AHEAD OF MR. LANG

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 73, 28 March 1932, Page 8

AHEAD OF MR. LANG

MAN WHO CUT RIBBON

BRIDGE OPENING SCENE

PERSONAL DETAILS

(From "The Post's" Representative.) SYDNEY, 24th March. It can be said with truth that no one -except those officially concerned were disgusted' with the action of Captain P. 33. de Groot, an officer of the loth Hussars, who mounted on a prancing chestnut horse forestalled the Premiei: (Mr. Lang) at the Bridge - opening on Saturday, and slashed with his sword the wide blue ribbon which had beea so carefully placed in position' for -the ceremony associated. with the opening of the Harbour Bridge. All along it hadbeen the boast of the leader of the New Guard, the organisation - which, has appointed itself a bulwark against Communism, that Mr. Lang would not open the bridge. This threat while it was never taken seriously, aroused, intense interest and added piquancy. to Saturday's great ceremonial. It would not be safe io assume • that the New Guard, officially, was unaware of the plot so carefully laid, by Captain de Groot, although on Friday if was claimed by the New Guard that nothing untoward would take place. In view of the turn of events it is believed that this statement was intended to put the police off the scent. Of course the police did not slacken their precautions in any way, and it is therefore all the more amazing that one man was able to get through the notwork and succeed in holding the police Up.1;to a certain amount of ridicule. POLICE LOSE CASTE. It cannot b6 denied that the New South Wales police during the past few months has lost some caste. This is, uiot due in any way to the Force itself, but can be traced back to the administrative heads and so to the Government. Due no doubt to instructions from a Labour Cabinet there have been many questionable acts, particularly in the direction of leniency shown to Communists and the harsh enforcement of'the law where members of the New Guard were concerned. The sympathy of .the Police Department has. certainly extended to those sections with which 'Labour is generally supposed to have some alliance. The public has not yet forgotten the prosecution of the, leader of the New Guard in which certain members of the Force said they felt insulted by the references he made to Mr. Lang. While it would be wrong to say that the people of New South Wales openly applaud Captain de Groot it would be right to say that they have enjoyed the joke he played at the expense of the police. ■ Amazing precautions -had been taken and no man was more annoyed than the Commissioner (Mr.' Childs) that these should have failed so badly. The temper of the police officers was plainly demonstrated by tha manner in which Captain de .Groot was dragged from his horse after .■toe had cut the ribbon; exclaiming "On behalf of decent and loyal citizens of New South Wales t now declare this bridge open."- ---' TREATMENT OF DE GEOOT. " The temper of the police officials was further exemplified when Captain de Gr.oat, instead of being taken to a police- station, as would have-been the fate of any ordinary citizen, was lodged in the Eeception House and «harged with being a person deemed to be insane and not under proper care and control. Those who knew Captain . de' Groot best knew that he was normal in most things though intensely patriotic and inclined to emotional outbursts. Tiey were not surprised therefore, when the Magistrate who presided at the Lunacy Court ordered his discharge. When he appeared before the Court Ca.ptain de Groot, dressed in a neat fawn suit showed'no'sign of emotion and .listened • intently with folded arms as the head of the Criminal Investigation Department detailed 'the incident on the, bridge. Superintendent Mackay said "When I first no- - ticed the officer his arm was raised in the air, with a sword in his hand, and I heard him say, 'I declare this bridge opetf on behalf of the respectable citi- ■ zens of New; South Wales.' At this moment I saw Inspector Eobson catch hold of the reins. I heard Captain de Groot say to Eobson, 'Stand back, I am a King's Officer, vDon't interfere yrith me,' at the same time raising his ; sword in a threatening manner. Ho faced round in his saddle and said to! me, 'I'am a King's Officer, stand back.: Don't interfere with me,' at the same time holding the upraised sword in his hand. I caught hold of him and pulled him off his horse. His footj caught in the stirrup. I have known Captain de Groot for some time. I, saw him at King's Cross prior to the recent elections. I have had several | conversations with him and as a result of "my experiences with him and his| action on Saturday, I deemed him to | be insane and not under proper care | and control, and directed him to be charged accordingly." QUESTION OF SANITY. j Mr. Hardwick (for de Groot)? "What' was ' this previous experience you rely, , upon to lay this charge?" 1 Mr. Mackay: "On the .night of the! \ attack on Communists at King's Cross ,fl saw.de Groot, and.later at Darling-1 hurst Police Station a constable said to me—" ' . Mr. Hardwick: "I don't want to 'know what anyone else said to you." i Mr. Mackay: "You asked me, and I say that the constable told me that I there was a man outside' who wanted! to.see rue. I went outside and saw del Groot, who saluted me and said,, 'Everything passed off all right, didn'tl it?' I Eaid, 'Who are you?' and he re-, plied, 'I am Mr. de Groot, of the Newl Guard.' He was in an extremely ex-1 cited and nervous condition. Since then1 I have seen him at the Criminal Inves- ' tigation Department, when he has1 in1-1 terviewed me, and since then I have, interviewed him in .the presence of Colonel Campbell, leader of the New Guard, and I say, as a result of my observations and his manner of action on Saturday last, I deemed him insane." Dr. Hillier, the resident medical officer at the Eeception House, said that .he had examined de Groot, who was. able to give a clear and coherent account' of his actions' on the morning of his arrest. He had had frequent conversations with him, examining him at length on various questions arising out ,of his actions, and to.each question ho returned, a logical account. As a result of'his observations the doctor came to tho conclusion that he would be un- . able to certify that de Groot was,insane. Allowing for his view of the happenings the explanation of his actions could not be placed as those of an insane person. He therefore recommended his discharge from the Eeception House. ' The Magistrate intimated that he did not wish to hear further evidence, and acted promptly on tho advice of the doctor. A crowd of 1000 people warmly cheered de Groot after he had been released. Many Labour supporters have referred insultingly to Captain de Groot as '<a Dutchman" and "an ..alien." The fact is that he was born in Ireland, and for many years was in business in Sydney as a dealer in fine art and de luxe furniture. He had his owa fac-

Tory, but with the depression came a serious fall in the demand for the type of articles he manufactured. His family has been in the antique business in England for several generations. He came to Australia before the war, and commenced business as a seller of old furniture and antiques. He served *ith the 15th Hussars during the war, and is on the reserve list of officers. During the war he was seconded to the Tank Corps. He returned to Sydney when the war was over, and his shop in the city -was the Mecca of collectors, and contained many of the best specimens of periodic English furniture. He is also s an expert in old glass, silver, and porcelain,' and was for some time the Commonwealth Government's expert for the examination of importa under the clause which admitted antiques free if more than one hundred years old. He is married, and it is .clear now that his wife knew of his intended exploit on Saturday ' morning. She admitted that she had the bail money ready in order to secure the release of her husband, but she was unprepared for the move which placed de Groot in a Reception. House instead of in a prison. INQUIEY PEOMISED. .The police and the military authorities are now engaged in a controversy as to who was to blame for de Groot's intrusion, upon the ceremony. An inter-' esting sidelight has been the , order from the Prime Minister for a complete inquiry into the whole affair. This, no doubt, is dictated by the annoyance of the Governor-General (Sir Isaac Isaacs), who was saluted by Captain de Groot as he passed the official dais, and who returned a special salute. It is said that the Governor-General cannot understand1 why de Groot was not detected by the officer in charge of the escort, nor can he -understand why the police suspicions were not aroused by the appearance of a strange uniform—that of the Hussars—so different from anything worn by an officer of the Australian Forces. The whole incident is made the more; amazing by the fact that when the escort was proceeding to the bridge approach Captain de Groot's horse slipped and he was unseated, but a police officer went*to:his. assistance and enabled him to remount without any undue loss of time. The base commandant, Brigadier General Heritage, said that the escort was examined and checked in the usual way, and it was a mystery to him how any unauthorised' person was able to join.in at any point of the procession, i He declined to express any opinion, as to where culpability lay. The.Commissioner of Police defended his Department, and said the police were justified: in every way in assuming that any person in military uniform was an authorised member of the escort. At the. time he thought it very .strange that, the escort should | contain'a . man not in regular dress, iHe did not know anything about the j proper dress of an escort, and other ! members of the Police Force were in a i similar position. ,