Father of 12 drowned after being pulled into treacherous creek current

Friday, 22 May 2026

Paul Finlay was a civil engineer who worked in earthquake recovery.

A fellow whitebaiter watched a wave wash into Paul Thomas Finlay's waders moments before the 78-year-old was sucked into a river current and drowned.

Finlay, a retired civil engineer, died at Seven Mile Creek in Rapahoe on September 18, 2024.

Coroner Mary-Anne Borrowdale has now released findings into the death, ruling that Finlay was swept into the river by surging waves and drowned because his waterlogged chest waders and heavy layers of clothing made self-rescue impossible.

Shane Williams was whitebaiting nearby around 10am during a 3.5-metre king tide. He saw Finlay standing on the stones of the river bed wearing waders with attached gumboots.

Williams witnessed a wave surge up and go down the front of Finlay's waders. Finlay took off his jacket but kept fishing.

Moments later, large waves rolled up the river. When Williams looked up from his spotter, Finlay was gone, having been caught by the swell and sucked into the current.

Finlay surfaced near the middle of the river and yelled for help. Williams shouted for him to roll onto his back and ran to a wooden bridge, but could only see Finlay’s boot heels surfacing before he disappeared under the water.

Sea surges at the point where Seven Mile Creek meets the Tasman Sea at Rapahoe, north of Greymouth on the West Coast.

Sergeant Jessica Lacy arrived at 10.13am and found Finlay face down in the river. Together with members of the public, she pulled his body ashore. Police and emergency personnel performed CPR, but Finlay could not be resuscitated.

Finlay was a well-known local personality in the Grey District, a dedicated church-goer, and a former local body election candidate. Though separated from his wife, Anavic, and their young children — including a newborn — family members believed he went fishing that morning to provide a family meal.

Finlay had whitebaited for a long time, following in the footsteps of his father. He had fished at Seven Mile Creek for about two years, but during that time the river mouth had been significantly altered by heavy seas.

His brother, William, described the part of the creek Finlay was fishing as a “straight course which brings in more water and swell from the sea”.

“I would describe the creek as a little creek on the low tide and a raging river when the tide is in,” William stated.

Finlay was thin, felt the cold, and wore between four and seven layers of tops to protect against chest infections. Sergeant Lacy testified that Finlay “was significantly heavy due to having waders on”.

Finlay was not wearing a lifejacket. He had previously returned a borrowed lifejacket to his brother, stating he did not need it. William believed his brother had overlooked how rough the altered creek had become.

Forensic pathologist Dr Andrew Gilkison confirmed the cause of death was accidental drowning.

Borrowdale, the coroner, urged whitebaiters to follow safety guidance, emphasising that Finlay's failure to wear a lifejacket was a significant contributor to his death. She noted that a lifejacket would have offered Finlay a greater chance to remain afloat long enough for a rescue or to reach the shore.

An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of Finlay’s wife and misstated how many children he had. The Coroners Court has since corrected those details, and the story has been updated. (Amended at 9.40am on May 22, 2026)