BARN SET ON FIRE
MAN ADMITS ARSON SENT FOR SENTENCE (Per Press Association.) ROTORUA, this clay. David Fraser Watson, aged 20, a labourer and seaman, in the Police Court yesterday admitted a charge of arson 'by setting fire to a barn the property of Harold Hardcastle, Rotorua, and he was committed to the Supreme Court for sentence.
The accused, who had been employed on the farm only a fortnight, in a statement to the police admitted that, on Saturday, August 19, he set fire to a barn by throwing into it a lighted celluloid comb. He claimed that he acted on the spur of the moment, as a result of a grievance against the farm manager, who, he alleged, had complained to the placement officer that he was not suitable for the job.
The manager, In evidence, estimated the damage at £737, the insurances amounting to £390. The barn, in addition to 500 bales of hay, contained a tractor, a car, and a number of farm implements. The tractor and car were saved, but the hay and the majority of the implements were burned.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GISH19390825.2.148
Bibliographic details
Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20025, 25 August 1939, Page 14
Word Count
184BARN SET ON FIRE Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20025, 25 August 1939, Page 14
Using This Item
The Gisborne Herald Company is the copyright owner for the Gisborne Herald. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of the Gisborne Herald Company. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Log in