Ku-ring-gai Clippings Vol 4

Ku-ring-gai Clippings
Being a collection of 19th and 20th century newspaper articles with a connection to the Municipality of Ku-ring-gai.

Editor: R.N.Whitaker
email: whitsend1@optushome.com.au

Volume 4

ROBBERY UNDER ARMS - A MAN WITH A REVOLVER

Sydney, The Adelaide Advertiser, Wednesday 5th October 1910

William Trelty, a young man, who lives in Cyril Street. Roseville, told a strange tale to the North Sydney police last night.

He said he was walking through some scrub near Boundary Street, Rose- ville, on his way home, when suddenly he was confronted by a man wearing a slouch felt hat, pulled down over his eyes.

The stranger pointed a revolver and requested him to hand over his money. Trelty complied, and then the robber asked for his watch. Trelty was able to satisfy the man that he did not have a watch upon him, and the man then departed.

The police are investigating the matter, but Trelty is not sure that he can identify the mysterious stranger.

CHURCH VANDALISM - Five Boys Arrested

SYDNEY, The Canberra Times, Thu 5th January 1933

Five boys were arrested at Chatswood yesterday. They are alleged to have broken Into various churches in Chatswood and Roseville districts. In each church they entered, they drank the communion wine, smashed, communion glasses, threw stones through windows and scattered hymn and prayer books about.

In one church, they mixed sugar, wine and water and threw it over the floor and seats. The eldest of the boys was 12 years of age.

POLICE CHIEF'S CAR STOLEN

SYDNEY, The Canberra Times, Tue 10th May 1938A car belonging to the Commissioner of Police (Mr. William Mackay) that was stolen from Chatswood last night, was recovered in Wivern Avenue, Chatswood, today.

The car was undamaged and the police believe that a youth used it to take his girl home.

GOSFORD ESCAPEES RECAPTURED

SYDNEY, The Canberra Times, Tue 11th July 1944

Four of the 16 escapees from Gosford Boys Home on Saturday have been captured. Three were arrested last night at Chatswood Station, wearing clothing allegedly stolen from a policeman’s home. The fourth was caught this morning by detectives investigating a robbery at Balmain.

FIRE BALLS IN SYDNEY

SYDNEY, The Canberra Times, Tue 3rd December 1935

The remarkable phenomenon of a fire-ball apparently attached to an overhead railway wire was witnessed during a thunderstorm at Epping to-day. The fire-ball melted the thick wire which fell to the platform send- ing the waiting train passengers scattering in panic. Lightning damaged the electric installations in several suburbs.

A second fire-ball struck the wires about a quarter of a mile away. The wires were broken and the insulators fused by the intense heat.

Several people were temporarily blinded by a flash of light.

Harry Sharp, 37, of Chatswood, was partially paralysed when lightning struck the switchboard of the pottery works at Chatswood. The lightning hurled him several feet. He recovered after hospital treatment.

CLERGYMAN TWICE KNOCKED DOWN MAN WHO ROBBED HIM

SYDNEY, The Canberra Times, Wed 16th June 1948

A clergyman twice knocked down a man who tried to steal, his wristlet-watch on Saturday night, according to evidence in the North Sydney Police Court today when Henry Davis, 54, labourer, was sentenced to six months hard labour for having stolen a watch, valued at £10, from the Rev. E. Langley, of Chatswood.

Mr. Langley, who had dozed off while waiting for a train at Chatswood Station, was awakened to find Davis trying to cut the watch from his wrist. He knocked Davis down, and when Davis denied having, the watch, Lang- ley again knocked him down. Davis was said to have convictions, dating back 23 years.

ARTIST ALLEGED TO HAVE COMMITTED SERIOUS OFFENCES AGAINST MODELS

SYDNEY, The Canberra Times, Tue 22 June 1954

Three young Sydney models had been assaulted and subjected to unrestrained eroticism by a 26-year-old commercial artist, it was alleged in Central Criminal Court today.

The girls were in a party of five models, whom the artist, Leonard Keith Lawson, of Cliff Street, Manly, had taken to Terry Hills, to photograph them for a calendar.

It was alleged that Lawson had undressed all the girls and tampered with them.

He appeared before Mr. Justice Clancy and a jury on three charges of rape.

The Crown Prosecutor, Mr. Furnell, said evidence would show that Lawson had taken five girls two of whom were 15, to the bush near Terry Hills, where the alleged offences were committed.

"Lawson went about his preparations with skill and organisation which would have been better suited to a more important undertaking," said Mr. Furnell.
"He prepared himself with paraphernalia, that included a sawn-off pea rifle, used to bring his victims to a state of terror, lengths of looped rope, to encircle his victims ankles and wrists and sticking plaster to cover their mouths to stop them screaming."

Mr. Furnell said Lawson “had picked the girls up at a city studio, ostensibly to photograph them as models."

"GIRLS TIED UP"

It was alleged Lawson ordered the girls to lie down. He then tied their wrists and ankles so tightly so that hours later the girls showed the marks to the police.

He then exposed parts of the girl’s bodies and subjected them to "unrestrained eroticism”.

'"The girls were helpless and hopeless in terror," said Mr. Furnell.

The first model to give evidence was a married woman. She said they all walked about a quarter of a mile through bush at Terry Hills, where Lawson was to take the pictures.

"In a small clearing, he told us to change into slacks and blouses for the first shots," she said.

“After pictures in several different poses had been taken, Lawson had told them he had cancer, and he was determined not to live a life of agony.

He asked them what they would do if they intended to commit suicide, and one of the girls said she would take sleeping pills. '

Lawson then produced the rifle from his case. Several of the girls became hysterical, and started to cry.

"He told us he was going to commit suicide, and to stop us following him, he made us lie, down on our stomachs," the witness said.

Lawson then produced pieces of rope, and at gunpoint, roped their wrists. He then looped their ankles. Next he produced a roll of sticking plaster, and put pieces six inches long across each girl's mouth.

"He took scissors from his briefcase, pulled up the jumper of the youngest model, and cut away her underwear."

The model said Lawson then undressed the other girls. When he undressed her, he stood back and smirked. He tampered with each of the five girls, although they all resisted,

The hearing was adjourned until tomorrow.


Killer Lawson dies after 50 years in jail

The Sun-Herald November 30, 2003

One of NSW's most notorious criminals, Leonard Keith Lawson, 76, died in Grafton jail yesterday after being imprisoned for the better part of 50 years.

Lennie Lawson, as he was known, became a successful commercial artist and photographer before committing multiple rape and murder.

In his teens, he created and drew a highly popular comic book series, The Lone Avenger, a masked lawman who saved women from kidnappers and brought murderers to task.