IBERIA GOLD ROBBERY. EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY. 3,742 SOVEREIGNS FOUND.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 391, 7 August 1889, Page 5

IBERIA GOLD ROBBERY. EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY. 3,742 SOVEREIGNS FOUND.

Thk play of a couple of small boys ab Williamstown on a recent Saturday afternoon was the means by which a large quantity of gold coin, believed to be the proceeds of a robbery, was discovered. It seems that about 7 o'clock on the following morning a man, accompanied by two boys, accosted Police Constable Gardiner, who was on duty in one of the streets of Williamstown, and told the officer that the boys had found a large sum of money which they desired to hand over to the police. The constable took the three to the police station and introduced them to Sergeant Witcher, of the water police, who received from them their statement and the money which they desired to surrender. The eldest of the three gave his name as Alexander Gordon, said he was a carpenter and resided in Hanmer-street, Williamstown, and stated that one of the boys was his son, George Gordon, aged 14 years, and the other boy was named James Sweetingham, aged 15 years. The boys then handed to the sergeant £287 in sovereigns, one lad delivering 118 and the other 169 of the gold pieces. The boys explained that about 4 o'clock on Saturday afternoon they were under the railway pier at Williamstown, at the pier station, hunting rats and mice, when they found the money buried slightly under the surface of the soil. Each of them took horns the portion of the money which he now handed to the police and gave it to his mother. Afterwards the boys went to Melbourne, and returned home late that night. Young Gordon's father heard nothing of the discovery till yesterday morning, and immediately that he was apprised of it he sought the boy Sweetingham, who also lives in Williamstown, and took him and his own son to the first policeman he met. Sergeant Witcher directed Constable Gardiner to accompany the Gordons and Sweebingham to the place where the money was said to have been found, and on the party reaching the spot it was pointed out to the constable by the boys. Gardiner then proceeded to make a further search, with the result that he unearthed 679 more sovereigns, making a total of 966 found. On the further discovery being reported to Sergeant Witcher, he told off Sergeant Oliver, Senior-constable Dyer and Constables Roberts, Morrison and Steel to go to the pier a».id make a minute and thorough search. The police dug up the earth in the immediate vicinity of the spot where the two lots of sovereigns were found, and succeeded in bringing to light no fewer than £2,776 in sovereigns. The party of police were engaged at work from 9 a.m. till 5 p.m. The money had been buried in four separate lots, each lot being tied in a canvas bag, upon one of which was stamped i the words, " Royal Mint, Sydney." A bag had been deposited close beside each of the four piles. On account of the bags having been placed, close to the surface, they had evidently suffered from the weather, so that they were quite rotten, and when they were handled the gold coins fell out, though the tying round the necks remained intact. The 3,742 sovereigns were in a very dirty state, and on being put together at the station house were washed by Sergeant Witcher, who with assistance counted them. Before the second lot ot sovereigns reached the police, Mr Hall, the piermaster, called upon Sergeant Witcher, and made a formal demand that the money I should be given up to him, stating that he would place it in a safe, where a policeman could watch it. Sergeant Witcher, however, declined to deliver up the gold without the sanction of his superiors. Subsequently he took the whole of the money vo the English, Scottish and Australian Chartered Bank at Williamstown, where he deposited it with Mr Dempster, the manager. It is believed that the sovereigns found form a portion of 5,000 sovereigns stolen some time between March and May last from the Orient steamer Iberia. The specie was shipped in the Iberia at Sydney by the Union Bank. It was placed in five canvas bags, each containing 1,000 sovereigns. The bags were put in a wooden box, and this was deposited in the strong room of the vessel, which was in one of the "pockets" of the ship in the lower hold. The Iberia left Melbourne for London on the 29th March, and when she reached hei* destination on the 13th May it was found that the box of gold was missing. Since then no trace of it was discovered till the treasure was found under the pier at Williamstown. When the robbery from the Iberia was discovered, Mr Shannon, the commander of the vessel, Mr Cook, the purser, and the second officer were called upon to resign their positions in the ship. Captain Shannon had been 14 years in command of the Iberia, that is since he vessel was built.