Father, 46, was attempting to avoid wasting his son, 17, who was all of a sudden swept out to sea earlier than pair each drowned off coast of Australia, inquest hears

A father drowned trying to save his son who had got suddenly swept out to sea while on holiday in Australia, an inquest has been told.

Owen Reed, 17, was swimming off the coast of Round Hill Head in Queensland on April 13 when without warning conditions suddenly deteriorated.

The teenager had been waist deep in the water with other children when he got into difficulty, Gwent Coroner’s Court heard

His father Robin, 46, immediately jumped into the sea to rescue his son, along a family friend, but they also got into difficulty.

Emergency services attended the scene and later recovered the bodies of Mr Reed and Owen, who were later confirmed to have died by drowning.

Rose Farmer, area coroner for Gwent, reached a conclusion of death by misadventure for Mr Reed and Owen following an inquest on Wednesday.

Ms Farmer recorded that Owen had died ‘from the effects of drowning when sea conditions worsened and he was swept out to sea’.

The inquest heard how the Reed family had flown to Brisbane on April 10 to visit husband and wife Michael and Shayane Evans and their children.

Owen, 17, and Robin Reed, 46 (pictured) were at the Great Barrier Reef in water ‘no deeper than waist height’ when the tragedy took place

Mrs Evans described how they travelled to Seventeen Seventy on April 13, arriving in the car park before walking down a track to the beach.

She said: ‘There was no signage at all. I didn’t see any “no swimming” signs or signs saying you couldn’t go down the track.’

Mr Reed, Mr Evans and the children went straight into the water before getting out about 10 minutes later to go to rock pools on the beach.

Owen and two other children then returned to the sea, with the water at waist height, Mrs Evans said.

She told the inquest: ‘I’m not sure if a wave hit him and he lost his footing but I could see Owen starting to drift out in a rip.

‘He was only a few metres off the rocks as he was swept past.’

Mrs Evans shouted to her husband, who ran straight to the water along with Mr Reed, as they tried to rescue Owen.

Mr Evans, in a statement, said he had not seen any warning signs and there was no fencing to prevent people from accessing the sea.

Mr Reed (pictured) had travelled from Caerphilly, South Wales, for a holiday in April 2025

He described the water as ‘a little choppy but nothing dangerous’ when they first went in, with it appearing to have ‘calmed down’ when Owen and the other children returned.

Mr Evans added: ‘Owen went out further than the others but he was older and taller.

‘It turned in an instant. Huge waves started coming in – one second he was there and the next, he wasn’t.

‘He wasn’t anywhere near where he was originally. He was fighting to keep his head above the water.’

Mr Evans described entering the water with Mr Reed to rescue Owen, adding: ‘The water felt like a bus hitting me.

‘It was rough and picking me up. It was too rough to swim in. There was wave after wave rolling in the water.’

Dr Jack Garland, a pathologist, recorded the cause of death for both Mr Reed and Owen as drowning.

Coroner Ms Farmer said Mr Reed died ‘from the effects of drowning while trying to rescue his son who had got into difficulty in the sea’.

Mr Reed dived into the water as there were no lifeguards nearby after a sudden wave

A tribute read: ‘On behalf of Pengam boys and girls and our U13’s Pengam football family, we are deeply heartbroken’

Paying tribute after the pair’s deaths, football club Treowen Stars FC said: ‘Awful, awful news about Robin Reed and his son Owen.

‘Robin was a good friend to many at Treowen and will be missed.

‘Our thoughts and deepest condolences with Robin and Owen’s family and friends. Rest in peace both.’ 

And Pengam Boys and Girls Club also posted a message of condolence, saying they were ‘heartbroken by the sudden loss of Robin and his son Owen’. 

Seventeen Seventy is a coastal town at the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef and was named after the year Captain James Cook arrived in Australia.