RIOTING AT WAITARA

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 425, 9 January 1933, Page 5

RIOTING AT WAITARA

(Press. Assn.-

WORKERS ATTACKED S I." - MEN SEVERELY HANDLED AND WINDOWS SMASHED SHOTGUN IN ACTION

-By Telegraph — Cep>rlght>.

New Plymouth, Sunday At Waitara on Saturday night two attacks were made oii free- labourers, One being beaten almost unconscious. The trouble continued for some hours, and police were summoned from New Plymouth. The strikers used stones and smashed the windows of a house of a free labourer, narrowly missing the occupants. One house in whieh there were eight free labourers was surrounded hy a crowd of about 150, including several women, from midnight until 2 a.m. Two niotor cycles were put out of action. When they saw trouble brewing, the two constables enlisted two citizens as special constables. The feeling whieh had been tense early in the evening came to a head at 10 o'clock. Tlie trouble eommenced owing- to the presence of two free labourers. One got away down the street and the other was surrounded hy a number of men and severely handled. Two other workers were at» tacke.d about the same time. One, Edgar Tate, suffered injuries to his face and a broken nose. On Saturday night, after a dance, Borthwick's property was the subject of a barrage of road metal, and one free labourer's house on the. other side of the river had the windows hroken. Ple jurnped out of bed, seized ?. shot gun and fired after the figures he saw disappearing down the road. Ile had his feet cut by glass from the hroken windows. After the arrival of the police from New Plymouth all was quiet and quite norma! by four a.m. One man was taken into custody.