St Peter must have been elsewhere on the fateful day in late June 1928 when the three schoolboys, sons of local fishermen (two of whom lived in Bridge Street) were found drowned in Swan Bay.
The adventurous trio, Bernard Hoppen, James Stephens and Verdon Zanoni, ‘borrowed’ a boat to sail to McDonald’s jetty on the other side of Swan Bay – but never made it.
The tragic funeral procession that stretched three-quarters of a mile, wound its way along Wharf St, past Bridge Street on its way to the Queenscliff cemetery at Point Lonsdale.
Local papers reported that the funeral, attended by about 100 members of the Fishermen’s Union, students, sporting clubs, military and naval forces was the largest ever seen in Queenscliff. Local businesses closed for the afternoon.
