In 1960, an attempt was made to murder Commissioner Western, H.G.R. McAlpine, outside his home in Natabua, about two miles from Lautoka, at approximately 11 pm.
This incident was reported by The Fiji Times on Thursday, July 4, 1960. The assailant fired two rounds from a shotgun, striking Mr. McAlpine in the lower part of the body, hand, and groin.
Initially, the police were unable to determine if the pellets from the first round had hit Mr. McAlpine. Later on the day of the shooting, his condition was described as “no longer serious.”
Mr. and Mrs. McAlpine were returning from Nadi when the attack occurred. Mr. McAlpine had driven the car into the garage after dropping off Mrs. McAlpine near the house.
The first shot was fired when he got out of the car. Mrs. McAlpine initially thought a tire had burst. When the second shot was fired, Mr. McAlpine collapsed.
A report from Lautoka suggested that the shots were fired from a distance of at least 50 feet. Mrs. McAlpine switched on the garage light and, with the help of her cook who had been awakened by the shots, attended to her husband’s wounds.
The police in Lautoka were promptly notified of the shooting by telephone. A doctor traveled to Natabua and accompanied Mr. McAlpine to the hospital. By this time, he had lost a significant amount of blood.
Mr. McAlpine was operated on and received two blood transfusions. A Public Relations Office (PRO) report broadcasted that Mr. McAlpine’s condition was “serious” but “not critical.”
The officer in charge of crime in Suva, Superintendent S.E. Gullidge, along with three CID officers, left Suva to assist in the investigation. The Commissioner of Police, R.H.T. Beaumont, also left Suva in connection with the shooting.