RIOT AT FREMANTLE.'

Hokitika Guardian, 16 May 1919, Page 3

RIOT AT FREMANTLE.'

LOYALISTS VERSUS STRIKERS. ! MANY PERSONS INJURED. | j SYDNEY, May 5. j A very serious position has developed at Fremantle. There was much fighting there yesterday between the police 1 and huge mobs, and authority seems to have been successfully defied. There was a strike at Fremantle a considerable time ago, and the wharves were eventually worked and the strike broken by voluntary workers, and the Government promised it would stand by i these men who were known as Natjonj alists. Lately, the - militant unionists ] have ngitated strongly against the coni tinned presence of the Nationalist workers on the wharves, and they finally ! went on strike. They declared they , would allow no work to be done on the i wharves until the Nationalists were re- . moved. The Government resolved that the wharves should be worked by the , Nationalists, under polifco protection ! and behind .barriers. The trouble cul- , niinated yesterday when an attempt was made to erect barriers. Arrangements, carried out with a considerable degree of secrecy, had been made to bring a batch of volunteers from Perth to erect the barriers, and the first intimation that the lumpers intended to precipitate a conflict was when a number of motors conveying some of the volunteers was being driven across the North Fremantle Bridge, where they were met with a fusilade of stones from lumpers, who had con-

cealed themselves beld»d the bridge embankment. One of the oars was driven by a lady, who, with two others, was hit on the body by the missiles. Some time later a 'auiich wiili more volunteers was sight.ed, and a large body of lumpers assembled on the railway bridge. Immediately it was seen that the men premeditated trouble, police were despatched to remove them but they, were there in such number, that the constables were powerless. The crowd, which included- a number of women, were armed with missiles of every description, When the launch passed under the bridge it was subjected to a fusillade of stones and other missiles, without, however doing injury to the occupants. Having passed the bridge the launch proceeded on its way down stream. In the meantime the crowd on the road bridge had signalled to their comrades on the railway bridge. A mixed crowd ran madly along the edge of the river bank, shouting to the men stationed on the bridge, “Not to let the ‘scabs’ pass. ’ A squad of foot police had been despatched to the railway bridge armed with bayonets, but they were greatly outnumbered by lumpers and their sympathisers and were powerless to force tb.e crowd from the bridge. Three police attempted to make their way along the narrow footway, but the crowd stood its ground and jeered at the constables. As the launch came within a stone’s throw a fresh volley of road metal was hurled at t-lic occupants and as she passed underneath the bridge span, great boulders and heavy pieces of iron were dropped on her deck. The launch was considerably damaged, one heavy piece of. iron penetrating tlig bridge deck. The occupants, however, escaped injury, hut several had miraculous escapes.

The remainder of the police had been formed tip into t"’o lines at the Clift iit root end of the wharf, about 40 mounted men facing the Cliff street approach, near the Harbour Trust buildings, the foot police facing eastward towards the bridges. A few men with fixed bayonets had been hurried along to guard the eastern approaches to the wharf. At that time there were only about 200 lumpers congregated there, including the president of the union (Air W. Renton). These men offered no resistance to the nolice. Air Renton himself took the initiative in withdrawing hi s men outside the line formed by the mounted police. “Come on, boys,” he remarked, “it is. no use resisting.” As soon as the launch passed safely through the bridges the men and women who had been storming it surged past the police almost frenzied with excitement. The foot police advanced to meet the surging crowd, a number of the mounted police being called to reinforce their comrades.

CONFUSION AND DISORDER

The arrival of this new body of angry men and women was received with vociferous cheers by the other section of the lumpers, who were being kept back by the mounted police, and the new arrivals were armed with : manner of weapons, including sticks stones, pieces of iron, and fmall pieces of chain. Gradually the crowd was pressed back by the police. Several of the police were hit with the flying missiles and they thereupon drew thenbatons and used them on the men. For a. time all was confusion and disorder. ; As the men continued to throw stones the 'police retaliated. Men were seen to fall on both'sides and h was not long before several of the police and these men were trampled underfoot by the excited crowd. Early in the encounter three policemen were disabled, two of them receiving ugly gashes over their eyes. Eventually the lumpers wer forced off the wharf, and the crowd then took up a position in the Fremantle railway yards from wlijjih position they continued to hurl missiles. Both the president of the union and the secretary of the Trades Fall received injuries in the conflict, and this, together with the fact that a returned soldier had been try.netted, worked tile crowd up to siich a state of frenzy that the situation hud become desperate. Overwhelmed by superior numbers it was realised that the police could hold out no longer, ! against the lumpers, unless either they

t were provided with tho reinforcements or they were provided with weapons ! such as might have sui effect to over- ' awe tile crowd. I 'I T IK I? TOT ACT. I Up to tliis stage the majority of tfio police had only used their hayonets, I while the remainder were being provid-1 ed with rifles and bayonets. No cartridges had been handed out to the men, j hut when things became desperate it was decided to read the ITiot Act. Cartridges were then handed out to that section of the police armed with ■ that section of the police armed with I rifles, and these men took up a position facing the crowd. At this critical I juncture Inspector Sollenger approach-

ing the men, liis appearance being greeted with cheers from a portion of , the men. He appealed to them to remain quiet for ten minutes, and he asked that the leaders should come forward and confer with the Premier. This was agreed to by the men, and the officer mentioned, after appealing to the men to remain calm, went across and consulted with the Commissioner of Police and authorities. It' was pointed out that the Government was anxious to avoid any bloodshed. Air McCallum replied that there was not the slightest hope of keeping the men back in their present mood. If the Premier would give liis assurance that no Nationalists were left on the wharf he would go back and get the consent of the men to agree to an armistice foi Half an hour. By 11 o’clock tlio crow>l had reached enormous proportions, iinmediately the plans of the Government had become known bellmen had been despatched tq all the outlying districts, and every minute brought fresh

reinforcements, Those who had taken up a stand at flip Cliff street entrance were anxious tq effect a junction with tiie large and more militant crowd assembled in the railway vards. SHOTS FIRED,

They were, however, shut off from their comrades for a time. The railway goods shed, which is surrounded with a high galvanised fence, provided an effective barrier to tlielr purpose, but as the excitement grew more intense several of the bolder spirits jumped the fence, and ran along inside the enclosure towards the station. As the mounted police were unable to effect an entrance to the enclosure the rest of the crowd scrambled over the fence, and it was not long before the two bodies had effected a junction. With this addition to their already large force the crowd became even morp hostile in their demeanour and surged-towards the police, once more armed with pieces of coal and stones. The women among the crowd appeared to be even more desperate than the men. They were in the front ranks. The crowd, fully 2000 strong, advanced towards the police, and the bitter immediately charged, and were again met with a volley of road-metal and coal. Some of the mounted moil a]sQ set their horses at a gallop towards the crowd, apd in the encounter that followed several of the police and lumpers were injured, One of the latter, a returned soldier, sustained a nasty gash in the thigh as the result of a bayonet thrust. Several shots were fired by someone in the crowd, and a little later when the mounted men again charged along the goods shed enclosure, one of the constables was fired at twice in quick succession.

■After further parley between the Premier, the Commissioner of Police, and the lumpers ’delegates, Air Colebatch said that if the lumpers would agree not to indulge in further violence be would give liis assurance that nio more work would be done by volunteers that day. This was agreed to by the men’s representatives, and on receiv-

ng an assurance that the volunteers

would not be molested on their trip up the river, the Premier and the whole of

die volunteers took their departure,

At the conclusion of the melee Air. Dennis, vice-President of the executive of the R.S.A., addressed a large gathering of returned men, who carried

the following resolution: “That we as returned soldiers are prepared to defend the rights of the public against the tyranny of the present Government, and to avenge the blood of our wounded comrade.”

In the afternoon a body of about 4000 unionists paraded the main streets and wrecked the employment bureau on the wharf, destroying all the books. In all, 35 casualties are reported, 26 of them being police. The strikers hope to involve the railway unions in the attempt to keep the Nationalist workers off the wharves. General meetings of three railway unions will be held to consider the position.

In the meantime the butter, meat, potato, and sugar famine continues in Perth, and as all tile four nor’-west cattle carrying boats are held up at Fremantle, meat supplies earinotl be brought down from Kimberley.