SOMES ISLAND MYSTERY

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 150, 20 March 1936, Page 12

SOMES ISLAND MYSTERY

Mr. V. Penny’s Work RUMOURS OF “DEATHRAY” INVENTION Government No Longer Interested Official interest taken in Hie invenlions of Mr. Victor Penny, of Takapuna, who figured in a sensational incident last year, appears to have lapsed entirely. Mr. Penny was the victim of a mysterious assault at the garage of a bus company by which lie was employed, and later, after a period in the Auckland Hospital, he was taken to Wellington ostensibly to pursue cer tain experiments on Somes Island. For some time Mr. Penny's movements and his work were kept almost as a sealed secret. It was known, however, that the Defence Department and highly-placed police officials were interested in his experiments, but yesterday the Minister of Defence, Hon. F Jones, stated that Mr. Penny was no longer in the employ of the Government, which was not concerned with him financially or in any other way. Humours have been circulating for some time indicating the seriousness ’ with which Mr. Penny’s activities have been viewed in some quarters. It has been stated that Mr. Penny had been working in a specially-equipped laboratory behind barbed-wire enclosures, and “that everywhere he went he was accompanied by guards. The truth of these rumours cannot be ascertained in official circles, but Mr. Jones indicated yesterday that Mr. Penny had actually received an appointment from the last Government. That appointment, and the circumstances leading up to it, had been carefulyy investigated by himself and his colleagues since their assumption of office, and Mr. Penny’s engagement had been terminated from the end of last monthHe was at present on a month’s holiday, but the Government had no further interest in his work. The Minister added that at present he preferred not to go into the details of the case. Officials of the Police Department and Defence Department similarly declined to comment on Mr. Penny’s work, although it was learned that for some time the Police Department had acted merely as a channel for the Defence Department in the whole matter.

After Mr. Penny’s removal from the Auckland Hospital to Somes Island last year, the suggestion was put forward in some quarters that he had discovered a mysterious “death ray,” or at least some entirely new development in the field of radio.' It was even stated that some foreign power was interested in his discoveries or inventions. It is admitted that during Mr-. Penny’s stay on Somes Island, certain highly-technical books on radio and allied subjects were forwarded to him through the Police Department. However, in the absence of a detailed statement, the announcement by Mr. Jones that the Government is no longer interested in Mr. Penny’s work seems to dispose effectively of these and other rumours.