AT BAY ON PIER PAVILION ROOF

NZ Truth, Issue 1051, 14 January 1926, Page 3

AT BAY ON PIER PAVILION ROOF

"X" stood at bay on the roof and hurled down tiles on the roadway. (From "Truth's" Special Christchurch Representative.) Behind the startling incidents witnessed at New Brighton during the temporary madness of "X," a famous All Black footballer, is a story of the pathetic consequences of too much time devoted to study. .

Famous Footballer Attacks Jm Seaside Residents During Sudden Brainstorm

«\/>* went mad, although It is bei\ lieved that his brainstorm will not blight his mental powers permanently, and that his condition, due to a breakdown, will respond to treatment. ■ Be that as it may, the ex- All Black, on arrival at the police station, was examined by doctors and later removed to Sunnyside Mental Hospital. For several days before the crisis he had been suffering from a breakdown and nervous derangement. • He stayed for a time at an outlying suburb, but last- Thursday morning he left there, clad only m shorts and singlet. A Seaside Sensation. He made his way towards New Brighton, and when he arrived at the hoqee of a friend there the singlet had leen jettisoned. From the moment of his arrival at the house trouble commenced. Meeting an invalid lady at the front door, "X" is stated to have seized hold of her and thrown her m the air. His next victim was a young man who appeared on the scene. Picking him' up as though he were a child, "X" carried the man up two flights of stairs. At the top he pointed downwards and said to the alarmed young man: "I could let you down there if I liked." But nothing serious happened. The demented man carried the young fellow in£o his bedroom. I

The boy's sister then came to the j rescue and with great tact succeeded m pacifying the footfoajler. On Pavilion Roof. . Having had enough of the house, the ex-All Black made his way to the pier, where he hurled into the sea everything that was moveable m the way of seats, lifebelts and other equipment. Then he climbed on to the roof of the pavilion, and. wrenching the tiles off the roof, hurled them into the street below.A large crowd of excited spectators had assembled, and Constable/ Hislop

A section of the pier at New Brighton. "X" picked up the seats and threw them into the sea.

Mental Crisis Follows Long Hours of Study and Insomnia

deemed it advisable" to call up reinforcements from town. In half an hour a posse of six policemen arrived m a car. One of them (Constable Harper) was known by the demented, man and on seeing him he came down from the roof without any troubled After he had had a drink at the local hotel, "X" was escorted back to town and later removed to Sunnyside. In the hour of mental crisis he remembered the girl to whom he is engaged. Her name was on his lips as he was escorted to the police station m a motor-car. "X" is ; a fine, upright fellow, a lover of the great outdoors and the game which he helped to place on so high a pinnacle. Suffered from Insomnia. . He is a civil servant and is known to have been studying a good deal of late. It is known that for some time past he had been troubled with insomnia, and it is stated that for the week prior to his outbreak he had only had two Hours' sleep. Given a period of thorough rest and quiet, it is confidently anticipated that he will make a complete recovery. The news of his breakdown came as a great .shock to residents of the city, where he is well-known and very popular.