He was found with his compass on a lanyard around his neck, lying next to his pack with his phone on top of it, and with the beacon and a radio on the ground between his legs.
A coroner has determined that he died from complications of blunt force trauma to his chest, most probably from an accidental fall.
It was unclear what had caused him to fall, but the terrain he was in was “very difficult”, the coroner said.
Elliott, known as Ivan, lived in Ireland but was born in Australia and had grown up partly in New Zealand. He spent some of his childhood tramping around the Wairarapa region.
He and his wife, Sinéad Elliott, came to New Zealand on holiday in December 2022 and started a tramp up Mt Holdsworth, north of Carterton, on January 4, 2023.
They spent that night at Totara Flats and hiked up to Neill Forks Hut the next day.
Sinéad later told the coroner it was an “extremely challenging” hike and they both found it tough.
One of her boots was damaged and she needed to rest, so the next day Ivan decided to continue up the track alone.
On the morning of January 6, he packed enough gear for the next night, along with the locator beacon, planning to stay at the Maungahuka Hut, on the western side of the Tararua Ranges.
At 2.51pm, the Rescue Co-ordination Centre received notification of a beacon activation near Concertina Knob.
Helicopters and a search team were assembled and found Sinéad still at the Neill Forks Hut.
A search and rescue team member was dropped into the area near where the locator beacon was activated. He used equipment to track its signal and thermal imaging gear to look for body heat.
Just after 7pm, he found Elliott in a steep gully, unresponsive and with no signs of life.
Coroner Mark Wilton said Elliott had no significant visible injuries apart from a cut on his head, a graze on his chin and blood on his lip.
However, a post-mortem later found significant internal injuries, broken ribs and a collapsed lung.
“His compass was connected to a lanyard around his neck, resting on his chest on the outside of his jacket,” the coroner said.
“He appeared to be in a sitting position, but lying on his back with his feet on the downwards slope.
“His backpack was beside him with his cellphone on top of it. His radio and PLB were between his legs on the ground.”
He was taken to Wairarapa Hospital, where his death was verified at 9.59pm.
Following an old route
Elliott was found off the main track. He may have been following an old route that he might have known in his youth, but which was no longer used, the findings said.
His compass was set to a bearing of 56 degrees, which would have taken him back towards the main track.
A Mountain Safety Council (MSC) report for the coroner said that Elliott would have been walking through wet shrubs and climbing over or around fallen logs while on a steep and rocky slope.
In some places, he would have had to move “from tree to tree” as the ground underfoot would have been slippery.
The area immediately above where he was found was extremely steep, and the coroner said he could have fallen 100 metres or more.
“MSC considered that it was likely that Mr Elliott had fallen, which caused his injuries, and he sat down to make himself as comfortable as possible and activated his PLB,” the coroner said.
“Unfortunately, Mr Elliott succumbed to his injuries.”
The coroner issued safety advice, including a warning that tramping solo carries additional risks.
He also said that trampers should consider the terrain when travelling on a compass bearing to regain the track. Often, the safest decision was to back-track, even if this used up more time and energy.
“If choosing to move through the bush, it is important to identify a direction that does not require travelling across or above extremely wet and steep terrain, where a slip or loss of footing would expose you to a significant fall.”
Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay.
