of development.
“Coming back to the crux of the issue, we need to have an environment down there where people can make errors of judgment or have lapses in attention and not pay with their life,” Andrews said.
Earlier today the inquest heard how the Wellington City Council undertook a thorough investigation and prepared a lengthy report after a man fell down an unprotected hole near a statue on the waterfront but made no efforts to investigate the Calkin’s death – despite both incidents occurring in the same 24-hour period.
Under questioning from Shaw, Andrews admitted that in the case of a death or fatality on the waterfront, the council relied on the police or coronial investigation, rather than conducting its own.
The inquest heard that on that day a child fell into the water at the waterfront and had to be rescued, which was followed by what is known as “the Kupe statue” incident, where a man fell into an unprotected hole around the waterfront statute, requiring 30 stitches. This resulted in a council investigation and a 30-page report about improvements and changes that were needed.
“That seems perplexing that the same sort of process wouldn’t follow a fatality. Do you agree that is somewhat, to put it mildly, perplexing?” Shaw asked Andrews.
“I agree, the incidents and fatalities occurred over decades, if we go far enough back, and they’ve all been in different parts of the waterfront and in different circumstances and yes, there was never any investigation of those fatalities,” Andrews said.
“It’s a unique environment that presents its own set of challenges.”
Shaw asked if the Kupe incident had gained attention because WorkSafe was notified, “but these other very serious, fatal tragic incidents, which on one categorisation didn’t trigger a mandatory report to WorkSafe, simply got left.”
Andrews said he was personally involved after those three incidents and as a result of that council had gone back and looked at similar incidents in the past.
The inquest heard the council recorded just 13 incidents at the waterfront in the seven years to 2022. Only two resulted in recommendations or findings. Yet information collected by Calkin’s father Roger – which drew on media reports and coronial inquiries – found there had been 19 serious incidents at the Wellington waterfront over the same period.
Andrews said the council had made changes since then, including a new system that was better at recording serious incidents at the waterfront.
The inquest will consider a number of questions, including the cause of Calkin’s death, whether there are adequate and appropriate safety measures in place at Wellington’s waterfront and if sufficient steps have been taken to address public safety risks.
Detective Constable Simon Cobb told the inquest Calkin was in a good mood on the night of his death, first attending work drinks at L’affare, where he worked as a coffee roaster, before heading to a friend’s flat for drinks and then dinner at an inner-city restaurant with friends he’d met through kickboxing.
During the evening, Calkin complained to several people about a lack of money because of strange transactions from his bank account, which police believe were linked to a website for online gaming, one of Calkin’s hobbies.
He’d left the restaurant with a friend, walking to a bar on Courtenay Place, where he stayed until after midnight before leaving to come home. A friend offered to pay for an Uber, but he declined saying he had a train ticket.
CCTV footage presented to the inquest shows Calkin wearing his distinctive maroon hoodie walking from Courtenay Place, along the waterfront. The last CCTV image of Calkin was taken at 12.37am passing the northern end of the Crab Shack restaurant. It’s believed he was walking to catch the train home to Cambourne, north of Wellington, after 1am.
When Calkin failed to return home his family reported him missing and police issued two press releases seeking information from the public about his disappearance.
On July 17, the police dive squad retrieved Calkin’s body from the harbour, close to where he was last seen on CCTV footage. The inquest heard there was alcohol, amphetamines (found in ADHD medication) and cannabis in his system. His blood alcohol level was 217 mg of alcohol per 100 ml. The legal limit is 50mg per 100 ml.
The inquest heard police estimated he’d had 11 alcoholic drinks throughout the afternoon and evening.
Friends reported that while Calkin was drunk, he could hold a conversation and was steady on his feet.
The pathologist initially found there were marks on his arms, which could be consistent with being held. But Cobb said these may have been sustained while he was in the water and police were satisfied no one else was involved in Calkin’s death and he had died from drowning.
The hearing began this morning with a statement read by Calkin’s mother, Maria. She told the inquest how her son loved kickboxing and was both flexible and fit. He was also a fan of online gaming and had friends all over the world. He loved being a big brother and had a great group of friends.
Maria finished her statement by urging the council to improve waterfront safety for all victims, “so no one has to suffer the way we have”.
The inquest is scheduled to continue this week.
Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist for 20 years, including at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently she was working as a media adviser at the Ministry of Justice.
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