Father’s fateful last words
Jiatu Li remembers the last words he said to his father on a fishing trip to Papanui Point.
“Be careful, dad, wait for me and I’ll be back soon.”
His dad Yaojun shouted back: “You too, be careful!”
But minutes later, the 44-year-old father was gone – claimed by the Waikato’s most notorious fishing spot.
Now, in speaking out to raise awareness of the danger, Jiatu says bigger warning signs in Chinese could have prevented his father’s death.
Jiatu can recall everything that happened on January 29, the day when his father was taken by the west coast.
His father Yaojun was never into fishing. He thought it would be a good day out with his family before they received their residence visa approval.
After that, the family would be busy setting up their own takeaway business – that was the bright future they imagined together.
The group of six – Yaojun’s wife, Jiatu , Yaojun’s brother, and two other friends – arrived at Papanui Point carpark at 10am. They walked past a big billboard that reads “wear life jackets, never go alone, no phone coverage”.
Jiatu, whose English is the best in the family, thought it’ll be OK because they were not alone, and wouldn’t go anywhere dangerous.
It was Jiatu’s second time there. The sea was calm and peaceful when he visited the first time, but it was windy and the surf was swelling up on the second visit.
After fishing on the leeward side for a while, Yaojun and Jiatu checked out a windward spot, which Yaojun said would be too dangerous so the pair went to another leeward spot where three fishermen from another group were.
Jiatu stayed with his father for 10 minutes before he left to check on his uncle.
It was then the pair spoke what were to be their last words to each other.
When Jiatu returned 15 minutes later, his father was no where to be found.
No one saw or heard Yaojun fall, but his body was washed up at Te Akau 10 days later.
There was another sign at the entrance, but Jiatu said he didn’t see it until after they called the police.
The sign reads: “More than 20 people have lost their lives fishing here. It is prone to rogue waves and help is a long way away.”
It is this sign that Jiatu hopes authorities can make bigger, and translate into different languages. Languages that those who could lose their lives here can understand.
Water Safety New Zealand figures show since 1989, 24 drownings happened within 2km of Papanui Point. A dozen of those were anglers, and Asian males are particularly prone to drown from rock fishing.
In the past, Papanui Point was known for taking lives from the Filipino and Chinese community.
The Department of Conservation have previously stated the signs were simple to understand.
Until the police confirmed Yaojun’s death, Jiatu and his mother were waiting, hoping that one day, Yaojun will show up outside their Hamilton home.
“It was so sudden. It’s not like if he was sick, we can slowly adapt to the fact that he’s leaving us. Until today, I can’t understand how all of a sudden, someone was gone from my life.”
The last five years was the most precious time Jiatu had spent with his father.
It had been a year since their residency application had been assigned to an immigration officer. But since they’re among the last 3% still waiting under the 2021 Resident Visa scheme, they knew their visa could arrive at any time, prompting the fishing trip to enjoy the last bit of their holiday.
Before coming to New Zealand six years ago, Yaojun worked in South Korea as a chef, and only reunited with his family for a few days every year. For almost 15 years, Jiatu mainly saw his father through video calls, but saw him as a patient father.
The family are still waiting for residency. Now, rather than as a start to their family business, it will be an indicator of when they can book a flight back to Yaojun’s hometown in Jilin, China to hold the funeral.