WEST COAST MAN HUNT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 14 October 1941, Page 5

WEST COAST MAN HUNT

GRAHAM STILL FREE SEARCHERS WELL ARMED A NIGHT ALARM Hokitika, Oct. 13. When darkness fell at Koiterangi to-night Stanley Graham was still not caught. He is thought to he in the bush not very far from his home. If he comes out to-night he will be met by a professional and amateur army, well dug in in deep sand-bagged pits, with Lewis guns, tommy guns and other weapons. Verey lights and bursts of fire from , machinegun and tommy gun emplace- j j ments broke the darkness and the sil-j once that hung- over Koiterangi Hall iin the early hours of this morning jwhen Territorials beside the house of i Stanley Graham tired at what they took ; jto be a moving figure in the roadway. ' Some Territorials claim that there i were answering shots with the distinc- ! tive crack of an automatic pistol, such | )as Graham has, but there is no proof; one way or the other that Graham did j make yet another visit to his home, and ! the theory that he did is in fact discounted by the police. If Graham, who must know by now j the reception that will be awaiting him, ) comes back again on his sixth night of j freedom, he will face a remarkable! |armoury of weapons. He himself must: be sleeping during the day. but, with' j his known wounds and the fatigue of ! prowling in the bush, his strength can- i ! not now be what it was in his previous; battle. However, feeling is fairly general that he lias substantial caches of 'food in bush hideouts, not because of a premeditated plan of campaign for I this nightly guerrilla warfare, but be-. I cause of his habits of going away deer- ! | stalking and spending nights in the) i bush. DARING I'IEC'E OF WORK All to-day armed patrols scoured the countryside looking for Graham, and ; j one remarkable trip was made by i Detective-Sergeant H. E. Knight and I two local men up Mount Camelback, j a daring piece of work in country : which would have afforded any hunted! | man ideal cover for watching his pur-J isuers come up the hill. They got right to the top. with no trace of Graham. Radio patrols, manned by the sigjnailers from Burnham, kept night and; ! day communications in the bush. but. i once night falls the only man in the, ! district who will move is Graham, j Everyone else knows to keep still and wait. The position really reverses in the; day, for then the hunters look for Graham. At night they wait, and Graham ; can, if he chooses, come and look for r them. He has field-glasses with him, i and if he has a post of observation in daylight, Graham must know by now what he has to face if he tries again to go to his house. AEROPLANE OVER DISTRICT j An aeroplane was over the district again to-day but. with Graham taking cover and as it is most unlikely that he will ever attempt to cross open country in daylight, it appears worse than looking for a needle in a haystack to try to locate him from the DETECTIVE-SERGEANT’S ESCAPE SHOTS FIRED BY SEARCHER Christchurch, Oct. 13. j j How five rifle shots were fired at J i Detective-Sergeant 11. E. Knight by : j searcher; on Thursday night when hoi | was investigating the shooting of Coulson and Hutchison was told to a; reporter this morning by Koiterangi I Home Guards who saw the incident. J | Their story was subsequently confirmed ! from other sources. When the shooting occurred in Gra-} ham’s house. Detective-Sergeant Knight, was at the post office. With a fellow j police officer he ran out to his ear, and ; with full lights on drove 300 yards to! the scene. He ran Hie car into the left;; lof Hie road by Graham's gate. It wash at tliis moment, say eye-witnesses, that j j shots were fired from the hall across the j ! road and only fifty yards away. Calling i out a warning, Knight got out of the car and walked across tc the hall, where he shouted the. password. A shot then fired from the ball door passed through ! the right front mudguard of Coulson's [car, which was parked near the line of Jilt. A Koiterangi man who was in the | hall said an attempt was made to clap Detective-Sergeant Knight with a rifle butt a t neared the door in the semidarkness. Detective-Sergeant Knight then went back to his car, turned it round fast, and drove off back to the post office. At this stage a further shot rang out from ahead of the car. The detective-sergeant turned his car again, and made a wide detour round the block to avoid further unpleasantness. FUNERAL OF CONSTABLE BEST ADDRESS BY POLICE COMMISSIONER TRIBUTE TO MEN WHO LOST TIIEIR LIVES Hokitika, Oct. 13. Included in the huge procession at the funeral of Constable Edward Mark Best, the sixth victim of the Koiterangi killings, was a large representation of police officers from all parts of the Dominion. As a mark of respect business people closed their Hokitika premises for three hours. The Kanieri School, at which the Best children attend. was closed and at the beginning of the long procession to the Methodist Church, the Kanieri school children formed a guard of honour. Hokitika

school children wore also dismissed just | before the funeral. Included among the mourners was 1 the Commissioner of Police, who was 1 accompanied by Inspector D. L. Cal ■ well, the Home Guard, in which Constable Best had displayed the keenest | interest. Masonic Brethren and numerous other citizens. The pall bearers included former police colleagues and lodge brethren. In the course of his address the Commissioner of Police paid a tribute to the men who lost their lives. HOME GUARDSMEN'S FUNERAL Tiie funeral took place yesterday morning of Mr Gregory George Thomas; Hutchison. Kanieri, and yesterday afternoon of Mr Herbert John Maxton Coul- I •son, Koiterangi. victims of the shooting: at Graham's house on Thursday night. Both were attended by practically the whole community. Members of the Horne Guard, to which both victims; belonged, and Territorials attended the \ first ceremony, a firing party firing j three volleys, and the "Last Post” was sounded. The Minister in charge of Police. Mr Webb, attended the funerals in the company of the Commissioner and Mr O'Brien. M.P. Mr Webb visited! the relatives of the dead men. The Minister said compassionate allowances would be made to the relatives. SEVENTH VICTIM IN SERIOUS CONDITION Graham's seventh victim, Mr G. S. Ridley, is still seriously ill in the Westland Hospital. His conditions has been serious ever since he was admitted.- — 1 P.A. MOST OF HOME GUARD WITHDRAWN REPLACEMENT BY MILITARY Christchurch, Oct. 12. Most ol the Home Guards at Koite rangi were withdrawn to-night, the military authorities having assumed control under the police. More than forty Burnham Territorials have arrived. They include signallers and i Lewis gunners and to-day they entrenched near the house. NO FRESII DEVELOPMENTS Christchurch, This Day. There were no fresh developments overnight in the Koiterangi man hunt, i Home Guards and Police spread round the neighbouring district saw nothing I to arouse their suspicions and although it was stated that two shots were fired 1 by watchers, this was officially denied. | - P.A. '