I have something of a rule with my blog stories. I try not to publish lives whose ends people might remember. I've broken this rule with Arthur Renney since his story mostly takes place in the 1920s - and because it's such an interesting one.
THE COURTS-TO-DAY
CITY POLICE COURT.
(Before J. R. Bartholomew, Esq., S.M.)
A Young Thief. — Arthur George Renney (16) pleaded guilty to stealing a loaf of bread and a plate of meat to the value of 1s 6d, the property of Wm. Naples. He was also charged with breaking and entering the dwelling-house of Alexander Edwards and stealing therefrom a number of small articles to the total value of £3. — On the suggestion of Sub-inspector Broberg the second charge was reduced to one of theft, and defendant pleaded guilty. — The Sub-inspector said that the boy had run away from home, and went to stay with Mr Edwards, from whom the articles mentioned in the second charge were stolen. The bread and meat were stolen from a safe. — Defendant's father said the boy had been put to various trades, but "liked taking a holiday." — His Worship remanded defendant for sentence until Friday next to enable inquiries to be made by Mr Axelsen. -Evening Star, 8/5/1916.
SUPREME COURT
CRIMINAL SITTING. Tuesday, October 31. (Before His Honor Mr Justice Sim.) THEFT. Arthur George Renney (17) was called on for sentence, having pleaded guilty, at Oamaru, to a charge of theft of money. The accused was undefended. Mr W. O. MacGregor, K.C. (Crown Prosecutor), said the police report was that the accused's character was not good. He was a cowboy. On May 7 he was arrested on a charge of breaking and entering and theft from a dwelling of goods valued at £3, and of stealing a plate of food, valued at 1s 6d. He was also suspected of the theft of a watch chain from the man with whom he was staying. He pleaded guilty to the first two charges. On the first charge the magistrate reduced the charge to one of theft, and convicted the accused and ordered him to come up for sentence within two years. He was then placed under Mr Axelsen's charge. On the second charge he was convicted and discharged. Then he committed the present offence. The lad's parents were respectable people and had done their best for the boy, but could not keep him straight. He had run away from home several times, and the police reported that it seemed impossible for him to go straight. In this case the lad stole £35. Out of that sum £24 18s 9d, which was found on the accused, had been returned to the prosecutor. The lad spent £5 on goods, which he had left in his hut, and which were being returned to the prosecutor. He had also given an order on his late employer to hand over to the prosecutor £1 in wages due to him, so that the prosecutor would escape with a loss of about £4. The report of the probation officer (Mr F. G. Cumming) was handed to his Honor. His honor said the probation officer's report was not satisfactory. The best course to take, under the circumstances, would be to order the boy to be detained for reformative treatment. His Honor made an order that the accused be detained for reformative treatment for a period not exceeding four years. -Otago Daily Times, 1/11/1916.
POLICE COURT
At the Police Court yesterday morning Mr G. Cruickshank, S.M., presided.
OBSCENE LANGUAGE. Sydney Todd, charged with using obscene language in a public place, pleaded guilty and was fined £2 with costs 7s.
FALSE PRETENCES. Arthur George Renney was charged with obtaining 5 weeks’ board from Mr Walker, Bluff, by falsely representing that he was in the employ of Mr Low. The accused pleaded guilty. Senior-Sergeant Eccles stated that for five weeks the accused had stayed at Walker’s Hotel. Every day lunch was cut for him but instead of going to work he used to go a long way over the hill to consume the food. Eventually Mr Walker became suspicious and on making inquiries found that Renney was not in the employ of Low. The accused was remanded for one week in order to see if it was possible for Renney to refund the amount of board money owing, £5 2s 6d. -Southland Times, 16/10/1919.
SUPREME COURT
NAPIER SESSIONS
A HUNGRY THIEF. Arthur George Renney, who had pleaded guilty to breaking and entering and theft, said he was hungry and could not get work and he broke into places to get food. To His Honour.— He admitted previous convictions. His Honour sentenced prisoner to reformative detention not exceeding five years. -Hastings Standard, 15/6/1920.
CITY POLICE COURT
Wednesday, October 15. (Before Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M.)
THEFT FROM OLD LADY. Arthur George Renney (twenty-four) pleaded guilty to stealing a marble clock valued at £l0 from Emma Jennings, at Ravensbourne. He asked to be dealt with by the magistrate.
Detective Beer said that the complainant lived alone and was eighty-three years old. The accused had been working about the place. A "record" was handed in, and it was stated that the accused was at present on probation.
The Magistrate: I see he was given four years’ reformative detention in 1916.
To the Probation Officer the accused explained that he was at present on probation for stealing from a railway goods shed at Napier.
The Magistrate remarked that the Prisons Board would have to deal with the man for the breach of his probation. On the present charge he would be sentenced to three months’ hard labor.
The Magistrate refused to order the refund of £l to a second-hand dealer who had bought the clock. -Evening Star, 15/10/1924.
BURGLAR'S HIGH LIFE IN LOFT
Renney Tastes Luxury and Privation During Hectic Four Months' Tour of Crime
CHAMPAGNE, OYSTERS AND ASPARAGUS FOR TEA
(From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Dunedin Representative.)
DUNEDIN'S most romantic thief, Arthur George Renney, a fugitive from the law for four months, has been brought to book at last.
His arrest in the loft of Neill & Co., merchants, of Bond Street, proved one of the most unique events of recent years, and revealed the story of a man who, since January, had committed nearly half a century of thefts, and had baffled all attempts at capture.
His life in the hills of the Otago Peninsula and the strange incidents which crammed these four months provide a romantic touch that savors more of fiction than fact.
Jerome K. Jerome's "Three Men in a Boat" almost pales into insignificance alongside the remarkable account of Renney's three-hour voyage across Otago harbor in a leaking dinghy which finally sank, leaving him to wade through several feet of water to a landing.
On January 9, Renney, for the past two years employed as a gardener and rouseabout at Anderson's Bay, left his work and immediately set out on a career of theft, breaking into a grocer's store in Carroll Street. From there he walked to Evansdale, cracked several cribs and made his way to Sawyer's Bay.
Here he got hold of an old boat and dinghy and with the aid of a board paddled across the harbor to Broad Bay.
He scoured round to Hooper's Inlet, where he commenced working the cribs along the Peninsula, eventually halting at Tomahawk to break into the Marble Bar.
Renney then doubled back afoot to Macandrew's Bay and Broad Bay, where he commenced another series of raids. The majority of the cottages robbed were untenanted except for week-end parties.
He commandeered a yacht and dinghy near the mainland and set out across the harbor.
The dinghy filling, he commenced bailing out the water, but a gust of wind loosened the rope attached to it and the yacht was carried away. With the aid of a piece of board he desperately paddled his sinking bark across the harbor. A short distance from the mainland it sank. His footsteps were turned then to the Defence Reserve Bush arid in the dense scrub at the back of Ravensbourne he built a camp.
THROUGH THE SKYLIGHT
It was a remarkable spot. A dog — let alone a man — would have had difficulty in crawling in. At night Renney spent his time in raiding the meat safes in Ravensbourne and North Dunedin; round Harbor Terrace and Dundas Street and then worked his way towards Neill and Co.'s premises in Bond Street. With the aid of a ladder which he found in a back street he reached the roof, gained entrance to the building through the skylight and let himself down to the main floor. He carefully replaced the skylight, but left his overcoat and boots on the roof.
A tour of the building revealed a loft, to which he gained entrance by piling the ladder on top of some cases. An ample supply of provisions was taken in for the night, including champagne, expensive delicacies, etc., but he made such a welter of things that when he came to his senses next day, the hum of voices convinced him it was too late to escape. With no alternative but to dig in, Renney made a bed of sacks and straw, and each night visited the building with the aid of the ladder. The skylight had been doubly barred and Renney found himself a prisoner. From April 6 to May 6 he remained in the loft. On Friday, May 6, a boy employed by the firm had occasion to visit the loft for some papers. When he saw Renney he received such a shock that he fell rather than rushed downstairs. The police were informed and Renney was arrested. He was in a poor condition when taken to the station. Despite his month's feasting, his growth of beard, his ragged clothes and unsightly appearance he bore ample evidence of the wretchedness of his existence. While waiting for the police, Renney lit a cigarette and in his disturbed state of mind, dropped the match, among some powder which he had extracted from cartridges. His face was scorched by the explosion. Altogether he looked a pitiable sight.
His statement to the police reads almost like fiction. He is 27 years of age, and living apart from his wife.
SHOOTING IN THE HILLS
"I got into a crib at Long Beach through the window and stayed there for a while using the food which was in the place," he said. "I left a rifle in this crib.
"I then went fishing on the rocks at Murdering Beach and left a fish rod and a crayfish net behind.
"Then, I returned, to Whitecliffe Bay and broke into a crib by the waterfront, from which I took a rifle and some beer. I went back to Puddingstone and stayed fishing for a while. I got a lift with some men who had been fishing there.
"We went by motor past Macandrew's Bay where I got out. I had a rifle and went shooting in the hills.
"I then made towards Dublin Bay and stayed a night at another crib. I changed my clothes here and got dressed in a blue suit which was in one of the rooms. I went shooting across country to Tomahawk and then came back to Dublin Bay. It was a wet might and I was wet through. I broke into a crib, took off my clothes and got into bed. I was asleep when the owner came down.
"He asked me what I was doing there. I told him I had got wet on the previous night and he told me to get dressed and get out.
"I made for the bush at the back of Ravensbourne, where I remained for two days. I had no food and was starving. About 11.30 one night I went to the back of a butcher's shop. I had to pull some tin from over the door and then got over the top. I took some meat, sausages, dripping, a butcher's knife out of the cooler and some coppers out of a small room in front of the shop. I took all these back to a camp I had made, in a gully at the back of Ravensbourne.
"Some nights later I went to Black Jack's Point and broke into a crib there, where I had a shave and collected some foodstuffs. I also took a bottle of port wine, a frying pan, billy and some tobacco and then went back to the bush. I was camping anywhere at this time. I had no idea of the date..."
At this period the police were hot on Renney's track and had already covered the cribs in Companies Bay and were making for Dublin Bay. The report of Neill and Company stated that when discovered, Renney was surrounded by bottles and goods removed from their stock. Much of this was not used and had to be thrown out. Renney hotly denied having used so much bovril and cocoa. "What about the bovril and cocoa consumed by the firm's employees at morning tea?" he challenged during the Court hearing.
CHAMPAGNE AND BEER
During the month Renney had stolen 1640 cigarettes of various brands. He smoked heavily, but a large proportion was unused and had to be "heaved out with the mess." Seventy bottles of beer, ten of champagne, 30 of whisky, several port wine and other liquors lay empty in the loft. Items on his menu included oysters, peaches and tinned asparagus. Renney denied having feasted to this extent. "I am credited with drinking all this, and yet I remained sane — !, a man who never drinks outside!" But the "dead marines" told their own tale.
The dense bush and scrub country of the Peninsula gave him ample shelter. Despite the careful search of the police their efforts proved unavailing. When the case was brought before Magistrate Bundle at the Dunedin Police, Court, 24 charges of breaking and entering were preferred against Renney by Chief Detective Cameron, the Court being crowded with witnesses. A small man, Renney bore an inoffensive appearance when he stepped sprightly into the dock. A general clean-up, shave, hair cut. etc., and a new suit and collar gave him an intelligent look. He listened attentively to all the charges and was not represented by counsel.
"I plead guilty," he said quietly at the conclusion of it all, and was committed to the Supreme Court for sentence. -NZ Truth, 26/5/1927.
Renney in Court
Fugitive for Four Months
Story of' His Wanderings
Pleads Guilty to Twenty-Four Charges
Committed for Sentence
When Arthur George Renney appeared in the Police Court this morning to answer twenty-four charges arising out of his unlawful visits to various premises during the four months of his wanderings he looked a different man to the grubby and dishevelled creature who had been run to earth in a loft at Neill and Co's and brought to the Police Station on Friday last. To-day the stubbly beard had disappeared, his face being clean and healthy looking, except for the marks left by the superficial burns resulting from his too-close contact with ignited gunpowder. The ragged clothing had been replaced by a neat suit of clothes and a clean collar, while the old wrappings with which he had protected his feet from the cold had been removed and decent boots and socks substituted. In short, Renney appeared comfortable and comparatively content. Certainly, there was no sign of anxiety on his features, the inference being that he was not sorry to have forsaken the rough and lonely life of a fugitive from justice for the clean and regular, if restricted, quarters of the Dunedin Gaol.
THE CHARGES. The charges against Renney were as follow:
On or about January 9, 1927, did break and enter by night the shop of Herbert Houghland Croft, and steal therefrom 8s in money and goods to the value of £1 10s, the property of the said H. H Croft.
On or about January 4, 1927, at Evansdale, stole one .22 calibre rifle, 400 rounds of cartridges, one gent's felt hat, one sports coat, one waterproof overcoat, one pair gabardine trouser, two tennis shirts, one safety razor in nickel case, one pair tennis shoes, one mirror, two tea caddies, one billy, one bottle brandy, one bottle ginger wine, three tins preserved fruit, three tins sheep’s tongues, three tins sardines, one tin Rex cheese, one tube shaving cream, and five doorkeys, of a total value of £9 0s 3d, the property of Charles Gillespie Drummond.
On or about January 17, at Purakanui, stole a metal clock and lady's overcoat, total value 10s, the property of Margaret Harrison.
On or about January 17, at Purakanui, stole a shotgun and quantity of cartridges, total value £1 15s, the property of James Howard Wright.
On or about January 17, at Purakanui, stole a Remington rifle and quantity of ammunition and a raincoat, total value £6 15s, the property of Robert McKenzie Wilkie. On or about January 18, at Purakanui, stole a torch, razor, bottle of whisky, pair of trousers, and other goods, total value £5, the property of Arthur Lewis Lawson.
On or about January 19, at Purakanui, stole a fishing rod, two blankets, a coat, a cap, and other goods, total value £3 18s 6d, the property of Sydney Taylor.
On or about January 26, at Waitati, stole a silver watch and chain, two razors, two shirts, a woollen jersey, a quantity of tobacco and cigarettes, and other goods, total value £7 9s 6d, the property of Yardley Culley Reynolds.
On or about January 27, at Waitati, stole a Winchester rifle, a fishing rod, two pairs trousers, pair boots, and other goods, total value £l0 10s, the property of William George Howes.
On or about January 29, at Long Beach, stole a pair of boots and goods to the value of £1 10s, the property of Robert Lawson.
On or about February 3, at St. Leonards, stole a pair field glasses, two pair tennis shoes and goods, total value £5 10s, the property of James Drummond.
On or about February 7, at Hooper's Inlet, stole a saucepan, a frying pan, and goods, total value £4, the property of Rebecca Halford.
On or about February 10, at Papanui Inlet, stole a Winchester rifle, a suit of clothes, and goods, total value £9 2s, the property of Arthur Stanley Grigg.
On or about February 12, at Company’s Bay, stole a screwdriver and goods, valued 10s, the property of William Tait.
On or about February 15, at Company’s Bay, broke and entered by day a dwelling-house and stole 5s in money, a suit of clothes, and goods, total value £6 15s 6d, the property of Ivan Edward Sutherland.
On February 18, at Tomahawk, broke and entered the shop of Allan Fliger and others by night and stole goods to the value of £1 0s 7d.
On or about February 22, at Russell Bay, stole a rug, a safety razor, and other goods, total value £5 11s, the property of Annie James.
On or about February 24, at Ross Point, stole a razor and a torch, total value £1 5s 6d, the property of Bruce Aitchison.
On or about March 12, at Ravensbourne, broke and entered the shop of James Bain, by night, and stole 1s in money and goods, total value 12s.
On March 18, at Ravensbourne, broke and entered the dwelling-house of William Petrie, by day, and stole a pair of field glasses and other goods, total value of £1 15s.
On or about March 28, at Dunedin, stole an overcoat valued at 30s, the property of Thomas Andrew Mason.
On or about March 29, at Black Jack’s Point, stole a travelling rug and other goods, total value £4 10s, the property of Bella Pomeroy.
On or about March 30, at Maia, stole two overcoats valued £2, the property of Robert Short and another.
On April 6, at Dunedin, did break and enter by night the warehouse of Neill and Co., Ltd., and stole goods to the value of £39 18s 6d.
RENNEY'S WANDERINGS.
On another occasion, after breaking his way into a crib at St Leonards and boarding and lodging himself there gratis for two days and taking articles away with him which were not his, he walked along the railway line, and seeing an old rowboat on the skids by the shore decided to embark and cross to Broad Bay. It proved rather a perilous voyage, for the boat leaked badly and there were no oars. Renney spent most of the time bailing out the water and trying to stop the leaks, in between times paddling hard with a piece of weatherboard which he had found in the boat. The crossing took three hours, and many times he wondered whether his unseaworthy craft would ever reach land. He did eventually, and continued his wanderings through the bush and along obscure paths, ever and anon satisfying his hunger and getting a night under a roof by the simple method or entering temporarily vacated houses. In between he did some fishing with rods and lines or shooting with the rifles purloined from the cribs, and once he spent the week-end with some campers at Purakanui. Another time he was given a lift in a motor car by some fishermen at Puddingstone, being dropped near Macandrew's Bay. These were some of the rare occasions upon which he mingled with or was seen by his fellows during the four months.
His visit to tne Tomahawk district followed his ejection by the owner of the crib who had surprised him sleeping in a bunk. He got to this district by night and watched the lights of the marble bar go out. He was very hungry (his statement runs), having had no food tor days. So he got into the marble bar premises through a window and began operations with a soft drink, after which he regaled himself on chocolates, tinned salmon, and bread. He left then and concealed himself in the lupines, remaining there some days before returning along the Peninsula and resuming his unlawful visits to the cribs en route.
ANOTHER PERILOUS VOYAGE.
Then came a second maritime adventure. Leaving a crib late one night, he went to the waterfront, and took possession of another old row boat which lay there. In this he paddled to a yacht that was anchored a bit out, and, fastening the boat to the stern of this, set sail towards St. Leonards. Some distance from the shore the small boat filled with water, so be got aboard it and began to bail her out. While thus engaged a mischievous puff of wind came, the yacht heeled over, the rope parted, and the yacht slid away, leaving Renney in the half-submerged flatbottomed tub. He had no oars, and had to paddle for his life with a small piece of wood, reaching shallow water just as the boat sank.
Visits to a butcher’s shop at Ravensbourne yielded a haul of sausages and other meat, some dripping, and a knife, while housewives’ meat safes in the same district were despoiled of their contents, adjacent gardens supplying such trimmings as tomatoes, potatoes, etc. A wife, in one instance, had left two nicely cut luncheons on the kitchen table for her husband and son to take to work in the morning. But in the morning no lunches could be found. Renney had been there. So the meat safe was visited by the housewife to repair the loss, but, like a certain Mrs Hubbard of old, she found the cupboard bare, Renney having again got there first.
GETTING INTO NEILL’S.
Directing his stops towards town some weeks ago, Renney — hungry as usual — bethought himself of the good things stored under the roof of Neill and Co.’s warehouse. He had seen these when painting the roof a good while ago. So, keeping to the back streets, he purloined a ladder from a yard. This he carried some distance to Neill’s, and used it to climb to the roof. He made his way to the skylight, removed the putty from around the glass, which he took out. Hoisting up the ladder, be put it through the opening, and climbed down, incidentally leaving on the roof the coat and boots later found by the police. Replacing and re-puttying the glass, Renney descended into the bond, and had a royal meal of potted meats and other delicacies, topped off with plenty of liquor. He took too much liquor on this occasion, he admits in his statement, and dropped off to sleep. When he came to his senses it was morning, and the employees were in the store below. Thus the unlawful visitor was compelled to stay in the loft, concealed in the roof. There, indeed, he remained for a month until discovered and arrested.
From the statement made and signed by Renney and read in the court this morning it would appear that his wanderings covered the country between Evansdale and Dunedin, and that those wanderings were more or less of a restless and aimless character. The incentive to breaking into the various dwellings and cribs was, it would appear, mainly hunger, and invariably his stay in an otherwise unoccupied crib was marked by much feasting and perhaps a little sleep. Occasionally he appropriated a rifle or a pair of field glasses or clothing, tobacco, a razor or something eatable —rarely did he burden himself with anything that would not be useful in his peculiar circumstances.
The above is the gist of Renney’s statement to the police, and from it will be gathered the fact that his wanderings began early in the year (about January 9), and that after breaking into Croft’s grocery store in Carroll street, he set off to walk to Evansdale, with the intention of getting work in the country. But hunger, and doubtless fear, drove him to obtain his food by further thefts rather than by applying at homes by the way in an open and honest manner. His method of breaking into the cribs was usually through a window, and he apparently went to some trouble to remove the glass rather than break it.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?
Life for him during these weeks was not without its thrills. One cold night he broke into a crib which he had found unoccupied, and, after supping well, he took off his clothes and turned in for a sleep. But he was awakened by the unexpected return of the owner of the crib, who not unnaturally asked him what he doing there. Renney replied, more or less truthfully, that he had come in out of the wet. “The owner,” stated Renney, "told me to get dressed and get out.” He did.
HIS CAMP IN THE HILLS.
At first sight it appears peculiar that a man could be so long at large within so short a distance of the city, and be constantly sought by the police and not be caught. But when the country to which he kept most of his time is seen the difficulties of the pursuers are realised. Had Renney been able to keep to the bush, indeed, he might have eluded capture for many months. But Jack Frost doubtless was a factor in driving the much-sought young man into the hands of the police.
A ‘Star’ reporter was shown Renney's main camp in the hills above Logan’s quarry. The approach to this camp was by no means easy, being along a barely defined track across which the too-attentive “lawyers” and sinuous tendrils and manuka roots formed harassing barriers at frequent intervals. The creek which trickles down the hillside had to be crossed several times, and on each side was dense, tall (often 20ft high) manuka scrub. How easy, then, for anyone not wishing to be seen to retire into this scrub, lie low, and watch (or listen to) the rest of the world — or the police portion of it — going by! Reaching the gully above the rifle butts, the stiffest part of the climb commenced, the camp lying 400 or 500 yards up, and in the fork of the gully. When the spot was reached it was found to be a clearing about 10ft square, with a smaller clearing adjoining. The larger space had been used as dining room and kitchen, and there were still to be seen (although most of the “effects” had been removed by the police) indications in the form of some potatoes, an old “billy,” a preserving jar, etc. In the “bedroom” were two coverless magazines, showing that the fugitive enjoyed reading in bed, doubtless appreciating the columns of jokes and the Wodehouse story that was a feature of one of the “mags.”
In this eyrie, far from the madding crowd, Renney was snug and comparatively safe. He could see or hear anyone approaching, and, in the warmer nights, at any rate, get a good sleep beneath his cornsack bedclothes. It was when he deserted this camp — after suspecting that it had been visited in his absence — that his end as a harmless and armless Ned Kelly came. Often during those lonely months he sat above Ravensbourne, watching his former home, where his wife and baby lived. The latter, by the way, arrived after he had quitted the home for the hills, and one of the first questions he was overheard asking after his arrest was; “Is it a, boy or a girl?”
A CLOUD OF WITNESSES.
On the case being called, the magistrate (Mr H. W. Bundle) asked whether it was absolutely necessary to take all the charges; it seemed to him that, particularly when an accused was pleading guilty, it would be sufficient to take only a certain number.
Chief-detective Cameron, who prosecuted, said that there were other charges apart from the twenty-four which had not been preferred, those put forward being considered the more aggravated cases. As a matter of fact, accused might have been charged with breaking and entering in almost every one of the present cases, but there was a slight doubt as to whether “cribs” could be looked upon as dwellings under the Crimes Act. The witnesses were all present, and there was the question of property involved. It was agreed, accused assenting, that all the charges be taken together. Formal evidence as to ownership of the premises entered, the mode of entry, and the goods stolen was then given by Herbert H. Croft, Charles Drummond, Margaret Harrison, James Harold Wright, Robert McKenzie Wilkie, Arthur Lewis Lawson, Sydney Taylor, Eardley C. Reynolds, William George Howes, Robert Lawson, James Drummond, Rebecca Halford, Arthur Stanley Grigg, William Tait, Ivan Edward Sutherland, Ivy Scoles (manageress for Flygers and Co., Tomahawk), Henry L. James, Bruce Aitchison, James Bain, William Petrie, Thomas Andrew Mason, and Bella Pomeroy.
ACCUSED QUESTIONS LIST OF "EMPTIES.”
Joseph Henry Miller, storeman in charge of Neill and Co.’s bond in Crawford street, also gave evidence. On the evening of April 6, he said, the store had been securely locked, but next morning a leak was discovered in the skylight. On investigation it was found that the skylight was broken. There was nothing to indicate at the time that anyone had gained entrance to the store. A coat and a pair of boots were found on the roof later. During the next four weeks certain stock was missed from the store. On May 6 one of the assistants went up into the loft, and accused was discovered there.
A long list of articles said to have been stolen by accused from the store was put in.
Asked if he wished to ask the witness any questions, accused said he would in this case. “In your capacity of storeman, did you yourself count the articles that are on that list?”
Witness: No.
Who counted them?
The Magistrate: Why? What does it matter?
Accused: I’m coming to the point, your Worship.
To Witness: Who pays for the bovril and cocoa made by the staff at morning and afternoon tea? In the list I am debited with are huge quantities of cocoa and bovril. I’m not the only one using cocoa and bovril, and don’t think it fair to be accused of using it all.
"Another astonishing thing,’’ accused went on, “is that I am credited with drinking seventy bottles of beer, ten bottles of champagne, three bottles of whisky, several bottles of port wine, and other liquor, and yet I remained sane — I, a man who never drinks outside.”
The Magistrate (to witness): Were all the bottles empty?
Witness: Yes; they were all found where the man was. Nobody ever used the place.
The Magistrate: Any further questions?
Accused: No, your Worship.
Detective Allsopp stated that accused was arrested on May 6 by Constable Holder. Witness read the statement made by Renney, in which he admitted the various offences and described his movements since the New Year.
The information concerning the alleged theft from the premises of Robert Short was withdrawn, the witness not appearing.
Accused had nothing to say. He pleaded guilty to all charges, and was committed for sentence to the Supreme Court. -Evening Star, 13/5/1927.
Arthur Renney's reason for living life as a fugitive can be guessed from the very telling remark he made upon being arrested. He left his pregnant wife in Ravensbourne but camped not far from the suburb, which he prowled around on occasion. It would be reasonable to assume that he looked through the window of the house he had abandoned more than once. My feeling about Arthur Renney is that he panicked at the thought of fatherhood and its responsibilities.
LONG LIST OF OFFENCES.
MAN FOUND IN BOND STORE.
DECLARED HABITUAL CRIMINAL
[BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION.] DUNEDIN, Wednesday.
In the Supreme Court, Arthur George Renney, who was found hidden in the loft of a wine and spirit merchant's premises, was sentenced to five years' imprisonment and declared an habitual criminal on 17 charges of theft and six of breaking and entering. -NZ Herald, 26/5/1927.
RENNEY SENTENCED
FIVE YEARS' HARD LABOR PREYING ON SOCIETY
“It is quite clear you have made up your mind to prey upon society, and my duty is to prevent that,” said His Honor, Mr Justice Reed, in sentencing Arthur George Renney to five years’ imprisonment with hard labor.
A fugitive from justice for some months, Renney was discovered in a loft in Messrs Neill and Co.’s buildings some weeks ago in a dishevelled condition, but this morning in the dock he was neatly attired in a grey tweed suit.
Renney had pleaded guilty to seventeen charges of theft and six charges of breaking and entering.
“I would like to thank Chief-detective Cameron, Detective Allsop, and the other detectives for their kindness in giving me these clothes,” said Renney, who had nothing to say in reply to the usual question why sentence of the court should not be passed on him.
His Honor said he had the prisoner’s record of previous convictions before him, and wished to know if it were correct. There was a conviction n Dunedin in 1916 on two charges of theft. Then he appeared in the Supreme Court for theft the same year and was sentenced to four years’ reformative detention. In Invercargill he was found guilty of false pretences, and in Napier was found guilty of breaking, entering, and theft, for which he received five years’ reformative detention. Then he was charged with failing to maintain a child, and in Dunedin in 1924 he was sentenced to three months for theft.
Renney admitted that the record of his crimes was correct.
His Honor then passed sentence of five years’ imprisonment with hard labor, and declared Renney an habitual criminal. His Honor added that the sentence was on each charge and would be concurrent. -Evening Star, 25/5/1927.
Arthur's wife, Muriel, petitioned for a divorce on the grounds of desertion in 1930, it was granted the following year. his later life is documented in a small number of court cases against him for non-payment of rent and for "goods supplied" at Waipori (1937), money owed on an account the following February, and a further account in 1943 with Ernest Cordery, a radio shop.
Other than that, a quick search of NZ Archives reveals mention of his will - occupation, retired seaman. And, of course, his gravestone, which would indicate that Arthur remarried. Maybe he settled down after all.
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| Andersons Bay Cemetery, Dunedin. DCC photo. |
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