Tragedy: The stretch of water where the Moser brothers died.
In 1916 Vincent Moser was the manager of Euroa’s butter factory. His two boys, Robert, 11, and Ernest, 9, sang in the Church of England choir. To ensure that the boys of his choir learnt the necessary art of swimming, Euroa’s Anglican minister, Reverend Frank Grist, undertook to teach them to swim.
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On a hot Monday in January of 1916, Mr Moser returned home for lunch at 12.30pm. His sons had not returned home. His wife informed Mr Moser that they had gone swimming at 7.30am. They were due at choir practice at 10am for 15 minutes at the parish hall. After that, they intended to go swimming again. Rev Grist would be supervising them.
Concerned that his sons had not returned for their lunch, Mr Moser went to look for them. Upstream of the town’s swimming baths in Seven Creeks, he found both his sons lying on the grass beside the creek. They were still. The local doctor, Dr Bill, was trying to resuscitate them with the help of a police officer.
At the inquest, Rev Grist said that all the choir boys went swimming under his supervision after their choir practice. Obviously, his supervision was far from close because the Moser brothers had not been missed until two spare sets of clothes were found in the dressing sheds after Rev Grist’s choristers had dressed. At the inquest, Rev Grist conceded that the two boys’ bodies could have been in the water for as long as 45 minutes before the extra clothes were discovered.
Rev Grist and others dived in the town’s baths but could find no trace of the boys.
Rev Grist then reported the situation to the police station just up the road. As Rev Grist had previously heard of a dangerous hole upstream, he began a search of the creek upstream of the baths. When the search began, Horace John, another chorister, fled home and told his elder brother, Syd. Syd John joined the Anglican minister. Syd had had a previous bad experience with a waterhole there. The two began diving into the creek, seeking the two brothers.
Almost on the first dive, Syd located the body of Ernest Moser. Rev Grist helped Syd bring the body to shore and to lift it on to the bank. Immediately after returning to his search, John located Robert Moser’s body. They were lifting the second body on to the bank when the doctor arrived. Dr Bill immediately began resuscitation of the two brothers. When a police officer arrived, he assisted the doctor.
It was hopeless. The doctor abandoned his attempts at resuscitation after 20 minutes.
The bodies of two boys had been found in a waterhole 60m upstream from the town baths. The hole was 2.5m deep. It was presumed that the two brothers had been paddling across the waterhole when they suddenly got out of their depth and panicked. The coroner returned a verdict of accidental drowning.
Robert and Ernest Moser are buried together in Euroa Cemetery. An aluminium plaque marks their grave.
Drowning deaths: A plaque in Euroa Cemetery for the Moser brothers.
It is not known whether signs were ever erected to warn others of the dangers of the waterhole. It is also not known whether Rev Grist was ever again given responsibility for teaching other boys to swim.
