Revolting1 Murder at To Aroha.

Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 3784, 12 February 1881, Page 2

Revolting 1 Murder at To Aroha.

(PBOM OTJB OWN COBBESPONDEKT.)

This day

For the first time in the short history of the Te Aroha goldfield, the police hare a serious matter to find out. In the early morning a rumor was current that a Maori had been brutally murdered on the confines of the township. At first the expressions of the miners were confined to such phrases as " not much," " orer the left," and sundry other sentences indicative of incredibility, but when it became known that the police had been informed of the occurrence, the smile hitherto noticeable on the weather beaten faces of the mining community vanished, and an anxiety to gain information as to the murdered man, and the circumstances of the deed, manifested itself in the eager questions asked anent the affair. In company with several others, I proceeded to the spot where the deed was supposed to have been committed. Arrived, I was horrified with the terrible spectacle that met my gaze. On the sward by the side of the road leading to Paeroa, and about quarter of a mile from O'HaUoran's Hotel, lay the body of the murdered man, lying face uppermost. The throat had been severed almost from the body by a fearful gash, and the gaping wound was a terrible spectacle. The skull was almost battered in, and there were several deep cuts on the face and neck, apparently inflicted by some jagged instrument. The murdered man was named Himiona (Simon) and was a member of the Ngatikoe tribe. There are some doubts as to how the fractures on the skull were caused, some people alleging that they were caused by a conical stone; which was found close by the deceased, covered with gore, while others were of opinion that the wounds were caused by a tomahawk. From the fact of the fern being trampled it would seem that a struggle had taken place, and I think that the murdered man (who was probably unarmed) fought hard for his life. Himiona's coat and hat were found in the middle of the road, as were also an amber mouth piece with silver ferrule attached, and a white handkerchief spotted with blood. Constables Cleary and Hogan, and Sergeant Mulville (in charge), with the assistance of some of the public, placed the body in a cart and conveyed it to the Hot Springs Hotel, where it was placed in an out house. From the fact that the pockets of deceased's trousers were turned inside out, I think that the motive of the murder has been robbery. The body was first seen by a man named Webber, who is employed on Messrs Campbell Bros. Waitoa station, and who, after a lapse of half an hour, informed the police of the occurrence. The police dispersed in various directions in search of information—Sergeant Mulville going to a camp of natives about two miles out, and Constable Hogan going to Omaha. Constable Cleary remained about the township, and succeeded in discovering what are supposed to be evidences of the murder. In the tent of a man named John Westbrooke (whom I hear is native of Germany) be found some newly washed clothes, still wet. On examination he discovered steins which he believed to be blood. I hear that Westbrooke had been quarrelling with the murdered man the previous night and hence the suspicion that falls upon him. On being charged with the murder the accused replied, " I don't know anything about it. I did not do it." He appeared very much excited when asked the question, but answered without any hesitation. He is in custody, and a careful watch is being kept on him.

The accused is a man of small proportions, and I should think from his appearance that he would be likely to commit the crime. He has been working in the Sunbeam claim. The natives are greatly incensed.