EXTRAORDINARY STORY.

Auckland Star, Volume 55, Issue 18, 22 January 1924, Page 7

EXTRAORDINARY STORY.

ALLEGES FALSIFICATION. ENTRIES ON BIRTH CERTIFICATES. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) HAMILTON, this day. A somewhat extraordinary story ol alleged false declaration, in certittcates of birth was told at tne Hamilton .Police Court yesterday, 'beiore Mr. H. A. ! 1 oung, S.i\l., when a single woman, aged ' 35, named Annie Pitkeathley, was ' charged with having falsified two sucn documents. ' It was shown that the woman left her home in Auckland just prior to the ' war, and had been living off and on with i a married man named Hose and hie wife at differeat places —for gome time at Rimu Street, Frankton, and more recently with Rose, alone, at Pukekohe. In August, 1920, a woman named Lily Gertrude Robinson, of Claudelands, replied to an advertisement in the "Waikato Times," in nhich a good home for a child was sought. The accused and Rose brought a four-weeks-old child along, Rose posing as tie woman's father and making arrangements to pay 25/ a week 'for the child's care and maintenance. The child had previously been registered at Hamilton as Ivy May •Jackson, the name of its father being given as Walter Jackson, of Christchurch, the place 6t birth being stated as Taihape. The accused stated that she was married at Thames in 1916, and signed her name as Annie Jackson. An amount of £30 was owing for the child's keep. , Witness stated that in March, 1022, a man giving his name as Murray, bat who was said to "be Tcose, called at a nursing home in Cambridge and made arrangements for the nursing of his daughter, Mrs. Perry, whose husband, he said, had been killed in a motor accident some time before.. The daughter was recognised in Court as accused, who stayed at the home for 10 weeks, and then departed, leaving her child in the care of the nurse until July of tht? year. The only money the ' nurse received was £3, although a man called and did certain repairs to the ' house, which he said was to help to ; liquidate the expenses of the birth and the child's keep. The nurse heard ' nothing of the mother for a long time, and the child was only called for after ' the police had started to make inquiries. ' This child was registered as Ruby Helen ' Ferry, and the mother signed her name as Annie Perry, giving the father's name ' as George Perry, aged 37, a blacksmith, ' of Australia. ' When the police traced the woman ' she was living -»itA the Rose family ' at Frankton, but as she waa stated to , be on the verge of confinement the police decided to issue a summons in- ' etead of a warrant. When they went ' to serve the summons they found that ' the woman and Rose had disappeared. ' and they were next found living to- ' gether at Pukekohe. This was said, however, by Mr. Noel Johnson, for the defence, to be with the consent of Mrs. Rose, Miss Pitkeathley going there as housekeeper to Rose. When the police secured a statement ) from accused she signed herself "Annie Rose," and admitted signing the birth i certificates which were produced. She t also gave a description of the alleged • fathers of the two children. ] His Worship: How many illegitimate } children has she? Detective Culloty, who conducted the i case for the prosecution, answered ' "Four." Accused pleaded not guilty and was committed for trial at the next Supreme Court Sittings at Hamilton. When the question of bail arose Mr. Johnson said accused had no private estate, and as Rose was an undischarged bankrupt, he could not act ac surety. After some discussion with his client, Mr. Johnson said he thought he could get Mrs. Rose to act as surety. His Worship: Mrs. Rose is apparently a very accommodating lady. Bail was fixed in two sureties of £50.