Bans at Mount John

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33741, 14 January 1975, Page 1

Bans at Mount John

(X.Z. Press Association) TIMARU, Jan. 13. Demonstrators will be banned from Mount John next week-end when they go there to protest against the United States Air Forc<» tracking station on the mountain.

Two bus-loads of protesters are going to the station as part of a South Island tour to demonstrate opposition to foreign bases in New Zealand.

More than 40 police will be at Mount John in an effort to avoid a repetition of disturbances there three years ago.

The incidents on the mountain then, led last month to the council of the University of Canterbury banning protesters from the access road to the station this week-end.

And the tenant of the Crown land, Mr H. HunterWeston, has banned demonstrators from his property, which includes Mount John. He has warned that any trespassers on the land on Saturday, Sunday and Monday will be prosecuted.

Inspector B. D. Read, of the Timaru Police, said today that the reason for Mr Hunter-Weston’s ban was the extreme dryness of scrub on the property, and the subsequent high fire risk. Two police dogs will be at Mount John for the demonstration, but these would be used for protecting property, not for crowd control, said Inspector Read.