Glenelg Riots - part three -  Guy Fawkes Day 

Remember, remember, the 5th of November,

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason

Why gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, 'twas his intent

To blow up the King and the Parliament

Three score barrels of powder below

Poor old England to overthrow

By God's providence he was catch'd

With a dark lantern and burning match

Holler boys, holler boys, let the bells ring

Holler boys, holler boys

God save the King!

 

 

Way back on January 24^th, 2023, I published the first part of this series ‘The Glenelg Riot.’ I decided it would be more fitting to publish this post on the 5^th of November - Guy Fawkes Day.

 

 Guy Fawkes Day (also known as Cracker Night, Bonfire Night, and Fireworks night) was an annual celebration in Great Britain and in some Commonwealth countries such as Australia. The day memorialised the attempted assassination of King James 1, a protestant King, by Catholic conspirators.
 On November 5^th, 1605, Guy Fawkes was arrested while guarding explosives that had been placed under the House of Lords. He was part of a plot to blow up Parliament led by Robert Catesby. The other conspirators were captured and executed on 31 January 1606, but not before Edward Montagu, a Member of Parliament proposed that the King had been saved by Divine Intervention, and therefore the day should be celebrated as a day of thanksgiving.

 The 5^th of November became a day for the burning of effigies of Guy Fawkes. In its early incarnations, the day celebrated the Protestant King by defiling Catholic Church symbols, such as the pope, by burning effigies. The holiday remained in Australia until circa 1982 when the Government banned all sales of fireworks.

In 1910 Glenelg celebrated Guy Fawkes night with a riot![1] Crowds had gathered at Mosely Square and Jetty Road to celebrate the evening. All was going well, until around 10pm that evening, an apparent signal went up and firecrackers from every direction were thrown at police.
At around 11pm a large stone was thrown from a lane adjoining Jetty Lane at Constable Harrold. The stone missed him but hit Mounted Constable Clark inflicting a deep wound into his skull which later had to be stitched.[2]A plain-clothed officer arrested the rock thrower, assisted by Constable Keene, who was promptly despatched by a bottle thrown at his head, knocking him out.[3]
The police retreated to the station, but the crowd followed. After a short time, the police came outside and confronted the crowd with their batons drawn. The crowd soon dispersed, and the riot ended.[4]

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2023

[1] 'CRACKERS AND CONSTABLES.', Evening Journal, (7 November 1910), p. 4.

[2] 'SOUTH AUSTRALIA.', The North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times (8 November 1910), p. 3.

[3] 'RIOT AT GLENELG.', The Sydney Morning Herald, (7 November 1910), p. 9

[4] 'RIOT AT GLENELG.', The West Australian, (7 November 1910), p. 8

Glenelg Riot – January 1984 – part two.

 Glenelg Riot 

– January 1984 – part two.

 

On Tuesday, January 24, 1984, just two days after the Glenelg riots, thieves broke into the explosives magazine of Quarry’s Industries ltd at Hillbank, in Adelaide’s northern suburbs. Using oxy-acetylene equipment, they cut through the hinges and padlocks on the building between 5pm and 8pm that evening.
The thieves stole four cases of gelignite, around 64 sticks of the volatile explosive, and detonators.
Elizabeth CIB attended the scene and found a handwritten note which read, "Thank you, now watch out cops at Glenelg."
A direct threat to the police station and star force officers that attended the riots on January 22nd.[1]

Rioters overturning a car at Glenelg in 1984.

researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2023

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[1] 'Gelignite thieves' threat taken seriously by police', The Canberra Times, (26 January 1984), p. 6. 

Glenelg Riot – January 1984 – part one.

 Glenelg Riot 

– January 1984 – part one.

 

On January 22, 1984, bands, Pseudo Echo and Sandy and the Sunsets were scheduled to play at Colley Reserve, Glenelg. It was a hot day, 15000 people descended on the reserve for the free concert sponsored by radio station SA: FM.

 The crows were reasonably well-behaved until, as reported in the Canberra Times, the police started making arrests. At around 6pm, the mood in the crowd changed and chants of “Kill the pigs” and “kill the coppers” began as the restless crowd surged towards the police.[1]

 The police reported that 200 or so people began charging the police at Colley Reserve, throwing beer bottles at them, and screaming abuse. Cars were damaged in a side street, and a group of police officers were besieged, locked inside the Glenelg police station.[2] A local senior citizens centre had 23 windows smashed. Two police officers were treated for head wounds. Sixty-three people were charged with offences ranging from drunkenness and assault to malicious damage.

The New South Wales newspaper Tribune, reported on the riot, interviewing eyewitnesses to the event. One witness, Stephanie Columbus stated about the riots, “The first thing to emphasise is that no trouble occurred until the concert was finished, and most of the 15, 000 people had left the area. The concert was very relaxed. It is true that lots of booze was being drunk.”[3]

Columbus and another witness, Carol Jacobson claimed that a few young men had been having an ice fight, throwing ice and water at each other. Some hit a police officer, who, with three other officers, grabbed one of the men and slammed his head into the bonnet of a car four times in front of the crowd. This claimed the witnesses were the trigger for the riot. The crowd started pelting the offending officers with bottles. The police arrested another young man, again being brutal in the arrest, and sending the crowd into a further uproar.

 Stephanie then claimed that,

From then on it was a situation of the police imposing their power and authority at will. There could be no talking to them, to them everybody was the enemy.
  For instance, a police officer and his dog passed by an onlooker who seemed to unthinkingly stroke the dog. The officer immediately kicked him in the shins and gave him a karate chop to the throat. When I protested about someone else being forced to move on, a policeman said: 'You shut up, slut, or you'll be arrested next.[4]

 

 It is claimed that during the riot, police officers removed their numbers so no reports of police violence could be claimed against them. It is also claimed that police entirely surrounded the reserve so people could not leave, adding further fire to the rioter’s cause.

A few days after the riot, the State Government became involved, putting a political spin on the event, and blaming the riot on unemployed people. Interestingly, at the time of the riot, the Police Association President was vocal about a review of the Police Offences Act which could lead to a weakening of police powers to move on disorderly youths.

 

In the weeks after the riot T-shirts with the slogan ‘Come to Glenelg…it’s a riot’ began to be seen around Glenelg.

 

This is not the end of this story…. next week, a chilling conclusion to the Glenelg Riots!

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2023

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[1] 'Four-hour rampage after rock concert', The Canberra Times, (24 January 1984), p. 3.

[2] 'Four-hour rampage after rock concert', The Canberra Times, (24 January 1984), p. 3.

[3] 'Glenelg clash shakes Adelaide's complacency on jobless', Tribune, (8 February 1984), p. 16.

[4] 'Glenelg clash shakes Adelaide's complacency on jobless', Tribune, (8 February 1984), p. 16.

Grisly Gawler - Part IV - Circus Strikers brawl

Grisly Gawler - Part IV

Circus Strikers Brawl

  In 1931 after a successful string of shows in Angaston, Wirths Circus was on its way to Gawler via train to set up the Circus at the Gawler Racecourse. Following close behind in a rented truck from Tanunda were a group of men who had gone on strike during the Angaston leg of shows, wanting more money and better conditions.

  The Tanunda Police had phoned ahead and warned the Gawler Police of the approaching truck and the state of anger and excitement of the men on board.

The truck rolled into Gawler and the men drove up and down the main street calling out obscenities about the circus and its owners. Constable Philips of the Gawler Police intercepted the truck at Tramways bridge (Mill Bridge) and ordered the men out.

 The men verbally abused the officer as they unloaded.

  Police Sergeant Hansberry and Mounted Constable Hodgson were called to assist. Violence soon broke out with some of the angry men striking at the Police Officers. The men did not account for the officers being more than willing reciprocate, striking back with their batons, knocking at least four men to the ground unconscious and causing extensive injuries with their batons. Blood was spilled and bones were cracking under the extreme willingness of the police officers to end the violence these men had started.

 The Police eventually rounded up four of the most violent and abusive men and took them to the local station to charge them with Drunkenness, Indecent Language and Resisting Arrest. 

  Later in the day, several of the striking men from Angaston, turned up to the new Circus site at Gawler Racecourse, ready to cause a ruckus. They meant to protest and expose the circus owners with why their strike conditions were not being met. Mrs Wirth refused to discuss the terms with the men and told them to leave the site.

Police continued patrols well into the night to stop any further trouble.

 Unemployed men from Adelaide, who were on the Government listings, were brought down to fill the void the strikers had left and to work for the Circus. 

The men arrested were found guilty and duly fined. The other men did not return to cause any more problems that evening, due to the sudden rise in police visibility...

Perhaps a riot was stopped short on that particular occasion!