Arrests Made At Blossom Festival

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30540, 8 September 1964, Page 10

Arrests Made At Blossom Festival

(New Zealand Press Association)

HASTINGS, September 7.

About a dozen arrests for drunkenness, fighting, obscene language, obstructing the police aftd car conversion were made during festivities in Hastings on Saturday.

The city’s population was swelled to more than 30,000 people by' an influx of visitors for the annual Blossom Festival. Some of the offenders appeared in Hastings and Napier courts today. Thirty-six extra police, two police dogs and 32 traffic officers were on duty. Law enforcement officers today reported general good behaviour, With the odd incident which they considered was inevitable in such a sizeable gathering. Chief Inspector J. M. Bourke, of the Hastings police, said the overall behaviour had been very good, and the crowd had been particularly co-operative.

Hotel-keepers had been very helpful and had kept a close watch on teen-agers attempting to obtain liquor. As a result there had been no teenage drinking problem. There had been a crop of minor accidents during the week-end, and two injury accidents on Saturday night. But both these injury accidents had been minor. ‘‘There were quite a few crumpled mudguards around,” said Mr Jones. BRAWL AT DANCE In Napier two 18-year-old Wellington youths who were involved in a brawl while waiting for the departure of a Hastings Blossom Festival special train on Saturday night spent the week-end in gaol instead of going back to Wellington as planned. Today the two youths, Michael Patrick Lloyd, process worker, and Graham Walker, cleaner, pleaded guilty before Mr W. A. Harlow, S.M., to a charge of behaving in a disorderly manner in Heretaunga street, Hastings. Lloyd was fined £7 10s, and Walker, because he had a previous conviction for obscene language, was fined £lO. Sergeant E. M. Connor said oh Saturday evening, a .fight developed outside the Assembly hall, in Hastings. This developed into a brawl. When questioned by the police, Lloyd said that as he was leaving a dance in the

hall he was hit by someone, so he started to punch back. Walker said he had been attacked so he also hit back.