Rioting at Auckland

Hokitika Guardian, 15 April 1932, Page 5

Rioting at Auckland

(By Telegraph — I’er Brea Association)

Practically every shep window and rifled.

Jewellery, clothing, bottles of spiritous liquors and boxes of cigars and pipes were removed by bands of lawless youths and men. The total damage to the Queen Street shopkeepers is estimated at about £IOO,OOO. The city’s main street now resembles nothing so much as an earthquake stricken area. The fight outside of the Town Hall was a bitter and a sanguinary struggle. The police, who wore patrolling the unemployed as they marched in procession, and were guarding the entrances to the Town Hall, found themselves involved in a furious melee. Their batons were used liberally. Mounted police, and reinforcements of foot police, also fire engines and detachments of H.M.S. “.Philomel” were summoned, but even these forces were unable to keen control over the many bands of the rioters, who marched up and down Queen Street stoning windows, and looting and disorder being in progress from eight o’clock until nearly eleven o’clock. The origin of the trouble is obscure. The Post and Telegraph Employees held a procession up Queen Street at 7.30 o’clock in the evening. This was a preliminary to their holding a meeting at the Town Hall in order to protest against the wages cut. Though not invited, thq unemployed formed up a procession behind, but then the crowd poured out of the Town Hall and joined the throng outside.

START OF THE RIOTING. i Although the rioting did not break out until some time after the meeting "• held in the Town Hall had commenced, it was present in its incipient stages when the procession was making ' its way up Queen Street shortly after 7.30. There were irresponsible.*! in the crowd who had armed themselves with stones. hm, Wgi, at intervals dm ring the march JK?se were hurled at windows Those incidents were scattered, but they were the harbingers of the appalling scenes which followed. When the- Civil Servants, who had headed the procession, had entered the Town Hall, the main body of the unemployed, led by women in the sinrr- " ing of “The Red Flag,” were diverted into Grey’s Avenue for n time. Thev stoop there, orderly enough, listening to the opening remarks from

an amplifier. When the Town Hall doors leading on Grey’s Avenue were thrown open, the crowd rushed the hall and an ugly mob sp'Vit showed itself W the firsttime. Some of the crowd, who had gained, by force, access to the Hall, were ejected in a few minutes, and a considerable body then moved, round into Queen Street, just at the junction of Qnpen Street and Grey’s Avenue, where the loader of the demonstration was mounted on the balustrade, addressing, through a megaphone, tho hundreds of his followers, who had been crowded out from the meeting. The police were scattered, at intervals through the crowd, but they were comparatively few in number, and an 11 r dy undercurrent was already stirring. The leader shouted through the megaphone that violence was expected. The ' police were there, he said, and he and his friends were to be arrested, but, he said, the unemployed wore not to use any violence. They were to let the police do that. “If the police drew their batons,” be said, “crowd round them, and take tlmir batons off them, but do not use violence.” Another member ol the I nemplo.v<‘d Workers’ Association had jusfc started to address the crowd when a detachment of mounted police arrived, there being six of them, and they rode np rpiief.lv with no batons in evidence The reowd was by fliis I line complete" I v blocking Upper Queen SI reel , nut- / side ol the Town Hall, and the mount- } ed police, who were rein forced by coii--1 stables on foot, attempted to clear a passage through them. Their .arrival was signalled by an outbreak of violent mob liValeria, and the most disgraceful thing about it was that it. was led by women to a l n rge extent. -An .Auckland “Herald" reporter was .standing just near (la baliistrnil.* from which the le.idivs had )„-■ „ ; ,.|_ dressing the crowd, behind him Ifieie were .stand rig women vim vmv (screaming ol icon i ties ml tin* police, and inciting rnen to -I laid them off their horses." Just when batons were first drawn -nd used i| is difficult |o determine, The nioioiled policemi'ii, nri<| .several of the <*o *■.*-•(ali|<*s on loot led approached the hul.strade, when, sml denlv. an uglv melee developed. Immediately .the air was filled with curses

RADIO AT PE AT

UNEMPLOYED AND POLICE CLASH

£IOO,OOO DAMAGE IN QUEEN STREET

MANY POLICE & CIVILIANS INJURED

AUCKLAND, April 14. Appalling rioting and lotting, in which hundreds of the unemployed participated, occurred in Queen Street to-night. Fierce fighting broke out between a section of the rioters and and the po!i;e, in the vicinity of the Town Hali. - tones end fence palings were used in the fight. Soma hundreds of people have been treated at the Auckland Hospital for minor injuries. Three policemen were seriously injured. At le?st three civilians are in the hospital suffering from concussion while at least twenty arrests v/ere made. "

in Queen Street was smashed

There were "Herald” reporters outside the Town Hall throughout the disturbances, and not once was there the i oimd of a shot. The reinforcements of constables -arrived, but the police force was hopelessly outnumbered. The batons were being plied in -hand to hand encounters, and the rearing horses of the mounted police slowly forced the crowd back on to the pavement.

One mounted policeman had urged his horse on to the pavement at the corner of Queen -Street and Grey’s Avenue, when, a woman, standing in a small grass plot a- the junction of the two -streets, struck at him willi a long pole of a banner. He -evaded i*. but instantly, be was struck on tlm helmet by a dying rock. The crowd now w-as milling round in -u frenzy in the area enclosed by the intersection of Queen Street, Rutland Street, Lome Street, and Grey’s Avenue. -goon a section of 'the crowd diverted its -attention from the struggles with the police, and -started deliberately to smash windows. The action was contagious, and, before long, .(he crash of broken glass could he heard -above the din of -the crowd, In justice -to the genuine unemployed demonstrators, it must be stated that they were hardly responsible for this outbreak of -sabotage. Young “hoodlums’’ could be seen detaching ithemselves from the main crowd, and running down 'Queen Street, pausing in their headlong rush for an instant to hurl a rock through a show window. •Destruction was -let loose on the city All one -saw was a flying figure and sill one heard was a crash of glass.

The police were still engaged with, the crowd outside of the. Town Hall, and ithey were powerless to deal with the situation. Within a few -minutes, the read had been paved for lawlessness, which gripped the heart of the citv till late into the .night.

FOR SPECIAL CONSTABLES

AUCKLAND. Apr : l 14

,An appeal to all law-abiding ablebodied men <to assist in a restoration of order was broadcast by Station IYA on behalf of the Mayor, Mr G. AA . Hutchison, at 9.30 p.m.

The Mayor’s appeal was : “I feci it my duty to appeal .to every decent citizen o'f Auckland to stand by those in ’ authorVv in (Upholding .law, and ithus preventing any recurrence of tin* disgraceful riot;, that lias taken place in the city this evening. Tim trouble is .still proceeding, and I appeal In all law-abiding physically-lit men In report at once, armed with baton,s, to i the City Police Station to help tlr* | police to .stop the destruction of pnhlie and private- properly and In res! ore. I order." j At the same time, (’omUialuler le-r- ---! then, of 11.M.5. "Philomel, ’’ had llw I following message broadcast : “ 1 1m whole of the ship’s company ol tlm Philomel, except lie hoy-', al'e to np'iH nil board the Philomel i nmwdin lel v The response vas inmmdia.te, many special conslabh-.s he big sworn in at I the I’nl'.e Statical, and nioi will l.ft j | a ken nil tn-mnri'n w. I Calmness was nia i• I aim’d in I Imcj| v theatre , by the act inn ol the mail tigers in Imping |lm lews ol tlm .'i' ' i away from the audiences, many of whom did not know ol (rouble till ithev came nut into the scenes of rum in Queen Street. 'the theatres were not interfered with by .the rioters. The managers extinguished the. outside lights, llms giving tlm impression that .the I. lmal re.*; were closed.

and shouts. Riot in its most; hideous form, .incomparable in the history of New Zealand had broken out. Its

flames -spread like wildfire. The -crowd roared with one voice and for all the appeals of its leaders,

that voice was ithe voice of violence. As if by magic, batons then appeared among the crowd, -and then rocks started '■!) hurl ithrough the air, aimed at the mounted policemen, whose figured rose above the heads of the crowd. The batons were plied freely as the police rode round the outskirts of the crowd, which was now clear of the middle of the street outside the Town Hall. Olio rock crashed through the window of a --hop opposite hhe Town Hall, -and, like wildfire the shout went round: "The brutes -are firing on us!” and for hours afterwards in Queen Street, the rumour iStill persisted thatfirearms had been used.

THE CASUALTIES

AAIBULAXCE WORK

CROWD Sl’yOES DOWN STREET

MANY WINDOAA’S SMASHED

AIXKI.ANO, April 1-t

Shortly before 9 o’clock, a crowd started to -surge down Queen Street. The first wave consisted mainly of you tbs bent on destruction and looting. Shop window after shop window was smashed, some with feet, and oLhei's by wtunes thrown with deliberation from the street.

Within a lew minutes, the mob was intoxicated with the spirit of destruction. At each yaru down the street, the looting spirit increased, and by the time that the lower section ot Queen Street had been reached, there were groups openly seizing goods from windows, and outside one shoe ston •some ol tile men were hold enough to try on the shoes which they had taken from the window. Four girl.s broke a jeweller’s window, .seizing what came to hand. The number of stones that were thrown to break windows suggested premeditation, as there are no loose '.stones in Queen Street. Outside a small mercery shop, one youth said to a mate: “What- about thus: one?” The reply was: “No! Only cheap jack stuff here! AA e will get a- better window!” Many were swaggering about, proudly showing handkerchiefs and ties iround cut hands.

Practically every shop window in the whole length of Queen Street with anything inviting in it was smashed, particularly the jewellery shops, and wll the big stores like those of Milne and Choyce, John Court and Son®, and .Smith and Cougihev. The window fronts of all of these big stores were shattered.

AH of the grocery shops met the same fate.

The police and navy patrols had no control of the mob for two hours, because, as soon as they passed one point the breaking and looting were resumed. AATierever there was a hotel window with liquor displayed, this was smashed, and the contents were looted.

The rioting also led to the destruction of many window,? from which there was nothing to loot. Lights were also smashed, so that the street was soon in darkness, ami traffic- wa!? impossible. At a late hour it is impossible to estimate the damage in the city, but probably no window escaped, and the jewellery and drapers and grocers have lost large quantities of their stocks.

TWELVE POLICEMEN INJURED

AUCKLAND, April 14

During the nobs, many were injured including both police and civilians, several being seriously injured.

The casualties? so far as known in tin; hospital are:

Detective Si. C. Whitehead, of the Central Police Station, who lias head injuries and concussion, his condition being serious. Constable A. Hinton, a. mounted constable, of Qnehunga, who has head injuries and concussion, hi,? condition being serious. Constable A\ r Cook, of the Central Station, who has bead injuries and concussion, bis condition being seri-

, ous. Others injured are;— Sergeant Bruce Thompson, of tho Waterfront Police; a head injury. Constable John King, of the Central Station, .a head, injury. Constable R, McNeill, of the Central Station, who has a broken nose. Constable F. Solly, of the Central ; Station, an injury to the left pyo. J Constable K. Bong, a mounted constable. of New Lynn, a seal]) wound. Constable S. Audley, of the Waterfront Police, a scalp wound. Constable L. Morgan, of the Central Station, an injury to tho right eye. Constable G. Edwards, of the Central Station, an injury to the rignt hand Constable J. Shields, of the Vimlsonby Station, an injury to the arm. Vladimir Antonievic, aged 35, mar- • rie, of Xo. -12, Mount Albert Road. I Aft. Roiskhill, has a severe cut on the ! left hand, but it is not serious. | Tlie names of many of the injured ! civilians are not known. 1

OYER. 150 CASUALTIES FEARED

AUCKLAND. April 14

Pressing nil its available resources into service the St. John’s Ambulance Association, directed fmm its lieadqunrteiy; in Rutland Street, gave distinguished service throughout the riot. Tho number of casualties Irealed was estimated olliciallv this evening |o be more Ilian 150; lull t here is li 11 h* doiihl that, the actual figure wn>« lar in excess of this. There was one for I inui I e circum-i-'lance wlii. li an-isted I lie Ambulance in its emergeiii y. The .Auckland Division ol the Brigade was- a-semhlod in the Rutland Street Station flail, and was 1)0*1 'ino an address when the alarm was given 11 1 ->t tin riot was in proC'es** at tile 'l'llu II Hall. Tho |e*lure meelir;g was iet-lanllv i! : • L-i udcil. and everyone »»'*"- c 11 ! wa... callcl for .-'frvjro. I'rg’oit call* fur assistance n ue :il:,o sent In I lie suburban < cut res wi! h a result ilial tin* Association ullinialelv had a Con*' of piohalilv one hundred andmlanee men at ifr disposal nl I lie Town I lull, where the uiveiiev was mild aeuln. t) ll riit«r I In* earlv slaves of the idol, a depot was sieodil.v a r ranoeil, villi a strong* stall. A minor station also was established in a vac-

ant- hall in Airedale Street at a handy distance from the Town Hall.

OYER 150 CIVILIANS TREATED

Of the 150 oases estimated to have been treated bv the ambulance, twelve were police da-limlties, .necessitating the conveying to the Auckland Hospital of injured officers, three of whom I . ’ ... now Jie jn a serious condition. Other constables received attention for lesser injuries!. Alo-st of them received attention at the First Aid Station a;; the Town Hall, during the ugliest stage of the riot, while several were treated atRutland Street and also at the Central Police Station. Several Tuvmen from the Central Brigade, in Pitt Street, also wore, hin t in couT.-c of the riot. Dy) There was no time for. discrimination on the part of the ambulance men, who worked under theygroatest difficulty, and all cases where wounds were regarded as more than light were immediately sent to the hospital. An it happened the majority of injured did not require attention in the casua 11y de pa rtment. Scuffles continued outside the Town Hall for some time. Hoots, cheers andcurses wore mingled with the occasional shrieks of women.

At every few minutes, ambulance men would make their way through the crowd, supporting some limp or staggering burden. Evenually discipline prevailed over the rabble, and the crowd was slowly forced down into Queen Street proper, a hooligan element going to- carry on a career of‘looting. Others wandered up and down Queen Street till a late hour, gazing at the shop wreckage, after one of the blackest nights in New Zealand’s history,

REFERENCE in house.

GOVERNMENT’S ATTITUDE

TO UPHOLD LAW AND ORDER AVELLINGTON, April 15. Reference to the Auckland disturbance was made in the House of Representatives last night. Hon G. AA . Forbes detailed the events and stated matters were then in hand, and groups of citizens were patrolling the streets and a constable was accompanying each group, lie regretted that in a country celebrated for its observance of law and order, such a happening should have taken place. It must be realised that law aiul order would be maintained. He appealed to all respons file citizens to -assist the police in the execution of their duty. Mr Fraser—This is a direct result of the Government's policy.

.Air Forbeu said the Government bad every sympathy with those out of work, and Mr Coates and the Unemployment Board were doing their utmost with the funds available, to provide relief. The Prime' Minister said the unfortunate position was only made worse by the disturbance, in which the premises of innocent citizen' 1 Were damaged and trouble caused. Such occurrences would, no doubt, only alienate the sympathy that had Ijoen shown so abundantly through the country. Government would nob tolerate disturbance.

Mr Semple—The people won’t tolerate starvation. The Leader of the Opposition said tho Prime Minister had taken advantage of the opportunity to make attacks on a certain section ol the community and wao doing so without haling tlie full facts of tho position before him. Everyone regretted the disturbances and sympathised with those injured, but it would surely be recognised that the trouble was the direct result of Government policy. Labour members bad warned tlie Government that its policy wag likely to lead to happenings ol this kind. Ihe people would not he content to starve, amid plenty. Every member on the Labour benches would stand for observ-' ance of law and order, but the low must be such that it operated in the interest of the whole community. He appealed to the Government to adandou the policy which was caus'ng dusturbalives of this kind. What hRI happened at Dunedin and Auckland were only the indication of the gathering storm. It was only the beginning of trouble unless the Government took some action.

Hon. J. G. Coates pointed out that when the Unemployment Amendment Dill was passed by the Council there would be additional provision for relief. lie alleged much of the disturbance had been the result of misleading declarations of many- not all — members of the opposition. Mr .lonian That’s unfair. Mr Coates reminded members of the opposition of their responsibilities.

Mr ,Semple— You know some of us luivc tried to keep men at work.

Mr Coates That’s right. Comiiiu iig. tli ( , Minister said as lar as possible l,ln* Government would make provisi. | m - increased funds, and if the determination of citizens to cope with the posHjiin.l was maintained, the „ M . would be made of the fund. No one would be allowed lo starve. if w-., s sent in I that law and order should li.. maintain, d.

Mr Enver said lie wauled to make ;i dect I v clear that, memberr. of the t)pp..sll ion i*ollld C'CI e,il no resp. le d - '|j | x fur I li. present t rooM.*. Ihe ;t iI A ml-, uf |hr Labour i'al'l.v had I, eii for work, ; lid adepuale sustenance

must lie I divided. The pre. «-nI iles perate si ( mi ion was the result, ol taillire to provide nilc<|iinle .-iisteiia lice. Mr I’arr.v said lie regretted but li* 1 1 .,,| |o sav il was no more Ilian In had expecled. lie a! I riliuled Ihe who I '' | rouble 111 Ihe all it tide of I lie Governllie*!: | in lace ol I lie sUllellllgs ol lll'* people. The House limn adjoin tied.