SIEGE IN THE HILLS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21561, 4 August 1933, Page 12

SIEGE IN THE HILLS

ALLEGED VENDETTA SERBIAN FARMERS HARASSED. NIGHTLY FEAR OF VIOLENCE, [FROM OCR OWN CORRESPONDENT] , " ' ; : ' MELBOURNE. July 27 A remarkable story involving allegations of a vendetta against a number of Serbians who have settled in a mora or loss isolated part of the ' Gippsland district, in Victoria, comes from the little town of Toora North. Foreigner!) thero haro banded together and wait in nightly terror, of violence. The mysterious events that have been reported so fa'r includo an attempt to poison oiio of the settlers, the firing of shots in the middle of the night, the death by poison of two dogs. Each event has followed closely on the other, and thosei who dwell in the lonely farm high in the hills wonder what is going to happen next. The Serbians sit with guns across their knees, while the police, i hidden in the valleys or frozen gullies, keep watch over the honie of Tom George, whose fife has been twice menaced. The lOnoliness of the region, and the inability of the chief actors •' in this grim drama to speak English have greatly hampered the police in their inquiries. For more than a year-Tom and Chris George, Serbian brothers, have occupied a small dairy farm in the hills. Chris works in the township of Toora, while Tom looks after the'farm. Near by, on other holdings, live their cousins, Chris, Nick and Vassi George. Tom Georgo set out to see his cows on a distant run last Wednesday. He chopped up some meat and fried it, leaving it in tho pan on the stove, covered with brown paper, ready for his homecoming. On the following day ho tasted.the meat and found that ft was bitter. He threw it into the fire. In tho morning he mado a startling discovery. A bottle of poison kept for the poisoning of foxes was missing from its place. -Tom went outside and found his two dogs dead. They had been poisoned.

, Returning home on Saturday night from a visit to his cousins, George surprised two men, who were lurking behind a trGe. These men, they state, immediately ran off into the bush. On Sunday night Chris went to the woodshed to get some fuel for a fire. He reports that as he entered the shed two shots rang out ,and. the bullets whistled over his head. Calling to his brother to v take caro he ran into the house. They put the lights out and sat in silence for more than an hour without moving. Then cautiously they made their way to their cousins' house. Aftor that they communicated with the police and asked for protection. Tho homes of tho Serbians this week are in a state of siege, and anyone who approaches Unannounced is likely to regret his rashness. So far the events aro completely baffling. Both brothers have been in Australia for firo years and they say that they have not made any enemies. Tom stated this week that on Sunday the tomato sauce tasted bitter, and this has been sent to tho police for analysis.