Missing Goolwa man Tony Higgins died after making illegal decisions, coroner’s inquest finds
Five years ago, Tony Higgins went missing at sea twice during one journey. The second time he never came back – and now we know what happened.
A man who sparked the state’s largest marine search died after he slipped out to sea under the cover of night – despite being told to not use his “unsafe” boat, a coroner has found.
State Coroner David Whittle made no recommendations after an inquest into the death of Anthony ‘Tony’ James Higgins, 57, whose remains have never been recovered following his death at sea in September 2020.
The Goolwa man was aboard his newly purchased 33ft vessel, Margel, alongside deckhand Derek Robinson, then 48, when they went missing during troubled waters travelling from Coffin Bay to Goolwa.
The were rescued five days later after South Australia’s largest maritime search as authorities scoured 104,000sq km at a cost of $650,000 before finding the pair 13 nautical miles off Meningie at the top of the Coorong.
Mr Higgins, following his first disappearance, told The Advertiser: “I’m self-sustaining and if I f**k it up then I have to pay the price”.
“People have been punching around the ocean for thousands of years. They never had anyone to go out and rescue them and I never expected anyone to look for me,” he said.
The Margel was towed to Victor Harbor, and the unlicensed boatie was undeterred after failing to complete his journey to Goolwa through the Murray Mouth – and set to work restocking before heading back out to sea at night.
Mr Robinson did not set out on the second journey.
Twelve days after the first rescue, on September 21, 2020, Mr Higgins called police at 5am showing signs of “significant confusion” and “struggling to speak clearly” in an effort to get help.
Mr Whittle found Mr Higgins’ behaviour was consistent with suffering from hypothermia as the boat began taking on water near Granite Island.
Mr Whittle said Mr Higgins’ death was the result of “his choice to set off in a boat which was unsafe and in need of repair, illegally, without a licence, under the cover of darkness, intending to navigate the Murray Mouth to Goolwa”.
“He must have known that if he did so in daylight he would probably be observed, leading to steps being taken to stop him,” Mr Whittle found.
He found Mr Higgins’ cause of death to be “exposure to the sea”.
A small bag containing glasses, keys and a wallet with Mr Higgins’ identification card were found washed up on Goolwa Beach three days later.
Search and rescue crews also discovered several items of debris from his boat, including part of the floor, several jerry cans and other equipment southeast of the Murray Mouth.
Mr Whittle found during the inquest the searches conducted and the response of both SAPOL Water Operations Unit and Department of Transport Marin Safety Officers could not be criticised.
The findings said officers from both departments were entitled to rely on Mr Higgins “obeying the law” along with the knowledge of the boat’s “dubious condition” including broken windows.
Mr Whittle made no recommendations.
