South Australian family mourn Adrian Meyer death following fatal trip to the Great Barrier Reef

The grieving family of a man who died on a packed Cairns tour boat believes more could have been done to save their father’s life as new details emerge from the tragedy on the Great Barrier Reef.

The grieving family of a man who died on a packed Cairns tour boat believes more could have been done to save their father’s life as new details emerge from the tragedy on the Great Barrier Reef.

Adrian Meyer, 71 of Angaston in South Australia, died after being swept away, along with dozens of other tourists, in a “treacherous” current while swimming around 60 kilometres northeast of Cairns on Monday afternoon.

A rescue vessel attempted to retrieve the retiree before capsizing.

Multiple witnesses said his body was then recovered from the water by a nearby boat before CPR was performed on tour company Reef Experience’s main vessel.

Adrian Meyer, pictured with wife, Rosalyn, was a "staunch environmentalist" and enthusiast snorkeller, family say.

A rescue helicopter lowered a paramedic onto the boat who assisted first responders before the man was declared dead. Mr Meyer’s cause of death is yet to be determined.

Mr Meyer’s son, Nicholas, said he was kept away from his beloved dad while a tour guide and the paramedic desperately worked to revive him.

A doting grandfather, Adrian Meyer (second from left), pictured with daughter-in-law, Simone, wife, Rosalyn and grandchildren Hendricks and Albie.

“After half-an-hour of crying and screaming, the paramedic said, ‘We’ve tried everything we can but unfortunately we weren’t able to revive your dad,’” he said.

But Mr Meyer, an experienced snorkeller, believes his father’s death could have been avoided.

“We’re not letting this go,” he said. “The (Tourism) Minister (Stirling Hinchliffe) said, ‘I certainly don’t want to see this blown out of proportion’.

“No-one is saying that it should be. But at the same time no-one should die on the Great Barrier Reef.”

Sister, Angela Henson, fought back tears as she recalled the raging current she and dozens of others battled before eventually being rescued.

“They couldn’t have tested the water (before passengers dove in),” Ms Henson said.

“We just want to stop this from happening to anyone else.”

Mr Meyer recalled laying on the floor next to his dead father’s body in the captain’s cabin as the vessel returned to Cairns, holding his father’s hand for comfort.

Once the boat docked, a lawyer representing Reef Experience came to the cabin to speak with him, he said.

The family of the man who died in the Great Barrier Reef tragedy say more could have been done to save his life.

“I was nursing my father’s body when he introduced himself,” he said. “He handed me his card as he came up to me and asked, ‘Is this your dad?’

“I said I’d prefer not to answer any questions. I’d prefer you to leave.”

Mr Meyer “burst into tears” and embraced his father before Reef Experience’s representatives eventually left.

“I’ve never heard of something so horrific happening,” he said. “This happened the moment the boat docked.

“Dad should be alive today.”

Ms Henson said she became inconsolable during the 90-minute return to shore.

“We had no phone reception,” she said.

“We were trapped there for three hours with his dead body. I was screaming, slamming my fist on the wooden door. I was bloody furious.”

The family has engaged the services of personal injury lawyer Travis Schultz of Travis Schultz and Partners following the reef tragedy.

A Reef Experience spokesperson said the company was cooperating with authorities investigating Mr Meyer’s death.

“We are unable to provide any information relating to the matter at this point in time,” the spokesperson said.

“We will provide further details as and when they become available.”

Family pay tribute to ‘quirky’, loving dad

When Angela Henson first met her biological father Adrian Meyer five years ago, she knew she’d met an amazing person.

“I was adopted when I was five weeks old,” Ms Henson, 45, said.

“He had no idea about me until a few weeks before we first met.

“But we’d never have a phone call that lasted less than an hour after that. It was very special.

“Some people meet their birth families and it’s difficult. But he took me under his wing.”

Ms Henson, who lives in East Kurrajong around 80 kilometres northwest of Sydney, had arranged to meet her dad and other family in Cairns as a belated 70th birthday present.

“This trip was the first time when my brother and my dad, who live in South Australia, were all together at once,” she said.

“He lived and breathed snorkelling and that’s why we were there. He loved nature more than anyone I’ve ever met. He knew thenames of fish and coral.

“I just loved his authenticity. He didn’t just say and do what you expected. He had conviction.

“He was into meditation and mindfulness. He did these things innately and had trinkets that he’d collected from all over theworld.”

Angela Henson with her father Adrian Meyer who died during a trip on the Great Barrier Reef.

Ms Henson’s half-brother, Nick Meyer said their dad’s passion for coral reefs had led the family to venture north to Far North Queensland together.

“He was a staunch environmentalist,” he said.

“We bonded over snorkelling. The Great Barrier Reef was his mecca.

“He was the most beautiful human being with a heart of solid gold. He was quirky. Just one of a kind, really.”

The treasured and loving patriarch’s tragic death on the Great Barrier Reef this week has devastated the family, Mr Meyer said.

“My mum (Rosalyn) has stage four cancer,” he said.

“Now mum has no carer anymore.”

Ms Henson said her dad’s passion for the sea was so great, he wished it could be his final resting place.

“It’s not even possible but he wanted to be buried in a glass coffin at the bottom of the ocean,” she said.

Originally published as South Australian family mourn Adrian Meyer death following fatal trip to the Great Barrier Reef