THE GOLD ROBBERY AT CLYDE.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2275, 22 August 1870, Page 2

THE GOLD ROBBERY AT CLYDE.

The Dunsfan Times gives a very circumstantial account of the search for the hidden treasure, and the arrest of Rennie. •About the month of May MacLennon appears first to have conceived the idea of the robbery, and visited the A rrow on leave of absence. He took with him (according to Rennie’s statement) one of the screws of the treasure boxes, from which Rennie m'de a key, by which- he could open the boxes. MacLennon and Rennie returned to Clyde together, and the whole of the details were arranged, and opportunity only wanting to carry the plan into execution. In the meantime MacLennon was not idle. Hc ingeuiously contrived the dark lantern which was used on the occasion, and drew the screws from the plate of the bolt which fastened the treasure room, cut oft’ the greater portion of the worms, and then replaced them, so as to facilitate the taking off the bolt. On the 3rd of July Rennie again visited Clyde, with the intention of perpetrating the robbery, but it was deemed impolitic to do it on that night, as his accomplice was on guard. On the 31st ult. Rennie again came down, when it unfortunately happened there was no guard over the treasure, and succeeded in perpetrating as skilfully Arranged a robbery as was ever committed. Rennie at first stated lie had acted alone, but subsequently state! that, shortly aft-r I a.m., aftc tying his his horse to a fence, he proceeded to the camp, where MacLennon awaited him. MacLennon opened the outer door and Rennie went inside, unfas'oucd the inner door, and carried away two boxes of treasure to the wall, upon which he placed them. There he opened them, and having packed the gold into the saddle-bags, threw the dark lantern and empty boxes into a shallow pool of water. Everything being so far successful, he mounted'his horse, and started on his return journey, avoiding the town. Rennie said, “On just getting out of the town my heart gave way, and I regretted what 1 had done.” About a mile out of the town, finding his horso could not travel with the great weight, Rennie planted a portion of the treasure in three places, keeping in his possession two hags of gold (containing respectively twenty-three and two hundred ounces) and three bundles of notes. With theg lie poccedcd, and reached within ten miles of the Arrow, whep lug l)pise knocked up, aud he was compelled to pesort to the measures described by our Arrow correspou- I dent.

Those measures are thus described On Sunday, the 31st ultimo, at noon, Rennie left the Arrow on horseback, after his usual fashion. He informed.his friends that he was merely going for a ride, and the civ-

no attention whatever. The horse that he rode from Clyde, and whibh knocked up with him at the Ten-mile Shanty,* on the Crown Range, was the real cause of the discovery of the robbery. From what I can learn, Rennie had great difficulty in bringing the horse along the last few miles before reaching the shanty, or rather the place where the shanty once stoo I, and when he got there the animal would proceed no further, and he was compelled to abandon it. In a thicket of scrub close by he lit a lire, and changed his clothes, burned the suit he had worn, also the head portion of the bridle. Ho appeared not to have succeeded very satisfactorily in destroying the leather and clothes, as a little farther on towards the Arrow' he lit a second lire. After this he probably put the notes and gold which he had been carrying into the lining of the saddle, slinging the load on his back by the bridle reins. On Monday morning, between eight and nine o’clock, Harry Cook, a man who owns some cattle and a store on the bank of the Kawarau, about a quarter of a mile from the site of the old ten-mile shanty, fancied that he smelt a peculiar smell of something burning. He went* to see, and a short distance from bis house saw a lire, while a horse, evidently very much exhausted, was standing close by. A man was also there. Cook made towards the man, who was going in the direction of the Arrow, and between 400 and 500 yards off. He followed in the direction the man bad taken, and shortly came upon him in a little hollow, lying down with his face towards the ground. He was dressed in a dark coat and trowsers, and looked like a drunken digger. Cook seeing'the butt-end of a revolver under his coat, passed on without speaking, and returned home. On the following day, Tuesday, he saw the horse feeding alongside- the road, but did nut see it on Wednesday. Cook, living, in such an out-of-the-way place, did not hear of the robbery; therefore his suspicions were not aroused. Ho saw the remains of burnt clothing but concluded the'inau had merely burnt an old dirty suit which was pfobably full of vermin. On the Saturday following a man called at Cook’s store, and rested to boil his billy. From him Cook first hmrd of the Gold Escort robbery. He then told the man what he had seen on Monday, relating all the circumstances. The same man came into Arrowtown, and went on Monday last to Messrs Hallenstein’s store to purchase a shirt. He then related to Mr limes, the storeman, what Cook had told him, Mr Innes promptly communicated with the police, but he denied his statement to Mr Innes. Mr limes saw the man again the next day, and enquired why he denied what he had told him to the po’ice. The man replied that he did so ‘because he thought his statement might get him into a scrape. Ho left the Arrow shortly afterwards for the nose. of going to Moke: Creek via ur’s Point Bridge. Mr Indies-wrote at once to Constable M'Gann, a“. Queenstown, informing him of the circumstance. Mr Arndt, Messrs Halleusteiu's manager at Arrowtown, also saw the man, who informed him that lie denied to the police 'what he told Mr Innes because he was afraid of getting into a scrape. When Mr Arndt saw Constable M'Gann at A.rrowtqwn shortly afterwards, he informed him of the circumstances of the man, and suggested, a search on the Crown Terrace, which was jind remains of two fires found, also ,the charred re nains of the head stall of a riding b' idle, a pair of molsskm trousers, a piece of the rim of a felt hat, a false moustache made from th? hair of a horses’ tail, and bound up with a pi ce of shoeniaker’s 'wax' end, fa’se whiskers made of curie I horsehair the same as used for stuffing saddles, also a mixed tweed coat of a greenish hue partly b’utnt, and underneath a stqie was found' a bit. From these circumstances /Rennie was suspected, and effotts were made to identify him with the property. On Saturday morning last, Mr James Gan oway, of the Royal Oak Hotel, was called into the Bank of New Zealand by the police, and asked if he could identify the remains of the bridle found. He could not do so. On passing Rennie’s shop, on his way home, Rennie called in Mr Garroway, and enquired what the Police wanted and what information he had given, wheu lie described the circumstances of the burnt bridle. Mr Gairaway noticed that Rennie changed color greatly. Mr George Barkef from the description given by the Police believed he could identify the bridle, and upon its production, with the bit, by by Cons tab 1 c M'Gann recog. icdit as apqrti q of v bridle once hanging np in Mr name’s saddler’s shop which he (Revnie) had charge of. Mr Barker (hen went to camp and saw the remains of the clothes, which he could not positively identify, but he said that he believed he had seen the coat worn by q, tall policeman (meaning MacLemioii, now in custody at Clyde). The Police then went to Rennie’s shop, who denied all knowledge of the robbery, but from facts that afterwards transpired, they wwit to his premises again about four o’clock, and informed him that he must consider himself in custody. They then kept a strict watch over him until between ten and eleven p.m., when they arrested him and took him to the lock-up.