THEFT AND FIRE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22191, 19 August 1935, Page 10

THEFT AND FIRE

POST OFFICE RAIDED 1 BURGLARS REMOVE SAFE i KUMEU BUILDING BURNED TELEPHONE DIFFICULTY a NEW EXCHANGE SET UP Damage estimated at about £IOOO was caused by a fire which broko out shortly aft:er thieves had visited tho post and telegraph office at liumeu early yesterday morning, and removed the office sal'o, v.hich contained only a small sum in cash and a quantity of stamps, of/a total value of £2-i',. The buikling, which housed n telephono exchange serving Kumeti and the surrounding district, was destroyed, and with it was burned a quantity of mail intended for to-day's rural delivery. Although detectives commenced an inquiry' early yesterday mmiing, and made a widespread investigation throughout J,he day, no arrest hud been made last night. The safe, with the heavy door torn from the hinges, was found at the side of the roc.d between Taupaki and Waitakere at four o'clock yesterday morning. The contents of the drawers and two ca.sh-boXes were missing, a though the safe still contained a number of books and office records, which were slightly damaged as a result of exposure to the weather. Discovery of the Fire It has not been definitely established whether the fire was causud deliberately, or whether it followec an unsuccessful attempt to blow open tho safe,. Whatever its cause, the outbreak occurred tihortly after the safe had been removed by the thieves, who made their/raid between midnight and 1.30 a.m The fire was first noticed by Dr. M. S. Harriss, whose home is a shoit distance from the post office, betw;e:i 1.30 and 1.45 yesterday morning. Members' of his household said that the building, a small wooden structure of two rooms, was a mass of flames when they first noticed the outbreak. Nothing cou!d be done to extinguish thu flames, which were fanned by a boisterous westerly wind, and carried torvud a telegraph pole outside the- pout office. The> pole was charred and tie crossbars carrying the wires were partly burned. The postmistress, Miss D. V r right, who lives at Buapai, was reused by Dr. Harris, and she was drivon to Waitakere r the nearest telephone exchange, to report the fire, whi:h up to that stage was believed to ba purely accidental. Safe Found on Roadside On the return trip, however, the driver of the car, Mr. A. lluit, of Htiapai, noticed what ho took to be a large bcx at the side of the rc ad between Waitakere and Taupaki. He stepped to investigate, and found tho eal'e from the post office, broken open nnd rifled; Two cash-boxes, betb forced open, and two drawers which hud been wrenched from the inside of the safe, were near by, but the door oi" the safe was noii found. The police wsre adviued, and detectives from headquarters in Auckland were on tie scene before daylight. Inquiries revealed that a number of people who attended a danoa at the Kumeu Hall on Saturday night noticed .nothing amiss at tha post office when the party dispersed after tt.idnigllit£ The building was locked by Mr. S. Booth, exchange attendant, who finished work at midmghf, and a niotorisit who passed through Kumeu o!i his way to IHuapai about ono o'clock saw no sign of any strange persons or aciy motor, vehicle near the 'xxrt office. Although it is obvious thai; motorcar or a motor-truck was used to carry the safe'from Kumeu to wher j it was femnd, ahout four miles away, tl'ie police received no reports yesterday of any a otor-vehicle having been stolon. It is thought possible that a stolen machine was u&Bd, but that tho ownor had not discovered his loss yesterday. Opinions are divided whether the sife was broken open with a chisel or whether an explosive was used. L'rpmpt Restoration Work The work of restoring telephone communicjition was commenced by a Post and Telegraph Department gang aboirb three o'clock in the morning; while the VTecksge of the post officii svas still smouldering, nnd by eight o'clock ono toll line was available for uso. Arrangements were made to sot up a temporary telephone exchange in a waitingroom at the Kumeu railway station, a short distance away from the post office, and the necessary equ pinent was brought from Auckland with all possible despatch. The chief postmaster at Auckland, Mr. J. P. P. Clouston, with senior officer!! of the Post and and Bail way Departments, visit eo Kumeu yesterday morning and inspected the remains of the burned office and tho temporary telephone exchange in the 3'ailvvay station. The repair work was jontinued throughout the day and until a late hour last night. It was ex?e:ted that liuffieiijnt progress would he made to onablei the temporary office to be opened for practically all winches of work to-day. The post office at Kume i had been broken into twice previously in about tho las't five years, prior ;o the raid yesterday morning. On bo'ih occasions tho thieves opened the safa. On their second visit they removed the safe bodily, as was (lone yesterday, and it was found somo time later in the Waitakere 'Ranges.