Reward offered over boat shooting death

Janita McNaughton was 23 when she was on board the boat with four other people on December 27, 1983.

Around 5pm, she was shot in the head and later died in hospital.

Police charged a 29-year-old man with manslaughter, but the the charges were dismissed after a coronial inquest in 1984.

But the man remains a person of interest in the investigation, police said.

The investigation into Ms McNaughton's death was reopened in 2015 and the reward was announced on Wednesday, for information that leads to whoever is responsible for the murder.

Police first heard the shot that killed Ms McNaughton was fired from shore, but another account is that the shot came from a gun that was dropped onto the boat deck.

The gun allegedly belonged to one of the other passengers, who was trying to shoot a floating beer can in the water.

A 20-year-old man was charged with perjury in 2016 after admitting he lied to police in his first statement.

"For the past 36 years, investigators have reviewed the case a number of times," Detective Inspector Tim Day said.

"Janita's family have suffered heartache for 36 years without knowing why she was killed."

He said after almost four decades, hopefully someone on the boat can come forward with the truth.

"The one thing we do know is that someone out there will know who is responsible for shooting Janita and the exact circumstances in which she died," he said.

"It might be that one of the people on the boat, or it might be someone that they've spoken to over the years, such as a family member or friend."

Australian Associated Press