The tragedy of Kane Watson and why Givealittle must act now

Auckland sand dune tragedy: Kane Watson’s injuries were unsurvivable, coroner’s report finds

The coroner’s report into a man’s death in an Auckland sand dune collapse found his injuries were not survivable despite efforts to save him.

In August, Kane Watson, referred to as Kane Gofton in the report, was buried by a dune he was digging into at Muriwai Beach on Auckland’s west coast.

Almost completely engulfed by collapsing sand, only his feet were visible as he tried to kick himself free.

His partner, Jasmine Cooke, desperately began digging to reach him, later aided by nearby bystanders.

When he was finally freed, the coroner’s report said he was unresponsive, and resuscitation efforts began.

There were dark insinuations attempted here…

Coroner Telford also addressed initial concerns about the “perceived actions or inactions” of others at the time of the incident.

..so ugly and it has resulted in the very first ever High Court Challenge for the funds…

In a legal first, Cooke obtained an interim order from the High Court at Auckland in late September freezing the fund until a judge could decide how the money should be distributed.

The matter has now been adjourned to February 9.

When TDB did an exclusive on this terrible case, we were threatened with defamation, however the NZ Herald with their huge legal team wrote a story on it which meant we could comment freely on the issue.

The manner in which this terrible situation has become toxic between estranged family members in the wake of the tragic death of Kane Watson has highlighted serious issues with Givealittle.

TDB contacted Givealittle about the concerns raised with us by Kane’s widow and this was their response to us:

Givealittle is a neutral online platform for fundraising that allows individuals, schools, and charities to create fundraising pages for a wide variety of causes. 

In the case of this page, which was set up to raise funds for the funeral of Kane Watson by a friend of his sister, the initial donation goal was far exceeded, necessitating an update to donors on how the additional funds will be used.

As per Givealittle’s terms and conditions, where initial fundraising goals and needs are met and exceeded, page owners must provide an update to donors about the use of funds. Givealittle places the update on the page based on instructions and permission from the page owner. The decisions on the distribution of these additional funds (those raised above the original goal) rest with the page owner.

Any further enquiries in relation to the distribution of funds in this case should be directed to the page owner. 

I think the vast majority of those who donated believed the money would go to Kane’s widow and children, the fact that it has become a toxic bitter fight over the money raised would make many question ever donating to Givealittle ever again.

The issue is now in front of the High Court, let’s hope this painful situation can be settled ASAP as Kane’s widow is due to give birth to Kane’s child.

I think Kane’s death generated so much media attention AND so many donations because it was a quintessential dad spending time playing with his kids at the beach and the horror of his family witnessing his death struck a deep chord of sadness with many Kiwis.

What a lonely Christmas they must be facing alongside the birth of Kane’s baby alongside this fight over the $30,000 raised.

TDBs thoughts are with Kane’s widow and her whanau.

We will continue to focus on this issue next year to ensure they get justice.

Increasingly having independent opinion in a mainstream media environment which mostly echo one another has become more important than ever, so if you value having an independent voice – please donate here.