Tragic leap of faith

Craig Carter. Photo / Supplied

A father of two who died after jumping off Hunua Falls on Easter Monday was described at his funeral on Friday as a "dedicated, proud and happy man".

Craig Carter, 46, had been picnicking with ex-wife Tracey and their two young children when he decided to "have a laugh" and jump off the 30m falls.

He became the 15th person known to have died after jumping at the South Auckland beauty spot.

Craig, a criminal-turned-Salvation Army soldier, had been holidaying in Taupo and was driving back to his home in Epsom when he decided to pull over and take the children to the falls.

"He saw a couple of other people do it from a bit further down and decided he wanted to give it a go," said mentor and Salvation Army Major Terry Heese.

"Luckily, Tracey had taken the kids to the car, so they didn't see it happen. I think she knew it was a dangerous thing to be doing.

"But that was Craig, he always wanted to have a laugh."

More than 200 people attended his funeral at the Salvation Army Auckland City Corps on Queen St on Friday, including colleagues from the Auckland District Court where he worked as a diversion services co-ordinator.

Carter was found guilty of manufacturing methamphetamine and served a four-year sentence at Rimutaka prison before "transforming" his life.

While on bail he volunteered with the Salvation Army and began a diploma in Bible studies while in prison.

He began training at the district court when he was released on parole, just 14 months before his death.

"He is the perfect example of a transformed life," said Major Heese.

"He was a professional criminal who became a man of faith and action. It's inevitable that he would leave this life with more of a bang than a whimper."

Jumping from the falls at the Hunua Ranges Regional Park is forbidden and the Auckland Regional Council has put up barriers.

But ARC principal ranger for southern sector parks Tony Oliver said the practice was a huge concern.

"Despite signs warning them not to, people have jumped off the Hunua Falls for a very long time," he said. "We know of 15 deaths at the falls over the years. There have been other people seriously injured, including suffering paralysis, and possibly others who have walked away with minor injuries we are not aware of."

He said a spate of waterfall deaths followed a 1997 Fresh Up TV ad featuring Matthew Ridge and Marc Ellis jumping from the Hunua Falls.

In the months after the ad screened, four people were killed after jumping off North Island waterfalls.

Ridge told the Herald on Sunday Craig's death was "extremely unfortunate" and he hoped people were not jumping because of the ad.

"It is extremely sad that people are doing this and I hope they are not doing it because we jumped off," Ridge said. "It was only about 8m that we jumped from, the rest was done by professional stuntmen."

Oliver said ARC duty rangers visited the falls regularly as part of their daily rounds and jumping was unacceptable.

"All you need is a slight change in angle and the result can be similar to landing on concrete."