School Administrator Concerned About Influence Of Davy Crockett

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27999, 20 June 1956, Page 12

School Administrator Concerned About Influence Of Davy Crockett

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, June 19.

“Davy Crockett is very much alive today in Wellington and the Hutt Valley,” Mr G. Matthew told today’s meeting of the Wellington Education Board.

He had recently heard of a young boy asking his mother for a Davy Crockett hat after seeing the film, said Mr Matthew. When the child’s mother

refused, he cut the tail from a dead cat and sewed it on to an ordinary hat.

A more serious incident stemming from the Davy Crockett story was also related by Mr Matthew. It occurred in a school under the board’s jurisdiction.

A 10-year-old boy invited a girl three or four years younger than himself to play “Davy Crocketts.” said Mr Matthew. His invitation being accepted, the boy tied a rope round the girl’s throat, threw one end of it over a tree limb, and pulled her some distance off the ground.

Several of the girl’s friends came to her assistance and pulled her down, he said. They then reversed the situation by roping the boy up to the tree. Eventually, the headmaster of the school arrived, and stopped the activities.

A four-inch cut had been found round the throat of the girl who was pulled off the ground, Mr Matthewsaid. The matter was very serious, as the incident could have been fatal. He asked whether the board could take any action to stop this sort of thing.

The chairman (Mr S. C. Hyndman) said there was nothing the board could do.