Friends of a Christchurch woman who was killed when her tent was blown against the side of a house are questioning why she decided to camp outside in severewinds.
Mother of three Joanne Mary Davidson, 42, of Ilam, was killed when a severe gust picked up her tent and threw her
60m against a house in Ngakuta Bay, in Queen Charlotte Sound, on Friday morning.
She died of head injuries despite efforts by her husband, Ross, to revive her.
The couple had been holidaying in the Marlborough Sounds with their children and two other families from Christchurch.
After they had walked part of the Queen Charlotte Track rain forced the group to stay with a friend in Ngakuta Bay.
Clive Burnett said the Davidson children, aged 10 to 14, slept in the house with him and his wife and at some point in the night they were joined by Mr David-son.
"She was in the tent on her own, because Ross, her husband, had woken during the night and couldn't get to sleep and was bunked down next to me ... and then a huge gust just picked the tent up."
Mr Burnett said the winds that night were horrific, described by the property owner as the worst he had seen in 15 years.
"The wind was a shocker. I was sleeping near the windows and feared for my safety as the wind hit the glass.
"It was extremely wet, extremely noisy and extremely windy."
Mr Burnett described Mrs Davidson as a caring mother, "a great lady" who gave to the community and would be sadly missed.
"She did a lot of volunteer work for Christ the King School, helping out with the lowerclasses.
"She went on to become the school's librarian. The kids loved her. She used to laugh and joke and play tricks on them."
Since Mrs Davidson's death, he said, the families had been agonising over why she decided to stay outside in the tent when the strong winds picked up.
"That's the question we keep asking ourselves. Why do you do anything?
"Why are you standing there?
"There were people everywhere in the house - maybe she wanted some privacy.
"It was an act of God and there was nothing we could do to save her."
- NZPA
