BANK ROBBERY

Hokitika Guardian, 26 August 1929, Page 8

BANK ROBBERY

NEW ZEALANDER. ARRESTED

TELLER’S DREADFUL NIGHT,

SYDNEY, August 15

The young New Zealander, Graham Rice, who was arrested following the audacious robbery of the Commercial Bank of Australia, at Griffith, a prosperous town in the irrigation areas oi New South Wales, had not been long in this country. He was only 19 years of age and it is reported that he once lived at Kaiwarra, Wellington with his parents. For a time he was employed as a clerk at a leading store at Griffith and he is described as a good-looking young fellow who became very popular with the townspeople. This was mainly responsible for his undoing, judging by all accounts, for his voice was recognised by the teller whose head was covered with a sack while the robber carried out his task. For some time Bice passed under the name of Douglas. lie is recovering from self-inllic-ed injuries which followed his arrest. The story of the crime was told by Kevin McMillan, the teller, who gave a graphic account of the dreadful night through which he passed. The robbery occurred in the early .hours of Sunday morning. On Saturday night McMillan' was visiting friends at the Bank of New South Wales and he returned just about midnight to his room at the rear of the Commercial Bank. He entered the building through the front door closed the door, and walked through towards the light switch at the rear of the office. He had one hand in his trousers pocket, when a bag was thrown over his head, and a gruff voice demanded that he should keep silent. At the same time the barrel of a revolver was thrust into the back of his neck, and his arms were secured tightly behind bis back. The robber then threw McMillan to the floor, tied his feet together, and gagged him, leaving him lying on the floor with his head covered. The intruder then proceeded to do his job in a leisurely fashion. He took the key from McMillan’s pocket, open r ed the safe, and took out the parcels of money. “I tried hard to get a look at the intruder,” said McMillan the next day when he turned up to work as usual. “He messed about the bank until daylight. He worked with the aid of matches, and though I managed to get my eyes uncovered, I could not see him I do not know whether he wore a mask L did not speak to him, hut he warned me once or twice to keep quiet. I was pretty sure that I recognised his voice, hut, of course, I did not let him know my suspicions. That might have been a fatal blunder for me" After the burglar’s departure McMillan work ed his hands free, and at intervals he cried out for help, but it was not until 8 in the morning that his cries were heard. When the police arrived McMil lan was in a semi-exhausted condition, stiff with the bitter cold, and his wrists were bleeding where the cord had cut through the flesh. Having heard the teller’s story, Constable Prior hurried from the hank to Mirrool House, a hoarding establishment, where he saw the young man he wanted talking to a group of footballers. “I want to see you a moment,” ! he said to the man, calling him by the name of Douglas, by which he was generally known in Griffith. Together they walked across the courtyard. In the middle of the yard ' Douglas, or Rice drew a revolver, and pointing it against his chest, pulled the trigger. As he dropped to the ground, with the blood gushing from his chest he was still conscious. The wounded man was hurried to the hospital, where he was attended by the Government medical officer. The bullet had entered his body through the left breast, just above the heart, and had made exit behind the armpit. From a parcel which the man was carrying when be shot himself, and from his clothing and his room at the boarding house, the police recovered notes and silver equalling the amount that had been taken from the bank. 55 The robbery created a sensation in the town of Griffith, which prides itself on the law-abiding nature of il*6 citizens.