AYRE Gordon
Deceased
Gordon Maxwell Ayre
Demographics
male
Date of death
2004-10-03
Finding date
2005-02-11
Cause of death
Drowning
AI-generated summary
Gordon Maxwell Ayre, a toddler, drowned in an unfenced farm dam while visiting a family property in rural Victoria. He was found floating by his father, who immediately commenced CPR. Paramedics continued resuscitation, and he was transported to Goulburn Valley Base Hospital where he died despite intensive resuscitation efforts. The coroner explicitly found this a preventable death, identifying lack of barriers between the residence and dam as the critical risk factor. This was the 25th toddler drowning in Victoria since July 2000 and the 7th in a dam. The coroner recommended implementation of a public awareness campaign by Life Saving Victoria focused on rural water safety, child-safe play areas, carer supervision education, and collaboration with farming organizations.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- Unfenced farm dam
- No barrier between residence and dam
- Proximity of dam to residential area
- Inadequate supervision at critical moment
- Child's developmental ability to wander and climb
Coroner's recommendations
- Adopt and support the public awareness campaign strategy developed by Life Saving Victoria for implementation in the 2005/2006 summer period
- Campaign should focus on carer supervision, child-safe play areas, learning resuscitation, and water familiarisation classes using rural and regional media
- Life Saving Victoria to liaise with local Rural Safety Action Groups and attend rural and regional shows, race days, and field days
- Relevant agencies including Life Saving Victoria, Play it Safe by the Water, and Farmsafe Victoria to collaborate and provide funding for campaign implementation
Full text
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