HOME BREW PARTY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 14, 6 October 1944, Page 5

HOME BREW PARTY

INCIDENT AT TE WHAITI DEFENDANTS PROSECUTED A party at Te Whaiti around a tin of home-brew of allegedly doubtful quality proved expensive to a number of Maori defendants. Eddie V Mahia faced three charges of supplying liquor to natives, and Taimone Tipene, Albert Tamaki, Tahae Iraia and C. Roberts were involved in charges; of assisting him. Sergeant McLcod stated that at 1 a.m. on September 17 tlie police visited Mahia's house, and found him and four others sitting around a kerosene tin of home-brew. "Defendant admitted supplying. Mr Roe, appearing for Mahia,, Iraia and Roberts, said that the home-brew had been in the nature of an experiment. Some of the ingredients. had been given defendant Mahia and he had invited his friends in on the night in question to try it. A wife of one of the visitors, apparently taking exception to the matter, informed the police. The home-brew had not proved palatable., and very little of it had been drunk when the police arrived. It was the first time Mahia had made homebrew and he and the other defendants had not been before the Court previously.

Mahia was convicted and fined £5 on each of the three and costs totalling £3 were also impose.d. The four defendants were convicted and fined £2 10s each and ordered to pay costs amounting to £1 3s 4d each.