<RAYMOND VINCENT BUSBY(12.11PM) SWORN AND EXAMINED CROWN PROSECUTOR: Q. Constable, would you please tell the court your full name, your rank and your present station? A. Raymond Vincent Busby, Senior Constable of Police stationed at the Diving Unit at Sydney Water Police. Q. For how long have you been at the Diving Unit? A. I've been attached to the diving unit for nine years now. Q. Constable, on 10 June 1998 did you participate in an underwater search of the Georges River in the Hammondville area near a footbridge? A. Yes, I did. Q. Was that the first time that you had searched under that footbridge? A. I think I searched the day prior to that. Q. On this particular day, 10 June 1998, were you searching in the same area that you had previously searched or a different area? A. It was a different area from the previous day. Q. (Exhibit E shown.) There are some big maps that are folded up, if you would have a look at the second one of those? It is folded over towards the back. HIS HONOUR: It is the last folded map in the folder. CROWN PROSECUTOR: Q. Have you got exhibit E? A. B. Q. (Exhibit E shown.) It is the last of the two folded maps. I take you towards the bottom of the page around the middle. You see there is an area that is described as Voyager Point? A. Yes, I do. Q. Do you see that there is a footbridge marked over the Georges River? A. Yes. Q. Is that circled on your copy of the map? A. Yes, it is. Q. Was it very close to that footbridge that you were conducting the search-- A. Yes. Q. --that you are telling us about? A. Yes. Q. Constable, had you been specifically requested to search in the area of that footbridge? A. Yes, I had. Q. Was that by Detective Sergeant Ian McNab? A. Yes. Q. Did he accompany you whilst you conducted an underwater search? A. Initially, yes, he wasn't there while we were searching. Q. Now did you and another member of the Police Diving Unit, Senior Constable Bizaro, conduct the search on that day? A. Yes, I did. Q. I take it that you had your scuba gear on? A. Not initially, we did when we reached the deeper part of the water. Q. If you could just keep your voice up and perhaps speak closer to the microphone? A. Sorry. Q. Would you tell the court what you found and where it was? A. When we started searching in the scuba gear we searched for a period of time and then located a - what felt like a pistol at the bottom of the river. It was in some rocks, amongst some rocks and that sort of thing, there was a lot of debris there. Q. About what size were the rocks in that vicinity of the river? A. The rocks, they were varying in size from small rocks to say the size of a soccer ball or basketball, similar. Q. You were feeling around with your hands? A. Yes. Q. What was the visibility like there? A. There was no visibility at that stage. Q. When you felt what you thought was a pistol what did you do? A. I signalled to Constable Bizaro, then I signalled to the surface and returned to the surface and saw that it was a pistol or looked like a pistol. Q. Now apart from rocks and stones in the area was there other debris? A. Yes, there was just metal type rubbish, a shopping trolley I think was there and there was just cable, just iron bars, similar sort of stuff discarded from the wrench. Q. Were there things like bike parts? A. Yes, yes. Q. Just general rubbish? A. Yes. Q. I think you said that you found - I can't remember your actual wording - was it in-between some rocks? A. Yeah, the way the bottom of the river was, it was just rocky and there was - it was sitting on the mud type bottom but in-between surrounded by some - Q. So it was not wedged in? A. No, it wasn't wedged in. Q. But it was surrounded by rocks? A. Yes. Q. How strong was the flow of the river at that point? A. At that point there was a minimal flow, it wasn't causing any difficulty to swim against. Q. Did you later swim further out and find in fact there was a much deeper channel? A. Yes. It dropped off perhaps another metre to a metre and a half or thereabouts and as we moved further out into the river it - the current became stronger and increasingly more difficult to swim against. Q. Where you found the gun, about how deep was it there? A. It was about 4 metres I judged by the way up, by coming up. Q. Now when you got out of the water I take it that you looked at the gun? A. Yes. Q. Did you then put it down on the grass and was it photographed? A. Yes. Q. (Exhibit K shown.) I would ask you to go to tab number 9. The first photograph, does that show the footbridge itself? A. Yes, from the bottom of it, yes. Q. The second photograph, does that show the pylons holding up the footbridge, and is that photograph taken from the Voyager Point site? A. Yes, that's correct. Q. Does the third photograph show the gun in the condition that it was when you discovered it? A. Yes. Q. There is a considerable amount of rust and corrosion around the gun? A. Yes, that's correct. Q. Does the next photograph show the other side, the same gun? A. Yes, that's just the top side. Q. Constable, have you searched other parts of the Georges River on many occasions? A. Yes, I have. Q. Have you also searched a large number of other rivers? A. Yes, I have. Q. Does that include rivers with very high flow rates? A. Yes. Q. For instance, the Murray River, does that have a very high flow rate-- OBJECTION BY MR NICHOLSON TO THE LINE OF QUESTIONING. IN THE ABSENCE OF THE JURY. NICHOLSON: Your Honour, this is leading up to a question that my friend will ask this witness about the movement of the gun during some time in the water. That question was objected to on the last occasion and not admitted and that doesn't of course bind your Honour, but I am objecting to the same question this time. So I thought we had better have the argument now rather than go through this line of questioning and see, that is if that is what my friend is seeking to do. CROWN PROSECUTOR: Your Honour, what I am seeking to do is to ask questions that went in without objection on the last occasion which are at page 1685 lines 15 to 22. HIS HONOUR: Are you seeking to take it any further? CROWN PROSECUTOR: No, your Honour. NICHOLSON: What is the relevance? HIS HONOUR: I think that might be relevant. I will allow those questions. I would have thought it is some evidence as to the possible movement of the object in the water. NICHOLSON: In my submission it is a matter that would require expert evidence. HIS HONOUR: He is a man who has been diving in rivers. NICHOLSON: This will encourage speculation by the jury but I am in your Honour's hands. Your Honour has ruled against me and I live with it. IN THE PRESENCE OF THE JURY. HIS HONOUR: I allow the question. CROWN PROSECUTOR: Q. I was just asking you about whether the Murray River is a high flow rate river during part of it? A. Yes. Q. And have you done searches in the Murray River where the flow rate is very high? A. Yes. Q. Have you done searches where you've been told that a particular item had been thrown into a river at a particular point? A. Yes. OBJECTION (Nicholson). QUESTION ALLOWED. Q. Have you then gone in and located the item that was thrown in at that point? A. Yes. HIS HONOUR: Q. What, at the very point or - A. That - at that - in that vicinity and in that area. CROWN PROSECUTOR: Q. Now the Georges River at that particular point where you found the handgun, is it tidal? A. Yes, it is. Q. I take it from that there's the ebb and flow of the normal movements of the tied? A. Yes. Q. Does the Georges River flood from time to time? A. On occasion, yes. Q. When it floods does it have an effect at that point on the flow of water where it's tidal? A. Depending on the flood, it would have an effect on the tide. Q. I show you one of the photographs which you've identified in the folder, exhibit K. (Shown.) I give you a highlighter and a red pen. Could you mark please with the red pen as best you can where the spot was below which you found the handgun? If you could just highlight it with the highlighter when you've marked it with the red pen? A. Yes. (Crown Prosecutor wrote Constable Busby's name on the bottom of the photograph marked by the witness.) EXHIBIT #AG PHOTOGRAPH OF THE GEORGES RIVER MARKED BY CONSTABLE BUSBY TENDERED, ADMITTED WITHOUT OBJECTION.
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