A televised trip high into the Carrick Range, Central Otago,
last June by a group of explorers had its sequel in the
Alexandra District Court yesterday.
Two men were charged with a crime under the New Zealand
Historic Places Trust, Historic Places Act 1993.
A third man, charged under the same Act, did not appear as he
is overseas.
Campbell Munro Withington (44), journalist, of Alexandra,
Graeme Robertson Stewart (56), manager, of Bannockburn, and
Alexander John McLean (age unknown), teacher, of Earnscleugh,
were each remanded on bail without plea by Judge Paul Kellar.
All three were charged with damaging or modifying a site
without authority of the trust or any authorised person,
knowing or having reasonable cause to suspect the site was an
archaeological site within the meaning of the Act.
The charges related to an incident in and around Coal Creek
on or about June 3 last year.
Prosecution lawyer Maxine Knowler appeared on behalf of the
trust and told Judge Kellar the trust would be asking for
leave of the court to amend the charge against Withington.
Defence counsel Russell Checketts asked for the matter to be
remanded until August 27 as McLean was not in New Zealand and
the defence was seeking disclosure from the prosecution.
The matter will resume in the Alexandra court on August 27.
The trio, accompanied by a TV3 camera crew, had gone
searching for an old gold-mining village called North Pole,
which is about 1400m above sea level in the Carrick Range.
The trip was criticised by Historic Places Trust senior
archaeologist Dr Rick McGovern.
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