WERAROA DISORDER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 22 June 1939, Page 8

WERAROA DISORDER

REPORTS OF VIOLENCE BY BOYS ATTEMPTS TO BURN BUILDINGS MANY WINDOWS SMASHED EXTRA POLICE ON DUTY. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) LEVIN, June 21. Reports of Serious disturbances at the Weraroa Boys’ Training Farm were circulating in Levin today, and these seem to be borne out by the presence at the farm of a detachment of police. The manager. Mr J. J. Hercock, and the Levin police both decline to make any comment. The Minister cf Education. Fraser, is reported io have visited the institution late yesterday afternoon, having motored from Wellington specially for that purpose. He was in Auckland today, and in his absence no official information as to the nature of the disturbances'is available from Wellington.

It is freely reported that during the, past few days several attempts have been made to destroy the main building by fire, and that the most serious of these took place yesterday morning, when an attendant found the whole wall of one dormitory alight. This outbreak was extinguished. Later in the morning a section of the inmates embarked upon a window-smashing campaign, some 20 panes of glass being broken. The Minister is believed to have been accompanied by the AssistantDirector of Education. Dr C. E. Beeby, and the Child Welfare Superintendent, Mr J. R. McClune. It is reported that on arrival at the farm they immediately went into conference with the management and police already there, and that later Mr Fraser addressed the boys. Some of the more truculent youths are stated to have been formulating plans to burn the building down last night, and that because of this threat and the generally unsettled state of affairs four police constables and a sergeant were sent from Palmerston North and Wellington for special patrol duty at the institution. It is understood that three additional constables are also on duty at the farm today. There were 51 boys in residence at the farm on March 31, 1938, the latest date for which statistics are available.

The buildings comprising the institution are of an old type, and were originally intended as a farm training centre. In recent years, however, they were converted into a training institution. The buildings were renovated during the last few months.