When the forest breathes quietly in early light, each twig and shadow tells a story of patience, patience that hunters and nature-lovers carry with them on paths wreathed in moss and memory. But on Stewart Island last July, the silence of bush and stream was shattered in a moment that rippled far beyond the hillside where it happened, touching lives that now carry a weight no one could have foreseen. The disappearance of a young man on what was meant to be a week-long hunting journey unfolded into grief that lingers like an echo in still air, a reminder that a single misstep in judgment can reverberate with profound human cost.
For the Davies family, the hunt was meant to be a tradition woven with shared laughter and the promise of home-grown memories. Their son Jock Davies, 21, had faced life’s early challenges with a courage that inspired those around him, surviving cancer and approaching each day with a warmth that drew others in. But as the bush closed in that July morning, the expectation of a safe return gave way to a profound, enduring ache when his life ended in a tragic shooting.
In Invercargill District Court this week, the man responsible — 39-year-old Ashburton builder Paul William John Stevens — stood before a judge after pleading guilty to a charge of careless use of a firearm causing death. The court heard how he and Davies had been part of the same extended hunting group, moving through challenging terrain where shadows and shapes may merge in unexpected ways. In that moment, as Stevens fired, believing he was firing at a deer, he instead struck a friend.
At sentencing, Judge Russell Walker acknowledged both the profound loss and the mitigating factors, converting a possible prison term into five months of home detention. Beyond the custody decision, he ordered reparation payments which will be used to support a scholarship in Davies’ name and to contribute to a hunter safety course — gestures intended to honor his memory and to help others learn from tragedy.
In court, Jock’s mother Sarah Davies spoke of her son’s brightness, laughter and resilience — qualities that now live on in the quiet corners of her daily life. His brother George told Stevens that the duty of a firearms licence-holder is sacred and that his failure to identify his target had left the family bearing a “lifetime of hell.”
Another brother, Tom, described the months since the shooting as a “living nightmare,” recounting how the weight of loss can turn familiar routines into unfamiliar landscapes. Their father, Peter Davies, reflected on Jock’s life touched by hundreds who gathered at his funeral — a testimony both to the son they loved and the community that mourns with them.
Stevens, wiping tears, expressed deep remorse, telling the court that he wished he could undo what happened. Yet even genuine regret, however heartfelt, cannot erase the ache left behind. The rifle and ammunition used were forfeited, and the reshaped legal consequences foreground a justice that seeks balance between accountability, regret and the long road ahead for grieving loved ones.
In the end, a hunting trip that promised camaraderie and shared stories became a moment of irreversible loss, a chapter that reminds us how fragile life’s paths can be and how deeply sorrow can settle in hearts that once beat with anticipation and joy.
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Sources Based on Source Role: RNZ News, Otago Daily Times.