 On 29 March 1984, a suitcase bomb was left in the foyer of the Trades Hall in Wellington.The Trades Hall was the headquarters of a number of trade unions and it is most commonly assumed that unions were the target of the bombing.Ernie Abbott, the building's caretaker, was killed when he attempted to move the suitcase, which is believed to have contained three sticks of gelignite triggered by a mercury switch.