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CITATION — DECEMBER, 1965						Page Thirty-Three

MUCH BINDING DOWN THE TRACK!

Ian Faux, Basil Courts and John Maley Commended for good work in Exciting Manhunt

EARLY in the year Ian Faux went •off down the track to do a nice quiet spot of relieving as Constable-in-charge of Elliott. Before he got back to Darwin he had been shot at in the bush by a recalcitrant criminal and shot on to the front page by a boost from the Supreme Court Bench; and we would not be surprised if he didn't celebrate it all by getting shot all over with Swan and Vic. at the first convenient convivial opportunity.


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This all arose because at Tennant Creek, some rso miles south of Elliott, two visiting Southern criminals broke and entered the DCA radio room at Tennant Creek aerodrome and stole a large quantity of radio and electronic gear and a large tape recorder. The matter was reported to the Police at about 6 o'clock on the morning of 6th March, 1965. Our C.I.B. man 'at Tennant, First Class Constable Basil Courts, immediately went to the scene with Tracker Peter Peterson. Their observations led to the conclusion that the job had been done by two men travelling in a narrow wheel base motor vehicle. Tracks of two different sets of footprints were found near the point of entry to the building and followed for some considerable distance until they were lost on the bitumen roadway. The tracks were again picked up outside the DCA area and led to a dirt roadway which runs around the base of the DCA Hill and up to the town water tank. There the tracks stopped beside two sets of motor vehicle tracks, both of which were made by the same narrow wheel based vehicle. The vehicle tracks were followed to a group of hills outside the aerodrome and, near a point where the vehicle had turned round, some of the stolen property was discovered.

While these operations were in progress, William Green came along and reported that he had left his car in the main street the night before and in the morning noticed that the car radio had disappeared, and that several gallons of petrol had been•milked from the tank. Investigations here showed clearly that one of the men who had left his footprints near the DCA had also helped himself to Green's property.

After some further inquiries Sergeant Peter Haag, Constable Courts and Constable John Maley drove to the 2.7-Mile, north, on the Stuart Highway and interviewed a man named Allan James Carlson. Carlson was driving a maroon-coloured Austin utility, registered number NSW-

ADG-171. He was questioned and his vehicle was searched; but he denied any knowledge of the offences and no stolen property was found in the vehicle. He continued on his way north, with Katherine as his nominated destination. There were no further developments that day —just unproductive searching, questioning and fruitlessly calculating the thisses and thats.

On the following morning Ian Tuxworth added to their problems with a report that his vehicle, a Ford Falcon " Squire " Station Sedan No. NT 12-807, had been stolen from where he had left it in Paterson Street the previous night. An unsuccessful search and inquiry was carried out, and all Stations were alerted to look out for this car.

It transpired later that the thief had driven about fifty miles north from Tennant Creek, to where the Highway was cut by the flooded Morphett Creek. He had then selected a spot to drive off the Highway into the bush, but after a couple of hundred yards he became ^-bogged, and sat down there for two days. He finally persuaded a travelling bus driver to tow him out, and got himself towed over the Morphett by a Works Department vehicle. He then continued north about ten miles to Banka Banka Station, where the manageress, Mrs. Mary Ward, gave him a job. For this kindness she discovered, on the following morning, that the Station office had been broken and entered, a number of thefts had occurred, and the new hand had disappeared.

Mrs. Ward passed this informatiyu on to Constable Faux at Elliott, and then to Tennant Creek Police. The man had been driving a Ford Falcon Station Sedan loaded with radio equipment. Constables Courts and Maley left Tennant Creek per Landrover and headed north, only to be stopped by the flooded Morphett. Shortly afterwards Sgt. Haag caught up to them and advised that he had been notified by telephone from Elliott that Constable Faux was heading south down the Highway in pursuit of a vehicle similar to the one stolen at Tennant Creek. Once again the Department of Works came to the rescue and the Landrover was towed over the creek. The three policemen then headed north. Upon arrival at Renner Springs they met Constable Faux, who had an exciting story to tell.

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