Man died as friends danced
COLIN JAMES, LEGAL AFFAIRS EDITOR
June 05, 2007 02:30pm
Article from: The Advertiser
PARTICIPANTS in a ritualistic ceremony danced, chanted and played
drums while one of their friends lay dying from heat exhaustion, an
inquest has heard.
Deputy State Coroner Anthony Schapel today was told the group
believed Rowan Douglas Cooke was "astral-travelling" after being
exposed to extreme heat inside a North American Indian-style "steam
lodge".
Mr Cooke, 37, of Melbourne, spent several hours unconscious at a
campsite 325km north of Port Augusta, before two men went to a
nearby homestead for help.
He had travelled with 10 other Victorians to the Gammon Ranges in
late October 2004 on a "Vision Quest" led by a "new age healer",
David Jarvis, Mr Schapel heard.
Amty Davis, counsel assisting, said the trip involved camping on a
creekbed, where earth altars were erected near a "steam lodge"
built from pine poles, silver insulation and blankets.
Members of the group took turns to sit inside the sealed, dome-like
structure while water was poured over heated volcanic rocks to
create steam.
They would then leave the campsite and sit in circles on their own
for 24 hours, without food, before returning for further
"cleansing" sessions in the "steam lodge".
Ms Davis said Mr Cooke and two other people, Maureen Collier and
Adrian Asfar, went into the "steam lodge" late on Tuesday, November
2, because they wanted to participate in a "pipe ceremony".
The trio had sat inside in the structure for about 20 minutes when
Ms Collier shouted she wanted to be let out because she was in
difficulty.
Other members of the group then found Mr Cooke and Mr Asfar
unconscious inside the "steam lodge" and dragged them outside,
where six blankets were put over Mr Cooke.
Ms Davis said while both men were still breathing, no attempts were
made to revive them because the group believed they were having
"out of body" experiences.
"It was considered by some of the campers that the men might have
been astral-travelling, that their conscious selves had left their
bodies and that they were deep in a meditative state," she
said.
"Given that, it was decided that the group should undertake
activities to call them back to their bodies."
Ms Davis said this involved chanting, playing drums and
singing.
It was not until several hours later, at daybreak, that two members
of the group realised Mr Cooke was critically ill and drove to a
nearby homestead for help before returning with a station manager,
Paul Doran, who tried to revive Mr Cooke.
Mr Doran called for a volunteer ambulance crew to be sent from
Leigh Creek, 75km away, to treat Mr Cooke for severe dehydration
and heat exhaustion.
Attempts to resuscitate him at the campsite failed and he was taken
to the Leigh Creek Hospital, where he died later that
morning.
The inquest continues.