AUCKLAND SMUGGLERS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2600, 7 September 1909, Page 2

AUCKLAND SMUGGLERS.

TALES OF THE OLDEN DAYS. CHAT WITH A CUSTOMS OFFICER Old residents of Auckland will bear vivid recollections of the smuggling days of now many years agone, smuggling to which the prosaic minor attempts to evade the Customs of nowadays are but mere circumstances. In these times, thanks mainly to the ad-» vent of the steamship in the Islands trade, and to the exceeding vigilance of the Customs officials, and the heavy penalties meted out to wrong-doers, smuggling is of a very minor character, a very occasional "salting” of invoices, or of a person trying _to evade the Customs officers with dutiable goods in his possession, being about the only cases, \ and in nine cases out of 10 the wrong-doer is detected. But in the old days, when there was but sailer traffic between the South Sea, Islands and New Zealand, and when these dots on the Pacific were more or less lawless communities, under the control of no civilised Power, there was a very different tale to tell, and the story of those days, as told to a Now Zealand “Herald” reporter by ot'ain Henry. Parker, of Devonport, for many years a Customs officer, makes exciting and interesting reading. Captain Parker joined the Customs on February 21, 1865, and continued in the service till October 31, 1907 a record of nearly half-a-century of service, in which time many types and manner of vessels have visited Auckland. In the days when Captain Parker joined the Customs there was, as already stated, no settled Government in Fiji and other outlying islands, the authorities simply ’being represented by Consuls. Now this is the way in which the smuggling was done: A sailing ship would come to Auckland with a cargo aboard, with the presumed intention of going to—say Fi]i. The goods would accordingly be bonded in Auckland. The vessel would then depart avowedly for her announced" destination, but when some distance outside the harbor she would be met by smaller craft, to which "would be transhipped the goods.' These coastal boats would then land the cargo at various places on the coast, at Poverty Bay, for instance, and in many cases it would be brought back to Auckland overland, thus, if all went well, escaping the Customs duty. Of course, if, as generally was the case, the vessel were seized then things went very seriously with the smugglers, for they not only lost their boat and cargo, but were also liable to heavy fines, and in many cases imprisonment. The Customs officers generally knew of the vessels engaged in the business, and they were closely watched, with the result that unless the smugglers had their eyes 'wide open they were caught either when landing their cargo or before. The principal places in the harbor were goods were landed on the quiet were Cox’s Creek and adjacent localities, hut the Customs officers were there every time, and then woe betide the smugglers. The first smuggling case in which Captain Parker was interested was shortly after he joined the Custom*. A vessel named the St. Hilda left Sydney for the apparent purpose of going to the Islands with a cargo of bonded goods aboard. Instead, however, she landed it at various places on the New Zealand coast. A quantity was put ashore at Little Omaha, not far from Auckland. It was then ascertained that the vessel was at Whangaruru, near Russell. The Collector of Customs at Russell, Mr Mitford, seized the ship and put a man aboard to take her on to Russell. No sooner had the Collector and his men departed than the skipper ordered the Customs officer ashore, and then “skipped.” The unfortunate official had perforce to walk back to Russell, no easy task in those days, arriving there before the Collector. The St. Hilda, however, was not to escape so easily, for she was shortly after seized at Samoa, brought back to Auckland and sold. The next affair was the transferring of cargo from the brig Reliance, bound presumably for the Islands, to the cutters Bessie and Ringleader, which landed the goods on the coast near Gisborne. Shortly after the schooner Meteor, belonging to an Auckland firm, was seized with a quantity of tobacco on board, at Gisborne. Where she got it from was never ascertained, hut it is supposed to have been obtained from the cutter Albert, hound for Fiji. The next case was the capture of a very smart yacht called the Lizard, by Captain Parker and two assistants, at St. Heliers Bay, in the act of landing gin and tobacco. This vessel was seized after a little trouble with the crew ; she was brought to Auckland, and the men fined heavily, and some sent to gaol. Other seizures were made from time to time in and around the harbor subsequently in the shape of the schooners Ellen and Pirei, which landed tobacco • the schooner Stanley, which landed spirits, wines, and tobacco ; and the brigs Madonna and Rita, which smuggled in rum. The Rita landed two hogsheads of. rum at the Wade River on her way out from Auckland, hut the Customs were never able to obtain it. Rerhaps it had all been imbibed too soon. . The last of the smugglers that Captain Parker • had anything to do with was the barque Gazelle, which was seized by him in Auckland Harbor in 1882 with a large quantity of tobacco aboard, which she had brought from Newcastle. The remains of the Gazelle now lie in Drunken Bay, Motutapu. Alter being seized by the Custom* oh* was sold to tho Northern Steamship Company. The Customs officers in the #xecution of their duty used to carry firearms, but they never had occasion to use them, their instructions, and their feelings, always impelling them to trust to their fists. At one time Auckland had about 20 sailers trading to the Islands. Some of these vessels were above suspicion, but there were others which were ever ready to do some smuggling. Very often the Customs at Auckland would issue landing certificates, and

• , these, would come back signed by some Consul to the effect that the goods had been landed in his sphere of influence, whereas the Customs had already seized the very same cargo on the New Zealand coast. In those days there was also a lot of petty stealing, far more than now. The masters and stewards of vessels would take 201 b of tobacco, concealed on them, up , the wharf, but in nine cases out of 10 the culprit was caught. Smuggling is practically done away with now. Every person, from the captain down to the cabin boy, aboard an oversea ship must declare everything he has in his possession. If the Customs officers go aboard, and find anything that a person has not declared, then there may possibly be trouble, even if it be but half a pound of tobacco. The “salting” of invoices was also carried on a great deal once, but it happens very rarely now; the Customs officers are too vigilant. Those who try it now generally come to grief over it.. The days of- real smuggling are gone, and a) Customs officer’s life is now of a very prosaic character, far different from the adventurous' times of the past.