Mother mourns son
Annette Leadbetter asked her son not to swim in the harbour.
He was asthmatic, had recently recovered from a chest infection, and she worried the water would be too cold and choppy after recent heavy rains.
But the young man was a free spirit, and that afternoon, on February 5, Annette received a call all parents dread.
Her son, Josh Caleb Rongomai Leadbetter, 30, had drowned in Wellington Harbour.
‘‘We were all in shock, it hadn’t sunk in. We were very upset and very disturbed because we didn’t know the full story at the time, until police came to us and told us... It was all a bit of a blur that day.’’
Josh had finished work early and went with some friends to the bay near Eastbourne to swim to a pontoon, but he never made it.
‘‘He got halfway before he got into difficulty. He took a lot of water in. His friend pulled him out, pulled him to shore, where she and bystanders performed CPR,’’ Leadbetter said.
It was not enough, and now the mother is left wondering how a young man who was bubbling with life could be gone.
‘‘He was a flamboyant, colourful man. Very friendly with everybody, he was a very caring guy,’’ Annette said.
She recalled how he loved music and dancing, and how he would display his tap dancing skills at bars.
The mother and son lived together, and she described him as a good flatmate.
‘‘He could be a quiet and sensitive man. He knew when someone was down, especially me or his family or friends.’’
Josh worked in hospitality since the age of 15. Annette said it was in her son’s nature to host and entertain others.
She echoed the voices of the many who frequented Beannie Cafe where he worked, and described her son as a ‘‘connoisseur rock star barista’’.
Since his passing, tributes and condolences have flooded the cafe’s Facebook page from customers remembering the welcoming, fun-loving barista who always made an excellent coffee.
Josh had a love of fashion, leaving behind a collection of 150 pairs of shoes and 90 hats, but what he loved most were his dogs.
Calling them his ‘‘fur babies’’, Josh’s Schnauzer, Bruno, and Tibetan terrier, Ruby, now live with his mother, a lasting reminder of the son she lost.
‘‘You don’t expect your own child to pass away before you, you never think that. This has been a tragic accident and we wouldn’t wish it upon anybody.’’
Despite witness statements from the time, Leadbetter said stories that her son had been kite-surfing were false.