We consider the circumstances surrounding 60 consecutive cases of accidental drowning of children in the Auckland coronial district. More deaths occurred around the home than anywhere else. Forty-one of the fatalities occurred around the home with only two being over the age of six years. The unfenced or inadequately fenced domestic swimming pool was the most common hazard. The household bath and partly filled buckets represent further although less frequent dangers. The study reaffirms the need for legislation making the fencing of domestic swimming pools mandatory. Elsewhere, young children playing in or near water need constant supervision. More victims received either no resuscitation or inadequate resuscitation until an ambulance crew arrived at the home. This further emphasises the value of a sound knowledge of cardiopulmonary resuscitation techniques in the general population.