DARING BANK ROBBERY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17028, 13 August 1929, Page 10

DARING BANK ROBBERY

TELLER'S BAD NIGHT NEW ZEALANDER CHARGED SYDNEY, August 1. The young New Zealandcr. Graham Rice, who was arrested following the. audacious robbery of the Commercial Bank of Australia, at Griffith, a prosperous town in the irrigation areas of New South Wales, had not been long in this country. He was only 19 years of age. and it is reported that he once lived at Kaiwarra, Wellington, with his parents. For a time he was employed as a clerk at a leading store at Griffith, and he is described as a good looking young fellow, who became very popular with the townspeople. This was mainly responsible for hi- undoing, judging by all accounts, fir his voice was recognised by the teller whose head was covered by a sack while the robber carried out his task. For some time Rice passed under the name of Douglas. He is recovering from self-inflicted injuries which followed his arrest. The storv of the crime was told by Kevin McMillan, the teller, who gave a graphic, account of the dreadful "night through which he passed. The robbery occurred in tbe earlv hours of Sunday morning. On Saturday night McMillan was visiting friends at Hie Rank of New South Wales, and he returned just, about midnight to his rooms at the rear of the Commercial Hank. He entered the building through the front door, closed the dior and walked through toward the light switch at- the rear of the office. INTRUDER'S LEISURELY WORK. He had one hand in his trousers pocket -when a bag was thrown over his head, and a gruff voice demanded that he should keep silent. At the same time the barrel of a revolver was thrust into the hack of his neck, and his arms were securelv tied behind his buck. The robber then threw .McMillan to the floor, tied his feet together, and gagged him, leaving him lying on the floor with his head covered. The intruder then proceeded to do his job in a leisurely fashion. He took the kevs from McMillan's [pocket, opened the safe, and look out the parcels of money. "I fried hard to get a look at the intruder," said McMillan the next day, when he turned up to work as usual. "He messed about the bank until daylight. He worked with the aid of matches, and though' I managed to get my eyes uncovered, t could not see him. ( do not know whether he wore a mask. T did not speak to him, hut he warned me once or twice to keep quiet. 1 was pretty sure that I recognised his voice, hut, of course, T did not let him know my suspicions. That might have been a fatal blunder for me." SHOT THROUGH THE CHEST. After the burglar's departure McMillan worked his hands tree, and at intervals he cried out for help, but it was not until 8 in the morning that his cries were heard. When the polite arrived. McMillan was in a semi-exhausted condition, stiff with the bitter cold, and his wrists were bleeding where the cord had cut through the flesh.

Having heard the teller's story Constable Prior hurried from the bank to Mirrool House, a boarding establishment, whore he saw the young man lie wanted talking to a group of footballers. "I want to see you a moment." he sa,id to V>o. man, calling him by the name of Douglas, by which he was generally known in Griffith. Together they walked across the courtyard. In the middle of the yard Douglas, or Rico, drew a revolver, and pointing it against his -best, pulled the trigger. As he dropped f o the ground, with blood gushing from his chest, he was still conscious. The wounded man was hurried to the hospital, where he was attended by the Government medical officer. The bullet had entered his body through the left breast, just above the heart, and made e.vif behind the armpit. From a parcel which the man was carrying when he shot himself, and from his clothing and his room at the boardinghouse, the police recovered notes and silver equalling the amount that had been taken from the 'bank. The robberv created a sensation in the town of Griffith, which prides itself on the law-abiding nature of its citizens. It was not surprising, therefore, that the residents should rjuicklv enter a disclaimer as far as young Rice is concerned, and the fact that he was a New Zealandcr has been made much of by the metropolitan press, always anxious to convince the people that all crimes in this country do not originate in the very fertile brains of Australians.