Smuggled Gun One Cause Of Mt. Eden Riots

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30940, 22 December 1965, Page 7

Smuggled Gun One Cause Of Mt. Eden Riots

(Ntw Zealand Preu Association; WELLINGTON, December 21. The most important single factor contributing to the cause of the Auckland Prison riots was that two inmates had a revolver and ammunition, probably smuggled into the gaol by a visitor. “Without the gun they could have been quickly subdued before any trouble started,*’ said the commissioner of inquiry (Mr A. A. Coates, S.M.) in his report, released today.

The report said police had made in* quiries regarding the viators, whose name and addresses appeared in the prison’s official visitors’ book, without result. Both inmates with the revolver, Sadaraka and McMillan, were entitled to have visitors because both were on remand.

The visits, supervised by only one prison officer, were tn the chapel. The prisoner sat on cne side of a trestle table with his visitor opposite.

It often happened that as many as 10 or 12 inmates on remand would receive visitors at the same time.

“In those circumstances it would be Impossible for the officers to watch each of the couples at the same tune,** said the report “In addition the officer was responsible for ringing for an escort when each visit ended, and when thus engaged his attention must necessarily have been

distracts from the inmate and his visitor.”

The report said all remand inmates wore searched after each visit before returning to their cMla.

•This search is only a rub down, carried out by the officer running bis hands down the inmate’s body on the outside of his clothing,” said the Because inmates were allowed to wear civilian clothes it was easier for them to conceal contraband.

“If an officer should happen to be busy at the time, with other duties awaiting his attention, he might -ot do the rub down wih sufficient care,” said the report. The riots were not planned, but started as an impromptu outburst by recalcitrant prisoners who found themselves unexpectedly released from their ceils.

‘•McMillan and Sadaraka planned to escape from prison before their next appearance at Court To facilitate their attempt to escape they obtained possession at a 22 revolver and ammunition Some other inmate provided a ‘homomade’ key to unlock their respective ceils,” the report said. Probably the key was delivered to another inmate who chose a time on the night of July 19—after all the prisoners had been locked in for the night—to slip out of bis ceil and unlock the door of Sadaraka’s ceil. “He could have left his key with Sadaraka, who was then able to escape from hie cell and unlock the door of McMillan’s cell.” said the report Having got out of their cells, McMillan and Sadaraka must have hidden in the remand wing until the morning of July 20. Strack Officer With the advantage of surprise they struck a prison officer to the floor and made towards the remand wing exit

En route they met another prison officer who was investigating the reason for a loud scream he heard coming from the remand wing and used him as a shield and hostage

by covering the officer with the revolver. The two inmates tried desperately to escape from the interior of the prison, but found each exit effectively blocked." said tbe report.

A principal prison officer who tried to intervene - thinking there was a possibility the threatened officer might be shot—also became a hostage to Sadaraka and McMillan. They found their escape bid frustrated and apparently decided to enlist the

rid at the experienced escapers, Gtitiea, Evans and Wider, who were in tbe security Hock in toe prison’s back basement. “It would appear tola decision wm mode in desperation and on the spur of tbe moment” srid toe report "1 found no evidence to indtaate that it hod been pvemedtabed.” Sadaraka and McMillan who by this time had a prison officer’s grille key, marcbed their two hostages to tbe ’ xk basement where Sadaraka smashed the pedtocks on tbe outside of the ceil door with an iron bar white McMillan held a gun on the two hostages. Once Gillies, Evans and Wilder were released there was trouble. Selected prisoners to the prison’s north wing were released by unlocking their ceil doors with tbe “homemade" key and Gillies was seen to smash everything breakable with an iron bar. Bulba Broken “Light bulbs were broken and before long tbe interior of the prison was plunged ini to darkness,” said the report. “Then tbe dome office was set on fire and from there the burning and destruction proi seeded unchecked until the

mitoorttos were aMe to intervene. “In my vtew there wm neither time nor opportunity ror pMonog me ncx nsea. “AR the avattobte evidence WOOCH rouiMFea ine euut uve attempt to escape by Sedanka and McMiMan showed tbe riot, tbe burning and tbe destruction wm not planned but simply developed when some of tbe more diflicuit tomates wwe reieaeed. “It may wall be that some of tbe troublemakers hoped that in the confuaton reauto ing from the fires and the damage caused inride the prison, they might be aMe to escape. However, I gained the impreaston that in the main most of toe active participants were affected by mass hysteria and the desire to strike a blow at the authoritiM white the opportunity wm there.” Any suggestion that the actions of the rioters were attributable to their reseqtmeet, aroused by adverse conditions prevailing in tbe prison at tbe time, wm not supported by tbe evidence, srid tbe report. “Several pcteoners, able to apeak from personal knowledge, said at the time of the riot that conditions in the priaoo had never been better,” tt srid.