Auteur House

The people have spoken. Their message? Auteur House should not have opened on Matariki. Nothing if not servants of our clientele, we will close at 5pm. A failed experiment.

Service will resume at 10am tomorrow morning.

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Pictured is Riki Smith, or Captain Riki Smith of the Maori Battalion, to give his full rank and designation. Post-war, Riki played a bit of rugby football. In June, 1947, he took the field for Nuhaka in a senior club game in Wairoa and what happened next became the subject of headlines around the country.

My Waikato Times contributions this week are on sporting themes. Whilst the opinion column assesses Kane Williamson's fine record at Seddon Park, the history column examines rugby violence in the post-war period and its relationship to illegal gambling.

Was Riki an enforcer, playing with the express purpose of "taking out" Hurumua's Douglas Gordon? If so, why? I should note that since writing the piece his family, justifiably upset, have been in contact, at pains to stress that he was a devout Mormon and pillar of his community, who raised his children with love and that his war record was impeccable. Also, his arresting officer may well have had a personal vendetta. The plot has thickened.

Accessed on the Waikato Times website. Link in comments for illustrative purposes only. DON'T CLICK ON IT!