SOME OF the loudest and ugliest street scenes in Melbourne for years were seen on wednesday night when Australia's current govenor general sir John Kerr went to dinner. Even sir John looked shocked at the ferocity of the demonstration.

   In a punchpacked evening involving about 1000 yelling, screaming, chanting men and women, tempers toppled as frustrated demonstrators realised they were outmaneuvered by the victorian police who seemed to have learned their tactical lesson after the debacle outside the Royal Commonwealth society two weeks earlier.

   Twelve people were arrested and two girls were injured: one girl was trampled by a police horse and another had a foot run over by a taxi carrying dinner guests which accelerated in an attempt to plough a path through the demonstrators blocking Wallen road just up from the Leonda restaurant, venue for the dinner. Guests walking through the demonstrators were pushed, jostled, spat upon and had various missiles thrown at them.

   When the first demonstrators arrived late in the afternoon they found that police had closed off over two kilometres of one of Melbourne's busiest arterial roads, Swan street, on the city side of the Yarra and were not allowing any pedestrian or vehicular traffic through until a couple of hundred metres beyond the Leonda where the name changes to Wallen road. Police were also lining the Yarra riverfront behind the Leonda and had a patrol boat on the river.   

   In addition the police diverted all traffic for a radius of four kilometres around the Leonda. Reliable sources indicate that almost 500 police were involved in the complete operation.

   In addition, a heavy rumour had been spread that Kerr would not be coming to the dinner from the direction of Melbourne so the majority of the demonstrators were at the Hawthorn end to greet him and missed the opportunity. Staff of Melbourne TV stations had been given the same misinformation and missed being able to film his arrival at the Leonda except from a distance. Their night floodlamps were all set up in the wrong direction.

As each person was arrested they were taken to the rear of a paddy wagon, photographed at least twice by a police photographer and then placed in the wagon.

   When sir John Kerr's car arrived at 6.48 pm demonstrators nearest the Leonda tried to push forward but the solid line of police stood firm. Smoke bombs  were   then   thrown  in  rapid 

succession towards Kerr's car and  at police horses directly behind the police line. Marbles were also thrown under the horses hooves.   

The girl injured by the police horse was hurt as a group of mounted police rode into a crowd of demonstrators trying to block the path of sir John's car. Kerr's car was dented when a young demonstrator threw a banner pole at it. Police horses backing into the Rolls, as they tried to force demonstrators back, kicked dents in door panels. It is alleged that police seized a knife from a young demonstrator just before sir John arrived.

   A walkout on sir John Kerr had been planned to take place during the law institute dinner by young radical lawyers. I understand that the old boy network made it known to members of the Young Lawyers association that if they attempted a walkout or any other form of protests against sir John it would not be forgotten, and would be a heavy hindrance to their progress in the profession.

   Following this velvet glove approach, a number of radical lawyers decided not to attend the $16 a head dinner at the Leonda and instead joined the demonstrators behind the barricades to indicate their feelings.

   Before sir John left the dinner the president of the National Australia Association, Alex Psalti, issued a statement in which he called for demonstrators to be conscripted. As sir John left the dinner a bottle smashed against his car.