Boys Admit Putting Fishplates On Line

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30302, 30 November 1963, Page 17

Boys Admit Putting Fishplates On Line

(New Zealand Press Association)

NAPIER, November 29

Two boys, aged 10 alid 11, who put nine fishplates on the Wellington'Gisborne railway line at Waikoau, near Tutira, were told they could have easily derailed a rail-car and caused death and serious injury to the 50 persons travelling in it, when they appeared before Mr W. A, Harlow, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court at Napier today.

The boys were pieced under the supervision of the Child Welfare Division for 12 months and their parents were ordered to pay £5 4s restitution. Detective-Sergeant H. Baldock said that at 2.35 p.m. on November 9. Arthur Vosper, the driver of the GisborneWellington rail-car noticed some fish plates on the line at Wadkoau. The radl-car was travelling between 30 and 35 miles an hour when Vosper first noticed the plates. He applied the brakes but was unable to avoid hitting the first fishplates on the line. One of the fishplates was thrown under the rail-car, breaking the leading bogey sandtrap. "Some plates were thrown harmlessly to one side and the driver and a passenger found other plates secured to the rails with pieces of rope,” Detective-Sergeant Bel dock said. He said there was a 12ft drop on both sides of the railway line, and at the bottom of the drop there was a ditch. None of the 50 passengers on the rail-car was injured. After tlie incident Detec-

tive B. D. Christoffereon and Constable R. N. Apatu interviewed the two boys who admitted putting the plates on the rails. One of the boys, when asked if he had anything to say. said he was sorry. The Magistrate: You ought to be. If you had caused a derailment, as you could easily have done, you could have caused death and serious injuries to the persons on the rail-car. If you were older you would go to gaol for this offence.”