THIRTY-SIX YEARS' SERVICE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1052, 15 February 1911, Page 8

THIRTY-SIX YEARS' SERVICE.

l INSPECTOR GILLIES'S CAREER, I SOME EXCITING -INCIDENTS; (By Telegraph.-Specinl Correspondent.! Christchurch, February 11. After having served in tho New Zealand police forco ,for over 38 years, in addition to four years in the Royal Irish Constabulary beioro he camo to the Dominion, Inspector R. J. Gillies ietircd from the force on Saturday last. Speaking to a "Press" reporter Mr. Gillies said ho left the Royal Irish Constabulary in 1874 to come to New Zealand. Ho had booked his passage by the ill-fated CcsEatrick (which was burnt at sea with all ands), but was prevailed upon .'by Dr. Young (subsequently medical superintendent of the Avondale Mental Hospital, Auckland) to transfer to the Esses, and he reached Auckland in December, 1874.. There ho made himself known„ to, J&\, ■spector .'Broham, who was subsequently inspector in Christchurch, and who undertook to .take Mr. Gillies on ns sooh as a vacancy ; occured; In the ineantiinp Mr. Gillies joined tho Armed Constabulary under Colonel Lyon. Three months later' he was appointed a constable, and transferred to Auckland, where he remained for , two years and a half. As the result of the'work done by him he was within eighteen months promoted :from ..third-; class to first-class constable. Ho was then given .charge of the Te Awamutu Station.,on the borders of tho,' King Country, which was at that time practically outside tho pale of . European civilisation, nnd the Queen's writ ran with considerable difficulty in that region. The nearest polico station was. over 20 miles distant at Hamilton, and was in charge of ex-Inspector M'Goverri.It was whilst arresting a Maori horsestealer that Mr. Gillies had the closest call.he" had whilst in the force. Sammy, the Maori in ooestion, had stolen two horses, and Mr.'Gillies followed him up into the bush to a place called Te Rahu, about nine miles from To Awamutu. Hero a-fierce hand-to-hand encounter ensued. Sammy was powerfully built, and &tru»gletl terrifically. Just when tho Maori ttas getting the better of Mr. Gillies a settler opportunely arrived, and tho horso thief was handcuffed and brought to It was in connection with tho capture of tho notorious Maori murderer niniata that Mr. Gillies came more promiuently. before tho public. Winiata in 1876 brutally murdered a cadet named.Packer, who was with Winiata, in the employ of a Mr. Cleghorn at Ensoni, near Auckland. Winiat'a got clear "away to the King Country, where ho successfully defied arrest for six years. Ex-Inspector M'Govern nnd Mr. Gillies formulated a scheme for his capture, and in order to attain that end obtained tho. co-operation of a half-caste named Barlow. They supplied Barlow with the necessary funds to obtain liquor, and Barlow went to where Winiata was, and bargained with him for the snl.o of somo pigSj cnttlc, and wheat he had for sale. Barlow concluded his bargain, one of the conditions of which was that Winiata and his bodyguard should help hhi with the conveyance of tho stock to Barlow's plnce. Barlow carried out his programme, which was to ply Winiata.and his bodyguard' with liquor, and as a nightcan administer to them n notent sleeping draught. Ho then, with tho assistance- of his wife, tied Winiata to a nack horse and brought him in to Te Awamutu, a distanco of 25 miles. Winiata subsequently paid the penalty of his crime, and Mr. Gillies was nromoted to third-class serircnut. Mr. Ballimcc, who had recently como into power, visited tho Waikato about'this time, nnd on hearing'of Mr. Gillies'part in tho captnre of Winiata, cave him further nromotion. Barlow, for his sharo in the capture, got .£7OO, as well as a farm nt Mnngere. In ISB4. Mr. Gillies was transferred to the chargo of the Devonport sub-district, which extended as far north as Waiwera. Three years later , lie wns given chargo of the Thames district, a position ho held for nine years. Promoted to an insnectorshin, he took charge of tho Wangamii district early in 1890, and in 1932 Commissioner Tunbridge gave him the Canterbury nnd North Otogo district, which i>osition he held till his resignation. Durin',' tho nine yours Mr. Gillies wis in charge of tho CanterburyNorth Otai.ro district, 96 per cent of the offences reported to the police wcro detected, the greater proportion of tho undetected foul , per cent, being cases relating to property that could not be identified. It iii duo to Mr. Gillies that the present classes of instruction for recruits wtro established. On his own initiative ho started a school of instruction in Christchurch. The matter was mentioned beforo tho Commission, of which «Jlr. I'oynton and Mr. Bishop, S.M., were members, and on their recommendation attendance nt similar classes of instruction was made compulsory in the four centres of tho Dominion. It is Mr. Gillies' boast that there has not been nn important case in any district of which he has lml charge that has not boon detected, and tho offenders brought .to justice. ' . . , ■