Safety issues highlighted in area before Isaac Levings Wellington Harbour death

Friday, 28 July 2023

Video taken in the days after Isaac Levings fell into Wellington harbour shows that wharf-edge lighting appeared to be out.

A safety report just months before teacher Isaac Levings was found dead in Wellington Harbour found the waterfront stretch had broken lighting and was “particularly unsafe”.

Levings’ father, Charles Levings, believed that his son would still be alive if the Wellington City Council had taken action on the September 2022 report and fixed danger points, including broken lights, along the wharves, as recommended in the report.

Christchurch teacher Isaac Levings was found dead in Wellington Harbour in April. It is understood he died in the Te Papa area.

The September safety report by Stephenson & Turner looked specifically at the area of the Te Papa promenade, and found it had inadequate lighting and some was not working, leaving areas with little or no lighting.

Lights in front of Te Papa appear to still have water in them. This is the area where Isaac Levings, left, died. Sandy Calkin, right, died nearby in 2021. Their grieving fathers are joining forces calling for the Wellington City Council to improve waterfront wharf safety.

“The poor visual conditions mean there is a number of significant risks: risk of falling into the water due to [an] unlit wharf edge, risk of collisions with bikes and scooters, risk of attack, risk of tripping and opportunities for an attacker to be concealed within the garden zone in front of Te Papa,” the report said. “This area feels particularly unsafe.”

Isaac Levings was at least the ninth body found in Wellington Harbour since 2006. he was preceded by Daniel Hansman in 2006, Olivia Rutherford in 2010, Renee Hudson in 2013, Finbarr Clabby in 2015, Cory Pearson in 2016, an at-the-time- unidentified woman in 2017, Sarah Mayne in 2019, Sandy Calkin in 2021.

Calkin’s father, Roger Calkin, has long called for balustrades along the wharf edge to stop falls and has been joined now by Charles Levings, who pointed out the council installed temporary barriers for the FIFA Women’s World Cup but not at other times.

Sandy Calkin, left, and Isaac Levings, died after falling into Wellington Harbour. Both their fathers say the Wellington City Council needs to make temporary edge protection, there for the FIFA Women's World Cup, permanent.

In the days following his son’s death, Levings was sent video and pictures of the lighting in the area. It showed large dark patches near the wharf edge and uplights near the ledge that appeared to have a notable amount of water in them. The damp uplights remained when The Post visited this week.

Council spokesperson Richard MacLean said the overhead lights outside Te Papa were working on April 19 when Levings died. He did not say if the edge uplighting was also working, nor whether it was working now.

Barriers have been installed along the waterfront during the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

'The council is actively working with the subject matter experts and authors of the lighting report, Stephenson & Turner, to address the recommendations they have made,“ he said on Thursday.

All points were being addressed such as edge safety enhancements and lighting upgrades. New lights were being installed outside Te Papa next week.

Another safety report from a month earlier also highlighted concerns in the area outside Te Papa where there was no separation between the wharf and water - there was just one life ring and that was not visible, and lighting was “very low”.

It was previously reported that the council got safety recommendations in 2016 – which included some barriers and other measures to stop people falling into the water – where Sandy Calkin fell in and died in July 2021.

“[The council] needs to stop ignoring its own safety reports,” Roger Calkin said this week.