Police and public were shocked and embarrassed by the Pigeon Park "Murder" of 1964.

At Exactly 1.06p.m. on the day before procesh, an old car sped up Dixon Street, Someone leaned out of the rear window and fired two pistol shots. A young man walking through Pigeon Park threw up his arms and collapsed on the grass.

Two public-minded "citizens" ran across the park from Manners Street and Dixon Street. They knelt down beside the "body" and rolled it over. As the "body" rolled over blood spurted forth from a plastic bag filled with ox blood.

A number of female "onlookers" immediately began to scream in unison.

Trouble

Until now everything had gone according to plan. The next step was for the stunt organiser, John Harlow, to leave the body, walk over to a car parked in Dixon Street, and collect a sign reading "This will happen to you if you don't see procesh and give to charity." He was to place this sign on the grass, and with the help of another student carry the body back to the car and drive off with it. However . . .

Opposite the park nearly two hundred people were attending an auction. They heard the pistol shots ring out, saw two men rush across to a body lying on the grass, and heard "the screaming of hysterical women" (to quote the Evening Post). The auction audience streamed out to see what was going on. A crowd always attracts a crowd, and everyone else in the area ran over to see what was happening. Almost every shop keeper in the area rang the Central Police Station to report a murder in Pigeon Park.

John Harlow forced his way through the crowd and placed the sign on the ground alongside the "body." But the other student who was supposed to help remove the "body" was held back by the crowd.

An elderly woman leaning over the body told Mr. Harlow that she was a trained nurse and ordered him to get out of the way. Two men then grabbed and forcibly removed him. Someone picked up the sign, and without even reading it, threw it after him.

Police squad

Then sirens began to scream. First of all an ambulance raced down Manners Street around Pigeon Park, and into Dixon Street. This was followed 20 seconds later by a squad of police cars and motor cycles, all with sirens screaming. Between them, the ambulance, the cars and the motor cycles completely filled the southern end of Dixon Street. Needless to say all this dramatic activity attracted an even larger crowd. There was all the drama of a great tv crime spectacular as police and ambulance men forced their way into the heart of the crowd (which by now [unclear: filled] most of Pigeon Park and [unclear: w] flowing back onto the [unclear: sidewalk]

Most of the people couldn't [unclear: s] what was going on, but [unclear: stor] were being passed back [unclear: throu] the crowd that a most foul [unclear: murd] had been committed. The [unclear: forth] away the "body," the more [unclear: the] stories were exaggerated. [unclear: T] students realised that things [unclear: w] getting a little bit out of [unclear: ha] and began to move around [unclear: t] park telling people it was only capping stunt. But very few [unclear: peo] believed them. For the police [unclear: o] turn out an entire homicide [unclear: squ] so quickly this must be the [unclear: r] thing.

Oh you will be soup for Uncle Sam's Injuns, it's beef, neap [unclear: ear] them cry; Git along, git along, git along little dogies, you'll be beef steers [unclear: et] bye and bye, —American cowboy song.

Climax

The climax came when [unclear: son] one finally discovered the [unclear: plas] bag inside the "body's" shirt. [unclear: T] hoax was exposed. Almost [unclear: 0] people had been properly [unclear: ha] Immediately the crowd [unclear: turr] nasty, and began to take it [unclear: t] the poor "body." Fortunately [unclear: e] police arrived just in time to event what was almost a public [unclear: oching]. The "body" and another [unclear: udent] were led away through [unclear: e] angry crowed by about half a [unclear: zen] burly policemen and placed [unclear: side] a patrol car. A group of [unclear: derly] gentlemen surrounded the [unclear: r] shaking their fists and telling [unclear: e] police that they knew how deal with students.

It took the police over a month decide what they were going do about the stunt. Eventually [unclear: ey] charged two students (the [unclear: ody]" and the student who fired [unclear: e] pistol) with disorderly behav[unclear: ur]. A magistrate ordered the [unclear: udents] to make a donation to [unclear: e] Wellington Free Ambulance, [unclear: d] left thing at that. The exec[unclear: tive] of the day thought the [unclear: rder]" was a great stunt and [unclear: s] only too happy to provide [unclear: e] students with a lawyer and to [unclear: ake] a donation to the Free [unclear: bulance].