RIOT IN MELBOURNE.

Taihape Daily Times, 5 August 1919, Page 6

RIOT IN MELBOURNE.

AFFRAY KT BAR-RACKS.

ONE EX-SOLDIER KILLED.

ATTEMPT TO REACH ARMOURY.

i Further details of rioting in Melbourne on Sunday( July «20, during the peace celebration period, "came to hand 1 by mail recently. _The riot-s ‘occurred in the evening, when between 60 and i 70 soldiers and naval men, the major ity in uniform, and bearing naval en,signs, marched along St. Kilda road, and endeavoured to break "through a * at the gates leading into the courtyard !. at the side of Victoria Barracks. A ‘ discharged soldier was killed, and, in ‘addition to several men being arrested, and a. sailor. was charged with having atM tempted to shoot "a ‘sentry. ‘ The grievance under which the men F were labouring is somewhat obscure, but after having expressed their in—_ V tention of rushilig the armoury connect- . ed with the barracks, there were wild sccenes, and shots were exchanged. A M short time afterwards two discharged soldiers 'arrived“?ait the Base Hospi~ tal in a motor car, bringing with them a. third, James O’Cvonnor, a discharged l soldier, who‘ was in a serious condition, with a bullet about 2in_ below the heart. Subsequently he‘ was removed to the Caulfield Military Hospital, where he died. It is ‘believed that a revolver fired by a member of the I crowd struck this man. It ‘was -about eight o’clocl~:‘ when a telephone message iwas treceived at the St. Kilda. Road police s-tation from ‘the Victoria. Barracks, indicating that: a disturbance was brewing. A few minutes later the force of soldiers and sailors came into sight, marching. in straggling order along the motor speedway. The crowd halted in front of the gates of the barracks, and, to the ac- , ‘oompaniment of rounds of cheers, and the Waving of naval ensigns, one of .the ringleaders, wearing military uniform, advanced ‘towards one of the sentries. “We are going to get into the armoul'y,” he shouted, the threat being greeted with more cheers. Warning had been received of the impending attack, and the guard had been’ reinforced. |

‘ CROWD ATTACKS SENTRIES. The sentries, in the face of the threatening crowd stood their ground unfiinehingly. A soldier who had been ‘ conspicuous as spokesman of the crowd in explaining their mission to the barracks made an -endeavour to pass through the gates. He was challenged by one of the sentries, and as the 3 jostling crowd closed in,‘ a man in naval uniform attempted to wrest the 115119 from the hands of the sentry. The sentry, by a‘ swift movement, reriforsed the butt of his rifle, and brought it with some force under the jaws of . his assailant, felling him to the ground. With the excited rioters surging about him, the. sentry broke free and fired, a shot into the air. This incensed the unruly spirits, and one man in the crowd replied with a shot from a re~ volver, but it went. wide. j 4 After the semtr:y"s* w'2rnw‘n,,g ‘shot, ‘ those in the forefront hung back for a moment, but another soldier was seen to advance with a revolver towards" the guards‘. t A military’ policeman pounced upon him, and in a lively‘ struggle the weapon clattered to the I ground. A revolver picked up during‘ '-the aifray. bye-an officer was found tot contain a_dented cartridge, showing that the trigger héfd been pressed, but it-had jammed. I

REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE. " Constables Ahale End McWhl'tlock, from the St. Kilda Road station, were the first police to arrive on the scene, and no sooner had they arrived than a squad of mounted troopers, who had been held in readiness at the depot, at the rear of the b.arracks, came galloping up Wadley street. and into St. Kilda Road. They immediately dashed‘ in among ‘the crowd, and soldsiers and sailors scattered in all directions. Probably with the object -of preventing the confiscation by the police of flags they had been carrying, 15 or 20 men scurried across into the do main by Way -of the gate near the Gov.ernment House entrance. Two foot vdonstables, who were reinforced by others, pursued them, but on entering the dark domain none of the fugitives was to be seen. Unprovided with Ttorehcs, the constables very pluckily commenced to ‘probe the clumps of rshrubbcry with their ‘Batons. It was not long before this mode of search reIvealed fully a dozen men. sailors and 'soldiers, hiding under bushes, and Iy~ sing flat on their sfomaehs, in the soft ‘Barth inside the rockery. Crawling on their hands and knees, Constables Ahale and Mcwhitlock drove many of the pursued from theirs hiding places With ‘their "batbnsi Some of them escaped. For half an hour the hide-and-seel; tactics wont on, both the rfugitives and the pc‘rTce being torn by .fil‘3-mbles and catching, bushes. Eventu.‘ _“ny the POl-i-55 Cmcrged \'-'i‘r.h prisoners. \ V_ While the police ‘\\'(‘}'{3 engaged in‘ ririvzng these men out of the gardens’ ,9. number of members of .the,gual-id gave assistance, and eventually order was restored- ~ ‘ ; '