Within living memory . . .
TODAY is Saturday, May 27, the 147th day of
2023. There are 218 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
— In the Dunedin Supreme Court, confidence trickster and crossdresser Amy Bock pleads guilty to charges of false pretences, forgery, and making a false statement under the Marriage Act. With a string of mostly minor fraud convictions dating back 23 years, and a flair for amateur dramatics allowing her to evade many more, she becomes the first New Zealand woman declared to be a ‘‘habitual criminal’’ (the forerunner of preventive detention). Her sham marriage was annulled, and Bock was released on probation after serving two years in jail. She had her final day in court, again charged with false pretences, in 1931, at the age of 72.
— A Wellington to Auckland express train rearends a northbound freight train after it passes a faulty semaphore signal at Whangamarino in the Waikato. Three people are killed and five seriously injured.
— Otago’s Ron Elvidge captains and scores a late try in the All Blacks’ hardfought 99 draw in the first test of the series against the touring Lions at Carisbrook, before a crowd of 35,000. The referee was double All Black Eric Tindall.
Sergeant William Shore Hughes is fatally shot by Noema Raana Rika while trying to protect the female occupants in a house at Otaki. A short time later, Rika gained access to the house and killed all the occupants before turning the gun on himself.
— Prime Minister Keith Holyoake announces New Zealand will send an artillery unit to Vietnam. The commitment eventually extends to include infantry brigades, SAS and medical teams.
— New Zealand becomes a member of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
— Prominent New Zealand artist Colin McCahon dies in Auckland aged 67.
— In Ranfurly, Senior Constable Peter Umbers is bashed to death with his own baton after he stopped robbery suspect Richard Thomas Lakich. Lakich later pleaded guilty to the murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment. For his bravery in the execution of his duty, Umbers was posthumously awarded the George Medal.
— The Clyde hydro powerhouse begins generating electricity continuously for the national grid.
— Actor Christopher Reeve is left a tetraplegic when thrown from his horse during a jumping event in Charlottesville, Virginia.
— Dunedin’s Greg Henderson wins the 15km scratch race at the World Cycling Championships in Melbourne.
— Thick fog descends over Jade Stadium, Christchurch, for the Super 14 rugby final between the Crusaders and the Hurricanes. The match proceeds but television coverage is a virtual whiteout and commentary for both television and radio is restricted to halfguesses and admissions of complete ignorance as to what is taking place on the field of play.
— America's Covid19 death toll passes 100,000 (Johns Hopkins figures), equal to the number of US servicemen and women who were killed in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan put together.
Today’s birthdays:
Sir Thomas Sidey, New Zealand politician (18631933); David (Allan) Highet, New Zealand politician (19131992); Gordon Leggat, New Zealand cricketer/ administrator (19261973); Graham (Jock) Edwards, New Zealand cricketer (19552020); Stephen Lovatt, New Zealand actor (1964); Sara Wiseman, New Zealand actress (1972); Ian Winchester, New Zealand international discus thrower (1973); Tana Umaga, All Black (1973); Hayden Chisholm, New Zealand saxophonist and multiinstrumentalist/composer (1975); Jamie Oliver, British chef and television personality (1975).
Quote of the day:
GOOD morning Mr Lundy.
Good morning.
Please sit down.
There’s no chair.
Would you please sit down?
But there’s no chair.
Mr Lundy we’ve repeatedly asked you to sit down and make yourself comfortable, and yet you insist on standing, perhaps as a matter of principle, or pride, either way it hardly matters to the board because we’ve asked you to perform a simple task and yet you refuse.
I get that the optics are bad.
The optics are very bad indeed Mr Lundy. How do you expect to be released into the general population if that’s your attitude?
There might be chairs in the general population.
It’s pointless to speculate. For the last time, please sit down.
Would it be all right if I sat on the floor?
No. Mr Lundy, do you have a safety plan that takes into consideration the lessons you have learned for killing your wife and child?
I did not kill them.
You were found guilty. Twice, in the course of two trials. Of course you killed them. The police investigation was exemplary.
In the first trial, the police claimed I drove from Petone to Palmerston North at impossible speeds to kill them. They produced a witness who claimed they saw me near the scene of the crime disguised as a woman and wearing a dress. In the retrial, they produced a jailhouse snitch who was clearly a liar. In both trials they produced a scientist from an obscure laboratory in Texas who
The prosecution was firstrate.
The prosecutor told the jury, ‘‘A man should not have his wife’s brain on his shirt.’’
A memorable line, wouldn’t you agree, Mr Lundy?
I did not have my wife’s brain on my shirt. I did not kill my wife and child.
We are waiting for you to express remorse.
I cannot feel remorse for something I have not done.
We are waiting for you to tell the board why it is you killed them, so that the board, who approach your case with due empathy and sensitivity, can gain some understanding into the sick and twisted way your mind works.
I did not kill my wife and child. You repeatedly fail to provide the board with an analysis about what had happened.
I get that the optics are bad.
The optics are very bad indeed Mr Lundy. Could you at least produce a name and contact details of the person you think did kill your wife and child?
No.
No? After all these years, you don’t know? Don’t have the foggiest? Don’t have any earthly idea?
There are a number of possible scenarios. There are suggestions of financial issues of other people. There are suggestions of drug involvement of other people. But there’s no physical evidence to support any of this.
That’s unfortunate.
Yes, I’ve found it pretty inconvenient.
Well, Mr Lundy, as it stands, just as you continue to stand, things are at a bit of an impasse. But there’s a way forward.
Really?
Really. You have been in jail for 21 years, and maintained a minimum security status. You have completed a sixmonth drug treatment programme. You have a low risk of committing interpersonal violence. You have no previous convictions, you have learned a skill that might offer you employment, and you have the support of family and friends.
Would you agree that the optics are good?
Sure, but what’s the reality? We can discuss that further if you’d please just sit down.