Kaitaia Court

Northland Age, Volume XVI, Issue 92, 12 September 1947, Page 2

Kaitaia Court

Mr. W. Carroll Harley, S.M., convicting Issac NVrble (a Maori labourer) at Tuesday’s sitting of the Kaitaia (.’■ on a charge of assaulting a 16-;, car-old Maori girl, ordered defm'cul to come up for sentence if cad d upon within one year and j stated th..t any further court appe r- I ance vould have serious eonsequen-J ccs. “It is time you made a serious j effort to settle down,” Mr. Hailey j added. j Conn einant was ern loyed as a 1 no estic at on Awanui ' ■- I -ii' o, ami for the prosecution Sgt. H. i J. Harrington stated that defendant i was alleged to have entered her room at the reo r of the house at 11.50 p.m. ■ on August 11th. He slapped the girl’s fare when she called out for ho’” and rcmnricd on the premises until she inn into the room of an elderly man. Dei- ndant who was 25 years old, a returned serviceman who had had three previous convictions, denied intention to commit * more serious offence when questioned by the Magistrate who said that, had such an offence o :ui red under any civ-urn-stances, in view of the girl’s age, defendant would have had to face a Supreme charge. John Brown, aged 20, an unemployed Maori labourer, was admitted to probation for six months on the condition that lie accepted work under the direction of the probation officer, for the theft of an alarm clock valued at £ 1/2/6 from an Awanui boarding house. In addition to being convicted, Brown was ordered to make restitution. Motoring Offences Mr. Nicholls pleaded not guilty for Walter Laurence Masters, motor mechanic of Kaitaia, who was charged with driving without due care and attention as a result of a collision between a light truck and a taxi in Commerce Street, Kaitaia, on June 26th. Defendant was convicted and discharged, no further penalty being added by Mr. Harley who opined that all concerned had learnt a useful lesson. The accident occurred when defendant reversed his vehicle into the path of approaching traffic from premises in Commerce Street, and defendant’s evidence and that of the taxi driver (Charles William Harris) and his passenger, showed that neither driver had noticed the approach of the other vehicle until it was too late to avoid a collision. The Magistrate stated that the driver/of the

reversing vehicle was obliged to ensure that the roadway was clear and that the drivers of approaching traffic had seen him and realized his intention. He added that this rule was applicable at all times other than when there was extraordinary or . stupid conduct on the part of other road-users. Traffic Inspector V. R. Kingdon prosecuted. A written plea of guilty was entered by George Melville King to a charge of .having driven at a speed in excess of 40 m.p.h. on the KaitaiaAwanui highway. He was fined £2 and ordered to pay costs ammounting to 10/-. Defendant explained that h e had been in a hurry and had not j expected to encounter a Traffic Of .- icer in the locality. Inspector Kin - I don stated that defendant’s speed hrd j i been checked at 62 m.p.h. on the j Awanui straight and that his speed | through Kaitaia had been fairly high, j On two charges, driving without, due care and attention and the ah- | sence of a warrant of fitness, Bert Manuel was convicted and fined 10/with 10/- costs, Defendant had already paid the costs of repairs to the other vehicle with which his was involved in a collision at Awanui, from which the prosecution resulted. Matthew Pirimi was convicted on a charge of having driven a truck without a tail-light on the AwanuiMangonui highway.