FOREIGNERS' FIERCE FIGHT

NZ Truth, Issue 999, 17 January 1925, Page 5

FOREIGNERS' FIERCE FIGHT

Two Sailors And A Maori

Woman

Remarkable Recovery from Skull

Fracture,

A fierce fight which raged. in the waybacks of Northern Auckland between two foreigners, and m which' the warlike propensities of a stalwart Maori woman were called upon with telling effect, resulted m John Garopani getting the worst of the deal and m his becoming the inmate of Whangarei Hospital for the period of 51 days. Immediately on his release he was taken over by the police, and it was when he stood ; before Magistrate Tate that the story of the mortal conflict came out. The story was to the effect that Garopani /was a Chilian sailor on.cc and came to the country as a result of the burning of the ship Cecilia Sudden some two years ago. In the far north he came into contact with Desidero Diaz, a compatriot of his own, with whom he worked. It fell out that on Armistice Day Garopani returned from Whangarei, where he had dined not wisely but too well. On his arrival the merry one found that Diaz, and his Maori wife were at home, and the latter set about preparing some food for the traveller. When she asked Garopani to partake of the victuals she had set clown for him, he became abusive and used insulting language. Things for a time were very lively, and after a chair had been hurled at the woman by the inebriated ex-sailor, hubby Diaz took a hand. Thereupon, it was stated, a tremendous struggle ensued of the real life and death character. Garopani got hold of an' evil looking axe with Avhich he seemed like working human destruction, and Diaz and his wife armed themselves with what lay handiest, and that happened to be substantial cuttings of puriri firewood. The contestants for a time made the lonely bush around echo and re-echo. At length Garopani fell under- tho -weight of a blow from Diaz's puriri cudgel, thus allowing the combatants to bind their assailant hand and\foot. Making him as comfortable as possible for the night with pillows arid blankets, Diaz and his gallant wife retired, only to find on the, following morning that Garopani had freed himself from his bonds. He requested to . be" figain bound,- and the police were sent for.

Diaz had not got out of the struggle scathless, for a nasty wound on the shoulder from, the axe of his adverV sary proved troublesome, and but for the merest trick of fate m the glancing

of the weapon Diaz must have passed to his account on that eventful day.

Dr. Buckley told the Cburt . that Garopani 'had made a miraculous recovery, lie sustained a fracture of the base of the skull, and the only thing that preserved him as. of this earth was the fortuitous circumstance that the wound had trepanned itself Otherwise the . laceration of the brain membrane must have, proved, fatal.-

Garopani delivered His defence m a faltering admixture of Spanish and Maori, arid said that he had worked for his cbmp.atriot for the past, twelve months without receiving a penny m exchange. He had got an offer of another job, and Diaz had become incensed at the prospect of losing the services *of Garopani. The row which resulted m such a violent eruption of temper had centred m that point and was accentuated by Diaz throwing his late employee's belongings into the backyard and trying to throw their owner after them. Garopani did not remember exactly what transpired after that, but- he reckoned that Diaz helped to demolish one large ancl twt> small bottles of whisky.

The S.M. took the view "that the fight was the outcome of a drunken brawl m which Garopani had come oft! second best, being both culprit arid victim. At jthe same l. time he warned Garopani that he must not seek further trouble, and ordered him to come up for, sentence when "called upon.