Customs upset Owen

Press, 17 November 1976, Page 6

Customs upset Owen

When he was in Sydney recently, the young and successful New Zealand golf professional, Simon Owen, acquired a new set of irons, replicas of those he had used since he turned professional in 1971.

To reduce the risk of theft, his initials, “5.0.” were stamped on the clubheads. But Owen, who had been playing throughout the year in England and the Continent, before going to Australia, was one of several golfers who were delayed for a considerable period at Christchurch Airport on Monday night by Customs interrogations.

Asked if he had anything to declare, Owen said there was nothing, but he remarked that he had a new set of irons. He was told he would have to pay duty on them.

Owen said the clubs were his tools of trade and that he was a professional golfer. He was informed that they were not tools of trade, and that he was

simply a sportsman carrying sporting goods. Owen asked if a plumber, coming back with say, a couple of new spanners would have to pay duty on them and he was told that no payment would be required in those circumstances. He was then asked the value of the clubs. He said that as a contract professional he had not paid anything for them. But after discussion. , the value of the dubs was , set at $2OO and duty on that was requested, but ( Owen refused to pay. Then he was asked if he would be leaving the country shortly, and he said he would be playing for New Zealand in the World Cup at Palm Springs in about three weeks. But he was not able to produce an air ticket to prove this claim.

There was some discussion, evidently, with another customs officer and Owen was given a printed card, and told he must present it to customs at Auckland before departure,

and show that he still had the 10 irons with him. Owen said he could well understand the department’s desire to stop people, even golf professionals. from bringing in new sets of clubs to sell in New Zealand, but as a professional touring golfer, with his clubs identified by his initials, it seemed to him that the interrogation was unwarranted.