NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Rolf Harris trial: Kiwi gives evidence at sex trial

By Julian Drape of AAP
AAP·
19 May, 2014 06:24 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Two Australian and a New Zealand woman have given evidence against Rolf Harris at his trial for indecent assault. Photo / AP

Two Australian and a New Zealand woman have given evidence against Rolf Harris at his trial for indecent assault. Photo / AP

A New Zealander has told a British court Rolf Harris was a 'disgusting, vile' man who assaulted her when she was a teenager in 1970.

Harris is charged with indecently assaulting four girls in the UK between 1968 and 1986. The 84-year-old denies the charges.

When the Kiwi found out in 2013 the artist and singer been arrested in the UK she exclaimed "they finally got the bastard".

She met the entertainer while working for a wine company at a party in New Zealand. She was 16 or 17 at the time.

The alleged victim asked Harris for his autograph and posed for photographs before he asked for a dance.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"In a flash, in a moment, I saw the dark side of a man who I thought could be trusted," the woman said before being overcome with emotion.

"He slid his hand down my back against my bottom and then in a moment put his hand up my skirt and tried to put his hand in between my legs."

She told her mother within days that Harris was a "disgusting, vile and repulsive man" who'd destroyed her trust.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Years later she told her husband and in 2013 after it was reported Harris had been arrested she contacted British police.

Defence lawyer Sonia Woodley QC suggested Harris' hand may have "innocently" wandered down her back.

During a heated exchange the witness snapped: "How do you sleep at night?"

The court further heard from a woman who said Harris pushed her against a wall and slobbered over her when she was holidaying in Malta in 1970.

Discover more

World

NZ link to Rolf Harris' sex assault trial

06 May 09:28 PM
World

Harris used fame to abuse, court hears

09 May 05:00 PM
Entertainment

Kiwis may give evidence in Harris case

10 May 05:00 PM
World

Star status hid dark side

10 May 05:00 PM

The then 18-year-old had been discussing one of the artist's paintings hanging in a bar when he allegedly said: "I've got some more if you'd like to see them?"

The teenager followed Harris into a side room where he started kissing her in a "slobberly" way.

He allegedly touched her breasts before putting his hand inside her underpants. Afterwards she was relieved.

"I was happy that was it," the witness explained to the jury.

"I thought I was going to be raped."

Ms Woodley suggested Harris never touched her but the woman insisted: "I can assure you he did."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The court also heard how Rolf Harris "tongue kissed" an Australian girl aged 11 or 12 immediately after asking her how old she was.

The assault allegedly occurred in Darwin in 1969 when the girl was dressed only in her pyjamas.

The alleged victim, now in her mid-50s, was off school sick at the time and staying with family friends. Harris was also a guest.

The girl went downstairs to an area under the house where Harris was working with wood, the entertainer's indecent assault trial heard on Monday.

He allegedly asked her how old she was and, after being told, said: "Good I want to be the first one to introduce you to a tongue kiss."

The girl froze and the "very tall" Harris rubbed his hands up her sides and enveloped her in a hug, the witness told Southwark Crown Court.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"He put his tongue in my mouth and gave me a tongue kiss," she said.

"It seemed like it lasted forever but it must have been quite quick.

"I was ... absolutely repulsed."

The alleged victim subsequently told girlfriends that "my first tongue kiss was with Rolf Harris" but no one believed her.

Later in life, the Australian woman told her husband when explaining why she had an aversion to people approaching her for a kiss.

"It makes me feel very frazzled and scared - I almost have a panic attack," the witness said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The three women who gave evidence overnight NZ time are supporting witnesses for the prosecution.

The entertainer can't be charged over the incidents because they occurred outside the UK before 1997. The law has subsequently been changed.

The trial continues.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

World

Car theft crisis pits manufacturers against high-tech gangs

22 Jun 06:00 PM
Premium
World

How immigration is fuelling Spain's economy

22 Jun 06:00 PM
Premium
Opinion

Three unknowns for America and the world after Trump’s strike on Iran

22 Jun 05:00 PM

Help for those helping hardest-hit

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Car theft crisis pits manufacturers against high-tech gangs

Car theft crisis pits manufacturers against high-tech gangs

22 Jun 06:00 PM

Almost 130,000 UK vehicles were stolen in the year to March 2024 - near a 15-year high.

Premium
How immigration is fuelling Spain's economy

How immigration is fuelling Spain's economy

22 Jun 06:00 PM
Premium
Three unknowns for America and the world after Trump’s strike on Iran

Three unknowns for America and the world after Trump’s strike on Iran

22 Jun 05:00 PM
Premium
A new daily pill on way for weight loss and lowering blood sugar

A new daily pill on way for weight loss and lowering blood sugar

22 Jun 05:00 PM
How a Timaru mum of three budding chefs stretched her grocery shop
sponsored

How a Timaru mum of three budding chefs stretched her grocery shop

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP