ORANGE AND GREEN.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 9298, 27 July 1901, Page 6

ORANGE AND GREEN.

Serious Riot in West * Australia. Several Men Injured. A telegram appearing in the Australian papers of July 16th contains the following particulars of a serious riot in West Australia:—The annual parade in connection with the Orange Lodge took place at Boulder yesterday, and was marked by a serious riot. The programme of the Orangemen was to march from the Workers' Hall, where they donned the regalia, to the institute. About a Rcore of men ostentatiously siarted playing hurley on the block adjoining the Friendly Societies' Hall as soon as the first file of the procession appeared. A shout went up from the hurlers, and about a dozen rushed up, but nothing happened till the last files were passing into the Institute Hall. A band of hurlers then fell on the rear line of the processionists, who they assailed with hurley-sticks. The Oraogemen all managed to get into the hall, and with chairs or anything else > that was handy they kept the men with the hur-ley-sticks back. A couple of the hurlers were knocked down. W T hen Sergeant Kingston and Constable Gallagher threw themselves between the combatants, the hurlers wavered, but as they fell bach it was noticed that one of their number had a nasty cut on the back of his he<id, which, he said, had been done with a sword. There aro?e shouts of " Drag the Orange cur out. andkillhim." Dozens who hitherto had contenttd themselves with encouraging the fighters thereupon joined in the melee. They bore down on the door with all their- might, smashed tho windowa, and conducted themselves madly. Five other police constables opportunely came on the scene. Someone shouted that the police had revolvers* and the besiegers fell back. The Orangemen inside were in a great state of excitement, and were breaking off the legs of chairs for use as weapons. The police locked all side doors. At the front door they seized upon a man with a sword, and commandeered the weapon. The aggressors by this time had become separated, so that there was not much danger of a further attack in force, especially as they openly boasted that they were going to wait till the Orangemen came out, and then " deal with the dog who used the sword." About four o'clock the service finished. The police then collected round one side, and made an ostentatious display of zeal, while the occupants were all making their exit on the opposite side. They were noticed, however, and immediately a mad rush took place, The majority of the assailants used their fists on their opponents, who were besides encumbered with lady friends, bu*" a number of attackers used hurley sticks. Before the police could get round to the scene of the struggle rhe unfortunate Orangemen were scattered all over courthouse yard, into which they had passed from the hall. Several of them rushed through the telephone room, where a man with a stick struck eaoh on* as he stumbled-tip the steps. 'The men left in the hall made a decided stand till the police were able to cover their retroat. A constable then went in and assured the women that they could safely come out. Ac five o'clock a squad of police arrived from Kalgoorhe, and with this batch of reinforcements Sergeant Kingston g"t another lot of the besieged to come out. The crowd outside were preparing to charge, bodily on them, when the sergeant drew his revolver. This steadied them. The constables then kept pushing the crowd about, which gave the hunted men a chance to slip through and get away. Father Brunton exhorted his parishioners to disperse, but the mer- took abEolut dy no notice of the priest. The police then got the rest of the Oransemeo out under the direction of Ii specter Brophy, who had just arrived from Kalgoorlie. At half-past five p.m., after fcvo hours and a-lalf of the most lawless proceedings yet seen at The Boulder, the crowd started to disperse.