With the new school term just days away, Elmwood Normal School in Christchurch will feel very different for staff and students.
25-year old Isaac Levings, who taught year 3 and 4 at the school, was found dead by Wellington police in the harbour late yesterday afternoon, after being reported missing a day earlier.
He'd been in Wellington to see The 1975 in concert on Wednesday night.
Isaac's father Charles spoke to 1News this afternoon, saying the family were "absolutely devastated and emotionally numb" after Wellington police found their son's body.
After Isaac was reported missing on Thursday, around a dozen of his cousins travelled to Wellington to help with the search.
Charles said Isaac was "such an organised, fastidious young man" that it was entirely out of character to go missing.
It was a "relief" when his body was found, Charles said, and the outpouring of support on social media had been amazing.
The family also praised NZ Police for how they were kept informed and for their victim support services.
There have been at least ten drownings in the Wellington harbour since 2006, and advocates are hoping this latest tragedy sparks real change.
Roger and Maria Calkin's son Sandy drowned off the harbour in 2021, and say Wellington City Council isn't taking the issue seriously enough.
"They're not even interested in building a picture as to what's happening down there, how many people have fallen into the water, how many deaths there has been," Roger said.
They are now compiling documents and evidence to take to a coroner's inquest into Sandy's death, in the hope of protecting others.
"Seeing that there has been another incident down there, that kind of makes me feel like I have let people down because I haven't been able to push it enough to council to do something up until this point."
Kieren Boyle is a skipper on a charter boat in the capital, and has worked on the waterfront for nearly twenty years.
In that time he's pulled four people out of the ocean, late at night.
"They were all preventable, all falling over the side of the wharf not knowing where the side of the edge is."
He thinks the solution is "obvious" and that some form of fencing, or structures need to be in place to stop people falling into the water in the first place.
"If this was a construction site, or a family pool in your backyard, the council will be around and shutting you down straight away," he said.
Wellington City Council have paid tribute to Levings, saying their thoughts are with his whānau and friends.
In a statement, they said: "Since the Council assumed direct responsibility for the operation of the Waterfront in 2014, several public safety works have been undertaken including the improvement of lighting, edge identification and edge protection, the installation of life rings and illuminated ladders.
"New structures we have built generally include handrails and upgraded lighting in places where deemed appropriate such as bridges, access points and promenades.
"Although there is no intention to fence the entirety of the waterfront, the Council is currently investigating enhanced edge definition and further fencing to deter people from accessing the wharf edge."
A 2022 report showed council had made many improvements to the waterfront, but also highlighted a number of areas where previous recommendations, made in a 2016 report, still hadn't been completed.
These included one recommendation to create an additional barrier next to where Sandy Calkin's body was found in 2021.
His father is hoping the coronial inquest into his death, due later this year, may provide more answers.
"I'm confident the coroner is going to put good recommendations in place, I'm just not confident the council is going to follow them, because they don't seem to have done that in the past. There doesn't seem to be any urgency to resolve any issues down there at all."
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