BOY’S DEATH

Hokitika Guardian, 26 November 1932, Page 6

BOY’S DEATH

FATHER CHARGED

SYDNEY! SENSATION

SYDNEY, November 17,

Last Thursday morning about 4.30, a maid in the/ sdrvice of Mr Nathaniel Govett, the wealthy owner of one of t„e many luxurious homes on Bellevue Hill, was aroused by a sudden cry of fear' or pain. Slipping out of bed she opened her door and' saw a beam id ligli'i* coming from the room occupied by Phillip, the son of the house, a boy of 18, who had just left school. As she watched, the bev himself staggered through the doorway, his face and head gtreamng with blood/and behind him, though dimly, in the half darkness, the maid saw the figure of a man.

The terrified woman cried aloud and the boy though shockingly injured, could 1 only murmur, “I don’t know.” Thj household was aroused and a doctor was summoned, but he cou'd only say that there was little hone, and though there was some talk of an operation, the boy, who had lapsed into unconsciousness, died before any effective steps could he taken to pi‘ilong his life.

This tragedy was sufficiently horrible in itself to arrest public attention. The boy had a brilliant carter at Sydney Grammar School, but the old father—he is now 81—had refused to allow him to enter a profession, insisting thati he l needed Jjim at home. So young Govett lived in the big house on the hill with his aged father, the old - man’s unmarried daughter, and a sister-in-law. From the time he left school till the end of his life, he was hid father’s constant companion, driving him about in his car, and apparently the two were bound together not only by relationship, but by strong personal affection. At the outset it was difficult to suggest any motive for such a crime Among other things,’the police had to take into account the fact that no robbery had been attempted, and tint two vigilant watch-dogs sleeping on the verandah, had raised no alarm. A careful search of the grounds resulted in the discovery of the weapon—a sharp hatchet, blood-stained, concealed in the grass. And then on the heels of tragedy came a most dramatic sensation —the arrest of old Nathaniel Govett. ‘ BORN IN NEW ZEALAND. Tt is, of coure, impossible to sift the false from the true among the many rumours by which the case is already Obscured. But it seems that poor young Govett’s life has been darkened by tragedy since his infancy. He wad born in New Zealand, when Nathaniel- Govett was 63 years of'age; and when his mother returned to Sydney, the story goes that “the wealthy old man pledged himself to care for the child, and give him his name.” The mother died before The child 1 could speak, and the father fulfilled his promise. Philip Govett gre'w up in this homo of wealth and comfort, accepted by all as Nathaniel - Govett’s son and heir.

The old man’s wealth and his expectations seem to have played someobscure part in this straffg tragedy. Old Govett was a retired sch 00l teacher, and having saved some money he had' increased it greatly by speculating in real estate. He had also received tw r o substantial legacies from Home, but young Philip also had expectations from his mother’s side of the family, and it was believed that lie was entitled to a considerable inheritance on reaching the age of 21. It. ha§ beeni suggested that this expectation may have some bearing on the crime, if it can be shown that any person was likoy to benefit financially by the Boy’s death. FATHER AT FUNERAL.

Nathaniel Govett was thus arrested and at the inquiry he presented a sa r i and tragic spectacle. Old and feeble, extremely deaf, and clearly bewildered by the rapid course of events, he seemed barely conscious of his surroundings. Hu was remanded for medical observation, but his counsel asked that he might bo allowed to attend his son s funeral, as “a very great affection existed between father and son.” And so, when the funeral cortege started for the South Cemetery a crowd of over 1000 surged round the car in which the old man sat,' beside a I detective. “He looked neither to. the right nor the left,” we are told, “and lie did not speak. He showed no sign of sorrow.” And he watched the coffin lowered into the grave with the same impassive gravity, turning nvaj to comfort his weeping daughter. Until the inquiry reopens, the general public) will hear little more of this tragic story. But in the meantime, strange rumours are afloat, pointing to possible developments which mil) conceivably throw light upon 'his ghastly crime from quite a different angle. For the past month on Bellevue Ilill detectives from Waverley have boon trying to track down aim arrest “ a sinister figure who has b-ren terrifying the neighbourhood.” J’wo women employed in the house of Dr Foy, next door to Govott’s have seen this prowler, and they both describe him as thin-faced and cadaverous, "’ith wild and staring eyes. Whenever he lias been seen lie had hounded awa.v into the darkness with great agilitv, and his appearance and actions certainly seem to suggest that lie .s, as tile residents in this quarter belic\e, <1 dangerous maniac. • The police hnu. laid several traps for him, but in vain, nnd ho is still wandering at large .n the locality. The Govett residence is separated from Toy’s only by a low hedge, which anyone could leap over

or break through. Is! it not conceivable that poor young Govett has been murdered by a homicidal lunatic, wandering aimlessly through the night? And is it possible that the shadowy form that the maid saw in the gray light of dawn when young! Govett staggered from his room was not, as the police seem to believe, his father, hut this maniac murderer? These conjectures must await confirmation or rejection later on, but in the agitated state of feeling into which people in this locality have been driven by this startling tragedy, it is not strange that they should recall that the Say well murder—one of the most ghastly mysteries in ouil criminal records—is still unsolved: Over six months ago Victor Savwell, one of the wealthiest and best known members cf our sporting society, was attacked in bis luxurious 1 home on tlrs same Bellevue Hill, and the murderer who battered him to death also in bind Mrs Say well so severely that she is paralysed and speechless. It is natin.ii that, in the public mind, these crimes should he associated.