'Very active and happy' girl died in accidental drowning - coroner

A 10-year-old tourist died in Fiordland National Park due to "an accidental slip, during a happy family journey which had appalling consequences", a coroner says.

Tegan Chen, of Lindfield, New South Wales, last year drowned in the fast-flowing Marian Creek, in the Hollyford Valley, after she fell in and was swept downstream.

In findings released on Wednesday morning, Coroner Mary-Anne Borrowdale described Chen as "a very active and happy girl".

"She was brave and expressive. She loved horse riding, dancing, and performing for her family and friends. She had written many song lyrics," Borrowdale said.

The fall happened on Lake Marian Falls Track, in the company of Chen's two older brothers, parents, two grandparents and an aunt, the coroner said.

The family were on holiday and were returning to Te Anau after an overnight cruise in Milford Sound.

The track - a popular 20-minute, 360-metre walk - had been recommended to the family.

At about 11am on 25 January, the group walked to the end of a boardwalk, where a large, smooth outcrop of rocks jutted into Marian Creek, Borrowdale said.

Marian Creek was an alpine, very cold, fast-flowing river fed from Lake Marian - "not a 'creek' in the usual use of that term", she said.

The three children walked onto the rocks, which were not separated from the boardwalk by any structures.

Chen had been squatting by the river's edge when her father saw her try to stand up, slip and fall into the river.

As she was carried downstream, she was initially able to hold onto a rock and raise herself up, but was quickly swept off the rock and out of sight, Borrowdale said.

Other visitors helped the family to look for Chen and emergency services were called.

She was found unresponsive by a logjam about 420 metres downstream.

Chen could not be revived, despite bystanders performing CPR as well as a doctor, who was winched in by an emergency helicopter.

 

A pathologist found Chen drowned and had also sustained bruises and abrasions consistent with being tumbled in a rocky river.

Borrowdale said the track was on public conservation land managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC).

The department had "comprehensively investigated all factors within its control that may have been influential in the tragedy", she said.

The track was well-maintained at the time of the accident and there was no prior history of serious reported incidents at the site where the boardwalk met the rocky outcrop.

However, the department found storm damage in 2020 had subtly changed the track, and washed away some moss and ground cover that "may have been acting as a natural boundary between the walkway and the outcrop".

Following the accident, DOC upgraded the track to include a platform that covered the rocks, with barriers on all sides and prominent signage warning of a drowning risk.

It also internally reclassified the track to cater for less-experienced walkers and "short stop travellers".

Borrowdale said in light of the significant safety improvements at the site, she had no further recommendations.