Unsavoury intrusion on Westland barbecue

Press, 24 February 1977, Page 1

Unsavoury intrusion on Westland barbecue

Staff reporter Greymouth

“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,” the pilot of a hovering helicoptenawas alleged to have said over his public address system, as a companion ladled buckets of deer offal and blood over a picnicking party’ near the mouth of the Hapuka River, in South Westland, on January’ 22. The picnickers had become “naturally uptight,” Detective Sergeant J. C. Carter told Mr N. L. Bradford. S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court at Greymouth yesterday. Two of them had gone to the helicopter’s base, at Mussel Point, to seek an explanation. The result was the appearance of the helicopter’s pilot, William Geoffrey McDonald Winefield, of Mussel Point (Mr R. G. Sinclair), on a charge of assaulting Wellwyn Harris Collins. The defendant has pleaded not guilty, and the case has been adjourned part heard until today.

The complainant, in evidence, said he and others in the picnic party were sitting around a fire enjoying a barbecue when they saw a helicopter coming towards them. It was being flown by Winefield. The helicopter hovered over them, and the passenger began bailing offal out of a tank with a plastic bucket and dropping it over the side. One of the picnickers,

Colin Tuck, ran off, and was followed by the helicopter, which forced him to lie on the ground as it turned nose down. The complainant said he threw sticks and bottles at the helicopter, and eventually it flew off.

The complainant said he and Tuck went to the helicopter base. Tuck asked Winefield where Patrick Nolan was, as he had recognised Nolan as the helicopter’s passenger. Nolan appeared, and he and Tuck began punching each other, while the defendant and the complainant argued over another matter.

The complainant said he began to struggle with the defendant, after he had taken a piece of wood from him. Others intervened, and pulled them apart.

The complainant said he felt blood on his face, and saw the defendant with an axe raised in his hand. To Mr Sinclair, the complainant said that about, a week earlier he had met some persons who were attempting to roll over the defendant’s car outside the Haast Hotel. He had not played a major part in that activity, but had attempted to steady the vehicle. Tuck had also been connected with that incident, the complainant said.

He admitted that there had been “bad blood” previously’ between himself and the defendant over business matters, but said that his party had met the defendant en route to the barbecue, and had invited him to attend. The defendant had replied that he might come later.

To further questions, the complainant said that much of his w'ork involved working under hovering helicopters, attaching chains to the undercarriage for lifting deer out of the bush.

Colin Stephen Tuck, a contract shooter, said that the helicopter moved around the barbecue party so that “no-one could break the bunch.”

After he had managed to break from the group, he decided it was better not to single himself out, and had returned.

At the helicopter base, after he and Nolan. had started fighting he saw the defendant rush out with a tomahawk, grab the complainant by the neck, and swing the axe downwards. The blow missed, but as the axe was drawn back it caught the complainant on the side of the face. Tuck said he was among the group which had attempted to roll over the defendant's car.

Evidence was given by two Mussel Point women, Gloria Dawn Maas and Elaine Cameron Mclntyre, of seeing the groups fighting.

The court adjourned at 6 p.m. at the conclusion of prosecution evidence.