ROBBERY OF GOLD SPECIE TO THE AMOUNT OF 5614,000, AT CLYDE POLICE CAMP.

Cromwell Argus, Volume I, Issue 38, 3 August 1870, Page 5

ROBBERY OF GOLD SPECIE TO THE AMOUNT OF 5614,000, AT CLYDE POLICE CAMP.

i . * ’ •• mb/ . j The most daring and extensive robbpjjgj has yet been perpetrated in New wa3 > we regret to say, successfully on Monday morning, between the.hours of 12.30 andlotfa ; o’clock, [■m:.,: : _ , dt appears that in consequence bad state of the roads, it was lately deemed ■ * advisable that during the winter months >1 jthe;gold should only be forwarded to Dun- j • edin by escort once a month, instead of i ' fortnightly as hitherto. The quantity %j ■ gold: sent down to the Duns tan last , was consequently much larger than • and it so happened that, in addition to the, I. valuable gold treasure in charge of the i 1 fi&oft ou that occasion, over £3OOO ; ]n | rfefcear.'was received from the Banks, .Jon fcihsmission to Dunedin. • I JI On Sunday last, as usual, everything was got in readiness for a start by the ! , coach early on the following morning ; and the gold and specie were taken over by Mr Inspector Dalgleish (who has been in charge of the same escort for seYgSfosgf> f years),, and deposited in theagyjftlj ; Spkce for safe keeping. The building sfor this purpose is the lock-up, and is about* 44& long by 9ft wide. In the middle §{ is a passage a couple of feet wide, rfo»amg it into two cells, in one of which the boxes were deposited Both the inner and'outer doors were bolted and-locked and up till half-past twelve o'clock eyerything appears to have been all right, ctiulf-past four the: men turned out to get hi nlAmdiness for a start by the coach at half{fpast five ; and at about five o’clock Con- * Enable M‘Leiinan went to Mr Inspector ■-* idCdgleish’s quarters to call him. Sergeant Neill and Constable M‘Lennan were deputed to go to the lock-up and bring out the gold, and it was then that the robbery was discovered. 1 •' The method by which the robbers efjectsid i an entrance into the iock-up seems t®ig¥Qp been by opening the outer lock i 'bwSnary key. The lock of the inner dokrnot touched, but the plate through i fwhlch the bolt was fastened was s ' Wthere before them were the four bqjLJ r °co f fttaining the treasure. They then*]ijj; appears, carried away two of the boxteJ £ qf&fcrobbers must have been well i the construction of the lock-up, as J -'theyhad, after taking away the gold, care--1 ft'Ky locked the outer door after them. They then must have carried the boxes I close past the policemen’s quarters, at the rear of which there is a sod wall about 4ft. ! 6in. high. •On the top of.this wall they' -’had rested the boxes, for .next morning tl\e I marks were plainly visible. -The only QtW] 63 coU *4be seen were some inKra foot-prints, with particles of wool froW ’socks or‘stockings adhering ; and a bag’ll which haa since,been identified by Mr Hazlett as one which was in his possession :*H|bhin fourteea.dap prior to the time -at,! jtj& 6h the committed. -no. )U^lp firing Sergt, NdißMi discovered thS'lbSxfe-'li? a water-hole or j' race close to the camp, emptied of their r contents. Close by this hole were to bo seen the foot-prints of horses, apparently fresh. y 7 •< ■ ' '' 'r, v 4 The greater portion of the gold, afeOiv about £3OOO in notes, were ; the property 1 Sf* the .Bank of New South Wales, "WW V that the Bank of Blew Zealand is lo?er to the .extent of about £4,500 in gold ‘ and notes, i , The iron safe formerly used for holding tiie gold-boxes was, it seems, romovd'dt wptne time ago from Clyde to the Kgi’cMlf t em* now, for want of a safe, about £l4,Wstf f worth of gold and specie—tho property the Banks—has fallen into the hands of ft' gang of burglars, with very little chance of it ever being recovered.