An inquest into the death of Wellington man Sandy Calkin has heard about his last movements on the night he disappeared and how police believe he drowned after falling into the harbour.

Calkin died in July 2021 following a night out with friends. The 30-year-old’s body was found in Wellington Harbour a week later.

The inquest, before Coroner Katharine Greig, will consider a number of questions, including the cause of Calkin’s death, whether there are adequate and appropriate safety measures in place at Wellington’s waterfront and if sufficient steps have been taken to address public safety risks.

Detective Constable Simon Cobb told the inquest on the night of Calkin’s death he was in a good mood, first attending work drinks at L’affare, where he worked as a coffee roaster, before heading to a friend’s flat for drinks and then dinner at an inner-city restaurant with friends he’d met through kickboxing.

During the evening, Calkin complained to several people about a lack of money because of strange transactions from his bank account, which police believe were linked to a website for online gaming, one of Calkin’s hobbies.

He’d left the restaurant with a friend, walking to a bar on Courtney Place, where he stayed until after midnight before leaving to come home. A friend offered to pay for an Uber, but he declined saying he had a train ticket.

Roger Calkin says not a day goes by when he doesn’t miss his “kind and caring” son Sandy. Photo / Mark Mitchell

CCTV footage presented to the inquest shows Calkin wearing his distinctive maroon hoodie walking from Courtney Place, along the waterfront. The last CCTV image of Calkin was taken at 12.37am passing the northern end of the Crab Shack restaurant. It’s believed he was walking to catch the train home to Cambourne, north of Wellington, after 1am.

When Calkin failed to return home his family reported him missing and police issued two press releases seeking information from the public about his disappearance.

On July 17, the police dive squad retrieved Calkin’s body from the harbour, close to where he was last seen on CCTV footage. The inquest heard there was alcohol, amphetamines and cannabis in his system. His blood alcohol level was 217 mg of alcohol per 100 ml. The legal limit is 50mg per 100 ml.

The inquest heard police estimated he’d had 11 alcoholic drinks throughout the afternoon and evening.

Friends reported that while Calkin was drunk, he could hold a conversation and was steady on his feet.

The pathologist initially found there were marks on his arms, which could be consistent with being held. But Detective Cobb said these may have been sustained while he was in the water and police were satisfied no one else was involved in Calkin’s death and he had died from drowning.

The hearing began this morning with a statement read by Calkin’s mother, Maria. She told the inquest how her son loved kickboxing and was both flexible and fit. He was also a fan of online gaming and had friends all over the world. He loved being a big brother and had a great group of friends.

The family believed Calkin had tripped on the corner of the wharf and hit his head while falling into the water. With the weight of his clothing there was no chance of him getting out of the water, she said.

Maria finished her statement by urging the council to improve waterfront safety for all victims, “so no one has to suffer the way we have”.

Paul Andrews, the council’s parks, sports and recreation manager was giving evidence this afternoon.

Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist for 20 years, including at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently she was working as a media advisor at the Ministry of Justice.