Newspaper Article 1993 – Sect no worry for police

Sect no worry for police

By Tania Mason
Staff reporter, Napier

Police are confident that events which led to allegations of voodooism at the former Cadet Academy at Eskdale are over.

Senior Sergeant Neville Haggart said today the ringleader and “his second-in-command” had left.

Yesterday the Herald-Tribune reported that police were investigating allegations of a cult operating from the former boys’ home and that a former resident had left because of “weird happenings”.

The resident said that since a man who believed himself to be Christ moved on to the property about two weeks ago, people were heard at night chanting and dancing around praising God and baptising themselves in the Esk River.

Snr Sgt Haggart said no offences had been committed by residents or visitors at the academy.

Concerned for children

Police were mainly concerned that children were being baptised in the river – “the fear of them drowning and that sort of thing” – and that they were being fed properly.

But there was no evidence of any danger or malnutrition, Snr Sgt Haggart said.

He said that although police went out to the academy on Tuesday night to investigate a report of an assault and wilful damage, no charges were laid.

“The so-called leader was not there when we went out and whether or not he has come back or will come back, we don’t know. We do know he still has property there, so he might return.

Snr Sgt Haggart said police would continue to monitor the situation.

Bay View constable Craig Skeet, who has been making most of the inquiries said that as far as he was concerned the problem “if there ever was a problem” was finished because the key people had gone from the place.

“Anyway, if people want to carry on mumbo-ing and jumbo-ing and dunking themselves in the river in the middle of the night there is nothing we can do about it. There is no law against it,” he said.

Home for boys

The 12-hectare property, formerly Beck House was operated for many years by Social Welfare as a home for boys. It was later taken over by the Napier Cadet Academy to give military style training to boys sent by courts.

It is owned by the Napier Cadet Academy Trust chaired by Napier city councillor Ivan Wilson. Other trustees include the mayor, Alan Dick and Cr Brian Williams.

They are all overseas, but another trustee, Roy Gardiner, said yesterday that everything at the academy had now returned to normal.

“I was out there this morning and it was all peace and quiet. If you print anything about it, it will be untrue. Everything is back to normal, like nothing ever happened.

Mr Gardiner would not disclose the academy’s plans for the institution, saying that information was for the trust chairman to disclose.

But residents of the close-knit Eskdale community say they have been worried for weeks by the odd behaviour and strange noises at the academy for two weeks and if it doesn’t stop they would take action.

Residents scared

None of the residents wants to be named. They are scared of reprisals against their children or their property, but they are unanimous in their concern.

One man, who lives in one of the homes on the Shaw Rd property and has a contract to buy the house, said he was alerted to the weird happenings about 3am on Sunday July 24.

“I wondered what the hell was going on. I woke up and that guy was standing outside yodelling and yelling his head off. His wife was out on the back lawn praying … he was yelling ‘Praise the Lord’ and stuff like that. The whole neighbourhood would have heard him.”

On the Wednesday night after that, the man heard his dog howling outside.

“I looked out the window and saw the guy standing out there wearing a hooded sweatshirt with the hood over his head and yelling at the dog.

Swearing, yelling

“I went out and he told me to get back inside or he would pull my dog’s head off and squash my head between his fingers. He was swearing and yelling and going right off.”

He said he saw about six people, including women and children, huddled in the car port of the man’s flat.

“We stood there staring at each other for ages, and then he turned around and went back inside. All the people in the car-port followed him in.”

However, the man said that if he ran into the other man in the street he wouldn’t recognise him, because he only saw him during the dark. “He never comes out in the day, but he sits up all night in his flat, I don’t know how many are in there.”

The man said his dog continues to whine and howl at night, which he never used to do.

“He only does it when there is movement or something happening around the place. That Saturday night that the witch-doctor dude was doing his act, all the dogs in the whole valley were growling and barking.”

The man said that if the strange happenings don’t stop soon, the residents will take matters into their own hands.

“People are not happy about it. Everybody is worrying about their kids. If it doesn’t stop, something will be done about it very soon.,” he said.

Photo caption –

An aerial photograph of the former Beck House, at Eskdale, showing the main building, flats and neighbouring houses at top.   Below: A group, including women and children, were huddled in these carports