Kayaker's body surfaces by tribute site

Gavin Fisher loved his army life and was keen on the outdoors. Photo / Supplied

A Kiwi family scattered the ashes of their missing son's kayak at an Australian lake before his body appeared near the same spot three weeks later.

Corporal Gavin Fisher, from Thames, disappeared on the morning of July 10 after joining two friends for a recreational paddle on Australia's Lake Hume.

The large artificial reservoir is 2 hours north of Melbourne and 10km from the town of Albury, where Fisher lived.

His upturned kayak was found five hours later, but it took 29 days for his body to be found. Two women walking their dogs found the body at Kookaburra Point on August 8.

A memorial service was held at Thames Rugby Club on Friday and a cremation will be held in Albury next weekend.

Fisher's parents, Gaye Miller and Dave Fisher, have spoken of a man who had achieved his dreams in Australia by being accepted into the army.

Family members arrived from New Zealand after the accident and visited the lake every day for about 10 days.

Miller said a memorial was held at the lake on July 19. The same day, a Maori group from Albury performed a haka and called for his body to come back.

"We burned his kayak on the day of the memorial and threw the ashes into the lake," Miller said. "His body was found in the same spot three weeks later.

"We were back in New Zealand for nine days when we heard the news. It was very emotional for all of us."

Fisher, 32, attended Turua Primary and Hauraki Plains College, where he played for the first XV.

He loved swimming, fishing and photography and was a member of the Air Training Corps. He played the guitar and had a long-standing desire to join the New Zealand Army.

He applied four times but was rejected each time because of childhood asthma.

Fisher worked for Coromandel Meat Processors, before following his 15-year-old son, Christian, to Australia.

He joined the Australian Territorials and was later selected for the Australian Army, his dream come true.

Dave Fisher said his son always kept in touch with his family and was patriotic to New Zealand even though he was in the Australian Army.

"Any time a game would be on he'd be sitting in his black jersey in a sea of yellow. He was proud of his heritage."

He worked on a seven-month peacekeeping stint in East Timor three years ago and was based at Gaza Ridge barracks in South Bandiana.

Miller said she last spoke to her son two weeks before his death. He had just trained for the Delta close personal protection unit (Australian military police) and was planning to move to Brisbane.

"It was a fantastic conversation. He was telling me how proud he was he'd finished the course and that he was the only one recommended. He was in peak physical condition."

She said his army colleagues spoke highly of him at the service.

"They said he had the best sense of fair play ... people liked him even if he was arresting them."

The day he disappeared the weather was poor and the tramping enthusiast was last seen a few hundred metres from shore, wearing shorts and no lifejacket.