Maori activist arrested

Press, 28 February 1986, Page 3

Maori activist arrested

PA Wellington The Maori activist, Dun Mihaka, was arrested and charged with dangerous driving yesterday after he apparently tried to join the Queen’s motorcade at Paremata, 25km north of Wellington. Inspector Clint Libby said Mihaka and his wife, Diane Prince, would face the same driving charges, and the police were considering further charges against the couple. They were due to appear in the District Court at Wellington today. The incident happened a few minutes after the Royal motorcade, heading for centennial celebrations at the Police College, Porirua, left the Taupo Swamp, skm north of Plimmerton. The police said the Queen’s car had already passed when it happened. Mr Fred Page, driver of the Daimler carrying the

Queen — the same car that carried the Queen during her first visit in 1953 — said later he saw nothing of the incident. Reporters arriving at the scene found Mihaka’s white Toyota van, with three persons inside, pulled up in the middle of State highway 1. At the roadside stood Mihaka, arguing with several policemen. Mihaka, the man who bared his buttocks in front of Prince Charles in 1983, was wearing red shorts and a white t-shirt saying “Royal Visit — Native Moon Shot” Asked if he was trying to bare his buttocks at the Queen, Mihaka told reporters before he was taken away in a police van, “I haven’t had a chance.” The incident came a day after the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr said that the Gov-

ernment had “cause to apologise” for Mihaka’s arrest in Hastings on Tuesday, about half an hour before the Queen arrived. The warrant for his arrest was later withdrawn and Mihaka was released. The warrant was issued to have his ability to pay a fine assessed by a court, but he was still appealing against the conviction involved.

After yesterday’s incident, police attempting to clear the van and a host of news media people from the middle of the road, handed the keys back to the driver. The van later reappeared on a railway embankment opposite the Police College and loudspeakers by the van could be heard faintly from the college parade ground. A small party of police appeared and the van was quickly removed.