The parachutist.

The crowd watched horrified as master parachutist Lieutenant Haarken Theordorsen Qviller struggled mightily to open his parachute.
He could be seen fighting with the line to the parachute about 200 metres above the ground but suddenly seemed to lose consciousness.
The newspaper reports of the time said the sound of him hitting the ground was of the bones breaking on impact.
It was supposed to be a spectacular death defying stunt before the crowd of 1400 that had gathered in a paddock near the racecourse in Oamaru.
Some of the crowd fainted at the horror.
Qviller had been touring New Zealand giving demonstrations in parachuting. It had been his specialty for decades.
Born in Oslo, Norway on March 31, 1896, to Theodor and Oline Qviller he had been captivated by flight from a young age.
He joined the Norwegian Air Force in 1913 intending on being a pilot, but in 1915 was in an accident that prevented it.
Qviller then went to university and on into journalism. Given he already had experience with flying, he was sent on flying trips to report on as a news stunt. He met famous British parachute pioneer Major Thomas Orde-Lees (who once jumped from the Tower Bridge into the Thames) and became fascinated.
He began learning and described his impressions for three leading Scandinavian newspapers.
He had been parachuting and experimenting on and off ever since, and had made more than 200 descents, instructing others.
Qviller began touring and spent three and a half years in Australia making exceptionally daring parachute descents. His leap from 10,000ft, seven miles out at sea was made with the object of showing it was possible to land by parachute under any conditions.
He arrived in January 1931 on the Maunganui and began giving exhibitions at air pageants.
It was during a demonstration in Oamaru that he died.
At the inquest Captain Trevor Watts White who was flying the plane said before they went up he saw Qviller lay out the parachute he used to check it. He examined it and refolded it himself.
Once they got into the air, they found the wind was a different direction so they changed their jump plan a little. Qviller had told White he was going to do a delayed drop, not opening the parachute until about 500 ft.
White said Qviller jumped cleanly but then he seemed to spin and the parachute did not open.
He said when he finally reached the body the ropes were entangled.
The coroner found it was a tragic accident.
Qviller is buried in Christchurch’s Bromley Cemetery.
Picture by Mario Majer.​