SERIOUS POSITION

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 219, 10 May 1932, Page 5

SERIOUS POSITION

SPORTSMEN OFF END INDISCRIMINATE SHOOTING CAUSES GRAVE DANGER TRESPASSERS CONVICTED An indication " that persoiis trespassing .on private~"property1 and guilty oF irresponsible shoot-) ing, 'would be sev^rely dfealt witjju if they came hefore the court, was given hy Mr. S : L. Paterson, S.M., yesterday morning— when convicting three men who - were brought beforei him charged" with trespassing and distusrbing stock on the property of Evans and Son at Lake Okareka. The Magistrate stated that the * evidence of Mr. Evans and another adjourning property oHvner disclosed a most serious position and one which must stop. During the course of the case, Mr. Evans and- a neighbour, Mr. Basley, stated that indiscrimate. shooting on their properties had become so .. dangerous that unless something was done to stop the actiyities of trespassers, they would be compelled to leave- their holdings. , Notices prohibiting trepassing they stated, had been removed, and considerable damage had been done through fires started by parties of trespassers. In" , ; addition, valuable stoek had been killed by stray bullets, while there was a grave danger that a serious aecident might be caused by the. indiseriminate shooting which had been cai-ried on. The Magistrate stated that as th.e cases before him were the first brought, he would not impose fipes, hut would inflict substantial cpsts which would re-imhurse Mr. Evans for bringing tha action. If the warning was not heeded any further persons appearing before him, would he severely dealt with. The first two defendants charged were S. Wright and Raymond Crosbia, of Papakura, but as service had not been effeeted in the case of Grosbie, only the action against Wright was dealt with by the R. Potter appeared for Mr. Evans and called a neighbour of the complainant, Percy Herbart Basley. Absolutely Dangerous Mr Basley stated that for months past both Mr. Evans and himself had been pestered by shooting over their properties until at Easter time it had been absolutely dangerous to venture out on the back conntry. T ~--L he had lost stock valued at £80 through careless shooting, while this season he had had to move stock to keep it out of. danger. .About Christmas time some persons on Mr Evans' property had been responsible for a fire which destroyed 1000 acres of rough feed and had placed Mr Evans in such a position that he had now nowhere to place his stock. Last year, while he had been working in his garden, two bullets had . passed within 20 yards of him, while avery time that he rode over a spur after stock, he felt that he might be struck by a stray missile. Matters had become so serious that ha had informed the Commissioner of Grown Lands that unless the shooting could be suppressed, he would have to walk off his property. So far as the defendant Wright was eoncerned, it must hava been obvious to him that he was on private land, as there was a strong" fence erected which he must have encountered. The defendant, who conducted his own case, pointed out • to tha witness by means of a map, the ronte whieh he followed and Mr. Basley admitted that on this route, he would not have encountered the fence. Great Deal of Trouble The owner of the property, Henry Evans, Senr., produced He said^that he had at present 800 sheep , and 350 head of cattle on his farm. Since he had taken the property, lie had had a great deal of trouble > persons trespassing on his land with dogs and guns. He had put up potipes forbidding shooting, hut they had been pulled down, while a large area of rough feed had been ruined by a fire which he attributed to some of these trespassers. - On April 13, he had heard a number of rifle shots, and his son later told him that he had caught two men and taken their names. The next day there was more shooting, and on the 16th about a dozen shots were fired. Shooting continued every day until the 24th, and on the 25th, his son caught four men who all refused to give their names and made off before they could be identified. This party was "very cheeky." A man riding among" the tall fern after the stock might easily be hit by a stray bullet, while the stock was very much disturbed hy the shooting and refused to stay in one place. He spent three days driving sheep to one part of the farm and the next day, as the result of their being frightened by shooting, they were back again where they were driven from. "If this goes on, I will have to leave the place — it is getting too hot for me," were the witness's final words hefore leaving the box. Henry Evans Junr., a son of the previous witness, said that on Aprfi^. 13 he had heard shooting on the back of the property and W ridden over to investigate. He had found a number of hullocks, which were grazing over this area, very much disturbed, and then had seen Wright coming down a.hill with two legs of dee'r slung on his back. H.e took the defendant's name and later saw another man who said that he was Wright's mate and gave the name of . R. Clarksom" Witness had since aseertained that this nanie was false and that the man's correct name was Ray- : mond Crosbie. I This evidence was- corroborated by [ George Shirley Hutehins who said that | he accompanied the preyious witness I One day when they were driving into S Rotorua in Mr Basley's lorry, they I met a man' on a motor cycle with a dog and gun and riding in the direcI tion of their property. . Mr. Basley i stopped the man and warnecl him not l , il i_ .