‘Crazy' youths in Court

Press, 25 May 1977, Page 3

‘Crazy' youths in Court

FA Hastings Two youths who threw jtones at cars travelling at 140km/h in the Radio New Zealand rally near Hastings <}n May 3 were each sentenced to six months community work and a year's probation when they appeared in the Magistrate’s Court at Hastings yesterday. Each had also to pay $87.61 eompensation. ’ Mr W. K. L. Dougall, S.M.. said the actions of the Jouths were “completely I crazy.” * The windscreens of cars' driven by Rex Rattenburyi and Craig Bird were Proken anc Rattenbury suffered bruised ribs' when a stone struck him. • A youth aged 15 appeared rn the Children and Young! Persons Court. He had pleaded guilty to two charges of throwing stones at cars in the rally at Kahuranaki Road, near Havelock North, on May 3. The second youth, Kevin Calder, aged 19, an apprentice joiner, of Hastings, also pleaded guilty to the charges jn the Magistrate’s Court. The Magistrate was told fct an earlier hearing that the youths had gone to watch a special stage of the tally at midnight. They had drunk cans of beer, climbed an embankment, waited for some of the cars to pass, and then collected stones to throw at them.

One of an almost extinct kind, the scow Te Aroha chugged into Lyttelton on Monday afternoon for a little repair work. This 67-year-old survivor of the hey-day of coastal shipping has probably commanded more publicity in her last 12 months than at any time in her career. She was sold in August

last year by the Karamea Shipping Company after many years service on the Nelson-Wellington run to Mr T. I. Phipps, a chief officer in the Cook Strait ferry Aranui and a resident of Governors Bay. Since then, she has performed much the same role in Wellington Harbour as the old tug Lyttelton fulfils here — running hourlong cruises round the har-

bour and evening charter trips. Mr Phipps would not specify what repairs needed attending to yesterday but Te Aroha is expected to be in port at least three weeks. Jt is believed that she may proceed to Dunedin at the completion of her maintenance work. Te Aroha was built in 1907 at Lane’s yard, Totara

North, opposite Whangaroa in North Auckland. Her framing is of pohutukawa and planking is kauri. In her eariy days, she was fully riged as a sailing vessel but In latter years her after mast was reduced to a stump. Today, her status is little more than that of a private launch.