TRAGEDY AT HENLEY BEACH – A Divine Revelation?

THE DROWNING

At about 4 o’clock on Saturday January 6, 1906, Mr. William Strapps went for a sail at Henley Beach in a canvas canoe 14 feet (or just over 4 metres) in length taking with him his two sons, Claude, aged 16 years, and Frank, aged 10 years and their friends Gordon Miller, aged 10 and Leslie Heming, aged 12.  There was a fair wind at the time, but it freshened, and just as the craft was about to make a turn it capsized. All on board went into the water. Claude was seen to strike for the shore, which he reached safely while Mounted Police Constable Mack, who was stationed at Henley Beach, also saw the perilous position of the group but as there was no boat at his disposal, he could do nothing to affect a rescue.

That same morning, Mr. Charles Arnold Caust, a young married man and a devoted Methodist and local preacher left his office in Adelaide and rode on his bicycle to his home at Henley Beach. There had been a local heat wave lasting several days, so he got the notes of a sermon which he was preparing to preach next morning, and taking his little daughter Coralie in his arms, said to his wife Muriel that he was going down under the jetty to get a cool place to study his sermon and Sunday-school lesson.

Soon after his arrival at the jetty, he saw the canoe overturn in the water; those onboard holding onto the side to save themselves. There appeared to be no means available to affect a rescue though several people were pointing to a boat in the vicinity tied to a buoy. Caust, seeing the danger, was the first to try. Kissing his little daughter and passing her to a friend to hold he said, “God will take care of you and help me,” and ran along the beach, at the same time throwing off some of his clothes and calling out “Come on, lads, volunteer with me and render help.” He was only a medium swimmer and knew little about managing a boat; and there were probably scores who could do better than him. A gentleman known to Caust tried to stop him and said that “it was not wise to venture in such a rough sea,” but he replied, “I feel it will be all right if I can reach that boat over there.” After walking as far as possible he struck out for the boat; but the tide carried him out too far. Twice he got within a yard (or nearly a metre) or two of the boat, but the strong sea forced him back again and he was then seen to throw up his hands and perish in sight of the thousands witnessing his heroic effort.

Muriel (three months pregnant at the time) who had just arrived at the beach herself, saw the catastrophe. She rushed to the water’s edge to see if she could catch a glimpse of her husband, but he was not to be seen, and she collapsed in uncontrollable grief.  In the meanwhile, others tried to rescue the boys all without success until Stanley and Herbert Scrymgour went off in a boat and brought the crew ashore. They were all exhausted, having clung to the canoe for over three-quarters of an hour.  Caust’s body was recovered shortly before noon two days later close to the Grange jetty, and Constable Mack brought it ashore in a boat.

Charles and Muriel had been married for nearly two years. His funeral took place at the Hindmarsh Cemetery on Tuesday January 9, 1906.

 

“The age of chivalry is not past. Young Mr. Caust left his wife and child on the sands of Henley Beach, South Australia, and swam out to sea to get a boat for the purpose of rescuing a capsized crew, and perished like the hero he was. He conceived it to be his duty to attempt the rescue of entire strangers – he who could not swim well and knew little about managing a boat. The sacrifice of this, noble and disinterested man emphasises two matters. One is the licence accorded to persons to risk their own and other lives by putting out to sea in frail canoes only fit for stagnant waterholes. The other is the foolish parsimony of the authorities in not giving the police at stations like Henley Beach a lifevsaving.boat.”

Adapted and edited from the Bunyip (Gawler, SA : 1863 -1954), Friday January 12, 1906, p2, Retrieved March 9, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article97595957


References:
Adapted and edited from:
EXTRACT FROM – Heroism in Daily life: A Memoir of Arnold and Ray Caust by E.W. Caust, 1915 (in Torrens Valley Historical Journal No. 29, 1985)
DROWNED AT HENLEY BEACH (1906, January 13). The Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 – 1954), p. 7. Retrieved March 2, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article/88112369
CHARLES ARNOLD CAUST – https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/197278111/charles-arnold-caust
HEROISM (1906, January 12) The Bunyip (Gawler, SA : 1863 -1954), p.2, Retrieved March 9, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article97595957
Wyld, P., A Drowning Tragedy at Henley Beach – When a Rescue Attempt Goes Wrong, Henley & Grange Historical Journal No. 27, 2006

Media Sources:
Headstone and Grave: – Find A Grave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/197278111/charles-arnold-caust
Death Notice: – Trove http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article208793321
Funeral Notices: – Trove http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4996849

A CALL FOR A POLICE BOAT AT HENLEY BEACH

The tragic incident at Henley Beach on Saturday naturally stirred deep compassion for the victim and sincere sympathy for his family and friends.

It was soon followed by indignation at the apparent failure of the local authorities, as many believed that Mr Caust’s life might have been saved. Had a police boat been available, there would likely have been no need for his brave rescue attempt.

Just two years earlier, Henley Beach had been the scene of a similar tragedy in which two lives were lost. Given this recent history, the local authorities could hardly have been unaware of the dangers in leaving such a popular seaside resort without adequate protection. It is to be hoped that this omission will now be remedied without further delay.

Reference:
THE HENLEY BEACH FATALITY –  The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 – 1931), Tuesday January 9, 1906, page 4, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4996855


Editor Note:
The Henley Surf Lifesaving Club was founded following a meeting in the Henley Town Hall on the 1st of October 1925 and from a small clubroom within a disused old concrete boat shed just north of the Henley jetty, the Club officially opened on the 21st of November 1925.  This was to become the first lifesaving club in South Australia.

Source: https://www.henleyslsc.com.au 

THE HENLEY BEACH CAUST FUND

A meeting was held at the residence of Mr. A. W. Ralph, at Henley Beach, on the evening of Thursday January 11th for the purpose of devising a means of assisting the Caust fund. A number of young ladies formed themselves into a committee to collect funds in aid of the widow and family of Mr. C. A. Caust.

It was decided to collect on the beach on Monday next, when the Henley Regatta was being held, and between 20 and 30 ladies, bearing a badge “Caust Fund,” would patrol the beach under the supervision of Mrs. A. W. Ralph, the Rev. W. H. Cann, and the secretaries, Misses E. Peters and E. Hearing.

 

Reference:
THE CAUST FUND (1906, January 20). The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 – 1931) . Retrieved March 2, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5000104

CHAIN OF PONDS MEMORIAL

Much sorrow was felt when the news of Caust’s death reached the little township of Chain of Ponds in the Adelaide Hills. He had spent the first 15 years of his life there and had a large circle of friends.

On the 15th of December 1907, a memorial service was held, and a monument erected at Chain of Ponds in his honour. Between 200 to 300 people attended the dedication service. The monument is of Italian marble and is now erected in the wall adjacent to the gate of the Cemetery.

The monument reads:

“A tribute to the heroism and self-sacrifice of CHARLES ARNOLD CAUST, who was drowned on January 6, 1906, at Henley Beach, while endeavouring to rescue others in peril. Aged 27 years. 

He, being dead, yet speaketh.”

Caust Memorial
Chain of Ponds		 Caust Memorial Dedication Ceremony
December 15, 1907, Chain of Ponds

 

Reference:
A MEMORIAL TO THE LATE CHARLES ARNOLD CAUST (1907, January 4). Australian Christian Commonwealth (SA : 1901 – 1940. Retrieved March 2, 2026, from https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/213584072

Media Sources:
The Charles Caust Memorial, Torrens Valley Historical Journal, No. 29, December 1985
The Unveiling Ceremony of the Charles Caust Memorial,  Torrens Valley Historical Journal, No. 29, December 1985
Memorial in Cemetery Wall at Chain of Ponds: – Roger Edmonds, 2026 

A SHORT BIOGRAPHY

Charles Arnold Caust (known as Arnie to his  family) was born on August the 11th, 1878 at Chain of Ponds, the ninth child of Mr. William Caust and his wife Amy (Symonds) Caust. His family were all devoted Methodists. He spent the first fifteen years of his life in Chain of Ponds, regularly attending the Church and Sunday-school and was well respected and known in the district for his cricket skills having played in a match with men when only 12 years of age.  He went to Millbrook School.

Arnie moved from Chain of Ponds several years before his death to live with his sister in Goodwood and later moved to Hindmarsh. He worked for F. Ralph Co., wine and spirit merchants of Adelaide, for 10 years as their ‘corresponding clerk’ . He was the Sunday School Superintendent at the Ovingham Methodist Church, had recently been accepted as a Methodist local preacher in the Hindmarsh Circuit and had a promising future as a church worker.

He married Muriel May Applebee on March 29, 1904 in the Bowden Methodist Church when aged 25 years. Muriel was 19 years old.  They had a daughter Coralie born in 1905 and another daughter Lorna born after his death in June 1906.

At age 19, he had a remarkable vision.

A beautiful angel appeared to him and said, quite distinctly, “You will not live another ten years”. Although he was not a superstitious man, the visitation did make him uneasy. Two years later he saw the same angel and often spoke to his wife about this in later years. Then only a week before his death he was talking to his brother Ray about the vision and said it did not trouble him at all—possibly God was calling him to work for Him; although he had not seen the vision for the past three years while being active in the Church. Still his wife and brothers were anxious for him to pass his thirtieth birthday, but sadly, he didn’t.

He drowned on January 6, 1906, at Henley Beach, while endeavouring to rescue others in peril at sea, aged 27 years.


References:
A MEMORIAL TO THE LATE CHARLES ARNOLD CAUST (1907, January 4). Australian Christian Commonwealth (SA : 1901 – 1940. Retrieved March 2, 2026, from https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/213584072
IN MEMORIAM (1906, JANUARY 26) Australian Christian Commonwealth (SA : 1901 – 1940), Retrieved March 2, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article213581237
Wyld, P., A Drowning Tragedy at Henley Beach – When a Rescue Attempt Goes Wrong, Henley & Grange Historical Journal No. 27, 2006

Media Sources:
Charles Arnold Caust: – Trove http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article213581237
In Memoriam Notice: – Trove http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5118720 

RESEARCHER AND EDITOR NOTES

The stories and short biography in this article have been compiled and edited from articles appearing in the:

A descendent of the Caust family was contacted and has verified the content used in this story.

Media Sources:

Charles Arnold Caust: – Trove http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article213581237
Headstone and Grave: – Find A Grave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/197278111/charles-arnold-caust
The Charles Caust Memorial, Torrens Valley Historical Journal, No. 29, December 1985
The Unveiling Ceremony of the Charles Caust Memorial,  Torrens Valley Historical Journal, No. 29, December 1985
Memorial in Cemetery Wall at Chain of Ponds: – Roger Edmonds, 2026
Death Notice: – Trove http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article208793321
Funeral Notices: – Trove http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4996849
In Memoriam Notice: – Trove http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5118720 

Generative Artificial Intelligence has been used to assist to improve flow and grouping related details in the narrative without altering the factual integrity of the research.

Researched and edited by:
Roger Edmonds (for the H&GHS)
March, 2026

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