Eyewitness News - Bob Jones punches reporter Rod Vaughan

Rod Vaughan on Being Punched by Bob Jones

By Rod Vaughan 29/05/2020

For better or worse, being punched on the nose by Bob Jones was a defining moment in my 40 year career as a television journalist. It happened almost 36 years ago, but even today complete strangers come up to me wanting to know whether I was the guy laid out by Jones, when trying to interview him on the banks of the Tongariro River. I'd be a very wealthy man if I'd been paid a dollar every time the question has been put to me, but I've long since been resigned to the fact that it's a cross I'll have to bear for the rest of my life. That said, it's been fascinating to observe how public attitudes to this infamous episode appear to have changed over the decades.

When it happened back in 1985 I was reviled for allegedly harassing Jones, even by some in the media. Typical of the flak was a telegram from John Ferguson in Dunedin: "Serve you bloody well right." Amongst all the invective was just one message of support, from Nelly Mardle in Taradale: "Good luck. No man should use power or money to manipulate government."

Today many folk who ask me to recount the events leading up to the left hook that broke my nose are genuinely shocked at the ferocity of the assault, and the ensuing public outpouring of vitriol aimed at me. Of course Jones paid a price for his pugilism, later being convicted in the Taupo District Court on four charges of assault, and fined $1000 on each. Always quick with a riposte, Jones then asked the judge if he were to pay twice as much could he deal to me again. 

- Rod Vaughan moved from England to New Zealand at age 17. His book Bloodied But Not Beaten - The Stories Behind 40 Years of Investigative Journalism was published in 2012. He died on 28 August 2024.