These truncheons were issued to Naval personnel to prevent looting during the 1932 Auckland Queen Street riots. The 14 April 1932 Queen Street riot began with a demonstration by postal employees to protest against salary cuts imposed by the Government. As the procession moved up to the Town Hall, it was joined by thousands of unemployed. Fighting broke out when the unemployed were refused admittance. Hundreds were injured in the fighting and looters ran through Queen Street smashing shop windows and raiding stores. Sailors with fixed bayonets were marched through town, but public order was only partially restored that night.

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