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Story: Business failures and corporate fraud

John McArthur’s pamphlet

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John McArthur’s pamphlet

When raiders ruled –how the ‘Kelly Gang made a sham of self-government was written and published by John McArthur in 1935 to defend his Investment Executive Trust from an alleged attack by the government. The trust used door-to-door salesmen to solicit investments. In 1933, aware that debenture holders had little protection for their money, the government established a commission to investigate such trusts. McArthur saw the government decision as an attack on ordinary people, motivated by a select group of private financiers, the so-called ‘Kelly gang’.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Reference: J. W. S. McArthur, When raiders ruled: how the 'Kelly Gang' made a sham of self-government. Wellington: J. W. S. McArthur, 1936.

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How to cite this page

Graeme Hunt, Business failures and corporate fraud – Government intervention, 1890–1940, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/22341/john-mcarthurs-pamphlet (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Graeme Hunt, published 13 January 2010.