A HARBOUR HUNT

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 134, 8 June 1935, Page 6

A HARBOUR HUNT

WOUNDED MAN IN BOAT

SYDNEY POLICE THRILL

After one of the most exciting chases that have ever taken place on Sydney Harbour, a wounded man in a speedboat was overtaken by the water police, says the "Sydney Morning Herald." ■._•.. For more than four hours the fugitive had evaded his pursuers, and he was ultimately overhauled alter he had made a sensational dash for the open sea. The speedboat nearly rammed the police craft several times. The skill of the helmsman saved the boat, and doubtless prevented the occupants from being hurled into the water. The police were amazed at the dexterity with which the wounded man handled his boat. At one stage they had been so outmanoeuvred that, despairing of boarding the fugitive craft, they decided to follow the runaway until his petrol supplies had become exhausted. Ultimately a relative of the wounded man managed to jump on board the runaway and stop the engine. Detectives then brought the man back to Sydney. He was later taken to Sydney Hospital for treatment for a bullet wound in his head. ' While crossing the harbour near Fort Macquarie before 8 a.m. a boatman was startled to see a fast launch zig-zagging erratically towards him. A solitary figure was at the wheel, and his face and head were covered in blood. The boatman hurried over to Circular Quay and notified the police. In the meantime the water police had received a call from North Sydney stating that a man had shot himself and had then scrambled on board a launch and driven out into the harbour. NEMESIS ENGAGED. A constable was dispatched to Fort Macquarie to intercept the. man when he landed, but as soon, as he saw the policeman the man turned his launch back and sped down the harbour at full speed. A police launch had been sent to look for the man; but it was soon realised that such a craft could not possibly overhaul him, and accordingly the speedboat Nemesis, which is always maintained in readiness for an emergency, was launched. Sergeants James- and Dunnett, and Constable Kichardsonwere the crew. The two speedboats roared down the harbour in a swirl of foam. The faster police launch, which is capable of a speed of 38 miles an hour, was on full throttle and rapidly overhauled the runaway. This was the prelude to a thrilling chase that continued for more than four Hours. The fugitive could be seen crouching over his wheel with blood streaming from a wound in his head. He saw the Nemesis overtaking him and took no heed of the policemen's shouts to stop. Then, the police declared, he shouted that he would ram the Nemesis if the launch came any closer. The wounded man apparently knew that he could evade capture only by superior tactics, and he,commenced to turn and twist around the harbour, doubling back into, little frequented bays and coves, dodging round buoys and jetties, and crossing shallows in the hope that his tenacious pursuers would become stranded. The police allege that when these manoeuvres failed, he swung his vessel around violently on : several occasions, and, turning in a short length with his throttle roaring wide open, attempted (it appeared to the police) to ram the Nemesis. Only the skill of the police helmsman averted disaster, but the time occupied in avoiding an accideni enabled the fugitive to speed away and gain considerably upon the police. DASH FOR OPEN SEA. In the meantime another police launch had arrived upon the scene. Its crew included Detective-Sergeants Matthews and Allmond, who have been investigating the shark murder mystery, and who had been sent to assist in the chase. Petrol supplies on the Nemesis were running low, and the boat returned for additional fuel while the larger craft followed the wounded man. The police feared that the man might, attempt to beach bis boat and land near Watson's Bay, Accordingly, they: manoeuvred him out into the harbour again, where the Nemesis resumed the chase. It was decided to follow him until his fuel supplies ran Suddenly the fugitive decided to make a dash for the open; sea, and his speedboat shot out through the Heads with the police in close pursuit. For about a mile the chase continued before he slowed down. . When the Nemesis came within hailing distance he shouted out that he wanted some bandages. A brother of the man had meanwhile arrived by launch, and while the fugitive was calling to the police, brought his boat alongside the speedboat and leaped on board. He managed to. stop the engine. The police craft then raced over to the disabled runaway. The wounded man was transferred to the Nemesis, and later to the other police boat, on which he was brought back to Sydney. Detective-Sergeants Allmond and Matthews took the man to the Criminal Investigation Branch, where he was attended to by a doctor. ..Some hours later he was taken to Sydney Hospital and admitted for treatment. A police guard was stationed at his bedside. . "He knows the harbour well and outmanoeuvred the police from, the beginning of the chase," said the brother of the wounded man. "Whenever the police launch came anywhere near him, my brother would shoot away from them. He must have been mentally upset, but he was all right when I approached him. He let me draw in alongside and I jumped into his boat and asked him what the matter was. ' His hair was matted 5 with blood, and he looked ghastly. 3 The police searched the boat for arms, * but did not find anything. Then they 1 took my brother aboard the Nemesis, r and my boat was towed, back to 1 Lavender Bay."