Sackville drowning: Hills Sports High student Manu Nehua laid to rest

The family of a popular rugby league junior thought he was just mucking around when he didn’t resurface after jumping off a pier into the Hawkesbury River.

The aunty of a teenager who drowned in the Hawkesbury River has described him as a “bit of a larrikin” who “was there for you when you needed him the most”.

16-year-old Manu Nehua died a day after he was pulled from the water at the Sackville Ski Gardens on January 25.

He was laid to rest in a service at the Macquare Park Cemetery on Friday with 130 mourners at the chapel.

The service was live-streamed for other mourners, and a wake was held later to allow more people to attend and see family.

Manu’s aunty, Raelene McIntosh, said people were extremely understanding.

“We were allowed 100 people in the chapel, and 30 to stand outside, which was really hard being the popular boy he was,” she said.

“He was one of those boys who gave anything a try, and he knew he could give you a smile and get away with just about anything.

Manu Nehua has been remembered as a "bit of a larrikin" who was "there for you when you needed him most".

Manu Nehua's casket was adorned with yellow flowers.

“We appreciate everybody’s donation (through GoFundMe), it has made things so much easier.”

Manu was an accomplished rugby league player who had played for several clubs since the age of 5, including the school team at Hills Sports High School.

Ms McIntosh said Manu’s tragic death happened during a day on the water with his little cousins.

“He’d just been out with his cousins, and the guys on the boat said how wonderful he was because he was holding his five-year-old cousin on the biscuit the whole time,” she said. “He just cared about her so much.

“They took him again to go by himself, and when he came back he got up on the pier and told the kids to watch him jump off.

“The kids witnessed it and said Manu had jumped off the pier but never came back up.

“They thought he was joking because he was that kind of kid, but when two minutes went by we all thought it was something a bit more serious.

“My husband was putting his boat into the water, I told him Manu was missing, and he dived straight in and found his body.”

Manu Nehua tragically died on January 26, almost 24 hours after he was pulled from the Hawkesbury River in a critical condition. Picture: Facebook

Ms McIntosh said several strangers, including Sackville Ski Gardens park manager Shane Earl, performed CPR on Manu for about 40 minutes before the ambulance got there.

“He was intubated and taken to hospital, and he was placed on life support,” she said.

“The next day, the doctors said the best thing would be to turn it off because they hadn’t seen any brain activity, so that’s what happened.

“He held on for a little bit, the doctors said he had quite a strong heart, but there was nothing else.”

Ms McIntosh said Manu’s immediate family were “doing their best” in the circumstances.