Australasian Biker News
Gang members descend on Murupara
Sun, 01 Jun 2008 06:08p.m.
Police were taking no chances over the weekend when about a hundred gang
members descended on a small town in the Bay of Plenty.
Members of the tribesman gang maintained they had come in peace.
But many residents of Murapara were apprehensive and unimpressed that
they had picked their town to hold their meeting.
If you believed some newspaper reports, it had all the ingredients for
trouble…
Hundreds of gang members converging for the weekend on the small North
Island town of Murupara for a poker run; a fearful local community; and
a gang leader saying things could turn ugly if the police got in their
way.
The police were not playing, but they did have some rules of their own.
“These people have a lot of criminal convictions, they’ve got
anti-social attitudes, so there’s a lot of work that needs to be done to
make sure that they understand that that sort of behaviour won’t be
accepted,” said one policeman.
Murupara residents were apprehensive, and less-than-impressed that their
town had been chosen for the inaugural event.
“It’s bad for the community, for the district, actually; and a lot of
people have left town for the weekend because of the gangs coming in,”
said Bill Whiteman, former Murupara mayor.
Friends and relatives of the tribesmen were well aware of local
sentiment and the strong police presence.
They told 3 News the poker run was a time for friendship and whanau, not
an excuse to cause mayhem.
Police arrested six gang members yesterday and seven more this morning,
one for domestic violence, but most for drink-related offences. They
said good planning, and cooperation from local iwi, kept gang members in
check.
The tribesmen were hosted by Ngati Manawa at the Rangitahi Marae, and as
their guests left town this afternoon, one kaumatua accused media of
alarmist reporting in the run-up to the event.
“The reality is the one you’ve seen on the marae today. The warmth,
genuine feeling, the compassion. Why the media would do that? I guess
they’ve done a beat-up for their own reasons – whether to sell
newspapers, or whatever. The scenario, the nightmare scenario that they
predicted has not in fact eventuated,” says Pem Bird, a kaumatua from
Ngati Manawa.
In the end, everyone seemed relatively happy. The tribesmen had their
poker run, the police kept law and order, residents got their town back
in one piece, and media? Well perhaps they sold a few more newspapers.