ALARMING CRIME WAVE.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 November 1922, Page 10

ALARMING CRIME WAVE.

TRAGEDIES IN AUSTRALIA. Sydney. Oct. 18. Sydney in particular, and the rest of Australia in general, have lately been suffering from a wave of crime, that from the violence of the misdeeds committed, i® almost without precedent. The recent murder of the Hornsby bank manager, who was battered to death in a Sydney suburban train for the sake of the bank keys in his possession. is still unsolved. This was followed by the discovery of a murdered man. partially naked, in Centennial Park, one of Sydney’s principal airspaces. Although an arrest has been made the police have not yet been able to supply a motive for the crime. Now, through the accident of a sordid brawl among members of the underworld, another foul murder has been discovered after the victim’s body has been buried in a much-frequented public park near Sydney for nearly two years. The victim in this case was a young woman, whose disappearance from home tvb years ago caused some concern. Sensational developments are expected from an arrest that has been made. One step is already being taken by Cabinet to endeavor* io stop the wave of crime. This will allow for the imprisonment of men found in possession of firearms without a license.

In Melbourne there seems to have been a revival of the famous Fitzroy “vendetta” of a year or two ago, when members of the underworld were promiscuously shooting each other in the main streets of the city. The latest victim is the famous “Squizzv” Taylor, who achieved notoriety for the manner in which, after absconding from bail, he evaded the police for a year, and then, when he was ready, gave himself up. Tasmania’s share in the crime wave has been a triple murder. Sought after for the alleged murder of a wood-cutta, a man subsequently fatally shot a constable and another of the searchers. He was arrested only after a sensational gun duel with the police.