“SQUATTERS” OCCUPY VACANT HOUSE AT MAORI HILL

Evening Star, Issue 26087, 29 April 1947, Page 4

“SQUATTERS” OCCUPY VACANT HOUSE AT MAORI HILL

“ Squatting " has come to Dunedin. The first known instance occurred yesterday, when a family moved into a vacant house at 35 Falkland street, Maori Hill. One of the first steps taken by the squatters was that of notifying the - police. The squatters are Mr J. A. Watson, of Dunedin, his wife and three children, his son-in-law, Mr B. J. Mannix, with his wife, and a friend. Mr Watson told the ‘ Evening Star ’ this morning that he had been looking for a house without success for two years. He had answered about 100 advertisements, without success. About a year ago he noticed the house was vacant, and he had made numeruus inquiries to .discover the name of the owner. Mr Watson, who receives a war pension for service in the First World War and is unable to work, added that he had been living with his family in two rooms at North-east Valley. There had been 14 people living there in a fourroomed house. Some time ago Mr Watson' found a key in a shed behind the Maori Hill houso. Last week he tried' the key in the back door, and opened up the house. The house has five large rooms, with kitchen and conveniences. The family moved their furniture in yesterday, and were busy to-day putting the house into order. The house was in good repnir throughout, although the small garden needed attention. The electric power was on, and there was a good coal range for cooking and heating the water. “ We rang up the gas department yesterday, and asked them to turn the gas on, but they came along this morning and removed the meter instead,” said Mr Watson. This was the only unwelcome attention 1/iey had received so far. “ If the owner can be found we are willing, to pay a reasonable rent for the property,” he said. “We will go if they find another place for us to go to.” OWNER TRACED. Further im-cstigations by the ‘ Evening Star ’ led to the discovery that the house was owned by Mrs Jemima I. Grieve, an elderly lady, who is at present in the North Island on a convalescent trip. A relative of the owner stated that she believed that the house had been vacant only a few months, and not i the longer ipefiod stated by the squatters. APPROPRIATE ACTION PENDING. Messrs Smith, Lousley, and Smith, attorneys for the owner, stated this afternoon that “appropriate action will be taken to dispossess the occupants.” The firm refused to indicate, the nature of the action to be taken.