George Wilder

G E O R G E

W I L D E R

CONTENTS - Intro to George Wilder - His Story - The First Escape - The Second Escape - The Third Escape - His Legacy

“THE

WILD

ER”

Constables Pat Moulden and Barry White were in the search parties send to look for Wilder in the early 1960s.

New Zealand’s most notorious prison escaper is living a simple life in remote coastal Wairarapa, more than 40 years after his final escapade captivated the nation.

George Wilder, now in his 70s, is a member of the Cape Turnagain Golf Club in the small town of Weber, about 40km east of Pahiatua.

Wilder became a national folk hero in the 1960s when he escaped prison three times. Despite his reputation as an elusive nd extremely private man, he is a regular at regional golf tournaments.

His love for cars, particularly Jaguars, led to his first arrest which saw him

jailed for two years in a Taranaki prison.

Clubmates are tight-lipped about their playing partner, who has kept a low profile after being released from prison more than 30 years ago.

Wilder is believed to live and work at a farming station in Herbertville. He has never spoken about his days on the run, during which he evaded police for almost eight months in three escapes.

And those who know him expect things to stay that way. Golfing pal Denzil Treacy said Wilder was a private man who was unlikely to tell anyone his story.

“NEW ZEALAND PRISON ESCAPEE

Image above of New Plymouth Prison, 1919.

Somewhere out there, prison escaper George Wilder was on the run. When he first scarpered on May 17, 1962, scaling a 10m wall at New Plymouth Prison.

There was little to capture the public but stories of wild drives through police barricades, evading large search parties, escaping a police dog by swimming across a river, and getaways by dinghy and horse, all with no hint of violence, quickly grabbed the public’s imagination.

Wilder was on the loose for 65 days.

It was the first of three escapes that would see him spend 238 days of his eight years in jail on the run.

The original sentence he was running from was just four years. That autumn in 1962 constables Pat Moulden and Barry White were shivering on the banks of the Waihaha River, west of Lake Taupo. They were part of the search, in position in case Wilder tried to cross the river at the still under construction State Highway 32 on the western side of Lake Taupo.

But as most of the country read with thrill of Wilder’s latest brush with capture, Constables Moulden and White were waiting. The only updates they got were from passing road workers on their way to the pub.

WON THE HEARTS OF A NATION”

“WHENWE GOT BACKTOTHE PUB

George Wilder, right, ends another 172 days of freedom in 1963, pictured here handcuffed to a Taupo policemen.

After Wilder was captured further up State Highway 32 on July 21, police remembered, almost as an afterthought, to pick up “those two fellas out there in the sticks”. “When we got back to the Mangakino pub, boy oh boy, there was some noise going on”.

After weeks of sightings, from Auckland to Wellington, Wilder had been spotted near a Whakamaru store.

The next day, July 21, he was seen in farm land heading towards the mill. Shortly afterwards Wilder was seen breaking from cover by Constable C Hamilton of Taupo.

Constable Hamilton gave chase but Wilder dashed down a 40ft bank and disappeared.

He was found four hours later hiding in a nearby hole off a logging road.

Six months later, on January 29, 1963, Wilder again escaped, this time from Mt Eden, Auckland.

During his 172 days of freedom, he generated massive public attention, partly for his politeness, he left apology notes and cleaned up the properties he had broken into.

BOY OH BOY, THERE WAS NOISE”

“SEVERE SECURITY MEASURES

A sketch by George while he was behind bars that were released by a fellow inmate.

Another escape in 1964, this one notable for its uncharacteristic use of a sawn-off shotgun, lasted just a few hours. Wilder and two fellow escapees took refuge in a house in Horoeka Ave, Mt Eden, only 1½ km from the prison, holding the occupants hostage.

After a tense three-hour standoff with police, the fugitives surrendered when threatened with tear gas.

In the final years of Wilder’s sentence, a friend released sketches the inmate had done behind bars under “almost impossible conditions”, revealing yet another taste of intrigue.

Wilder was freed from prison on June 20, 1969. The Evening Post reported: “Wilder disappeared after his release from Paparua Prison, as silently and efficiently as he glided into the bush after his escapes.” in 1970, he granted a rare interview to the Sunday Times, offering some explanation for his escapes. He talked of his strong desire for freedom. “After each escape I was subjected to severe security measures which only increased my urge to escape again,” he said.

INCREASED MY URGE TO ESCAPE”

“DESPITE HIS BAD BOY WAYS

The Howard Morrison Quartet singing the song “George the Wild(er)” Colonial Bay in his honour.

He had style and he had flair, growing in popularity when it was said he joined his own search party before disappearing into the bush.

The Howard Morrison Quartet recorded the song George the Wild(er) Colonial Boy in his honour.

More than four decades later Wilder remains elusive, living near the border between Wairarapa and Hawke’s Bay. Over the years he has rebuffed numerous approaches for an interview.

His address is public, his local watering hole is well- known, even his golf handicap has been reported; yet Wilder,

for all intents and purposes, remains hidden. Just the way he likes it.

In 1997, Kiwi actor and director Tim Balme based his play The Ballad of Jimmy Costello on Wilder, against the former prisoner’s wishes. ”He did not want me to tour the country with The Ballad of George Wilder,” Balme said at the time.

He has never spoken about his days on the run, during which he evaded police for almost eight months in three escapes. And those who know him expect things to stay that way.

NEW ZEALAND LOVED WILDER”

REFERENCES

Story and pictures from: NzHerald, Stuff.co.nz, Wikipedia.

Designed by: Gage Wilder