SUNDAY RAIDS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 272, 16 November 1936, Page 8

SUNDAY RAIDS.

CRACKSMEN BUSY. THREE OPERATIONS. SAFE BLOWN TO PIECES. BAPTIST CHURCH ENTERED. Cracksmen were particularly busy last night when three premises in the Town Hall-Upper Queen Street area were entered. Gaining entrance to the church office below the Baptist Tabernacle, burglars used gelignite on the large safe, the force of the explosion being so great that it almost blew it to pieces. Two premises in Cook Street were also entered, an attempt being made at one to open the safe with a small knife. The burglary at the Baptist Tabernacle was discovered at 7 o'clock this morning when the caretaker, Mr. A. Ferneyhough, who lives in a house at the rear of the large church building, went to open the church. Near the side door in the large yard which is open to Upper Queen Street he found several tin trays which are always placed in the safe with the proceeds of the collection. His suspicions were further aroused when he later found that the side door, always kept locked, was ajar. Back Blown Out of Safe. Entering the church office at the rear | of the church and on the same floor ] he found the office in a state of confusion. The back had been blown out of the safe, while the heavy door was lying several feet away. There were powder marks on the walls and portions of the safe had been blown right through the plaster wall. Although the explosion must have been a terrific one to do so much damage, Mr. Ferneyhough did not hear it. The drawers of the safe and all the trays which contained money had been removed and left lying oi} the floor in the office. A substantial sum of money which had been placed in the safe after the service last night was missing. In order to enter the office where the safe stands on a pedestal, the burglars liad to open two locked doors. First they tried to force up a slide with a jemmy. This proving unsuccessful, they smashed the glass panels in the doors and inserted a hand to release the lock from the inside. Large pieces of felt were taken from the basement as well as numerous cushions and a tablecloth from the ladies' lounge, and used to pack around the safe to deaden the sound v ,of the explosion. The operators worked in the | dark and took the precaution to switch off the electricity supply at the switchboard in the basement. There was no evidence to suggest how the thieves entered the building. It is believed that they secreted themselves in one of the many anterooms after the service and waited until the building was locked for the night before starting on their safecracking job. To leave was easy. All they had to do was to walk out of the side door and into Upper Queen Street. Feeble Attempt With Knife. Smashing a pane of glass in the real of the factory of the British United Shoe Machinery Company, 19, Cook Street, thieves went straight to the office in front of the buildiiig and made a feeble, attempt to open a large safe with a small knife. They searched the office for money, but found none. All that was removed was a typewriter ribbon. On the other side of Cook Street, in Cleave Avenue, the premises of B. Brennan and Company, Limited, tool makers and gear cutters, were broken into. A hole in a window in the front of the building showed how entrance had been gained. the thieves stole tools belonging to the employees and j valued at £10. I