The Travels of The Niue
p. 58 · Read in the full issue
Murderers
FOLLOWING the December an nouncement that the Governor- General of New Zealand had ordered a stay of execution in the case of the three Niueans found guilty of the murder of the Resident Commissioner, Mr. C. H. W. Larsen, in August, 1953, the prisoners were temporarily sent to Apia, Samoa.
Prior to the application for an appeal to the Privy Council being granted, the prisoners were flown from Auckland to Niue. A land plane which had the prisoners aboard was unable to make a land ing at Tonga due to bad weather and had to divert to Nausori, Fiji, in December. The prisoners were there immediately transferred to a RNZAF flying boat and flown back to Tonga and there trans-shipped to Tofua, which took them to Niue.
As there are no suitable prison facilities for holding the men there for any period, they were again placed aboard the Tofua, in January, and transferred to Apia orison, where, presumably, they will now remain pending the appeal.