Old Man Refuses to Leave Raupo Whare

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 701, 28 June 1929, Page 1

Old Man Refuses to Leave Raupo Whare

COURT HARANGUED “PROTECTION OF THE KING” “I decline to move,” shouted Patrick Carr, when an order was made at the Magistrate's Court this morning for the demolition of his dwelling at Swanson under the Health Act, 1920, section 48. Haranguing the court at length, the old man made something of a sensation and concluded by demanding that a commission be set up to investigate his case and reiterating his determination to stay in the house. The application was made by the Waitemata County Council for whom Mr. F. H. Haigh appeared. Counsel was about to detail the history of the case when Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., interposed. “I know all about it,” he said. “The old man has a raupo whare on a public road and refuses to shift it.” Counsel said that the Health Department had sent the County Council a certificate under which they had ordered Carr to demolish his dwelling within one month. He had not done so and further action became necessary. “It is difficult to know what to do with him,"commented the magistrate. “He refuses to go into any home. I suppose it will mean that the constable out there will have a bit of a job on hand. It is just as well that he is a good man.” “I am living on that property under the protection of his Majesty the King,” interjected Carr who, though deaf, was apparently missing little of the comments from the Bench. “Nobody can shift me.” Mr. Haigh called the county council sanitary inspector who assured the court that the premises were a menace to public health. There was no water supply and the hut was situated near a swamp. The magistrate made an order giving Carr 14 days in which to demolish the premises. “He should be taken to some home in spite of himself,” he said. “That is what we used to do with old men who were unable to take care of themselves.” Mr. Haigh: lam sure that would be the best thing for the old gentleman. The Sanitary Inspector: We could do that if we got an order, but we should have to wait until there was a vacancy in the Costley Home. The Magistrate: What are you going to do then; send the old man out into the street? “I decline to move,” again shouted Carr. “I wish to address the Bench. “It is all over now,” replied the magistrate. “I don’t want to hear you if it’s all the same.” Carr, however, hobbling forward and leaning heavily on a sturdy stick, made a more or less incoherent speech to the Bench. Snatches of his remarks, as “rights under the Crown” and “commission of inquiry,” were audible. “I decline to move,” he concluded again. “I am the only commission of inquiry,” replied the magistrate. The court was adjourned, but Carr continued to harangue an interested group of police and court officials.