Western Australian Parliamentary Papers 1Reports on Rottnest Island Aboriginal Prisoners 2 Report on Rottnest Island for the Year 1885 3Nominal Return of the Aboriginal Prisioners who died during 1885 Munderberry; 2. 5.1885; Fraser Range; Accidentally drowned when bathing Thally Bygalgoo; 16.10.1885; Upper Murchison; Old age 4 Report on Rottnest Island for the Year 1887 5Nominal Return of Aboriginal Prisioners who died during 1887
The following is an article By Serge Trifkovic and we reprint it here with his permission.
The husband routinely beat his 26-year-old German-born wife, mother of their two young children, and threatened to kill her when the court ordered him to move out of their apartment in Hamburg. The police were called repeatedly to intervene. The wife wanted a quick divorce – without waiting a year after separation, as mandated by German law – arguing that that the abuse and death threats she suffered easily fulfilled the “hardship” criteria required for an accelerated decree absolute. The judge – a woman by the name of Christa Datz-Winter – refused, however, arguing that the Kuran allows the husband to beat his wife and that the couple’s Moroccan origin must be taken into account in the case. They both come from a cultural milieu, Her Honor wrote, in which it is common for husbands to beat their wives – and the Kuran sanctions such treatment. “The [husband’s] exercise of the right to castigate does not fulfill the hardship criteria as defined by Paragraph 1565” of German federal law, the judge’s letter said. [emphasis added] The judge further suggested that the wife’s Western lifestyle would give her husband grounds to claim his honor had been compromised.
The reports in German and English do not state this, but Turkish papers have reported that the judge made specific reference to Sura 4, which contains the infamous Verse 34: Men have the authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat them. The wife’s lawyer, Barbara Becker-Rojczyk, could not believe her eyes: a German judge was invoking Kuran in a German legal case to assert the husband’s “right to castigate” his wife. The meaning was clear: “the husband can beat his wife,” Becker-Rojczyk commented. She decided to go public with the case last Tuesday because the judge was still on the bench, two months after the controversial verdict was handed down.
The judge was subsequently removed from the case, but not from the bench. A spokesman for the court, Bernhard Olp, said the judge did not intend to suggest that violence in a marriage is acceptable, or that the Kuran supersedes German law. “The ruling is not justifiable, but the judge herself cannot explain it at this moment,” he said. But according to Spiegel Online this was not the first time that German courts have used “cultural background” to inform their verdicts. Christa Stolle of the women’s rights organization Terre des Femmes said that in cases of marital violence there have been a number of cases where the perpetrator’s culture of origin has been considered as a mitigating circumstance.
Of some 25 million Muslims in Western Europe, the majority already consider themselves autonomous, a community justifiably opposed to the decadent host society of infidels. They already demand the adoption of sharia within segregated Muslim communities, which but one step that leads to the imposition of sharia on the society as a whole. Swedish courts are already introducing sharia principles into civil cases. An Iranian-born man divorcing his Iranian-born wife was ordered by the high court in the city of Halmestad to pay Mahr, Islamic dowry ordained by the Kuran as part of the Islamic marriage contract. As Chronicles readers may recall, Europe’s elite class is ready for further surrenders. Dutch Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner—a Christian Democrat—sees the demand for Sharia as perfectly legitimate, and argues that it could be introduced “by democratic means.” Muslims have a right to follow the commands of their religion, he says, even if the exercise of that right included some “dissenting rules of behavior”: “It is a sure certainty for me: if two thirds of all Netherlanders tomorrow would want to introduce Sharia, then this possibility must exist. Could you block this legally? It would also be a scandal to say ‘this isn’t allowed’! The majority counts. That is the essence of democracy.” The same “essence” was reiterated in similar terms last July by Jens Orback, the Swedish Integration [sic] Minister, who declared in a radio debate on Channel P1, “We must be open and tolerant towards Islam and Muslims because when we become a minority, they will be so towards us.”
To all forward-looking Europeans it must be a welcome sign that continental courts are catching up with the leader in Sharia compliance, Great Britain. A key tenet of Sharia is that non-Muslims cannot try Muslims. Peter Beaumont, QC, senior circuit judge at London’s Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey, accepts the commandment not only in civil, but also in criminal cases. He banned Jews and Hindus—and anyone married to one—from serving on the jury in the trial of Abdullah el-Faisal, accused of soliciting the murder of “unbelievers.” “For obvious reasons,” he said, “members of the jury of the Jewish or Hindu faith should reveal themselves, even if they are married to Jewish or Hindu women, because they are not fit to arbitrate in this case.” One can only speculate what the reaction would be if equally “obvious reasons” were invoked in an attempt to exclude Muslims from a trial of an alleged “Islamophobe.”
Here at home, The New York Times had a bone to pick with the German judge mainly because of her suggestion that Islam justified violence against women. It stated matter-of-factly, “While the verse cited by Judge Datz-Winter does say husbands may beat their wives for being disobedient — an interpretation embraced by fundamentalists— mainstream Muslims have long rejected wife-beating as a medieval relic.”
In reality “mainstream Muslims” do nothing of the sort. New York Times’ claim notwithstanding, the original sources for “true” Islam—the Kuran and Hadith—provide ample and detailed evidence on Islamic theory and the sources of Shari’a practice that remains in force all over the Islamic world today.
According to orthodox Islamic tradition, the verse invoked by the German judge (4:34) was revealed in connection with a woman who complained to Mohammad that her husband had hit her on the face, which was still bruised. At first he told her to get even with him, but then added, “Wait until I think about it.” The revelation duly followed, after which he said: “We wanted one thing but Allah wanted another, and what Allah wanted is best.” Qatari Sheikh Walid bin Hadi explains that every man is his own judge when using violence: “The Prophet said: Do not ask a husband why he beats his wife.”
The scholars at the most respected institution of Islamic learning, Cairo’s Azhar University, further explain: “If admonishing and sexual desertion fail to bring forth results and the woman is of a cold and stubborn type, the Qur’an bestows on man the right to straighten her out by way of punishment and beating, provided he does not break her bones nor shed blood. Many a wife belongs to this querulous type and requires this sort of punishment to bring her to her senses!”
Physical violence against one’s wife, far from being Haram, remains divinely ordained and practically advised in modern Islam. “Take in thine hand a branch and smite therewith and break not thine oath,” the Kuran commands. Muslim propagators in the West “explain” that the Islamic teaching and practice is in line with the latest achievements of clinical psychology: it is not only correct, but positively beneficial to them because “women’s rebelliousness (nushuz) is a medical condition” based either on her masochistic delight in being beaten and tortured, or sadistic desire to hurt and dominate her husband. Either way,
Such a woman has no remedy except removing her spikes and destroying her weapon by which she dominates. This weapon of the woman is her femininity. But the other woman who delights in submission and being beaten, then beating is her remedy. So the Qur’anic command: ‘banish them to their couches, and beat them’ agrees with the latest psychological findings in understanding the rebellious woman. This is one of the scientific miracles of the Qur’an, because it sums up volumes of the science of psychology about rebellious women.
According to Allah’s commandment to men (Kuran 2:223), “Your wives are as a soil to be cultivated unto you; so approach your tilth when or how ye will.” Therefore “the righteous women are devoutly obedient.” Those that are not inhabit the nether regions of hell. Muhammad has stated that most of those who enter hell are women, not men. Contemporary Azhar scholars of Egypt agree: “Oh, assembly of women, give charity, even from your jewelry, for you (comprise) the majority of the inhabitants of hell in the day of resurrection.”
In the same spirit, courts in Muslim countries, to mention a particularly egregious legal practice, routinely sentence raped women to death for “adultery,” usually by stoning, because they follow the Sharia that mandates this punishment. To the outright divine command of every wife’s obedience to her husband, Muhammad has added a few comments of his own. When asked who among women is the best, he replied: “She who gives pleasure to him (husband) when he looks, obeys him when he bids, and who does not oppose him regarding herself and her riches fearing his displeasure.” Even in basic necessities the needs of the husband take precedence: “You shall give her food when you have taken your food, you shall clothe her when you have clothed yourself, you shall not slap her on the face, nor revile (her), nor leave (her) alone, except within the house.” The husband’s sexual needs have to be satisfied immediately: “When a man calls his wife to his bed, and she does not respond, the One Who is in the heaven is displeased with her until he is pleased with her.”
Such treatment of women might be expected to make Islam abhorrent within the cultural milieu epitomized by the equal-rights obsessed European Union and the neofeminist New York Times, but this has not happened. There is a reason for this. It is the refusal of Islam to accept the wife as her husband’s closest and inseparable loving partner and companion. Islam therefore challenges Christian marriage in principle and in practice. Muslim teaching on marriage and the family, though “conservative” about “patriarchy,” denies the traditional Christian concept of matrimony. Islam is therefore an “objective” ally of postmodernity, a few beatings here and a few rapes there notwithstanding.
The Australian frontier wars is a term applied by some historians to violent conflicts between Indigenous Australians[JS1] and white settlers during the British colonisation of Australia. The first fighting took place several months after the landing of the First Fleetin January 1788 and the last clashes occurred in the early 20th century, as late as 1934. A minimum of 40,000 Indigenous Australians and between 2,000 and 2,500 settlers died in the wars. However, recent scholarship on the frontier wars in what is now the state of Queensland indicates that Indigenous fatalities may have been significantly higher. Indeed, while battles and massacres occurred in a number of locations across Australia, they were particularly bloody in Queensland, owing to its comparatively larger pre-contact Indigenous population.
In 1770 a British expedition under the command of then-Lieutenant James Cook[JS2] made the first voyage by Europeans along the Australian east coast. On 29 April Cook and a small landing party fired on a group of Dharawal people who sought to prevent the British from landing at the foot of their camp at Botany Bay, described by Cook as “a small village”. Two Dharawal men made threatening gestures and a stone was thrown to underline that the British were not welcome to land at that spot. Cook then ordered “a musket to be fired with small-shot” and the elder of the two was hit in a leg. This caused the two Dharawal men to run to their huts and seize their spears and shields. Subsequently, a single spear was thrown towards the British party, which “happily hurt nobody”. This then caused Cook to order “a third musket with small-shots” to be fired, “upon which one of them threw another lance and both immediately ran away.” Cook did not make further contact with the Dharawal.
Cook, in his voyage up the east coast of Australia, observed no signs of agriculture or other development by its inhabitants. Some historians argue that under prevailing European law such land was deemed terra nullius or land belonging to nobody or land ’empty of inhabitants’ (as defined by Emerich de Vattel). Cook wrote that he formally took possession of the east coast of New Holland on 22 August 1770 when on Possession Island off the west coast of Cape York Peninsula.
The British Government decided to establish a prison colony in Australia in 1786. Under the European legal doctrine of terra nullius, Indigenous Australians were not recognised as having property rights and territory could be acquired through ‘original occupation’ rather than conquest or consent. The colony’s Governor, Captain Arthur Phillip,[JS3] was instructed to “live in amity and kindness” with Indigenous Australians and sought to avoid conflict.
The British settlement of Australia commenced with the First Fleet[JS4] in mid-January 1788 in the south-east in what is now the federal state of New South Wales. This process then continued into Tasmania and Victoria from 1803 onward. Since then the population density of non-Indigenous people has remained highest in this region of the Australian continent. However, conflict with Aboriginal people was never as intense and bloody in the south-eastern colonies as in Queensland and the north-east of the continent. More settlers, as well as Indigenous Australians, were killed on the Queensland frontier than in any other Australian colony. The reason is simple, and is reflected in all evidence and sources dealing with this subject: There were more Aborigines in Queensland. The territory of Queensland was the single most populated section of pre-contact Indigenous Australia, reflected not only in all pre-contact population estimates, but also in the mapping of pre-contact Australia (see Horton’s Map of Aboriginal Australia).
The indigenous population distribution illustrated below is based on two independent sources, firstly on two population estimates made by anthropologists and a social historian in 1930 and in 1988, secondly on the basis of the distribution of known tribal land.
The Distribution of the Pre-Contact Indigenous Population when Imposed on the Current Australian States and Territories.
State/Territory
Share of Population in the 1930-Estimates
Share of Population in the 1988-Estimates
Distribution of tribal land
Queensland
38.2%
37.9%
34.2%
Western Australia
19.7%
20.2%
22.1%
New South Wales
15.3%
18.9%
10.3%
Northern Territory
15.9%
12.6%
17.2%
Victoria
4.8%
5.7%
5.7%
South Australia
4.8%
4.0%
8.6%
Tasmania
1.4%
0.6%
2.0%
All evidence suggests that the territory of Queensland had a pre-contact Indigenous population density more than double that of New South Wales, at least six times that of Victoria and at least twenty times that of Tasmania. Equally there are signs that the population density of Indigenous Australia was comparatively higher in the north-eastern sections of New South Wales, and along the northern coast from the Gulf of Carpentaria and westward including certain sections of the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Indigenous tribe on the banks of the River Torrens, 1850
Estimated Minimum Indigenous Population by 1788 (based on Prentis 1988).
State/Territory
Population in numbers
Population in percentage
Queensland
300,000
37.9%
Western Australia
150,000
20.2%
New South Wales
160,000
18.9%
Northern Territory
100,000
12.6%
Victoria
45,000
5.7%
South Australia
32,000
4.0%
Tasmania
5,000
0.6%
Estimated Total
795,000
100%
Impact of disease
The effects of disease, infertility, loss of hunting grounds, and starvation on the Aboriginal population were significant. There are indications that smallpox epidemics may have impacted heavily on some Aboriginal tribes, with depopulation in large sections of what is now Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland up to 50% or more, even before the move inland from Sydney of squatters[JS5] and their livestock. Other diseases hitherto unknown in the Indigenous population—such as the common cold, flu, measles, venereal diseases and tuberculosis—also had an impact, significantly reducing their numbers and tribal cohesion, and so limiting their ability to adapt to or resist invasion and dispossession.
Traditional Aboriginal warfare
Aboriginal warrior
According to the historian John Connor, traditional Aboriginal warfare should be examined on its own terms and not by definitions of war derived from other societies. Aboriginal people did not have distinct ideas of war and peace, and traditional warfare was common, taking place between groups on an ongoing basis, with great rivalries being maintained over extended periods of time. The aims and methods of traditional Aboriginal warfare arose from their small autonomous social groupings. The fighting of a war to conquer enemy territory was not only beyond the resources of any of these Aboriginal groupings, it was contrary to a culture that was based on spiritual connections to a specific territory. Consequently, conquering another group’s territory may have been seen to be of little benefit. Ultimately, traditional Aboriginal warfare was aimed at continually asserting the superiority of one’s own group over its neighbor’s, rather than conquering, destroying or displacing neighbouring groups. As the explorer Edward John Eyre[JS6] observed in 1845, whilst Aboriginal culture was “so varied in detail”, it was “similar in general outline and character”, and Connor observes that there were sufficient similarities in weapons and warfare of these groups to allow generalisations about traditional Aboriginal warfare to be made.
In 1840, the American-Canadian ethnologistHoratio Hale[JS7] identified four types of Australian Aboriginal traditional warfare; formal battles, ritual trials, raids for women, and revenge attacks. Formal battles involved fighting between two groups of warriors, which ended after a few warriors had been killed or wounded, due to the need to ensure the ongoing survival of the groups. Such battles were usually fought to settle grievances between groups, and could take some time to prepare. Ritual trials involved the application of customary law to one or more members of a group who had committed a crime such as murder or assault. Weapons were used to inflict injury, and the criminal was expected to stand their ground and accept the punishment. Some Aboriginal men had effective property rights over women and raids for women were essentially about transferring property from one group to another to ensure the survival of a group through women’s food-gathering and childbearing roles. The final type of Aboriginal traditional warfare described by Hale was the revenge attack, undertaken by one group against another to punish the group for the actions of one of its members, such as a murder. In some cases these involved sneaking into the opposition camp at night and silently killing one or more members of the group.
Connor describes traditional Aboriginal warfare as both limited and universal. It was limited in terms of:
the number of members of each group, which restricted the number of warriors in any given engagement;
the fact that their non-hierarchical social order militated against one leader combining many groups into a single force; and
duration, due to social groups needing to regularly hunt and forage for food.
Traditional Aboriginal warfare was also universal, as the entire community participated in warfare, boys learnt to fight by playing with toy melee and missile weapons, and every initiated male became a warrior. Women were sometimes participants in warfare as warriors and as encouragers on the sidelines of formal battles, but more often as victims.
While the selection and design of weapons varied from group to group, Aboriginal warriors used a combination of melee and missile weapons in traditional warfare. Spears, clubs and shields were commonly used in hand-to-hand fighting, with different types of shields favoured during exchanges of missiles and in close combat, and spears (often used in conjunction with spear throwers), boomerangs[JS8] and stones used as missile weapons.
Available weapons had a significant influence over the tactics used during traditional Aboriginal warfare. The limitations of spears and clubs meant that surprise was paramount during raids for women and revenge attacks, and encouraged ambushing and night attacks. These tactics were offset by counter-measures such as regularly changing campsites, being prepared to extinguish camp-fires at short notice, and posting parties of warriors to cover the escape of raiders.
Initial peaceful relations between Indigenous Australians and Europeans began to be strained several months after the First Fleet established Sydney on 26 January 1788. The local Indigenous people became suspicious when the British began to clear land and catch fish, and in May 1788 five convicts were killed and an Indigenous man was wounded. The British grew increasingly concerned when groups of up to three hundred Indigenous people were sighted at the outskirts of the settlement in June. Despite this, Phillip attempted to avoid conflict, and forbade reprisals after being speared in 1790. He did, however, authorize two punitive expeditions in December 1790 after his huntsman was killed by an Indigenous warrior named Pemulwuy,[JS10] but neither was successful.
Coastal and inland expansion
During the 1790s and early 19th century the British established small settlements along the Australian coastline. These settlements initially occupied small amounts of land, and there was little conflict between the settlers and Indigenous peoples. Fighting broke out when the settlements expanded, however, disrupting traditional Indigenous food-gathering activities, and subsequently followed the pattern of European settlement in Australia for the next 150 years. Indeed, whilst the reactions of the Aboriginal inhabitants to the sudden arrival of British settlers were varied, they became inevitably hostile when their presence led to competition over resources, and to the occupation of their lands. European diseases decimated Indigenous populations, and the occupation or destruction of lands and food resources sometimes led to starvation. By and large neither the Europeans nor the Indigenous peoples approached the conflict in an organised sense, with the conflict more one between groups of settlers and individual tribes rather than systematic warfare, even if at times it did involve British soldiers and later formed mounted police units. Not all Indigenous Australians resisted white encroachment on their lands either, whilst many also served in mounted police units and were involved in attacks on other tribes. Settlers in turn often reacted with violence, resulting in a number of indiscriminate massacres. European activities provoking significant conflict included pastoral squatting and gold rushes[JS11] .
Unequal weaponry
Fighting between Burke and Wills‘ supply party and Indigenous Australians at Bulla, Queensland in 1861
Opinions differ on whether to depict the conflict as one-sided and mainly perpetrated by Europeans on Indigenous Australians or not. Although tens of thousands more Indigenous Australians died than Europeans, some cases of mass killing were not massacres but quasi-military defeats, and the higher death toll was also caused by the technological and logistic advantages enjoyed by Europeans. Indigenous tactics varied, but were mainly based on pre-existing hunting and fighting practices—utilising spears, clubs and other simple weapons. Unlike the indigenous peoples of New Zealand and North America, in the main they failed to adapt to meet the challenge of the Europeans, and although there were some instances of individuals and groups acquiring and using firearms, this was not widespread. In reality the Indigenous peoples were never a serious military threat, regardless of how much the settlers may have feared them. On occasions large groups attacked Europeans in open terrain and a conventional battle ensued, during which the Aborigines would attempt to use superior numbers to their advantage. This could sometimes be effective, with reports of them advancing in crescent formation in an attempt to outflank and surround their opponents, waiting out the first volley of shots and then hurling their spears whilst the settlers reloaded. Usually, however, such open warfare proved more costly for the Indigenous Australians than the Europeans.
Central to the success of the Europeans was the use of firearms, but the advantages this afforded have often been overstated. Prior to the 19th century, firearms were often cumbersome muzzle-loading, smooth-bore, single shot weapons with flint-lock mechanisms. Such weapons produced a low rate of fire, whilst suffering from a high rate of failure and were only accurate within 50 metres (160 ft). These deficiencies may have given the Aborigines some advantages, allowing them to move in close and engage with spears or clubs. However, by 1850 significant advances in firearms gave the Europeans a distinct advantage, with the six-shot Colt revolver, the Snider single shot breech-loading rifle[JS12] and later the Martini-Henry rifle as well as rapid-fire rifles such as the Winchester rifle, becoming available. These weapons, when used on open ground and combined with the superior mobility provided by horses to surround and engage groups of Indigenous Australians, often proved successful. The Europeans also had to adapt their tactics to fight their fast-moving, often hidden enemies. Strategies employed included night-time surprise attacks, and positioning forces to drive the Aborigines off cliffs or force them to retreat into rivers while attacking from both banks.
Dispersed frontiers
Native police in 1865
Fighting between Indigenous Australians and European settlers was localized, as Indigenous groups did not form confederations capable of sustained resistance. Conflict emerged as a series of violent engagements, and massacres across the continent. According to the historian Geoffrey Blainey[JS13] , in Australia during the colonial period: “In a thousand isolated places there were occasional shootings and spearing’s. Even worse, smallpox, measles, influenza and other new diseases swept from one Aboriginal camp to another … The main conqueror of Aborigines was to be disease and its ally, demoralization”.
The Caledon Bay crisis[JS14] of 1932–4 saw one of the last incidents of violent interaction on the ‘frontier’ of indigenous and non-indigenous Australia, which began when the spearing of Japanese poachers who had been molesting Yolngu women was followed by the killing of a policeman. As the crisis unfolded, national opinion swung behind the Aboriginal people involved, and the first appeal on behalf of an Indigenous Australian, Dhakiyarr Wirrpanda, was launched to the High Court of Australia in Tuckiar v The King. Following the crisis, the anthropologist Donald Thomson was dispatched by the government to live among the Yolngu. Elsewhere around this time, activists like Sir Douglas Nicholls[JS15] were commencing their campaigns for Aboriginal rights within the established Australian political system and the age of frontier conflict closed.
Frequent friendly relations
Frontier encounters in Australia were not universally negative. Positive accounts of Aboriginal customs and encounters are also recorded in the journals of early European explorers, who often relied on Aboriginal guides and assistance: Charles Sturt[JS16] employed Aboriginal envoys to explore the Murray-Darling; the lone survivor of the Burke and Wills expedition was nursed by local Aborigines, and the famous Aboriginal explorer Jackey Jackey loyally accompanied his ill-fated friend Edmund Kennedyto Cape York. Respectful studies were conducted by such as Walter Baldwin Spencer and Frank Gillen in their renowned anthropological study The Native Tribes of Central Australia (1899); and by Donald Thomson[JS17] of Arnhem Land (c.1935–1943). In inland Australia, the skills of Aboriginal stockmen became highly regarded.
New South Wales
Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars
The first frontier war began in 1795 when the British established farms along the Hawkesbury River west of Sydney. Some of these settlements were established by soldiers as a means of providing security to the region. The local Darug people raided farms until Governor Macquarie[JS18] dispatched troops from the British Army46th Regiment in 1816. These troops patrolled the Hawkesbury Valley and ended the conflict by killing 14 Indigenous Australians in a raid on their campsite. Indigenous Australians led by Pemulwuy also conducted raids around Parramatta during the period between 1795 and 1802. These attacks led Governor Philip Gidley King[JS19] to issue an order in 1801 which authorized settlers to shoot Indigenous Australians on sight in Parramatta, Georges River and Prospect areas.
Bathurst War
Conflict began again when the British expanded into inland New South Wales. The settlers who crossed the Blue Mountains were harassed by Wiradjuri warriors, who killed or wounded stock-keepers and stock and were subjected to retaliatory killings. In response, Governor Brisbane proclaimed martial law on 14 August 1824 to end “…the Slaughter of Black Women and Children, and unoffending White Men…”. It remained in force until 11 December 1824, when it was proclaimed that “…the judicious and humane Measures pursued by the Magistrates assembled at Bathurst have restored Tranquility without Bloodshed…”. There is a display of the weaponry and history of this conflict at the National Museum of Australia. This includes a commendation by Governor Brisbane of the deployment of the troops under Major Morisset[JS20] :
I felt it necessary to augment the Detachment at Bathurst to 75 men who were divided into various small parties, each headed by a Magistrate who proceeded in different directions in towards the interior of the Country … This system of keeping these unfortunate People in a constant state of alarm soon brought them to a sense of their Duty, and … Saturday their great and most warlike Chieftain has been with me to receive his pardon and that He, with most of His Tribe, attended the annual conference held here on the 28th Novr….
Brisbane also established the New South Wales Mounted Police, who began as mounted infantry from the third Regiment, and were first deployed against bushrangers around Bathurst in 1825. Later they were deployed to the upper Hunter Region in 1826 after fighting broke out there between Wonnarua and Kamilaroi people and settlers.
Wars on the plains
An illustration of the explorer Charles Sturt‘s party being “threatened by blacks at the junction of the Murray and Darling, 1830”, near Wentworth, New South Wales.
From the 1830s British settlement spread rapidly through inland eastern Australia, leading to widespread conflict. Fighting took place across the Liverpool Plains, with 16 British and up to 500 Indigenous Australians being killed between 1832 and 1838. The fighting in this region included several massacres of Indigenous people including as the Waterloo Creek massacre[JS21] and Myall Creek massacres[JS22] in 1838 and did not end until 1843. Further fighting took place in the New England region during the early 1840s.
Tasmania
Poster issued in Van Diemen’s Land during the Black War implying a policy of friendship and equal justice for white settlers and Indigenous Australians. Such a policy did not actually exist at the time.
The British established a settlement in Van Diemen’s Land (modern Tasmania) in 1803. Relations with the local Indigenous people were generally peaceful until the mid-1820s when pastoral expansion caused conflict over land. This led to sustained frontier warfare (the ‘Black War‘), and in some districts farmers were forced to fortify their houses. Over 50 British were killed between 1828 and 1830 in what was the “most successful Aboriginal resistance in Australia’s history”.
In 1830 Lieutenant-GovernorArthur[JS23] attempted to end the ‘Black War’ through a massive offensive. In an operation which became known as the ‘Black Line‘ ten percent of the colony’s male civilian population were mobilized and marched across the settled districts in company with police and soldiers in an attempt to clear Indigenous Australians from the area. While few Indigenous people were captured, the operation discouraged the Indigenous raiding parties, and they gradually agreed to leave their land for a reservation which had been established at Flinders Island.
Western Australia
Portrait of Noongar warrior Yagan’s severed head, 1833
The first British settlement in Western Australia was established by the British Army at Albany in 1826. Relations between the garrison and the local Minang people were generally good. Open conflict between Noongar and European settlers broke out in Western Australia in the 1830s as the Swan River Colony expanded from Perth. The Pinjarra Massacre,[JS24] the best known single event, occurred on 28 October 1833 when a party of British soldiers and mounted police led by GovernorStirling[JS25] attacked an Indigenous campsite on the banks of the Murray River.
The Noongar people, forced from traditional hunting grounds and denied access to sacred sites, turned to stealing settlers’ crops and killing livestock to supplement their food supply. In 1831 a Noongar person was killed taking potatoes; this resulted in Yagan killing a servant of the household, as was the response permitted under tribal law. In 1832 Yagan and two others were arrested and sentenced to death, but settler Robert Menli Lyon[JS26] argued that Yagan was defending his land from invasion and therefore should be treated as a prisoner of war. The argument was successful and the three men were exiled to Carnac Island under the supervision of Lyon and two soldiers. The group later escaped from the island.
Fighting continued into the 1840s along the Avon River near York.
In the Busselton region, relations between the white settlers and the native Wardandi people were strained to the point of violence, resulting in several Aboriginal deaths. In June 1841, George Layman was speared to death by Wardandi elder Gaywal. According to one source, Layman had got involved in an argument between Gaywal and another Wardandi tribesman over their allocation of damper, and had pulled Gaywal’s beard, which was considered a grave insult. According to another source, Layman had hired two of Gaywal’s wives to work on his farm and would not let them go back to their husband. A manhunt for Layman’s killer went on for several weeks, involving much bloodshed as Captain Molloy, the Bussell brothers, and troops killed unknown numbers of Aboriginals in what has become known as the Wonnerup Massacre. The posse eventually shot Gaywal and captured his three sons, two of whom were imprisoned on Rottnest Island[JS27] .
The discovery of gold near Coolgardie in 1892 brought thousands of prospectors onto Wangkathaa land, causing sporadic fighting.
Continued European expansion in Western Australia led to further frontier conflict, Bunuba raiders also attacked European settlements during the 1890s until their leader Jandamarra was killed in 1897. Sporadic conflict continued in northern Western Australia until the 1920s, with a Royal Commission held in 1926 finding that at least eleven Indigenous Australians had been killed in the Forrest River massacre[JS28] by a police expedition in retaliation for the death of a European.
South Australia
Aborigines attack squatters sleeping near Lake Hope, 1866
South Australia was settled in 1836 with no convicts and a unique plan for settlers to purchase land in advance of their arrival, which was intended to ensure a balance of landowners and farm workers in the colony. The Colonial Office were very conscious of the recent history of the earlier settlements in the eastern states, where there was significant conflict with the Aboriginal population. At the initial proclamation day in 1836 Governor Hindmarsh[JS29] , made a brief statement that explicitly stated how the native population should be treated. He said in part:
It is also, at this time especially, my duty to apprize the Colonists of my resolution, to take every lawful means of extending the same protection to the native population as to the rest of His Majesty’s Subjects, and of my firm determination to punish with exemplary severity, all acts of violence or injustice which may in any manner be practiced or attempted against the natives, who are to be considered as much under the Safeguard of the law as the Colonists themselves, and equally entitled to the privileges of British Subjects.
Governor Gawler[JS30] declared in 1840 that Aboriginal people “have exercised distinct, defined, and absolute right or proprietary and hereditary possession … from time immemorial.” The Governor ordered land to be set aside for Aborigines, but there was bitter opposition from landowners who insisted on a right to choose the best land. Eventually the land was available to Aborigines only if it promoted their ‘Christianisation’ and they became farmers.
The designation of the Aboriginal population as British citizens gave them rights and responsibilities of which they had no knowledge, and ignored existing Aboriginal customary law. However, Aboriginal people could not testify in court, since, not being Christians, they could not swear an oath on a bible. There was also great difficulty in translation. The good intentions of those establishing and leading the new colony soon came into conflict with the fears of the Aboriginal people and the new settlers. “In South Australia, as across Australia’s other colonies, the failure to adequately deal with Aboriginal rights to land was fundamental to the violence that followed.”
Soon after the colony was established, large numbers of sheep and cattle were brought overland from the eastern colonies. There were many instances of conflict between Aborigines and the drovers, with the former desiring the protection of their land and the sheep and the latter quick to shoot to protect themselves and their flocks. One expedition leader (Buchanan) recorded at least six conflicts and the deaths of eight Aboriginal people.
In 1840 the ship Maria[JS31] was wrecked on Encounter Bay, about 100 km south of Adelaide. A search party found that all 26 survivors of the wreck had been massacred. The Governor summoned the Executive Council under martial law and a police party was sent to the district to deliver summary justice against the offending tribe. The police party apprehended a number of Aboriginal people; two men were implicated, tried by a tribunal from members of the expedition, found guilty and hanged. There was vigorous debate in the colony between those approving the immediate punishment for the massacre and those condemning this form of justice outside the normal law.
The town of Port Lincoln, which was readily accessible by sea from Adelaide, became an early new settlement. A small number of shepherds began to encroach on the land occupied by a large Aboriginal population. Deaths on both side occurred and the settlers demanded better protection. Police and soldiers were sent to Eyre Peninsula, but were often ineffective due to the size of the area and the number of isolated settlements. By the mid ’40s. after conflicts sometimes involving large numbers of Aborigines, the greater lethality of the white people’s weapons had their effect. Several alleged leaders of attacks by Aboriginal people were tried and executed in Adelaide.
The experience of the Port Lincoln settlement on Eyre Peninsula was repeated in the South East of the state and in the north as settlers encroached on the Aboriginal people. The government attempted to apply the sentiments of the state’s proclamation, but the contradictions between these sentiments and the dispossession that the settlement involved made conflict inevitable.
Victoria
Fighting also took place in early pre-separation Victoria after it was settled in 1834.
A clash at Benalla in 1838 known as the Battle of Broken River of which at least seven white settlers were killed, marked the beginning of frontier conflict in the colony which lasted for fifteen years.
In 1839 the reprisal raid against Aboriginal resistance in central Victoria resulted in the Campaspe Plains massacre[JS33] .
The Indigenous groups in Victoria concentrated on economic warfare, killing tens of thousands of sheep. Large numbers of British settlers arrived in Victoria during the 1840s, and rapidly outnumbered the Indigenous population.
In 1842, white inhabitants from the Port Fairy area wrote a letter to the Charles Latrobe[JS35] requesting the government improve security from “outrages committed by natives” and listing many incidents of conflict and economic warfare. An excerpt of the letter printed on 10 June:
“We, the undersigned, settlers and inhabitants of the district of Port Fairy, beg respectfully to represent to your Honor the great and increasing want of security to life and property which exists here at present, in consequence of the absence of any protection against the natives. Their number, their ferocity, and their cunning, render them peculiarly formidable, and the outrages of which they are daily and nightly guilty, and which they accomplish generally with impunity and success, may, we fear, lead to a still more distressing state of things, unless some measures, prompt and effective, be immediately taken to prevent matters coming to that unhappy crisis.”
In the late 1840s, frontier conflict continued in the Wimmera[JS36] .
Queensland
Aftermath of the 1861 Cullin-La-Ringo massacre[JS37] in which 19 settlers were killed by Aborigines, the deadliest attack on settlers in the frontier wars
Fighting near Creen Creek, Queensland in September 1876
The frontier wars were particularly bloody and bitter in Queensland, owing to its comparatively large Indigenous population. This point is emphasised in a 2011 study by Orsted-Jensen, which by use of two different sources calculated that colonial Queensland must have accounted for upwards of one third and close to forty percent of the indigenous population of the pre-contact Australian continent.
Queensland represents the single bloodiest colonial frontier in Australia. Thus the records of Queensland document the most frequent reports of shootings and massacres of indigenous people, the three deadliest massacres on white settlers, the most disreputable frontier police force, and the highest number of white victims to frontier violence on record in any Australian colony. In 2009 professor Raymond Evans calculated the indigenous fatalities caused by the Queensland Native Police Force[JS38] alone as no less than 24,000. In July 2014, Evans, in cooperation with the Danish historian Robert Ørsted-Jensen, presented the first-ever attempt to use statistical modelling and a database covering no less than 644 collisions gathered from primary sources, and ended up with total fatalities suffered during Queensland’s frontier wars being no less than 66,680—with Aboriginal fatalities alone comprising no less than 65,180—whereas the hitherto commonly accepted minimum overall continental deaths had previously been 20,000. The 66,680 covers Native Police and settler-inflicted fatalities on Aboriginal people, but also a calculated estimate for Aboriginal inflicted casualties on the invading forces of whites and their associates. The continental death toll of Europeans and associates has previously been roughly estimated as between 2,000 and 2,500, yet there is now evidence that Queensland alone accounted for an estimated 1,500 of these fatal frontier casualties.
The invasion of what is now Queensland commenced as the Moreton Bay penal settlement from September 1824. It was initially located at Redcliffe but moved south to Brisbane River a year later. Free settlement began in 1838 but a wholesale invasion and settlement only really began with the great rush to take up the surrounding land in the Darling Downs, Logan and Brisbane Valley and South Burnett onwards from 1840, in many cases leading to widespread fighting and heavy loss of life. The conflict later spread north to the Wide Bay and Burnett River and Hervey Bay region, and at one stage the settlement of Maryborough was virtually under siege. Both sides committed atrocities, with settlers poisoning a large number of Indigenous people, for example at Kilcoy on the South Burnett in 1842 and on Whiteside near Brisbane in 1847, and Indigenous warriors killing 19 settlers during the Cullin-La-Ringo massacre[JS39] on 17 October 1861.
Major massacres
Queensland’s Native Police Force was formed by the Government of New South Wales in 1848, under the well connected Commandant Frederick Walker[JS40].
The largest reasonably well documented massacres in south east Queensland were the Kilcoy and Whiteside poisonings, each of which was said to have taken up to 70 Aboriginal lives by use of gift of flour laced with strychnine. Central Queensland was particularly hard hit during the 1860s and 1870s, several contemporary settlers mention the “Skull Hole” or Mistake Creek massacre on Bladensburg station near Winton which in 1901 was said to have taken up to 200 Aboriginal lives. In 1869 the Port Denison Times reported that “Not long ago 120 aboriginals disappeared on two occasions forever from the native records” Frontier violence peaked on the northern mining frontier during the 1870s, most notably in Cook district and on the Palmer and Hodgkinson River goldfields, with heavy loss of Aboriginal lives and several well known massacres. Battle Camp and Cape Bedford belong among the best known massacres of Aboriginal people in Cook district, but they were certainly not the only ones. The Cape Bedford massacre on 20 February 1879 alone was reported to have taken as many as 28 lives, this was retaliation for the injuring (but not killing) of two white “ceder-getters” from Cooktown. In January 1879 Carl Feilberg[JS41] , the editor of the short lived Brisbane Daily News (later editor-in-chief of the Brisbane Courier), conveyed a report from a “gentleman, on whose words reliance can be placed” that he had after just “one of these raids…counted as many as seventy-five natives dead or dying upon the ground.”
Raids conducted by the Kalkadoon held settlers out of Western Queensland for ten years until September 1884 when they attacked a force of settlers and native police at Battle Mountain near modern Cloncurry. The subsequent battle of Battle Mountain ended in disaster for the Kalkadoon, who suffered heavy losses. Fighting continued in north Queensland, however, with Indigenous raiders attacking sheep and cattle while native police mounted punitive expeditions. Two reports from 1884 and 1889 written by one of the prime combatants of the Kalkadoons, Sub-inspector of Native Police (later Queensland Police Commissioner) Frederic Charles Urquhart[JS42] described how he and his detachment pursued and killed up to 150 Aborigines in just three or four so-called “dispersals” (he provided numbers up to about 80 of these killings, the rest was just described without estimating the actual toll).
The conflict in Queensland was the bloodiest in the history of Colonial Australia. The latest studies gives evidence of some 1,500 whites and associates (meaning Aboriginal servants, as well as Chinese, Melanesian and other non-Europeans) killed on the Queensland frontier during the 19th century, while some recent studies suggest that upwards of 65,000 Aborigines were killed, with sections of Central and North Queensland witnessing particularly heavy fighting. The figure of 65,000 is considerably higher than the common national minimum of 20,000 colonial Aboriginal casualties.
Northern Territory
The British made three early attempts to establish military outposts in northern Australia. The initial settlement at Fort Dundas[JS43] on Melville Island was established in 1824 but was abandoned in 1829 due to attacks from the local Tiwi people. Some fighting also took place near Fort Wellington on the Cobourg Peninsula between its establishment in 1827 and abandonment in 1829. The third British settlement, Fort Victoria, was also established on the Cobourg Peninsula in 1838 but was abandoned in 1849.
The final battles took place in the Northern Territory. A permanent settlement was established at modern-day Darwin in 1869 and attempts by pastoralists to occupy Indigenous land led to conflict. This fighting continued into the 20th century, and was driven by reprisals against European deaths and the pastoralists’ desire to secure their land. At least 31 Indigenous men were killed by police in the Coniston massacre[JS44] in 1928 and further reprisal expeditions were conducted in 1932 and 1933.
Historiography
The artwork Aboriginal Memorial commemorates Indigenous Australians who lost their lives defending their land since 1788, and has been on display at the National Gallery of Australia since 1988
Armed resistance to British settlement was generally given little attention by historians until the 1970s, and was not regarded as a “war”. In 1968 anthropologistW.E.H. Stanner[JS45] wrote that historians’ failure to include Indigenous Australians in histories of Australia or acknowledge widespread frontier conflict constituted a ‘great Australian silence’. Works which discussed the conflicts began to appear during the 1970s and 1980s, and the first history of the Australian frontier told from an Indigenous perspective, Henry Reynolds‘ The Other Side of the Frontier, was published in 1982.
Between 2000 and 2002 Keith Windschuttle[JS46] published a series of articles in the magazine Quadrant and the book The Fabrication of Aboriginal History. These works argued that there had not been prolonged frontier warfare in Australia, and that historians had in some instances fabricated evidence of fighting. Windschuttle’s claims led to the so-called “history wars” in which historians debated the extent of the conflict between Indigenous Australians and European settlers.
[JS1]Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia, descended from groups that existed in Australia and surrounding islands before British colonisation. The time of arrival of the first peoples on the continent and nearby islands is a matter of debate among researchers. The earliest conclusively human remains found in Australia are those of Mungo Man LM3 and Mungo Lady, which have been dated to around 50,000 years BP. Recent archaeological evidence from the analysis of charcoal and artefacts revealing human use suggests a date as early as 65,000 BP. Luminescence dating has suggested habitation in Arnhem Land as far back as 60,000 years BP. Evidence of fires in South-West Australia suggest ‘human presence in Australia 120,000 years ago’, although more research is required. Genetic research has inferred a date of habitation as early as 80,000 years BP. Other estimates have ranged up to 100,000 years and 125,000 years BP
[JS2]James CookFRS (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy. He made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand.
After much experience at sea, Phillip sailed with the First Fleet as Governor-designate of the proposed British penal colony of New South Wales. In January 1788, he selected its location to be Port Jackson (encompassing Sydney Harbour).
Phillip was a far-sighted governor who soon saw that New South Wales would need a civil administration and a system for emancipating the convicts. But his plan to bring skilled tradesmen on the voyage had been rejected, and he faced immense problems of labour, discipline and supply.
[JS4]The First Fleet was the 11 ships that departed from Portsmouth, England, on 13 May 1787 to found the penal colony that became the first European settlement in Australia. The Fleet consisted of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports, carrying between 1,000 and 1,500 convicts, marines, seamen, civil officers and free people (accounts differ on the numbers), and a large quantity of stores. From England, the Fleet sailed southwest to Rio de Janeiro, then east to Cape Town and via the Great Southern Ocean to Botany Bay, arriving over the period of 18 to 20 January 1788, taking 250 to 252 days from departure to final arrival.
[JS5]Squatting in Australian history referred to someone who occupied a large tract of crown land in order to graze livestock. Initially often having no legal rights to the land, they gained its usage by being the first (and often the only) settlers in the area. Eventually, the term squattocracy, a play on “aristocracy”, developed to refer to some of these squatters.
[JS6]Edward John Eyre (5 August 1815 – 30 November 1901) was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, and a controversial Governor of Jamaica.
[JS7]Horatio Emmons Hale (May 3, 1817 – December 28, 1896) was an American-Canadian ethnologist, philologist and businessman who studied language as a key for classifying ancient peoples and being able to trace their migrations.
[JS8]A boomerang is a thrown tool, typically constructed as a flat airfoil, that is designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower. It is well-known as a weapon used by Indigenous Australians for hunting.
[JS10]Pemulwuy (also rendered as Pimbloy, Pemulvoy, Pemulwoy, Pemulwy, Pemulwye, or sometimes by contemporary Europeans as Bimblewove or Bumbleway) (c. 1750 – 2 June 1802) was a First Nations man of Eora descent, born around 1750 in the area of Botany Bay in New South Wales. He is noted for his resistance to the European settlement of Australia which began with the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788
[JS11]During the Australian gold rushes, significant numbers of workers (both from other areas within Australia and from overseas) relocated to areas in which gold had been discovered. A number of gold finds occurred in Australia prior to 1851, but only the gold found from 1851 onwards created gold rushes.
[JS13]Geoffrey Norman BlaineyACFAHAFASSA (born 11 March 1930) is an Australian historian, academic, philanthropist and commentator with a wide international audience. He is noted for having written authoritative texts on the economic and social history of Australia, including The Tyranny of Distance.
[JS16]CaptainCharles Napier Sturt (28 April 1795 – 16 June 1869) was a British explorer of Australia, and part of the European exploration of Australia. He led several expeditions into the interior of the continent, starting from both Sydney and later from Adelaide.
[JS17]Donald Finlay Fergusson Thomson, OBE (26 June 1901 – 12 May 1970) was an Australian anthropologist and ornithologist who was largely responsible for turning the Caledon Bay crisis into a “decisive moment in the history of Aboriginal-European relations”. He is remembered as a friend of the Yolngu people, and as a champion of understanding, by non-Indigenous Australians, of the culture and society of Indigenous Australians
[JS18]Major GeneralLachlan Macquarie, CB (/məˈkwɒrɪ/; Scottish Gaelic: Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth and last autocratic Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821, and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of the colony.
[JS19]CaptainPhilip Gidley King (23 April 1758 – 3 September 1808) was the third Governor of New South Wales, and did much to organise the young colony in the face of great obstacles.
The Waterloo Creek massacre (also Slaughterhouse Creek massacre) refers to a series of violent clashes between mounted police, civilian vigilantes and IndigenousGamilaraay peoples, which occurred southwest of Moree, New South Wales, Australia, during December 1837 and January 1838
[JS24]The Pinjarra Massacre, also known as the Battle of Pinjarra, is an attack that occurred in 1834 at Pinjarra, Western Australia on an uncertain number of Bindjareb Noongar men, women and children by a detachment of 25 soldiers, police and settlers including—and personally led by—Governor James Stirling.[1][5]:25 Stirling estimated the Binjareb attacked to number “about 60 or 70” and John Roe, who also participated, to about 70–80, which roughly agree with an estimate of 70 by an unidentified eyewitness
[JS25]AdmiralSir James Stirling (28 January 1791 – 22 April 1865) was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. His enthusiasm and persistence persuaded the British Government to establish the Swan River Colony and he became the first Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Western Australia.
[JS26]Robert Menli Lyon (1789–1874) was a pioneering Western Australian settler who became one of the earliest outspoken advocates for Indigenous Australian rights and welfare in the colony. He published the first information on the Aboriginal language of the Perth area.
[JS27]Rottnest Island (known as Wadjemup to the local Noongar people, and otherwise colloquially known as Rotto) is an island off the coast of Western Australia, located 18 kilometres (11 mi) west of Fremantle. A sandy, low-lying island formed on a base of aeolianitelimestone, Rottnest is an A-class reserve, the highest level of protection afforded to public land.
[JS29]Rear-AdmiralSir John HindmarshKHRN, also known as Governor Hindmarsh, (baptised 22 May 1785 – 29 July 1860) was a naval officer and the first Governor of South Australia, from 28 December 1836 to 16 July 1838.
[JS31]Aboriginal Australians on the Coorong massacred some or all of the 17 survivors of the wreck as they journeyed to Adelaide, an event which became known as the Maria massacre. A punitive expedition, acting under instructions from Governor Gawler that were later found to be unlawful, summarily hanged two presumed culprits.
[JS32]The Convincing Ground Massacre was a skirmish between the indigenous Gunditjmara people Kilcarer gundidj clan and local whalers based in Portland, Victoria in South-Eastern Australia. Tensions between the two groups had been building since the establishment of the town as a whaling station some five years previously, however, around eighteen thirty three or eighteen thirty four, a dispute over a beached whale would cause events to escalate.
[JS33]Campaspe Plains massacre, occurred in 1839 in Central Victoria, Australia as a reprisal raid against Aboriginal resistance to the invasion and occupation of the Dja Dja Wurrung and Daung Wurrung lands.[1] Charles Hutton took over the Campaspe run, located near the border of Dja Dja Wurrung and Daung Wurrung, in 1838 following sporadic confrontations.
[JS34]The Eumeralla Wars were the violent encounters between European settlers and Gunditjmara aboriginals in the Western District area of south west Victoria.
[JS35]Charles Joseph La Trobe, CB (or Latrobe; 20 March 1801 – 4 December 1875) was appointed in 1839 superintendent of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales and, after the establishment in 1851 of the colony of Victoria (now a state of Australia), he became its first lieutenant-governor.
[JS37]In mid October 1861, a squatter party from the colony of Victoria under Horatio Wills began a temporary tent camp to start the process of setting up the grazing property of Cullin-la-ringo. Wills’s party, an enormous settlement train including bullock wagons and more than 10,000 sheep, had set out from Brisbane eight months earlier to set up a farm at Cullin-la-ringo, a property formed by amalgamating four blocks of land with a total area of 260 square kilometres (64,000 acres). The size of the group had attracted much attention from other settlers, as well as the Indigenous people.
[JS38]Australian native police units, consisting of Aboriginal troopers under the command usually of a single white officer, existed in various forms in all Australian mainland colonies during the nineteenth and, in some cases, into the twentieth centuries. The Native Police were utilised as a cost effective and brutal paramilitary instrument in the expansion and protection of the British colonial frontier in Australia. Mounted Aboriginal troopers of the Native Police, armed with rifles, carbines and swords escorted surveying groups, pastoralists and prospectors into frontier areas.
[JS40]Frederick Walker (14 April 1820 – 19 November 1866) public servant, property manager, Commandant of the Native Police, squatter and Australian explorer.
[JS41]Carl Adolph Feilberg (21 August 1844 – 25 October 1887) was a Danish-born Australian journalist, newspaper editor, general political commentator, who are today best known as an Australian indigenous human-rights activist
[JS45]William Edward Hanley “Bill” StannerCMG (24 November 1905 – 8 October 1981), often cited as W.E.H. Stanner, was an Australian anthropologist who worked extensively with Indigenous Australians. Stanner had a varied career that also included journalism in the 1930s, military service in World War II, and political advice on colonial policy in Africa and the South Pacific in the post-war period.
[JS49]Peter Alan StanleyFAHA (born 28 October 1956) is an Australian historian and research professor at the University of New South Wales in the Australian Centre for the Study of Armed Conflict and Society. He was Head of the Centre for Historical Research at the National Museum of Australia from 2007–13. Between 1980 and 2007 he was an historian and sometime exhibition curator at the Australian War Memorial, including as head of the Historical Research Section and Principal Historian from 1987. He has written eight books about Australia and the Great War since 2005, and was a joint winner of the Prime Minister’s Prize for Australian History in 2011.
Ezra Jacobs-Smith is the Aboriginal Heritage Officer on Rottnest Island(
A prison building on Rottnest Island where thousands of Aboriginal men and boys were incarcerated will no longer be used as holiday accommodation.
It is a move welcomed by Noongar people as a significant step towards reconciliation and healing.
The island is a popular holiday destination off Perth’s coast and famous for its pristine beaches and quokka selfie opportunities, but the failure to acknowledge its tragic history has long been a source of distress for Aboriginal people.
From Thursday, the 29-cell prison, known as the Quod, will close.
The Quod, the Rottnest prison that was built by and housed Aboriginal prisoners.(
Aboriginal men were taken from all over Western Australia and imprisoned on the island from 1838 until 1904.
Aboriginal heritage officer Ezra Jacobs-Smith told ABC Radio Perth that around 4,000 men and boys, some as young as seven and as old as 80, were incarcerated in the Quod.
They were put to work building houses, the lighthouse and roads that are still in use today.
“The people that were in charge at the time spoke about the prison on Rottnest as being a more humane option than being in prison on the mainland,” Mr Jacobs-Smith said.
“They talked about it being a place where they might be able to rehabilitate them and teach them skills like farming.
“I think the reality didn’t turn out to be that.
“I think we all agree now that it was more about control and the break-up of Aboriginal resistance to settlement across the state of Western Australia.
“A lot of the men that were taken away from country were significant male leadership in their communities.”
Aboriginal prisoners on Rottnest Island, 1889.(
Supplied: State Library of WA
Conditions under the first superintendent, Henry Vincent, were particularly cruel.
“A lot of men passed away because of the conditions they were housed in — dysentery, measles, influenza,” Mr Jacobs-Smith said.
“There were severe beatings and five recorded hangings here; gallows were set up in the Quod and other prisoners forced to watch.”
Future to be debated
Attention has now turned to what should happen to the Quod and the adjacent burial ground, which contains the remains of 370 Aboriginal people.
“I think the first step is recognising the truth of what happened here and to understand and respect this history,” Mr Jacobs-Smith said.
“You can’t imagine running a tourist business over somewhere like Auschwitz; that is the challenge that sits in front of us, the Rottnest Island Authority, the Aboriginal community and the wider community in WA who access the island quite regularly.”
The Wadjemup Aboriginal Reference Group will now begin a thorough process of consultation to determine the site’s future use.
Pamela Thorley is a member of the Wadjemup Aboriginal Reference Group(
Group member Pamela Thorley said she was happy to see the Quod close.
“We have to consult widely across Western Australia and ensure that Aboriginal people who want to have a say on what happens here have that opportunity,” she said.
“Ideas range from people who say ‘burn it down’, to people who say ‘let’s recognise it appropriately and have an interpretive centre’.
“Until we do the consultation and we do it properly, the answers are unknown.”
The Rottnest Island burial site is believed to contain the remains of 370 Aboriginal men.(
Some Aboriginal people have suggested the entire island, which Noongar people call Wadjemup, be handed back to the Wadjuk Noongar community, but Ms Thornley said that was not going happen.
“I think there are lots employment training opportunities here for Aboriginal people,” she said.
“I think there could be Aboriginal-owned businesses on the island, a ranger program, opportunities in hospitality, cultural enterprise.
“And we need to ensure that we have some type of memorial here telling the true history of the island.”
Rottnest Island, which Noongar people call Wadjemup, will remain a holiday destination.(
Ms Thorley expects it to be a long process but, if done well, could be an exemplary reconciliation project.
“This could be an international best-practice project.
“There’s a lot of burden on us, the reference group, to ensure that it happens.”
Until it does, visitors are encouraged to undertake a brief ceremony when they arrive to show their respect.
“Take a handful of sand and go down to the water and speak to the spirits,” Mr Jacobs-Smith explained.
“We introduce ourselves and tell them who we are and why we are here.
“It’s just a way of showing that respect and acknowledging what has happened in the past, and non-Aboriginal people are welcome to partake in that ceremony.”
Lenert Michielsz – 2 October 1629 – Hanged as party to the murder of 125 men, women and children
Mattys Beijr – 2 October 1629 – Hanged as party to the murder of 125 men, women and children
Jan Hendricx – 2 October 1629 – Hanged as party to the murder of 125 men, women and children
Allert Janssen – 2 October 1629 – Hanged as party to the murder of 125 men, women and children
Rutger Fredericxsz – 2 October 1629 – Hanged as party to the murder of 125 men, women and children
Andries Jonas – 2 October 1629 – Hanged as party to the murder of 125 men, women and children
York
York
Doodjeep – 7 July 1840 – Hanged in chains at the site of the crime, for the murders of Sarah Cook and her 8-month-old child on 18 May 1839 at Norrilong, York
Barrabong – 7 July 1840 – Hanged in chains at the site of the crime for the murders of Sarah Cook and her 8-month-old child on 18 May 1839 at Norrilong, York
Mullewa
Mullewa
Wangayackoo – 28 January 1865 – Hanged at Butterabby, the site of the crime, for the spearing of Thomas Bott
Yermakarra – 28 January 1865 – Hanged at Butterabby, the site of the crime, for the spearing of Thomas Bott
Garolee – 28 January 1865 – Hanged at Butterabby, the site of the crime, for the spearing of Thomas Bott
Charlakarra – 28 January 1865 – Hanged at Butterabby, the site of the crime, for the spearing of Thomas Bott
Williakarra – 28 January 1865 – Hanged at Butterabby, the site of the crime, for the spearing of Thomas Bott
Kellerberrin
Kellerberrin
Ngowee – 19 January 1866 – For the murder of Edward Clarkson on 21 August 1865, hanged at the site of the crime, at Dalbercuttin, near Kellerberrin
Egup (Condor) – 21 April 1866 – For the murder of Edward Clarkson on 21 August 1865, hanged at the site of the crime, at Dalbercuttin, near Kellerberrin
Roebourne
Roebourne
Cooperabiddy – 20 March 1893 – Hanged for murder of James Coppin, described as a ‘half-caste’, at the Hamersley Ranges
Doulga – 28 December 1896 – Hanged for the murder of John Horrigan at Lagrange Bay on 28 March 1896
Caroling – 14 May 1900 – Hanged for the murder of Dr Edward Vines at Braeside station
Poeling – 14 May 1900 – Hanged for the murder of Dr Edward Vines at Braeside station
Weedabong – 14 May 1900 – Hanged for the murder of Dr Edward Vines at Braeside station
Derby
Derby
Lillimara – 21 October 1899 – hanged at Derby Gaol for murder of Thomas Jasper on 17 March 1897 on Oscar Range Station, Fitzroy Crossing
Mullabudden – 12 May 1900 – hanged at Derby Gaol for murder of John Dobbie on 12 March 1899 at Mount Broome
Woolmillamah – 12 May 1900 – hanged at Derby Gaol for murder of John Dobbie on 12 March 1899 at Mount Broome
Halls Creek
Halls Creek
Tomahawk – 18 March 1892 – Hanged at Mount Dockerell, the site of the crime, for the murder of William Miller on 26 June 1891
Dicky – 18 March 1892 – Hanged at Mount Dockerell, the site of the crime, for the murder of William Miller on 26 June 1891
Chinaman (Jerringo) – 18 March 1892 – Hanged at Mount Dockerell, the site of the crime, for the murder of William Miller on 26 June 1891
Geraldton
Geraldton
Sing Ong – 29 October 1884 – Hanged for the murder of Chung Ah Foo on 11 May 1884 at Shark Bay
Albany
Albany
Peter McKean (alias William McDonald) – 12 October 1872 – Hanged for the murder of William “Yorkie” Marriott on 30 June 1872 at Slab Hut Gully (Tunney), between Kojonup and Cranbrook
Perth
Perth
Midgegooroo[GR2] – 22 May 1833 – Executed at the Perth Gaol by firing squad on a death warrant issued summarily by Lieutenant Governor Frederick Irwin, for the murders of Thomas and John Velvick at Bull’s Creek on 31 March 1833
Mendik – 14 October 1841 – Hanged at the site of the crime for the murder of twelve-year-old John Burtenshaw on the Canning River at Maddington on 16 July 1839
Description automatically generated with low confidence
) – January 1845 – Hanged at Perth for rape on a child under ten years of age
James Malcolm – 14 April 1847 – Hanged at the site of the crime, the Burswood Estate (Victoria Park), for highway robbery and murder of Clark Gordon on 6 January 1847
Kanyin – 12 April 1850 – Hanged at Redcliffe for the murder of Yadupwert at York. This was the first public execution in Western Australia for inter se
murder
Edward Bishop – 12 October 1854 – Hanged at South Perth for the murder of Ah Chong, a chinaman, at York. Protested his innocence to the end. Three years later William Voss confessed to the crime. Voss was hanged in 1862 at Perth Gaol for the murder of his wife
Samuel Stanley – 18 April 1855 – Hanged at Victoria Park for the murder of Catherine Dayly on the York Road
Jacob – 18 April 1855 – Hanged at Victoria Park for the murder of Bijare at Gingin on 25 September 1854
Yoongal – 14 July 1855 – Hanged at Victoria Park for the murder of Kanip at the Hotham River
Yandan – 14 July 1855 – Hanged at Victoria Park for the murder by spearing of a ten-year-old girl named Yangerdan near York
Bridget Hurford – 15 October 1855 – for the murder of her husband John Hurford at Vasse
William Dodd – 15 October 1855 – for the murder of John Hurford at Vasse
George Williams – 15 October 1855 – for wounding Warder James McEvoy with a shovel at the Convict Establishment
on 26 September 1855
John Scott – 14 January 1856 – for the murder of William Longmate at Vasse
Daniel Lewis (Convict # 2972)- January 1857 – for the rape of Ellen Horton at Woorooloo
John Lloyd – 29 October 1857 – for wounding with intent to kill John Brown at Port Gregory in June 1857
Richard Bibbey – 17 October 1859 – for the murder of Billamarra at Upper Irwin in March 1859. First European executed for murder of an aboriginal in Western Australia
Thomas Airey – 13 October 1860 – for the rape of five-year-old Lydia Farmer at Perth in July. Had been granted ticket-of-leave 4 June 1860.
John Caldwell – 13 October 1860 – for rape and murder of an aboriginal girl at Champion Bay. A ticket-of-leave man.
Thomas Clancy – 10 January 1861 – for the rape of seven-year-old Ellen Jane White at Bunbury
Joseph McDonald – 10 January 1861 – for rape at Toodyay
Robert Thomas Palin[GR4] – 6 July 1861 – for robbery with violence of Susan Harding at Fremantle
William Voss – 9 January 1862 – for the murder of his wife Mary Moir at York on 11 November 1861
Kewacan (Larry) – 24 January 1862 – for the murder of Charles Storey at Jacup on 23 July 1861
Long Jimmy – 24 January 1862 – for the murder of Charles Storey at Jacup on 23 July 1861
Narreen – 10 April 1862 – for the murder of an Indigenous girl called Nelly at Victoria Plains
Eenue – 10 April 1862 – for the murder of an Indigenous girl called Nelly at Victoria Plains
Finger – 10 April 1862 – for the murder of Charles Storey at Jacup on 23 July 1861
Thomas Pedder – 21 March 1863 – for the murder of Thomas Sweeny, a shepherd, at Irwin River on 1 December 1862
John Thomas – 8 September 1863 – for the murder of Duncan Urquhart at Peninsula Farm on 6 June 1863
Joseph White – 21 October 1863 – for rape of 13 yo Jane Rhodes, at Greenough on 18 August 1863
Teelup – 21 October 1863 – for the murder of Charles Storey at Jacup on 23 July 1861
Narrigalt – 18 July 1865 – for the murder of Martha Farling, a 31/2 year-old ‘half-caste’ girl, near York on 26 May 1865
Youndalt – 18 July 1865 – for the murder of Martha Farling, a 31/2 yo ‘half-caste’ girl, near York on 26 May 1865
Nandingbert – 18 July 1865 – for the murder of Quatcull near Albany on 14 May 1865
Yardalgene (also called Jackey Howson) – 18 July 1865 – for the murder of Quatcull near Albany on 14 May 1865
Daniel Duffy – 11 January 1866 – an escaped convict, hanged for the murder of Edward Johnson on 5 November 1865 at Northam
Matthew Brooks – 11 January 1866 – an escaped convict, hanged for the murder of Edward Johnson on 5 November 1865 at Northam
Bernard Wootton (also called MacNulty) – 8 October 1867 – an escaped convict, hanged for the attempted murder of Police Sgt. John Moye after his recapture at Murramine, near Beverley. Hanged at Perth Gaol.
James Fanning – 14 April 1871 – for the rape of thirteen-year-old Mary Dawes on the Albany Road on 24 November 1870. The first private execution and the last execution for rape in the colony
Margaret Cody – 15 July 1871 – for the murder of James Holditch, at North Fremantle on 4 March 1871
William Davis – 15 July 1871 – for the murder of James Holditch, at North Fremantle on 4 March 1871
Briley (Briarly) – 13 October 1871 – for the murder of Charley (Wickin) at Albany
Noorbung – 13 October 1871 – for the murder of Margaret Mary McGowan at Boyanup on 30 June 1871
Charcoal (Mullandaridgee) – 15 February 1872 – for the murder of Samuel Wells Lazenby at Port Walcott on 7 August 1871
Tommy (Mullandee) – 15 February 1872 – for the murder of Samuel Wells Lazenby at Port Walcott
on 7 August 1871
Yarradeee – 16 October 1873 – for the murder and cannibalism of three-year-old Edward William Dunn at Yanganooka, Port Gregory on 5 October 1865
Muregelly – 16 October 1873 – for the murder and cannibalism of three-year-old Edward William Dunn at Yanganooka, Port Gregory on 5 October 1865
Robert Goswell – 13 January 1874 – for murder of Mary Anne Lloyd at Stapelford, Beverley on 1 December 1873
John Gill – 4 April 1874 – hanged for the murder of William Foster at Narrogin on 13 February 1874
Bobbinett – 22 April 1875 – for the murder of Police Lance-Corporal William Archibald Armstrong near Kojonup on 14 January 1875
Wanaba (or Wallaby) – 22 April 1875 – for the murder of Tommy Howell (or Moul), a police native assistant, near Yalgoo on 10 July 1874
Wandagary – 22 April 1875 – for the murder of Tommy Howell (or Moul), a police native assistant, near Yalgoo on 10 July 1874
Kenneth Brown[GR5] – 10 June 1876 – for the murder of his wife Mary Ann on 3 January 1876 at Geraldton
Yarndu – 16 October 1876
Chilagorah – 29 April 1879 – for the murder of Pintagorah at Cossack on 31 January 1879
Ah Kett – 27 January 1883 – for the murder of Foo Ah Moy, at Cheritah Station, Roebourne on 2 July 1883
John Collins – 27 January 1883 – for the murder of John King at the Kalgan River near Albany on 2 October 1882
John Maroney – 25 October 1883 – for the murder of James Watson at Yellenup, Kojonup on 1 May 1883
William Watkins – 25 October 1883 – for the murder of James Watson at Yellenup, Kojonup on 1 May 1883
Henry Benjamin Haynes – 23 January 1884 – for the murder of his wife Mary Ann Haynes at Perth on 12 October 1883
Thomas Henry Carbury – 23 October 1884 – for the murder of Constable Hackett at Beverley
Beverley
on 12 September 1884
John Duffy – 28 January 1885 – for the murder of his wife Mary Sultana McGann at Fremantle on 21 November 1884
Henry Sherry – 27 October 1885 – for the murder of Catherine Waldock at Quinderring, Williams on 16 September 1885
Franz Erdmann – 4 April 1887 – for the murder of Anthony Johnson at McPhee’s Creek, Kimberley on 27 October 1886
William Conroy[GR6] – 18 November 1887 – for the murder of John Snook at Fremantle Town Hall on 23 June 1887
Rottnest
Rottnest
Tampin – 16 July 1879 – Hanged for the murder of John Moir at Stokes Inlet on 29 March 1877
Wangabiddi – 18 Jun 1883 – Hanged for the murder of Charles Redfern at Minni-Minni on the Gascoyne River in May 1882
Guerilla – 18 June 1883 – Hanged for the murder of Anthony Cornish at Fitzroy River on 12 December 1882
Naracorie – 3 August 1883 – Hanged for the murder of Charles Brackell at Wandagee on the Minilya River on 31 July 1882
Calabungamarra – 13 June 1888 – Hanged for the murder of a Chinese man, Indyco, at Hamersley Range
Long Jimmy (alias Jimmy Long) – 2 March 1889 – A Malay, hanged for the murder of Claude Kerr on board the pearling lugger ‘Dawn’ at Cossack on 7 September 1888
Ahle Pres (alias Harry Pres) – 8 November 1889 – A Singapore Malay, hanged for the murder of Louis, a Filipino, near Halls Creek, on 9 June 1889
Ah Chi (alias Li Ki Hong) – 16 April 1891 – Hanged for the murder of Ah Gin at Daliak, York on 3 March 1891
Chew Fong – 29 April 1892 – Hanged for the murder of Ah Pang at Meka Station on 23 Dec 1891
Lyee Nyee – 29 April 1892 – Hanged for the murder of Ah Pang at Meka Station on 23 Dec 1891
Yung Quonk (Young Quong) – 29 April 1892 – Hanged for the murder of Ah Pang at Meka Station on 23 Dec 1891
Sin Cho Chi – 29 April 1892 – Hanged for the murder of George E.B Fairhead, at a Mill Stream out-station, near Roebourne
[GR8] – 2 May 1896 – Hanged for the murder of Tagh Mahomet in the mosque at Coolgardie on 10 January 1896
Jumna Khan – 31 March 1897 – Hanged for the murder of William Griffiths in High Street, Fremantle on 3 December 1896
Pedro De La Cruz – 19 July 1900 – Hanged for the murder of Captain John Arthur Reddell of the brigantine Ethel, his 19-year-old son Leslie, the mate James Taylor, and two crew-members (Ando, who was Japanese, and Jimmy, who was Indigenous), at the La Grange Bay pearling grounds, near Broome, on 19 October 1899
Peter Perez – 19 July 1900 – Hanged for the murder of Captain John Arthur Reddell of the brigantine Ethel, his 19-year-old son Leslie, the mate James Taylor, and two crew-members (Ando, who was Japanese, and Jimmy, who was Indigenous), at the La Grange Bay pearling grounds, near Broome, on 19 October 1899
Samuel Peters – 9 September 1902 – Hanged for the murder of his wife Trevenna Peters at Leederville on 3 July 1903
Stelios Psichitas – 15 April 1903 – Greek national, hanged for the rape and murder of his sister-in-law Sophia Psichitas (nee Leadakis) and murder of his 4-month-old nephew Emanuel at Lawlers on 20 December 1902
Fredric Maillat – 21 April 1903 – French national, hanged for the murder of Charles Lauffer, at Smith’s Mill, Glen Forest, on 4 February 1903
Sebaro Rokka – 7 July 1903 – Hanged for the murder of Dollah and another Malay at Point Cunningham, near Derby on 20 February 1903
Ah Hook – 11 January 1904 – Hanged for the murder of Yanoo, a Japanese laundryman, at Carnarvon on 26 August 1903
Manoor Mohomet – 4 May 1904 – Hanged for the murder of Meer, an Afghan, at Kensington, near Menzies on 16 November 1903
Simeon Espada – 14 December 1905 – Hanged for the murder of Mark Lieblig at Broome on 30 August 1905
Charles Hagen – 14 December 1905 – Hanged for the murder of Mark Lieblig at Broome on 30 August 1905
Pablo Marquez – 14 December 1905 – Hanged for the murder of Mark Lieblig at Broome
Broome
on 30 August 1905
Antonio Sala – 19 November 1906 – Hanged for the murder of Battista Gregorini at Mt Jackson on 13 September 1906
Augustin De Kitchilan – 23 October 1907 – Hanged for the murder of Leah Fouracre at Peppermint Grove Farm, Waroona on 15 or 16 August 1907
Harry G. Smith – 23 March 1908 – Hanged for the murder of William John Clinton at Day Dawn on 5 January 1908
Iwakichi Oki – 22 October 1908 – Hanged for the murder of James Henry Shaw at West Murray, Pinjarra on 23 August 1908
– 6 October 1909 – Hanged for the murder of her 14-year-old stepson Arthur Morris by poisoning on 8 October 1908, suspected of killing two younger stepchildren
Peter Robustelli – 9 February 1910 – Hanged for the murder of Giovanni Forsatti in a lane between Bayley and Woodward streets, Coolgardie
Coolgardie
on 19 October 1909
Alexander Smart – 7 March 1911 – Hanged for the murder of Ethel May Harris at 5 Cowle Street, West Perth on 10 March 1910
David H Smithson – 25 July 1911 – Hanged for the rape and murder of 18-year-old Elizabeth Frances Compton at Woodlupine on 13 May 1911
Charles Spargo – 1 July 1913 – Hanged for the murder of Gilbert Pickering Jones at Broome on 23 January 1913
Charles H. Odgers – 14 January 1914 – Hanged for the murder of Edith Molyneaux at Balgobin, Dandalup on 3 October 1913; also charged with murder of Richard Thomas Williams at Waroona on 14 September 1913
Andrea Sacheri (alias Joseph Cutay) – 12 April 1915 – Hanged for the murder of 11-year-old Jean Bell at Marrinup, near Dwellingup, on 12 January 1915
Frank Matamin (alias Rosland) – 12 March 1923 – Hanged for the murder of Zareen at Nullagine on 27 August 1922
Royston Rennie – 2 August 1926 – Hanged for the murder of John Roger Greville on the train between East Perth and Perth stations on 3 June 1926
Karol Tapci – 23 June 1952 – Hanged for the murder of Norman Alfred Perfect at Wubin on 17 March
Robert Jeremiah Thomas – 18 July 1960 – Hanged for the murder of taxi-driver Keith Mervyn Campbell Wedd at Claremont on 22 June 1959. Also charged with the murder of John and Kaye O’Hara in Jimbell St, Mosman Park.
Mervyn Fallows – 6 June 1961 – Hanged for the rape and murder of 11-year-old Sandra Dorothea Smith at North Beach on or before 29 December 1960
Brian William Robinson – 20 January 1964 – Hanged for the murder of Constable Noel Ileson at Belmont on 9 February 1963
– 26 October 1964 – Hanged for murder of John Lindsay Sturkey at Nedlands on 27 January 1963
[GR1]Jeronimus Cornelisz (c. 1598 – 2 October 1629) was a Dutch apothecary and Dutch East India Company merchant who sailed aboard the merchant ship Batavia which foundered near Australia. Cornelisz then led one of the bloodiest mutinies in history.
After the ship was wrecked on 4 June 1629, in the Houtman Abrolhos, a chain of coral islands off the west coast of Australia, Francisco Pelsaert, the expedition’s commander, went to get help from the Dutch settlements in Indonesia, returning several months later.
While Pelsaert was away, Cornelisz led one of the bloodiest mutinies in history, for which he was eventually tried, convicted and hanged.
[GR2]Midgegooroo (died 22 May 1833) was an Aboriginal Australian elder of the Nyungar nation, who played a key role in Aboriginal resistance to white settlement in the area of Perth, Western Australia. Everything documented about Midgegooroo (variously spelled in the record as “Midgeegaroo”, “Midgegarew”, “Midgegoorong”, Midgegoroo”, Midjegoorong”, “Midjigoroo”, “Midgigeroo”, Midjigeroo”, “Migegaroo”, “Migegaroom”, “Migegooroo”, “Midgecarro”, “Widgegooroo”) is mediated through the eyes of the colonisers, some of whom, notably G.F. Moore, Robert Menli Lyon and Francis Armstrong, derived their information from discussions with contemporary Noongar people, in particular the son of Midgegooroo, Yagan. Largely due to his exploits in opposing colonisation and his relationship with Lyon and Moore, Yagan has a much sharper historical profile than his father. Midgegooroo was executed by firing squad and without trial under the authority of Lieutenant Governor Frederick Irwin in 1833.
The word lascar derives ultimately from lashkar, the Persian word for “army.” In Mughal and Urdu culture the word is used to describe a “swarm like formation in any army” (lashkar); however this word originates via Portuguese language. The Portuguese adapted this term to “lascarim“, meaning Asian militiamen or seamen, specifically from any area east of the Cape of Good Hope. This means that Indian, Malay, Chinese and Japanese crewmen were covered by the Portuguese definition. The British of the East India Company initially described Indian lascars as ‘Topazes‘, but later adopted the Portuguese name, calling them ‘lascar’. Lascars served on British ships under “lascar agreements”. These agreements allowed shipowners more control than was the case in ordinary articles of agreement. The sailors could be transferred from one ship to another and retained in service for up to three years at one time. The name lascar was also used to refer to Indian servants, typically engaged by British military officers
Born around 1835, nothing is known of Robert Palin’s early life except his criminal record. In 1851, he was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment for housebreaking; in 1853, he was tried but acquitted of murder; and in March 1856, he was convicted of “burglary from the person” and sentenced to penal servitude for life. At the time of his sentencing, he was described as a shoemaker by trade.
Palin was transported to Western Australia on the Nile, arriving in January 1860. His behaviour was good both during and after the voyage. In April 1860, he was appointed a probationary constable and received his ticket of leave in January 1861. At that time he had a house in Fremantle from which he worked as a shoemaker and took in lodgers.
On 29 May 1861, Palin was charged with having broken into the home of Samuel and Susan Harding. Susan Harding gave evidence that her husband had been away and that she had woken during the night to find a man standing at the side of her bed. The man seized her by the arm and demanded money. When she said she had none, “he pulled the bedclothes down and felt about the bed… I thought he was going to commit some assault.” Harding then gave the man a number of valuables and he left. The following morning, the police followed a set of footprints to Palin’s house, where they found some wet boots whose tread matched the prints. They also recovered a number of the valuables that had been stolen.
Palin claimed to have been set up by William Cockrane, another ticket-of-leave man whom Palin said had a grudge against him. However, he was not believed and the jury found him guilty of robbery with violence, the violence being the “battery on the person of Mrs. Harding by seizing her by the arm while she was in bed.” Chief JusticeArchibald Burt passed a sentence of death and Palin was hanged three days later on 6 July 1861.
[GR5]While in Melbourne, Brown married Mary Ann Tindall (born 1849). They re-located to New Zealand and for some time operated the Courthouse Hotel in Thames (outside of Auckland). In the years 1874 and 1875, they produced two children, Rose and Amy. In Thames, Brown showed a range of anti-social behavior that included two court appearances for assault on a local shop keeper and threatening to kill his wife. The family returned to Western Australia in September 1875, by which time the marriage was in trouble, and there are a range of further references to them constantly and openly quarrelling. On their return journey from Melbourne to Fremantle, the couple had a physical altercation that was witnessed by John Forrest. The couple and their children arrived in Champion Bay in October 1875. During this time, Brown continued to show a range of anti-social behaviours, and, on Monday 3 January 1876, during the process of packing up their house to move to other accommodation, he shot his wife dead.
At trial, he elected not to provide any explanation or excuse for his actions and his legal team mounted a defence based on diminished responsibility. The prosecution succeeded in proving the charge at the third trial (the first two trials resulting in hung juries). Brown was found guilty of wilful murder and sentenced to death by the Chief JusticeArchibald Burt and hanged on 10 June 1876 at Perth Gaol. The record of inquest proclaimed by Police Magistrate E Landor states that Brown died by hanging.
Many years later, Rose Burges, the eldest daughter of Brown’s second marriage, claimed that while travelling in America she had met her father in a hotel. Because of this, a story persists that Brown’s older brother had arranged Brown’s escape to the United States. This is considered as improbable, and there is a newspaper report describing how Maitland Brown stood next to Brown on the dock when the bolt was drawn and that Brown’s body had to be cut free from the rope and was later buried by relatives, possibly at Guildford (where his mother resided at the time).
Brown’s second child by his first marriage was Edith Cowan (nee Brown). Edith’s grandson was Peter Cowan, a celebrated Western Australian author who wrote detailed biographies on Maitland Brown and Edith Cowan. Julie Lewis has suggested that Brown’s life and death:
[GR6]William Conroy (1857 – 18 November 1887) was the last person executed at the Perth Gaol. Conroy was convicted of murdering Fremantle Town Councillor John Snook.
Conroy had immigrated from Ireland about ten years earlier, and before going to Fremantle was the licensee of the Victoria Hotel, located at the corner of James Street and Melbourne Road in Perth. On 6 September 1886 Conroy became the first publican of the new National Hotel on High Street in Fremantle.
On 23 June 1887 Conroy went to the Fremantle Town Hall where there was a children’s ball in progress. He demanded entrance, as he was a licensee of the National Hotel, but was told by Snook that only ladies and children were to be admitted. He persisted in his demands and finally the door was slammed on him. Conroy later gained admittance to the Town Hall. When Snook left the supper room, Conroy followed him, drew a revolver from his pocket, shot Snook and put the gun back in his pocket. Conroy was arrested immediately. Snook died three months later. The trial took place at Perth and he was sentenced to death on 7 October 1887. After he was sentenced a petition was raised and signed by approximately 1500 people, including all members of the jury who had at the time of passing the verdict asked the judge to be lenient. This was then given to Governor Broome. A further call to the governor for clemency occurred during a public meeting attend by 1000 people at the Perth Town Hall. Governor Broome then reviewed the case with two judges and medical people who had previously been part of Conroy’s trial, but the governor decided to let the law take it course. Conroy was hanged at Perth Gaol at 8 am on 18 November 1887. The execution however was not swift as when Conroy was hanged the initial fall failed to break his neck and it took approximately 15 minutes for him to die of strangulation. Conroy was buried at Fremantle Cemetery
[GR7]Born in 1829, John Gavin was convicted of an offence while still a juvenile, and was transported to Western Australia as a Parkhurst apprentice, arriving on board the Shepherd in October 1843.
On 3 April 1844, he was tried for the murder of his employer’s son, 18-year-old George Pollard. He confessed to killing the sleeping victim with an adze, but he seemed unaware of a rational motive. Three days later he was publicly hanged outside the Round House in Fremantle. After a death mask had been taken and his brain studied for “scientific purposes” he was buried in the sand hills to the south without a ceremony.
[GR8]In the Fremantle Gaol on Saturday morning Goulam Mahomet, the murderer of Tagh. Mahomet at Coolgardie on January 10 was hanged, at the age of 27 years. Death was almost instantaneous and certainly was inflicted without pain. Just over three weeks ago Goulam Mahomet was sentenced by Mr. Justice Stone to undergo capital punishment for the murder of a fellow Afghan, Tagh Mahomet, a member of the wealthy trading and camel owning firm of Faiz and Tagh Mahomet, of Coolgardie. It seems peculiar that, of all places, the deed was perpetrated inside the Mahommedan mosque, and at a time when, to a Muslim, the victim was engaged in the solemn act of prayer.
[GR9]The Murchison Murders were a series of three murders, committed by an itinerant stockman known as “Snowy” Rowles (born John Thomas Smith), near the rabbit-proof fence in Western Australia during the early 1930s. Rowles used the murder method that had been suggested by author Arthur Upfield in his then unpublished book The Sands of Windee, in which he described a foolproof way to dispose of a body and thus commit the perfect murder.
[GR10]Eric Edgar Cooke (25 February 1931 – 26 October 1964), nicknamed The Night Caller and later The Nedlands Monster, was an Australianserial killer. From September 1958 to August 1963, he terrorised the city of Perth, Western Australia, by committing at least twenty-two violent crimes, eight of which resulted in deaths.[
Bobby – 30 April 1847 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the killing by spear of Andrew Beveridge at Piangil
Ptolemy – 30 April 1847 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the killing by spear of Andrew Beveridge at Piangil
John (“Pretty Boy”) Healey – 29 November 1847 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Jemmy Ritchie at Tarraville, Gippsland
Augustus Dancey 19 – 1 August 1848 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Matthew Luck at Stony Creek (Spotswood)
Patrick Kennedy – 1 October 1851 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of his wife Mary at Penshurst
James Barlow – 22 May 1852 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for murder by stabbing William Jones at a boarding house in Flinders Street, Melbourne
John Riches (Richie) – 3 November 1852 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Harry Webb in the Black Forest, near Macedon
George Pinkerton – 4 April 1853 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Bridget Smith, 8 months pregnant, and her one-year-old son Charles at Brighton
Aaron Durant – 11 July 1853 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for robbery with violence and sexual assault of Mr & Mrs John Wright at Bendigo
John Smith – 23 August 1853 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for Robbery With Violence at Fryer’s Creek
Henry Turner – 23 August 1853 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for Robbery With Violence at Fryer’s Creek
William Atkins (or Atkyns) – 3 October 1853 – Bushranger. Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the robbery of the Private Escort, near Kalkallo
George (“Frenchy”) Melville – 3 October 1853 – Bushranger. Hanged at Melbourne Gaol
for the robbery of the Private Escort
George Wilson – 3 October 1853 – Bushranger. Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the robbery of an Escort
Patrick O’Connor (or Connor) – 24 October 1853 – Bushranger. Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the attempted murder of Edward Thompson near Kilmore
Henry Bradley – 24 October 1853 – Bushranger. Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the attempted murder of Edward Thompson near Kilmore
Michael Fennessy – 25 October 1853 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for murder of his wife Eliza Fennessy off Little Bourke Street
Alexander Ram – 25 October 1853 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Kitty Finessy at Prahran
John Smith – 25 November 1853 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for being accessory to rape of Mary-Ann Brown on the Goulburn River Diggings
Joseph West – 27 December 1853 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for rape of eight-year-old Elizabeth Fraser near Chewton
James Button – 28 March 1854 – Bushranger. Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for Shooting With Intent on the Goulburn River Diggings
David Magee – 25 April 1854 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for murder of a man named McCarthy on the Avoca River
William Thoroughgood – 23 May 1854 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the rape of seven-year-old Sarah Bishop
John Hughes – 25 September 1854 – Hanged At Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Abraham Marcus at Yackandandah
John Gunn – 9 November 1854 – Hanged at Geelong Gaol
for the murder of Samuel Harris at Warrnambool
George (John) Roberts – 9 November 1854 – Hanged at Geelong for attempting to poison George Kelly at Native Creek, near Inverleigh
Luke Lucas – 24 November 1854 – Hanged for murder of his wife Mary off Little Bourke Street
James McAlister – 25 July 1855 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for murder of Jane Jones at the Exchange Hotel, Swanston Street, Melbourne
James Condon (alias Arthur Somerville) – 24 November 1855 – Bushranger. Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for Robbery With Violence near Bacchus Marsh
John Dixon – 24 November 1855 – Bushranger. Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for Robbery With Violence near Bacchus Marsh
Alfred Henry Jackson – 24 November 1855 – Bushranger. Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for Robbery With Violence near Bacchus Marsh
James Ross (alias Griffiths) – 22 April 1856 – Hanged at Geelong Gaol for the murder of his son and Eliza Sayer near Horsham
William Twigham (or Twiggem, alias Lexton)33 – 11 March 1857 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Sergeant John McNally at the Cathcart Diggings, near Ararat
Chu-Ah-Luk 30 – 2 March 1857 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Ah Pat at Campbell’s Creek
James Cornick – 16 March 1857 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for murder of Agnes McCallum (Horne) at Eaglehawk
Frederick Turner 22 – 27 April 1857 – Bushranger. Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for Robbery Under Arms on the Flemington Road
Thomas Williams – 28 April 1857 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol
for his part in the murder of Inspector-General John Giles Price
Henry Smith (alias Brennan) – 28 April 1857 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for his part in the murder of Inspector-General John Giles Price[GR1]
Thomas Moloney – 28 April 1857 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for his part in the murder of Inspector-General John Giles Price
Francis Brannigan – 29 April 1857 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for his part in the murder of Inspector-General John Giles Price
William Brown – 29 April 1857 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for his part in the murder of Inspector-General John Giles Price
Richard Bryant – 29 April 1857 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for his part in the murder of Inspector-General John Giles Price
John Chisley – 30 April 1857 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for his part in the murder of Inspector-General John Giles Price
James Woodlock – 1 June 1857 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for murder of Charles Vick in Castlemaine
Chong Sigh – 3 September 1857 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for murder of Sophia “The Chinawoman” Lewis in a brothel in Stephen Street (Exhibition Street) Melbourne
Hing Tran – 3 September 1857 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for murder of Sophia Lewis in a brothel in Stephen Street (Exhibition Street) Melbourne
John Mason – 6 November 1857 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for murder of “Big George” Beynor at Ballan
Edward Brown – 1 March 1858 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for Robbery With Violence at Ararat Racecourse
William Jones – 1 March 1858 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for Robbery With Violence at Ararat Racecourse
George Robinson – 16 March 1858 – Hanged for the murder of Margaret Brown at Maryborough
Edward Cardana (alias John Nelson alias Michael Ferrara) – 19 March 1858 – Hanged at Bendigo for the murder of John Armstrong at Long Gully
Owen McQueeny – 20 October 1858 – Hanged at Geelong for the murder of Elizabeth Lowe near Meredith (“The Green Tent Murder”)
Samuel Gibbs – 12 November 1858 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol
for the murder of his wife Anne at Ararat. This execution was botched; the rope snapped tumbling Gibbs to the floor. He had to be carried back up the scaffold and hanged again with a fresh rope.
George Thompson – 12 November 1858 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Hugh Anderson at Ballarat
Edward Hitchcock – 29 November 1858 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of his wife Ann at Strathloddon, near Campbell’s Creek. This execution was also botched; Hitchcock failed to die and remained struggling on the rope. The executioner had to grab Hitchcock by the knees and use his weight to ensure death.
Christian Von Sie (or Von See) – 29 November 1858 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Martin Loemann near Mitiamo
Thomas Ryan – 11 April 1859 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Joe Hartwig in the Indigo Valley
William (“Plaguey Billy”) Armstrong – 12 July 1859 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for shooting with intent, Omeo
George (“The Butcher”) Chamberlain 24 – 12 July 1859 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for shooting with intent, Omeo
Richard Rowley – 26 July 1859 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for violent assault with intent to murder his overseers at the Pentridge Stockade
William Siddons – 7 November 1859 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the rape of eight-year-old Mary-Anne Smith at Doctor’s Creek, near Lexton
Henry Brown – 21 November 1859 – Hanged for murder of George James Tickner at Mount Korong, near Wedderburn
George Waines -16 July 1860 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Mary Hunt at Casterton
Edward Fenlow (alias Reynolds) – 20 August 1860 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of George Plummer (alias Gardiner) at Inglewood
John McDonald – 30 September 1860 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol
for murder of his wife Sarah at Ironbark Gully, Bendigo
William Smith – 22 April 1861 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of his wife Ellen near Wangaratta
Henry Cooley – 11 July 1861 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for murder of his wife Harriet at Heathcote
Nathaniel Horatio Ruby – 5 August 1861 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Joe Watson at the Great Western Reef, Tarnagulla
Martin Rice – 30 September 1861 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Anthony Green off Bourke Street, Melbourne
Thomas Sanders – 31 October 1861 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the rape of Mary Egan at Keilor
Samuel Pollett – 29 December 1862 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the rape of his ten-year-old daughter Sarah at Prahran
Thomas McGee – 19 February 1863 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Alexander Brown at Maiden Gully
James Murphy – 6 November 1863 – Hanged at Geelong for the murder of Senior Constable Daniel O’Boyle at Warrnambool
Julian Cross – 11 November 1863 – From Macao. Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Robert Scott in the Wappan district (near Mansfield)
David Gedge – 11 November 1863 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Robert Scott in the Wappan district (near Mansfield)
Elizabeth Scott – 11 November 1863 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of her husband in the Wappan district (near Mansfield)
James Barrett (also called Birmingham) – 1 December 1863 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Elizabeth Beckinsale at Woodstock
Alexander Davis – 29 February 1864 – Hanged at Ballarat Gaol for the murder of George Sims at Smythesdale
William Carver (also called Thornby, Foster) – 3 August 1864 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for an attempted bank robbery at Fitzroy
Samuel Woods (also called Abraham Salmonie) – 3 August 1864 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol
for Shooting With Intent in an attempted bank robbery at Fitzroy
Christopher Harrison – 3 August 1864 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of James Marsh in William St.
John Stacey (real name Casey) – 5 April 1865 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of two-year-old Danny Gleeson at South Melbourne
Joseph (“Quiet Joe”) Brown – 4 May 1865 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Emmanuel “Dodger” Jacobs at the Whittington Tavern, Bourke Street Melbourne
Peter Dotsalaere – 6 July 1865 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Catherine Jacobs at 106 LaTrobe Street Melbourne
David Young – 21 August 1865 – Hanged at Castlemaine Gaolfor the murder of Margaret Graham at Daylesford
Thomas (“Yankee Tom”) Menard – 28 October 1865 – Hanged at Geelong for the murder of James Sweeney at Warrnambool
Patrick Sheehan – 6 November 1865 – Hanged at Beechworth for the murder of James Kennedy at Rowdy Flat Yackandandah
Long Poy – 10 March 1866 – Hanged at Castlemaine for the murder of Ah Yong at Emu Flat
James Jones – 19 March 1866 – Hanged at Ballarat for the murder of Dr Julius Saenger, committed at Scarsdale
Robert Bourke (alias Cluskey) – 29 November 1866 – Bushranger. Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Harry Facey Hurst at Diamond Creek
Denis Murphy – 16 April 1867 – Hanged at Ballarat for the murder of Patrick O’Meara at Bullarook
John Kelly – 4 May 1867 – Hanged at Beechworth for sodomy on eighteen-month-old James Strack at Wangaratta
William Terry – 31 July 1867 – Hanged at Castlemaine for the murder of a man named Peter Reddick or Redyk on the Coliban near Taradale
George Searle – 7 August 1867 – Hanged at Ballarat for the murder of Thomas Burke at Piggoreet
Joseph Ballan – 7 August 1867 – Hanged at Ballarat for the murder of Thomas Burke at Piggoreet
Bernard Cunningham – 31 March 1868 – Confederate Army veteran. Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of John Fairweather at Green Gully, near Keilor
Joseph Whelan – 31 March 1868 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of farmer Tom Branley at Rokewood
John Hogan – 14 August 1868 – Hanged at Castlemaine
for the murder of Martin Rooney, committed at Bullock Creek, outside Marong
Michael Flannigan (Flannagan) – 31 March 1869 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Sgt Thomas Hull at Hamilton
James Ritson – 3 August 1869 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of the Methodist Minister William Hill, who was visiting him at A Division, Pentridge
Peter Higgins (alias James Smith) – 11 November 1869 – Hanged at Beechworth for the murder of his wife Elizabeth Wheelahan near Springhurst
Ah Pew – 23 May 1870 – Hanged at Castlemaine for the murder of nine-year-old Elizabeth Hunt at Glenluce, near Vaughan
Patrick Smith – 4 August 1870 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of his wife Mary at North Melbourne
Andrew Vair (Vere) – 15 August 1870 – Hanged at Ararat for murder of Amos Cheale at St Arnaud
James Cusack – 30 August 1870 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of his wife Anne at Woods Point
James Seery – 14 November 1870 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of August Tepfar at Crooked River, Gippsland
James Quinn – 10 November 1871 – Hanged at Beechworth for the murder of Ah Woo, near Myrtleford
Patrick Geary – 4 December 1871 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of a shepherd named Thomas Brookhouse near Colac in 1854
Edward Feeney – 14 May 1872 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Charles Marks in the Treasury Gardens
James Wilkie – 20 May 1872 – Hanged at Castlemaine for the murder of Henry Pensom at Daylesford
Samuel Wright – 11 March 1873 – Hanged at Castlemaine for the attempted murder of Arthur Hagan (or Hogan) at Dead Horse Flat, near Eaglehawk
Thomas Brady – 12 May 1873 – Hanged at Beechworth for the murder of John Watt (“The Wooragee Murder”)
James Smith – 12 May 1873 – Hanged at Beechworth for the murder of John Watt (“The Wooragee Murder”)
Pierre Borbun (Barburn, Borhuu) – 20 May 1873 – Hanged at Castlemaine for the murder of Sarah Smith, the publican’s wife at the White Swan Hotel, Sunrise Gully, Kangaroo Flat
Oscar (or Hasker) Wallace – 11 August 1873 – Hanged at Ballarat for the rape of Mary Cook at Mount Beckworth, near Clunes
Ah Kat (Ah Cat) – 9 August 1875 – Hanged at Castlemaine for the murder of Friedrich Renzelmann at Bet Bet, near Dunolly
An Gaa – 30 August 1875 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Pooey Waugh, committed at Vaughan
Henry Howard – 4 October 1875 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Elizabeth Wright, licensee of the Frankston Hotel
John Weachurch (alias Taylor) – 6 December 1875 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for attempted murder of Warder Patrick Moran
John Duffus – 22 May 1876 – Hanged at Castlemaine, having been handed in by his wife for the rape of his eleven-year-old daughter Mary Ann near Goornong
James (“Donegal Jim”) Ashe – 21 August 1876 – Hanged at Ballarat for the rape of Elizabeth Reece at Burrumbeet
Basileo Bondietto – 11 December 1876 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Carlo Comisto near Tallarook
William Hastings – 14 March 1877 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of his wife Annie near Mount Eliza
Thomas Hogan – 9 June 1879 – Hanged at Beechworth for fratricide at Bundalong, near Yarrawonga
– 25 September 1883 – Confessed to eight murders. Hanged at Ararat for the murder of Michael Quinliven at Wickliffe
Henry Morgan – 6 June 1884 – Hanged at Ararat for the rape and murder of ten-year-old Margaret Nolan at Panmure
James Hawthorn – 21 August 1884 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for fratricide at Brighton
William O’Brien – 24 October 1884 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of farmer Peter McAinsh at Lancefield
William Barnes – 15 May 1885 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Joe Slack at South Melbourne
Charles Bushby (alias Baker) – 3 September 1885 – Hanged at Ballarat for attempted murder of Det Sgt Richard Hyland near Gong Gong
Edward (“The Fiddler”) Hunter – 27 November 1885 – Hanged at Bendigo Prison
for the murder of Jim Power at the Golden Fleece Hotel, Charlton
Freeland Morell – 7 January 1886 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for murder of fellow sailor John Anderson on the docks at Port Melbourne
George Syme – 9 November 1888 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of his mother-in-law Margaret Clifford at Lilydale
William Harrison – 18 March 1889 – Hanged at Bendigo for the murder of ‘Corky Jack’ Duggan at Elmore
Filipe Castillo – 16 September 1889 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Annie Thornton at North Carlton
Robert Landells – 16 October 1889 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Peter Sherlock at Chamber’s Paddock, about 6 km from Ringwood
John Thomas Phelan – 16 March 1891 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of his de facto wife Ada Hatton at St.James’ Place (now Ellis St) South Yarra
John Wilson – 23 March 1891 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of his fiancée Estella Marks at Darling Gardens, Clifton Hill
Cornelius Bourke – 20 April 1891 – Hanged at Ballarat for the murder of an elderly prisoner named Peter Stewart in the gaol at Hamilton
Fatta Chand – 27 April 1891 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Juggo Mull at Healesville
Frank Spearin (also called John Wilson) – 11 May 1891 – Hanged at Ballarat for the rape of six-year-old Adeline Shepherd at Eastern Oval, Ballarat
James Johnston – 18 May 1891 – Hanged at Ballarat Gaol for murdering his wife Mary and their four children in Drummond Street North, Ballarat
William Coulston (Colston) – 21 August 1891 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Mary & William Davis at Narbethong
– 24 April 1922 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the Gun Alley Murder.[GR3] Posthumously pardoned in 2007, the only instance of a pardon for a judicially executed person in Australia
Angus Murray (real name Henry Donnelly) – 14 April 1924 – Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Thomas Berriman at Glenferrie Station
– 9 November 1942 – “The Brownout Strangler” – Hanged at Pentridge for the murder of Ivy McLeod, Pauline Thompson & Gladys Hosking at Victoria Avenue, Albert Park, Spring St Melbourne and Gatehouse St Parkville respectively
Norman Andrews – 19 February 1951 – Hanged at Pentridge for the murder of ‘Pop’ Kent
Robert David Clayton – 19 February 1951 – Hanged at Pentridge for the murder of ‘Pop’ Kent
– 3 February 1967 – Hanged at Pentridge for the murder of Prison Officer George Hodson. The last person executed in Australia.
[GR1]John Giles Price (20 October 1808 – 27 March 1857), was a colonial administrator in Australia. He served as the Civil Commandant of the convict settlement at Norfolk Island from August 1846 to January 1853, and later as Inspector-General of penal establishments in Victoria, during which he was “stoned to death” by angry and disgruntled prisoners.
[GR2]Frederick Bailey Deeming (30 July 1853 – 23 May 1892) was an English-born Australian murderer. He was convicted and executed for the murder of a woman in Melbourne, Australia. He is remembered today because he was suspected by some of being the notorious serial killer Jack the Ripper.
Deeming was born in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, England, son of Thomas Deeming, brazier, and his wife Ann (née Bailey). He was a “difficult child” according to writers Maurice Gurvich and Christopher Wray. At 16 years of age, he ran away to sea, and thereafter he began a long career of crime, largely thieving and obtaining money under false pretenses. He was also responsible for the murder of his first wife Marie and his four children at Rainhill, England, on or about 26 July 1891, and a second wife, Emily Mather, at Windsor, Melbourne, on 24 December 1891.
Less than three months elapsed between the discovery of Mather’s body in Windsor, Melbourne, in March 1892, and Deeming’s execution for her murder in May 1892; a remarkably short time by comparison to modern western legal standards. This was not only due to efficient police work, but also a result of the considerable international media interest the murder attracted. For example, it was an English journalist working for the Melbourne Argus who first approached Mather’s mother in Rainhill and delivered the news of her daughter’s murder. Another factor was Deeming’s behaviour in public, for while he often used different names, he usually drew attention to himself with behaviour variously described as aggressive, ostentatious, ingratiating and overly attentive to women.
[GR3]The Gun Alley Murder was the rape and murder of 12-year-old Alma Tirtschke in Melbourne, Australia, in 1921. She was a schoolgirl who attended Hawthorn West High School and had last been seen alive close to a drinking establishment, the Australian Wine Saloon; under these circumstances her murder caused a sensation. More recently, the case has become well known as a miscarriage of justice.
[GR4]Thomas William Johnson (1898 – 23/1/1939), was convicted of a double murder in Dunolly, Victoria. He confessed to two killings before being executed at Pentridge Prison, Victoria in 1939. Johnson was the fourth of eleven people to be hanged at Pentridge Prison after the closure of Melbourne Gaol in 1929.
[GR5]George Green (1900 – 17/4/1939), was convicted of a double murder in Glenroy, Australia. He was convicted of murdering two women before being executed at Pentridge Prison, Victoria in 1939. Green was the fifth of eleven people to be hanged at Pentridge Prison after the closure of Melbourne Gaol in 1929.
Green was found guilty of the murder of Miss Annie Wiseman, 63, and her niece Phyllis Vivienne Wiseman, 17, in their home at Glenroy on November 12, 1938.
Thomas England – April 1806 – Private of 102nd Regiment, hanged at Port Dalrymple for his part in theft from Government Stores at Port Dalrymple on 18 Jan 1806.
James Keating – 14 April 1806 – Hanged at Hobart for his part in theft from Government Stores at Port Dalrymple on 18 Jan 1806.
Terence Flynn – 14 July 1810 – Hanged in the Queenborough district (Sandy Bay) for murder
Job Stokes – 14 July 1810 – Hanged in the Queenborough district for housebreaking
John McCabe – 21 January 1813 – Hanged at Hobart for robbery of William Parish
John Townshend – 21 January 1813 – Hanged at Hobart for robbery of William Parish
Peter Gory – 21 January 1813 – Hanged at Hobart for robbery of William Parish
William Stephens (Steel) – 25 May 1815 – Hanged at Hobart for bushranging
Thomas Mauley – 6 June 1815 – Hanged at Hobart for murder
Richard McGuire (McGwire) – June 1815 – Hanged at Hobart for his part in the murder of William Carlisle and James O’Byrne at New Norfolk
Hugh Byrne – June or early July 1815 – Hanged at Hobart for his part in the murder of William Carlisle and James O’Byrne at New Norfolk
Richard Collyer – 26 January 1818 – Hanged on the New Town road, Hobart, for the murder in 1815 of Carlisle and O’Byrne at New Norfolk
George Gray – 11 June 1818 – Hanged at Hobart for murder of John Evans (real name Charles Bell) at York Plains
William Trimm – 11 June 1818 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing in the Richmond district
Thomas Bailey – 28 July 1820 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep stealing
John Brady – 28 July 1820 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep stealing
Robert Hunter – 28 April 1821 – Publicly hanged at scaffold erected at the top of Macquarie Street, Hobart Town, for robbery of Alfred Thrupp’s property at Risdon
Edward Brady – 28 April 1821 – Hanged at Hobart for robbery of Alfred Thrupp’s property at Risdon
James Flynn – 28 April 1821 – Hanged at Hobart for robbery of Alfred Thrupp’s property at Risdon
Joseph Potaski – 28 April 1821 – Hanged at Hobart for robbery of Alfred Thrupp’s property at Risdon
John Oliver – 28 April 1821 – Hanged at Hobart for cattle-stealing
John McGuinness – 28 April 1821 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing
Michael Riley – 28 April 1821 – Hanged at Hobart for bushranging
Thomas Kenny – 28 April 1821 – Hanged at Hobart for bushranging
John Higgins – 28 April 1821 – Hanged at Hobart for bushranging
John Hill – 28 April 1821 – Hanged at Hobart for bushranging
John Morell – 30 May 1821 – Hanged at Launceston for stealing in the Norfolk Plains district
Daniel McCarthy – 30 May 1821 – Hanged at Launceston
Robert Gillaird – 30 May 1821 – Hanged at Launceston
William Lloyd – 30 May 1821 – Hanged at Launceston
Patrick Kane – 30 May 1821 – Hanged at Launceston
William Hyder – 3 June 1821 – Hanged at George Town for diverse robberies in the Paterson’s Plains district
James Norris – 3 June 1821 – Hanged at George Town
Edward McCracken – 3 June 1821 – Hanged at George Town
Thomas Gutteridge – 3 June 1821 – Hanged at George Town for stealing at Norfolk Plains
William Smith – 25 April 1822 – Publicly hanged at the Cascade end of Macquarie Street, Hobart, for sheep stealing.
John Williams – 25 April 1822 – Publicly hanged at the Cascade end of Macquarie Street, Hobart, for sheep stealing.
James Smith – 12 April 1823 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing. (Smith actually cheated the hangman by “suspending himself by a silk handkerchief from a bar…in the room in which he was confined”)
George Richardson – 14 April 1823 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing
Robert Oldham – 14 April 1823– Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing
William Davis – 14 April 1823 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing
Ralph Churlton – 14 April 1823 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing
Thomas Butler – 22 July 1824 – Hanged at Hobart for bushranging and robberies
Patrick Connolly – 22 July 1824 – Hanged at Hobart for bushranging and robberies
James Tierney – 22 July 1824 – Hanged at Hobart for bushranging and robberies
Isaac Walker – 22 July 1824 – Hanged at Hobart for bushranging and robberies
John Thomson – 22 July 1824 – Hanged at Hobart for bushranging and robberies
George Gardner – 8 September 1824 – Hanged at George Town for killing a steer with intent to steal
Arthur Dicker – 8 September 1824 – Hanged at George Town for killing a steer with intent to steal
Thomas Taylor – 8 September 1824 – Hanged at George Town for the murder of John Street at Abbotsfield
Luke Fowler – 8 September 1824 – Hanged at George Town for the murder of John Street at Abbotsfield
Charles Kimberley – 8 September 1824 – Hanged at George Town for the murder of Judith Burke
James Crawford – 8 September 1824 – Hanged at George Town for robbery and putting in fear
John Bimms – 8 September 1824 – Hanged at George Town for robbery and putting in fear
Job Corfield – 8 September 1824 – Hanged at George Town for robbery and putting in fear
Matthew Stephenson – 15 September 1824 – Hanged at George Town for robbery and putting in fear
John Twiggs – 15 September 1824 – Hanged at George Town for robbery and putting in fear
Thomas Hudson – 28 January 1825 – Hanged at Macquarie Harbourfor the murder of Robert Esk
Richard Allen – 28 January 1825 – Hanged at Macquarie Harbour for the murder of William Saul at Birch’s Bay
Francis Oates – 28 January 1825 – Hanged at Macquarie Harbour for the murder of James Williamson
Henry McConnell – 25 February 1825 – Hanged at Hobart for robbery
Jeremiah Ryan – 25 February 1825 – Hanged at Hobart for murder and robbery
Charles Ryder – 25 February 1825 – Hanged at Hobart for murder and robbery
James Bryant – 25 February 1825 – Hanged at Hobart for murder and robbery
Black Jack (or Jack Roberts) – 25 February 1825 – Indigenous. Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Patrick McCarthy
Musquito[GR2] – 25 February 1825 – Indigenous (Eora). Hanged at Hobart for a murder at Grindstone Bay
Peter Thackery – 25 February 1825 – Hanged at Hobart for bushranging and robbery
John Logan – 25 February 1825 – Hanged at Hobart for attempted shooting murder of William Shoobridge. The victim was saved because the bullet struck a ruler in his pocket.
Samuel Fielding – 26 February 1825 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing
James Chamberlain – 26 February 1825 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing
Stephen Lear – 26 February 1825 – Hanged at Hobart for burglary at the Surveyor-General’s
Henry Fry – 26 February 1825 – Hanged at Hobart for burglary at the Surveyor-General’s
John Reid Riddel – 31 August 1825 – Hanged at Hobart for murder of George Fildes in Goulburn St. He confessed to the murder of both his ex-wives.
Thomas Peacock – 31 August 1825 – Hanged at Hobart for murder of Constable Craggs
William Buckley – 31 August 1825 – Hanged at Hobart for bushranging and robbery
Joseph Broadhead – 31 August 1825 – Hanged at Hobart for bushranging and robbery
John Everiss – 31 August 1825 – Hanged at Hobart for bushranging and robbery
John Godliman – 7 September 1825 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Samuel Hunt at Fourteen-Tree Plain, near Jericho.
Jonas Dobson – 12 December 1825 – Hanged at Hobart for murder of his overseer
John Johnson – 6 January 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for burglary at Mr. Barnes’
Samuel Longman – 6 January 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for burglary
Charles Wigley – 6 January 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for burglary
James Major – 6 January 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for stealing an ox
William Pollock – 6 January 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing
George Harden – 6 January 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing
William Preece – 6 January 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for robberies and bushranging
James McCabe – 7 January 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for murder, robberies and bushranging
Richard Brown – 7 January 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing
James Brown – 7 January 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing
John Green – 7 January 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing
Thomas Bosworth – 7 January 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for stealing a boat
Richard Miller – 7 January 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for stealing a boat
Richard Craven – 7 January 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for stealing a boat
James Eales – 17 February 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing and robbery
William Eales – 17 February 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing and robbery
Matthew Brady – 4 May 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for Murder, robberies and bushranging
Patrick Bryant – 4 May 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for Murder, robberies and bushranging
Thomas Jeffries[GR3] – 4 May 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for Murder, robberies and bushranging
John Perry – 4 May 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for Murder, robberies and bushranging
John Thompson – 4 May 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Margaret Smith at the Watch-House
Samuel Hodgetts – 5 May 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for Murder, robberies and bushranging
James McKenney – 5 May 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for Murder, robberies and bushranging
James Goodwin – 5 May 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for Murder, robberies and bushranging
John Gregory – 5 May 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for Murder, robberies and bushranging
William Tilley – 5 May 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for Murder, robberies and bushranging
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William Brown – 5 May 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for Murder, robberies and bushranging
Thomas Dunnings – 13 September 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Alexander Simpson at Pittwater
Edward Everett – 13 September 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Alexander Simpson at Pittwater
William Smith – 13 September 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Alexander Simpson at Pittwater
John Taylor – 13 September 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for absconding from Macquarie Harbour and robbing soldiers of their arms
George Watters – 13 September 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for absconding from Macquarie Harbour and robbing soldiers of their arms
Jack – 13 September 1826 – Indigenous. Hanged for the murder of Thomas Colley at Oyster Bay. Jack was kept apart before the execution as he was suffering from leprosy.
Dick – 13 September 1826 – Indigenous. Hanged for the murder of Thomas Colley at Oyster Bay
George Brace – 15 September 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for robbery and bushranging
John McFarlane – 15 September 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for absconding into the woods and robbing William Holdship at Browns River
James Edwards – 15 September 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for absconding into the woods and robbing William Holdship at Browns River
Thomas Balfour – 15 September 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for absconding into the woods and robbing William Holdship at Browns River
John Dadd – 15 September 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for burglary at Ross
John Clark – 15 September 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for burglary at Ross
Patrick Brown – 15 September 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing
John Pearson (Penson) – 18 September 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for burglary from Richard Worley, butcher, Elizabeth St
James Rowles – 18 September 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for robbing his employer John Dunn’s shop, Elizabeth St
Timothy Swinscow – 18 September 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for robbing Mrs. Till at New Norfolk
William Wickens – 18 September 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for robbing Mrs. Till at New Norfolk
George Farquharson – 18 September 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing at Jericho
Robert Cable – 18 September 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing from the Sherwin flock on the Clyde
Thomas Savell – 18 September 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing from David Lord in the Pitt Water district
John Davis – 18 September 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing from David Lord in the Pitt Water district
John Cruitt – 18 September 1826 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing from David Lord in the Pitt Water district
Robert Grant – 8 January 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep stealing from Edmund Bryant near Jericho
George Bentley – 8 January 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep stealing from Edmund Bryant near Jericho
William Crest – 8 January 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep stealing from Edmund Bryant near Jericho
William Evans – 8 January 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for assault and robbery at New Town of John Sayers ‘the broom-maker’.
Peter Rice – 8 January 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for shooting at John Swift in Murray Street, Hobart
Patrick Dunne – 8 January 1827 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery at Kingston
Charles Burgh – 9 January 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for horse stealing
Henry Strong – 9 January 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for escaping, bushranging and robbery
Michael Brown – 9 January 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for escaping, bushranging and robbery
George Ellis – 9 January 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for escaping, bushranging and robbery
William Birt – 9 January 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for escaping, bushranging and robbery
William Hoadley – 9 January 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for escaping, bushranging and robbery
William Tuffnell – 19 February 1827 – Hanged at Launceston for the rape of nine-year-old Ellen Briggs
Richard Gill – 19 February 1827 – Hanged at Launceston for burglary
Edward Howe – 19 February 1827 – Hanged at Launceston for highway robbery near Scottsdale
Joseph Horsefield – 19 February 1827 – Hanged at Launceston for burglary
James Gurd – 19 February 1827 – Hanged at Launceston for burglary in the Norfolk Plains district
William Ashford – 19 February 1827 – Hanged at Launceston for burglary in the Norfolk Plains district
Andrew Winchester – 19 February 1827 – Hanged at Launceston for burglary in the Macquarie River district
William Haywood – 19 February 1827 – Hanged at Launceston for the murder of Christopher McRae at Lake River
Henry Oakley – 3 July 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for burglary from Mr Brodie on the Clyde
Thomas Bidwell Child – 3 July 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for forgery
John Wright – 3 July 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for robbery at Old Beach
John Clayton – 3 July 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing
George Dunning – 3 July 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing
William Longhurst – 3 July 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep-stealing
Daniel McPherson – 3 July 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for burglary of the home of Henry Bye, North Hobart
Martin Higgins – 3 July 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for “stealing in a dwelling house at noon-day” from Henry Bye, North Hobart
James Horsefield – 23 August 1827 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery at Stanfield’s, Ralph’s Bay
George Metcalfe – 23 August 1827 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery at Stanfield’s, Ralph’s Bay
James Coates – 23 August 1827 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery at Stanfield’s, Ralph’s Bay
John Brown (the Mariner) – 23 August 1827 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery at Stanfield’s, Ralph’s Bay
John Lee – 23 August 1827 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery at Stanfield’s, Ralph’s Bay
George Braithwaite – 23 August 1827 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery at Stanfield’s, Ralph’s Bay
John Brown (the Bricklayer) – 23 August 1827 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery at Stanfield’s, Ralph’s Bay
Thomas Davis (real name Roberts) – 23 August 1827 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery at Stanfield’s, Ralph’s Bay
Matthew McCullum – 23 August 1827 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery at Stanfield’s, Ralph’s Bay
Humphrey Oulton – 15 November 1827 – Hanged at Launceston for the theft of a sheep
Abraham Abrahams – 15 November 1827 – Hanged at Launceston for the theft of a mare from the Gourlay property on the Clyde
William Shepherd – 15 November 1827 – Hanged at Launceston for burglary from the home of Ralph Compton on the Norfolk Plains (Longford)
George Lacey – 17 December 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for murder of Constable George Rex at Macquarie Harbour
John Ward (“Flash Jack”) – 17 December 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for his role in the Rex murder
Samuel Measures – 17 December 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for his role in the Rex murder
William Jenkins – 17 December 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for his role in the Rex murder
James Conhope – 17 December 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for the rape of a six-year-old (convict per Minerva)
James Reid – 17 December 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for his role in the Rex murder
Thomas Williams – 17 December 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for his role in the Rex murder
James Kirk – 17 December 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for his role in the Rex murder
John McMillan – 17 December 1827- Hanged at Hobart for his role in the Rex murder
John Maguire – 17 December 1827 – Hanged at Hobart for his role in the Rex murder
George Driver – 30 January 1828 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of John Onely at Macquarie Harbour
Samuel Higgins – 30 January 1828 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of John Onely at Macquarie Harbour
William Fowler – 1 March 1828 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of a little girl named Emma Groom
Henry Williamson – 1 March 1828 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Malcolm Logan at Green Ponds (Kempton)
Thomas Pearson – 26 May 1828 – Hanged at Hobart for bushranging and burglary at Cross Marsh (Melton Mowbray)
Phelim Bonner (real name Crampsey) – 26 May 1828 – Hanged at Hobart for assault and robbery on James Collins
Edward Hangan – 26 May 1828 – Hanged at Hobart for robbery of a gun from James McLanachan
John Grimes – 26 May 1828 – Hanged at Hobart for shooting with intent at George Marshall near Sorell
Thomas Collins – 26 May 1828 – Hanged at Hobart for burglary at the home of George Cartwright
Edward Burke – 26 May 1828 – Hanged at Hobart for robbery
Abraham Aaron – 1 August 1828 – Hanged at Hobart for robbery at Maria Island
Philip Large – 15 February 1829 – Hanged at Launceston for the rape of eleven year-old Margaret Stewart
John Morrison – 15 February 1829 – Hanged at Launceston for arson
John Gibson – 15 February 1829 – Hanged at Launceston for robbery
Charles Williams – 15 February 1829 – Hanged at Launceston for armed robbery
William Ashton – 15 February 1829 – Hanged at Launceston for robbery
Joseph Moulds – 15 February 1829 – Hanged at Launceston for robbery
William Baker – 15 February 1829 – Hanged at Launceston for robbery
John Baker – 17 Feb 1829 – Hanged at Launceston for sheep stealing
Bernard Shields – 17 Feb 1829 – Hanged at Launceston for sheep stealing (convict per Minerva)
Daniel Mackie – 17 Feb 1829 – Hanged at Launceston for sheep stealing
Daniel Leary – 17 Feb 1829 – Hanged at Launceston for bullock stealing
Thomas Rogers – 17 Feb 1829 – Hanged at Launceston for burglary
George Palmer – 17 Feb 1829 – Hanged at Launceston for armed robbery
Daniel Brown – 2 March 1829 – Hanged at Hobart for murder of a fellow-convict named Stopford at Macquarie Harbour
John Salmon – 2 March 1829 – Hanged at Hobart for murder of a fellow-convict named Stopford at Macquarie Harbour
John Leach – 7 March 1829 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of his common-law wife
Robert Bourke – 12 July 1829 – Hanged at Hobart for escaping and stealing a boat at Macquarie Harbour
William Madden – 12 July 1829 – Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery
William Herring – 12 July 1829 – Hanged at Hobart for escaping and stealing a boat at Macquarie Harbour
John Mayo – 11 January 1830 – Hanged at Hobart Gaol for the murder of James Bailey at Macquarie Harbour
William Wilkes – 23 January 1830 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Dennis Alcoloret on Bruny Island in Oct 1827
Hugh Campbell – 3 February 1830 – Soldier of the 63rd Regiment, hanged at Hobart for the murder of Jonathan Brett
Michael Best – 11 February 1830 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Richard Garner at Hamilton
John Oxley – 24 February 1830 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Susan Corfield
Samuel Killen – 26 February 1830 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep stealing
John Jones – 26 February 1830 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep stealing
Joseph Fogg – 26 February 1830 – Hanged at Hobart for an unnatural crime
Thomas Goodwin – 26 February 1830 – Hanged at Hobart for cutting the throat of Ann Hamilton with intent to kill
Mary McLauchlan – 19 April 1830 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of her infant son. The first woman executed in Van Diemen’s Land/Tasmania.
Edmund Daniels – 14 May 1830 – Hanged at Hobart for bushranging. (Convict, Asia 3rd)
John Dighton – 14 May 1830 – Hanged at Hobart for bushranging. (Convict – Earl St Vincent)
James Child – 14 May 1830 – Hanged at Hobart for bushranging. (Convict – Chapman 2nd)
Andrew Bates – 14 May 1830 – Hanged at Hobart for bushranging. (Convict – Phoenix)
Edward Ladywig – 14 May 1830 – Hanged at Hobart for robbery (Convict – Phoenix)
Joseph Ellis – 14 May 1830 – Hanged at Hobart for sheep stealing (Convict – Dromedary)
Andrew McCue – 14 May 1830 – Hanged at Hobart for burglary of clothing and money from the house of John Robins
George Thomson – 17 May 1830 – Hanged at Hobart for housebreaking, theft of silver plate and two pistols (Convict – Lady Harewood)
Edward Sweeney – 30 June 1830 – Hanged at Launceston for the murder of his wife Mary Sweeney
William Thomas – 30 June 1830 – Hanged at Launceston for the murder of John ‘Smutty Jack’ Warne
William Messenger – 10 July 1830 – Hanged at Launceston for the rape of a five-year-old child
John Brady – 10 July 1830 – Hanged at Launceston for the rape of a five-year-old child
Richard Udall – 10 July 1830 – Hanged at Launceston for the rape of a five-year-old child
Charles Routley – 17 September 1830 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of John “Pretty Jack” Buckley at Carlton River
Henry Strong – 9 January 1831 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery at the property of James Reid on the Macquarie River
William Hoadley – 9 January 1831 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery at the property of James Reid on the Macquarie River
Michael Brown – 9 January 1831 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery at the property of James Reid on the Macquarie River
William Birt – 9 January 1831 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery at the property of James Reid on the Macquarie River
George Ellis – 9 January 1831 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery at the property of James Reid on the Macquarie River
Charles Burgh (alias Sutton) – 9 January 1831 – Hanged at Hobart for the theft of a horse from Captain Andrew Barclay near Launceston
Edward Broughton[GR4] (28) – 5 August 1831- Hanged at Hobart for absconding from Macquarie Harbour; while on the run he had murdered and cannibalised William Coventry and two others
Matthew Macavoy[GR5] – 5 August 1831 – Hanged at Hobart for absconding from Macquarie Harbour; while on the run he had murdered and cannibalised William Coventry and two others
John Somers – 23 December 1831 – Hanged at Hobart for rape
James Camm – 30 April 1832 – Hanged at Hobart for piracy; he was involved in the Cyprus
James Metcalfe – 30 April 1832 – Hanged at Hobart for assault of John Munn
Robert Gordon – 30 April 1832 – Hanged at Hobart for burglary
John Gow – 14 May 1832 – Hanged at Hobart for the shooting murder of Patrick Carrigan, a soldier of the 63rd
Joseph Colvin – 14 May 1832 – Hanged at Hobart for aiding and abetting the murder of Patrick Carrigan
Elijah Alder – 16 March 1832 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Benjamin Horne at Ross
John Towers – 5 June 1832 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of two hawkers named Patrick Fitzgibbon and John Kellerman on the St Paul’s Plains
James Fletcher – 5 June 1832 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Patrick Fitzgibbon and John Kellerman on the St Paul’s Plains
Thomas Fleet – 17 October 1832 – Hanged at Hobart for the attempted axe murder of William Waring Saxton at Port Arthur
William Evans – 17 October 1832 – Hanged at Hobart for the attempted knife murder of George Edwards at Granton
William Higham – 5 January 1833 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for armed robberies in the Ross area
Simon Gowan (Going) – 5 January 1833 – Hanged at Hobart for the rape of eight-year-old Mary Ann Bowman at Jericho
John Glover – 5 January 1833 – Hanged at Hobart for the rape of eight-year-old Mary Ann Bowman at Jericho
Robert Dutchess – 5 January 1833 – Hanged at Hobart for bestiality with a mare
John Clements (‘Jack the Lagger’) – 5 January 1833 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery and putting in fear
Richard (John) Jones – 15 April 1833 – Hanged at Hobart for bestiality on board the Circassian
Thomas Ansell – 1 November 1833 – Hanged at Hobart for robbery
Jonathan Dark – 1 November 1833 – Hanged at Hobart for burglary in Argyle St
William Ward – 10 March 1834 – Hanged at Launceston for burglary
Samuel Newman – 10 March 1834 – Hanged at Launceston for burglary
Thomas Dawson – 10 March 1834 – Hanged at Launceston for burglary
Joseph Deane – 26 March 1834 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for robbery at Green Ponds (Kempton)
Henry Rutland – 26 March 1834 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for robbery at Green Ponds (Kempton)
Samuel (a ‘man of colour’) – 26 March 1834 – Hanged at Hobart for the attempted murder at Port Arthur of Chief Constable Richard Newman
Joseph Greenwood – 16 April 1834 – Hanged at Hobart for the attempted murder of Constable Thomas Terry at New Town racecourse.
Benjamin Davidson – 17 June 1834 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Ann Howell at Norfolk Plains (Longford)
William Hurlock (Hislop) – 17 June 1834 – Hanged at Hobart for aiding and abetting the murder of Ann Howell
Henry Street – 17 June 1834 – Hanged at Hobart for aiding and abetting the murder of Ann Howell
John Burke – 13 February 1835 – Hanged at Hobart for burglary at Ross
William Weston – 13 February 1835 – Hanged at Hobart for burglary at Ross
John Ashton – 13 February 1835 – Hanged at Hobart for burglary at Ross
Thomas Kirkham – 13 February 1835 – Hanged at Hobart for burglary at Ross
John Dunn – 11 August 1835 – Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery of William Evans at Lemon Springs, near Oatlands
George Clarke – 11 August 1835 – Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery of William Evans at Lemon Springs, near Oatlands
Samuel Hibbill (Hibbell) – 10 March 1836 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Capt. Sibson Bragg, by throwing him overboard the schooner Industry in the Tasman Sea
Thomas Harris – 10 March 1836 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Capt. Sibson Bragg, by throwing him overboard the schooner Industry in the Tasman Sea
Robert Smith – 10 March 1836 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Capt. Sibson Bragg, by throwing him overboard the schooner Industry in the Tasman Sea
Samuel Guillem – 16 March 1837 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Mary Mills at New Norfolk
John McKay – first five days of May 1837 – Hanged at Hobart for the 1 April 1837 murder of Joseph Edward Wilson near Perth. His corpse was later gibbeted at Perth.
John Gardiner – 10 November 1837 – Hanged at Launceston Gaol for the murder of George Mogg on the Tamar
John Hudson – 10 November 1837 – Hanged at Launceston for cutting and maiming with intent to murder Isaac Schofield, the overseer of a chain-gang
James Hawes – 10 November 1837 – Hanged at Launceston for burglary and assault on Valentine Soper at Windmill Hill, Launceston
Henry Stewart – 10 November 1837 – Hanged at Launceston for burglary and assault on Valentine Soper at Windmill Hill, Launceston
James Atterall – 21 June 1838 – Hanged at Hobart for the armed robbery of Vincent’s Hotel, Epping Forest
James Regan – 21 June 1838 – Hanged at Hobart for the armed robbery of Vincent’s Hotel, Epping Forest
Anthony Banks – 21 June 1838 – Hanged at Hobart for the armed robbery of Vincent’s Hotel, Epping Forest. Banks was the first native-born Vandemonian executed in the colony
John Riley – 8 June 1840 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of James Matthews in Warwick St. Hobart
John Davis – 8 June 1840 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of James Matthews in Warwick St. Hobart
George Pettit – 8 June 1840 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of John Paul at York Plains
John Martin – 8 June 1840 – Hanged at Hobart for the attempted murder of Sergeant George Newman (of the 51st[GR7] ) on board the government brig Tamar
John Watson – 30 January 1841 – Bushranger. Hanged at Launceston for the armed robbery of John Holding at Ashby, near Ross
Patrick Wallace – 30 January 1841 – Bushranger. Hanged at Launceston for the armed robbery of John Holding at Ashby, near Ross. Wallace and Watson were hangman Solomon Blay‘s
first executions.
Joseph Broom – 19 February 1841 – Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery of Joseph Bailey near Campbell Town
James McKay – 27 May 1841 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of William Trusson at the Great Lake
William Hill – 27 May 1841 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of William Trusson at the Great Lake
Patrick Minnighan – 25 June 1841 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of James Travers at Port Arthur
Edward Allen – 31 July 1841 – Hanged at Launceston for the murder of Samuel Brewell at Muddy Creek, on the west bank of the Tamar
Thomas Dooner – 6 August 1841 – Hanged at Hobart for the armed robbery of Joseph Walker at a hut on the Macquarie River
James Broomfield – 25 October 1841 – Bushranger. Hanged at Launceston for armed robbery at Tarleton
James Williamson – 4 January 1842 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Thomas Lord at Swanport (Swansea)
George Bailey – 4 January 1842 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Thomas Lord at Swanport (Swansea)
Henry Belfield – 20 January 1842 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Thomas Broadman at Port Arthur
Elijah Ainsworth – 6 June 1842 – Hanged at Hobart for the rape of five-year-old Mary Jeffery
Thomas Turner – 9 June 1842 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of his wife Hannah at Moonah
William Langham – 10 August 1842 – Hanged at Hobart for the attempted murder of the Doctor at Port Arthur and the stabbing of a boy named Thomas Cooke
Samuel Williams – 27 December 1842 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of James Harkness at Port Arthur
James Littleton – 27 December 1842 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Henry Seaton at Broadmarsh
Henry Smith – 11 May 1843 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Henry Childs (Childe) at Sandy Bay
James Bowtell – 16 May 1843 – Hanged at Hobart for the armed robbery of William Marks on the highway at Dysart
Riley Jeffs – 26 July 1843 – Bushranger. Publicly hanged at Launceston for the murder of District Constable William Ward at Campbell Town
John Conway – 26 July 1843 – Bushranger. Publicly hanged at Launceston for the murder of District Constable William Ward at Campbell Town
John Woolley – 5 April 1844 – Hanged at Hobart for robbery and attempting to kill special constable William Hobart Wells
George Churchward – 5 April 1844 – Hanged at Hobart for robbery
William Thomas – 5 April 1844 – Hanged at Hobart for robbery
George Bristol – 5 April 1844 – Hanged at Hobart for robbery
John Walker – 5 April 1844 – Hanged at Hobart for robbery
Alexander Reid – 24 April 1844 – Hanged at Oatlands for shooting and wounding Constable Murray
Thomas Marshall – 24 April 1844 – Hanged At Oatlands for the murder of Ben Smith
George Jones[GR8] – 30 April 1844 – Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery
James Platt – 30 April 1844 – Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery
Isaac Tidburrow (Tidbury) – 9 July 1844 – Hanged at Hobart for the rape of seven-year-old Mary-Ann Gangell
Thomas Wicksett – 9 July 1844 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of John Ayres at Port Arthur
James Gannon – 7 August 1844 – Hanged at Hobart for a rape committed near Richmond
Thomas Smith – 7 August 1844 – Hanged at Hobart for the attempted murder of overseer William Perry at Port Arthur
James Boyle – 7 August 1844 – Hanged at Hobart for the attempted murder of overseer William Perry at Port Arthur
Richard Jackson – 1 May 1845 – Hanged at Oatlands for the rape of Elizabeth Davis
Anthony Kedge – 8 August 1845 – Hanged at Launceston for the murder of Charles Shepherd between George Town and Low Head
Francis Maxfield – 12 August 1845 – Hanged at Hobart for the attempted murder of sub-overseer Joseph Ellis at Port Arthur
Thomas Gomm – 23 September 1845 – Hanged at Hobart for his part in the murder of Jane Saunders at New Norfolk
William Taylor – 23 September 1845 – Hanged at Hobart for his part in the murder of Jane Saunders at New Norfolk
Isaac Lockwood – 23 September 1845 – Hanged at Hobart for his part in the murder of Jane Saunders at New Norfolk
Eliza Benwell – 2 October 1845 – Hanged at Hobart for aiding and abetting the murder of Jane Saunders at New Norfolk
Thomas Gillan – 1 November 1845 – Hanged at Launceston for armed robbery at Breadalbane (Cocked Hat)
Michael Keegan (Keogan) – 31 December 1845 – Hanged at Hobart for attempted murder of sub-overseer Joseph Ellis at Port Arthur
Job Harris – 31 December 1845 – Hanged at Hobart for his involvement in the pack-rape of a fellow-convict at the Coal Mines, Saltwater River
William Collier – 31 December 1845 – Hanged at Hobart for his involvement in the pack-rape of a fellow-convict at the Coal Mines, Saltwater River
John Phillips – 4 February 1846 – Hanged at Oatlands for setting fire to the magistrate’s oatstacks following a conviction for sly grog selling
Daniel McCabe – 24 March 1846 – Hanged at Hobart for cutting and wounding, with intent to kill, Francis Scott at Impression Bay
Charles Woodman – 24 March 1846 – Hanged at Hobart for assault and attempted murder of Elizabeth Jones in Davey Street
Henry Food – 28 April 1846 – Hanged at Launceston for the armed robbery of Revd Dr Browne
Henry Cooper – 13 May 1846 – Hanged at Hobart for the attempted murder of Richard Beech at Impression Bay
Michael Roach – 24 September 1846 – Hanged at Hobart for wounding with intent to murder catechist Roger Boyle at Port Arthur
Michael Lyons – 11 November 1846 – Hanged at Hobart for committing an ‘unnatural crime’ with a goat at Port Cygnet
Peter Kenny – 24 March 1847 – Hanged at Hobart for the attempted murder of James Goodall Francis[GR9]at Battery Point. Kenny, a former Point Puer boy, attacked Francis with a tomahawk while attempting burglary. Francis went on to become Premier of Victoria twenty-five years later
William Bennett – 24 March 1847 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of fellow-prisoner Thomas Shand at Port Arthur
George Wood – 29 June 1847 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of William Taylor at Port Arthur
Charles Benwell – 14 September 1847 – Hanged at Hobart for murder of George Lowe near Bagdad. He was the brother of Eliza Benwell, hanged in 1845.
Laban Gower – 23 November 1847 – Hanged at Hobart for the attempted murder of Ann Mayfield at Old Beach
Hugh Glacken – 25 November 1847 – Hanged at Launceston for bushranging
James Hill – 4 January 1848 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of an elderly lady named Alice Martin at Brighton
Henry Whelan – 4 January 1848 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Robert Mann at Berriedale
James Kennedy – 4 January 1848 – Hanged at Hobart for the attempted murder of William Millar at Port Arthur
James Connolly – 22 February 1848 – Publicly hanged at Hobart for arson (setting a barn on fire) at Impression Bay.
Nathaniel Westerman (Weston) – 4 April 1848 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of fellow-prisoner Joseph Blundell at Port Arthur
James Sullivan – 9 May 1848 – Hanged at Oatlands for the attempted murder of Constable James Kelly at Swanston, near Andover
Patrick Shea – 9 May 1848 – Hanged at Oatlands for the attempted murder of Constable James Kelly at Swanston
James McGough – 9 May 1848 – Hanged at Oatlands for the attempted murder of Constable James Kelly at Swanston
John Shale – 9 May 1848 – Hanged at Oatlands for wounding John Connell with intent to murder
Thomas Smith – 4 August 1848 – Hanged at Oatlands for stabbing with intent to murder Constable Clough at Jericho
Jeremiah Maher – 4 August 1848 – Hanged at Oatlands for stabbing with intent to murder Constable Clough at Jericho
Thomas Liner – 8 August 1848 – Hanged at Hobart for the stabbing murder of Hugh Gilmore in Kelly St
John Jordan – 7 November 1848 – Hanged at Launceston for the murder of Zimran Youram at Norfolk Plains
Matthew Mahide – 7 November 1848 – Hanged at Launceston for armed robbery at Snake Banks (present-day Powranna)
Michael Rogers- 3 January 1849 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Joseph Howard at Port Sorell
William Stamford – 3 January 1849 – Hanged at Hobart for the armed robbery of Thomas Lovell at Brushy Plains (Runnymede)
John Russell Dickers – 20 March 1849 – Hanged at Hobart for attempted murder of Constable Samuel Withers on the corner of Fitzroy Crescent and Davey St, South Hobart
James Holloway – 25 June 1849 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for armed robbery of Edwin Beckett at Prosser’s Plains (present-day Buckland)
John Stevens – 24 July 1849 – Hanged at Launceston for the murder of Margaret Buttery at Longford
James McKechnie – 31 December 1849 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Francis Sockett in Davey St, Hobart
John King – 21 March 1850 – Hanged at Hobart for attempted murder of Alexander Smith at Port Arthur
James Howarth – 21 March 1850 – Hanged at Hobart for the attempted murder of Joshua Jennings at New Town
James Mullay – 26 July 1850 – Hanged at Launceston for the murder of fellow-constable John McNamara at Perth
Joseph Squires – 26 July 1850 – Hanged at Launceston for the rape of four-year-old Horatio James
Christopher Hollis – 24 September 1850 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Thomas Couchman at Bridgewater
John Woods – 6 November 1850 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Constable Bernard Mulholland at Franklin
Joseph Brewer – 11 February 1851 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Ann Hefford at Campbell Town
Thomas Burrows – 13 February 1851 – Hanged at Launceston for the armed robbery of Thomas Parsons at Nile
William Parker – 13 February 1851 – Hanged at Launceston for the armed robbery of Thomas Parsons at Nile
Henry Hart – 13 February 1851 – Hanged at Launceston for the attempted murder of Harriet Grubb at Cressy
Thomas Dalton – 21 March 1851 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for highway robbery of William Corrigan at Constitution Hill
William Henry Stevens – 25 April 1851 – Convict. Hanged at Oatlands for Assaulting James Moore, being armed with a gun on the high road between Antill Ponds and Tunbridge
Buchanan Wilson – 3 May 1851 – Hanged at Hobart for the armed robbery of Patrick Cooney on the Huon Road, two miles out of Hobart
George Mackie – 21 July 1851 – Hanged at Oatlands for the murder of Thomas Gilbert at Waters Meeting, near Cranbrook
John Crisp – 27 October 1851 – Hanged at Oatlands for Wounding with Intent Constable William Donohoo at Swansea
Francis Duke – 31 October 1851 – Hanged at Launceston for the murder of William Smith at Fern Tree Hill, near Deloraine
James Yardley – 31 October 1851 – Hanged at Launceston for attempted murder of Robert Hudson at Deloraine
William Henry Stephens – 25 April 1851 – Hanged at Oatlands for the attempted murder of Thomas Moore at Antill Ponds
Thomas Callaghan (Callaher, Gallagher, Collahon, Collohan, Callahan) – 6 October 1851 – Hanged at Hobart for the rape of Ann Curtis at Grasstree Hill
Michael Conlan – 22 December 1851 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Francis Burt at Franklin
Patrick Callaghan – 22 December 1851 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Francis Burt at Franklin
William Porter – 29 December 1851 – Hanged at Hobart for the attempted murder of William Andrews at Sandy Bay
Charles Lockwood – 28 January 1852 – Hanged at Launceston for the attempted murder of William Gaffney at Longford
John Castles – 22 June 1852 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of William Hibbard at Kangaroo Point
Mary Sullivan – 5 August 1852 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of two-year-old Clara Adeline Fraser in Campbell St. Sullivan was sixteen when she went to the gallows.
Patrick McMahon – 28 October 1852 – Hanged at Oatlands for rape of a child
John Kilburn – 11 February 1853 – Hanged at Hobart for attempted murder of overseer Charles Weatherall at Pittwater
John Wood – 11 February 1853 – Hanged at Hobart for the murder of Kate Toole in Goulburn St
James Dalton – 26 April 1853 – Hanged at Launceston for the murder of Constable Tom Buckmaster at Avoca
Andrew Kelly – 26 April 1853 – Hanged at Launceston for the murder of Constable Tom Buckmaster at Avoca
Samuel Jacobs – 29 April 1853 – Hanged at Launceston for the rape of six-year-old Nathaniel Poole at Deloraine
Samuel Maberley – 18 May 1853 – Hanged at Hobart for the attempted murder of the Rev Dr Stephen Aldhouse in Church St
Francis McManus – 21 June 1853 – Hanged at Hobart for the rape of Elizabeth Roscoe on Bruny Island
Levi McAlister – 21 June 1853 – Hanged at Hobart for the rape of six-year-old Jane Hughes at Bridgewater
William Brown (alias Stockton) – 25 October 1853 – Hanged at Launceston for stabbing with intent to murder James Stephens
Thomas Kenney – 31 July 1854 – Hanged at Launceston for setting fire to a haystack at Kings Meadows
Thomas Hall – 31 July 1854 – Hanged at Launceston for the attempted murder of his wife Jane Hall at Table Cape
George Whiley – 3 November 1854 – Hanged at Launceston for the robbery and assault of James Smith near Westbury
Peter Connolly – 26 June 1855 – Bushranger. Hanged at Hobart for assault and robbery of William Kearney
for the murder of Betsy Ross in a house behind the Red Lion, Liverpool St
Abraham Munday – 27 October 1857 – Hanged at Oatlands for attempted murder by poison of George White at Courland Bay
Richard “Long Mick” Ennis – 27 October 1857 – Hanged at Oatlands for the murder of George Sturgeon at Kitty’s Corner, near Antill Ponds
James Kelly – 28 November 1857 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the murder of Coleman O’Loughlin at Avoca
Timothy Kelly – 28 November 1857 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the murder of Coleman O’Loughlin at Avoca
William Maher – 28 November 1857 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the murder of his wife Catherine Maher at Brown’s River, Kingborough
Thomas Callinan – 20 April 1858 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the murder of Amelia Murray at Three Hut Point
Henry Madigan – 5 May 1858 – Hanged at Launceston for the murder of his brother John Madigan at Prosser’s Forest, Ravenswood
Matthew Burns (Breen) – 5 August 1858 – Hanged at Launceston for the rape of three-year-old Eliza MacDonald at Avoca
George Young – 5 August 1858 – Hanged at Launceston for the murder of Esther Scott in High Street Windmill Hill
Thomas Gault – 21 December 1858 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for Felonious Assault and Robbery of John Duffy, Isabella Brown and Archibald Stacey at the Mount Nelson Signal Station
William Anderson – 31 January 1859 – Hanged at Launceston for the armed robbery of James Chapman at Distillery Creek
John McLaughlin – 31 January 1859 – Hanged at Launceston for the armed robbery of George Cooper on Westbury Road
William Gibson – 31 January 1859 – Hanged at Launceston for committing sodomy on ten-year-old Tom Gilligan on the road between Fingal and Avoca
John King – 16 February 1859 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol
for the murder of Rebecca Hall at the Bull’s Head, Goulburn Street
Peter Haley (“Black Peter”) – 16 February 1859 – Bushranger. Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for Shooting with Intent at Richard Propsting on the road between Ross and Tunbridge
Daniel (“Wingy”) Stewart – 16 February 1859 – Bushranger. Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for Shooting with Intent at Richard Propsting on the road between Ross and Tunbridge
William Ferns (alias Flowers) – 16 February 1859 – Bushranger. Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for Shooting with Intent at Richard Propsting on the road between Ross and Tunbridge.
William Davis – 16 February 1859 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the murder of Andre Cassavant at Black River
Robert Brown – 4 May 1859 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the rape of a three-year-old at Triabunna
Bernard Donahue – 12 July 1859 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the murder of James Burton near Kingston
John Vigors – 31 January 1860 – Hanged at Oatlands for Shooting with Intent at John Baker at Ellerslie
Henry Baker – 7 February 1860 – Hanged at Launceston for the murder of Ellen Gibson at Sandhill
John Nash – 4 May 1860 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the murder of William Iles near Cleveland
Julius Baker – 10 May 1860 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for shooting with intent at Port Arthur. Baker was a constable who took money from two prisoners Stretton and Donohue to assist their escape, he then shot them in their attempt
Michael Walsh – 29 May 1860 – Hanged at Launceston for the assault and rape of Eleanor Ward at Longford
Martin Lydon – 25 September 1860 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol
for the rape of nine-year-old Hannah Norah Handley at Port Cygnet
Thomas Ross – 30 January 1861 – Hanged at Launceston for an ‘unnatural crime’ on a boy named William Saunders at Bishopsbourne
John Hailey – 23 May 1861 – Hanged at Launceston for the murder of William Wilson at Cullenswood
John Chapman – 23 May 1861 – Hanged at Launceston for assault with intent to murder Daniel Webb at Avoca
Patrick Maloney – 23 May 1861 – Hanged at Launceston for the murder of Richard Furlong at Evandale
Margaret Coghlan – 18 February 1862 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the murder of her husband John Coghlan in Goulburn St, Hobart, near the corner of Harrington St
Charles Flanders – 24 June 1862 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the murder of ten-year-old Mary Ann Riley at Bagdad
William Mulligan – 18 November 1862 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the rape and robbery of Johanna Harrbach at Bagdad
Hendrick Whitnalder – 20 February 1863 – (Described as a ‘little Kaffir’). Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for sodomy with fourteen-year-old Cornwall Collins (Collard)
Dennis Collins – 11 August 1863 – Hanged at Launceston for ‘an unnatural crime’ with seven-year-old Joseph Palmer
Robert McKavor – 16 February 1864 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the felonious assault and robbery of Edward Coningsby on the Oatlands Road
James Lynch – 23 May 1865 – Hanged at Launceston for the rape of his ten-year-old step-daughter Cathy Nichols at Port Sorell
William Griffiths – 2 December 1865 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the murder of eight-year-old George and six-year-old Sarah Johnson at Glenorchy
Daniel “Little Dan” Connors – 17 March 1868 – Hanged at Launceston for the murder of Ellen Moriarty at Longford
Patrick Kiely – 17 November 1869 – Hanged at Launceston for the murder of his wife Bridget at Paddy’s Scrub, Deloraine
John Regan (46) – 28 June 1870 – Hanged at Launceston for the murder of his sixteen-year-old wife Emma on the Westbury Road
Job Smith (55) – 31 May 1875 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the rape of Margaret Ayres, the chaplain’s housemaid, at Port Arthur
John Bishnahan (46) – 19 November 1877 – Hanged at Launceston for the murder of Thomas Rudge at Evandale
Richard Copping (19) – 21 October 1878 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the murder of Susannah Stacey at Bream Creek
George Braxton (60) – 10 July 1882 – Hanged at Launceston for the murder of Ellen Sneezwell in York Street
James Ogden (20) – 4 June 1883 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the murder of William Wilson at Cleveland
James Sutherland (18) – 4 June 1883 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the murder of William Wilson at Cleveland
Henry Stock (22) – 13 October 1884 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the murder of Elizabeth Kent and her daughter near Ouse
Timothy Walker (76) – 10 January 1887 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the murder of Benjamin Hamilton at Deloraine. Walker was the last transported convict to be executed in Tasmania. This was hangman Solomon Blay‘s last execution
Arthur Cooley (19) – 17 August 1891 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the murder of Mary Camille Ogilvy near Richmond
Joseph Belbin (19) – 11 March 1914 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the murder of Margaret Ledwell at Deloraine
George Carpenter (27) – 27 December 1922 – Murdered three people at Swansea. Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the murder of his cousin Thomas Carpenter
Frederick Thompson (32) – 14 February 1946 – Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the murder of eight year old Evelyn Maughan. The last person executed in Tasmania.
[GR1]Alexander Pearce (1790 – 19 July 1824) was an Irish convict who was transported to the penal colony in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania), Australia for seven years for theft. He escaped from prison several times. During one of these escapes he allegedly became a cannibal, murdering his companions one by one. In another escape, with one companion, he allegedly killed him and ate him in pieces. He was eventually captured and was hanged in Hobart for murder, and later dissected
[GR2]Musquito (c. 1780, Port Jackson – 25 February 1825, Hobart) (also rendered Mosquito, Musquetta, Bush Muschetta or Muskito) was an Indigenous Australian resistance leader, latterly based in Van Diemen’s Land
[GR3]Thomas Jeffries (Jefferies) was an English bushranger, serial killer and cannibal in the early 19th century in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania, Australia). Jeffries was transported for seven years from Dorset on Albion, arriving in Van Diemen’s Land on 21 October 1823. He was sentenced to 12 months in Macquarie Harbour, the penal settlement on the colony’s west coast in June 1824 for threatening to stab Constable Lawson. By August 1825 he had been appointed a watch house keeper and flagellator (flogger) at Launceston Gaol.
[GR4]Edward Broughton (1803 – 5 August 1831) was an English convict who was transported to Van Diemen’s Land for fourteen years for house-breaking. He escaped from Sarah Island in Macquarie Harbour with four other convicts and he later confessed to murdering three of his companions and resorting to cannibalism. He and the other survivor Matthew MacAvoy were hanged in Hobart for their crimes.
[GR5]Edward Broughton (1803 – 5 August 1831) was an English convict who was transported to Van Diemen’s Land for fourteen years for house-breaking. He escaped from Sarah Island in Macquarie Harbour with four other convicts and he later confessed to murdering three of his companions and resorting to cannibalism. He and the other survivor Matthew MacAvoy were hanged in Hobart for their crimes.
The mutineers were eventually captured. Two of them, George James Davis and William Watts, were hanged at Execution Dock, London on 16 December 1830, the last men hanged for piracy in Britain. Their leader, William Swallow, was never convicted of piracy because he convinced the British authorities that, as the only experienced sailor, he had been forced to remain onboard and coerced to navigate the ship. Swallow was instead sentenced to life on Van Diemen’s Land for escaping, where he died four years later.
Swallow wrote an account of the voyage including the visit to Japan, but this part of the journey was generally dismissed as fantasy until 2017, when he was vindicated by an amateur historian’s discovery that the account matched Japanese records of a “barbarian” ship flying a British flag whose origins had remained a mystery for 187 years.
[GR8]George Jones (c. 1815 – 30 April 1844) was a convictbushranger who, with Martin Cash and Lawrence Kavenagh, escaped from Port Arthur, Van Diemen’s Land, in late 1842. The three men took to bushranging for a six-month period, robbing homesteads and inns with seeming impunity. After Kavenagh and Cash were captured, Jones remained at large for a further seven months, committing a number of robberies in company with two other escaped convicts. In April 1844 he was captured in a shoot-out with police, convicted and executed.
[GR9]James Goodall Francis (9 January 1819 – 25 January 1884), Australian colonial politician, was the 9th Premier of Victoria. Francis was born in London, and emigrated to Van Diemen’s Land (later Tasmania) in 1847, where he became a businessman. He moved to Victoria in 1853 and became a leading Melbourne merchant. He was a director of the Bank of New South Wales and president of the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce. He married Mary Ogilvie and had eight sons and seven daughters.
Francis was elected as a conservative for Richmond in 1859, and later also represented Warrnambool. He was seen as a leading representative of business interests. He was Vice-President of the Board of Land and Works and Commissioner of Public Works 1859–60, Commissioner of Trade and Customs 1863–68 in the second government of James McCulloch and Treasurer in the third McCulloch government 1870–71. When the liberal government of Charles Gavan Duffy was defeated in June 1872, Francis became Premier and Chief Secretary.
Francis’s government, like most of its predecessors, was dominated by the education and land issues, and by conflict between the Assembly and the Legislative Council. His government passed the 1872 Education Act, but was defeated when it tried to pass a bill establishing a procedure for resolving deadlocks between the two Houses. He resigned as a result in July 1874. He was later a minister without portfolio in the government of James Service in 1880. He retired from politics in 1884, declining a knighthood. He died in Queenscliff in 1884.
[GR10]John Whelan was an Irish-born bushranger and serial killer operating in the Huon Valley in 1855 in Van Diemen’s Land (now the Australian state of Tasmania). He was a tall man for his times, standing at 6’1” (185cm) and of heavy build, and was nicknamed Rocky for the crags and deep pock marks of his face
Pencil on paper sketch of the execution of Michael Magee. He was the first man executed in South Australia, for shooting Sheriff Smart. Artwork is inscribed, “Sketched on the ground by J. M. Skipper” which suggests the artist witnessed the execution. Artwork is inscribed with pencil on verso, with two figures of women. The costume worn by each figure has been carefully studied Held at the State Library of South Australia, call no. B 7797.
Michael Magee – 2 May 1838 – The first public execution in South Australia. A runaway convict, hanged from a tree on Montefiore Hill for shooting at with intent to kill Sheriff Smart
Wang Nucha (Tommy Roundhead) – 31 May 1839 – Hanged in front of the government iron stores (very close to the site of Magee’s hanging) for the murder of James Thompson on the Para
Yerr-i-Cha (George) – 31 May 1839 – Hanged for the murder of William Duffield in the Gilles Plains area
George Hughes – 16 March 1840 – Hanged outside the Horse Police Barracks for theft and firing with murderous intent at the Para River
Henry Curran – 16 March 1840 – Hanged outside the Horse Police Barracks for theft and firing with murderous intent at the Para River
Mongarawata – 25 August 1840 – Hanged by Major O’Halloran on the Coorong in retribution for the massacre of over fifteen passengers wrecked on the Maria
Pilgarie (Moorcan-gac) – 25 August 1840 – Hanged by Major O’Halloran on the Coorong in retribution for the massacre of fifteen passengers wrecked on the Maria
Joseph Stagg – 18 November 1840 – Hanged for the murder of John Gofton near Torrens Island. The first public execution to be conducted outside Adelaide Gaol, with a crowd of roughly seven hundred in attendance.
Ngarbi (Nultia) – 1 August 1843 – Hanged outside Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Elizabeth Stubbs at Port Lincoln
Wera Maldera – 28 March 1845 – Hanged outside Adelaide Gaol for the murder of George McGrath at McGrath’s Flat, on the Coorong
Thomas Donnelly – 29 March 1847 – Hanged outside Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Kingberrie, an indigenous local, at Rivoli Bay
Keelgulla – 9 November 1849 – Hanged at the scene of the crime for the murder of Captain James Beevor at Mount Drummond
Neulalta – 9 November 1849 – Hanged at the scene of the crime for the murder of Captain James Beevor at Mount Drummond
James Yates – 5 September 1850 – Hanged outside Adelaide Gaol for the murder of a shepherd named Jack Mansforth at Skillagolee Creek
William Wright – 12 March 1853 – Hanged outside Adelaide Gaol for the murder of a man known as Robert Head, committed at East Wellington
William Bell – 27 December 1854 – Hanged outside Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Augustus Valrecht at Port Adelaide. This was the last public execution at Adelaide Gaol, with approximately three thousand onlookers.
Weenpulta – 14 January 1856 – Hanged at Franklin Harbour for the murder of Peter Brown
Weellanna – 14 January 1856 – Hanged at Franklin Harbour for the murder of Peter Brown
Yardulunulkarna – 14 January 1856 – Hanged at Franklin Harbour for the murder of Peter Brown
Eelanna – 14 January 1856 – Hanged at Franklin Harbour for the murder of Peter Brown
Manyetta – 5 October 1860 – Hanged at Streaky Bay for the murder of John Jones at Mount Joy
Pilti Miltinda (Bobby) – 7 June 1861 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Mary Ann Rainberd (sometimes Reinbert) and her two children near Kapunda
Tankaworty (Alick or Jimmy) – 7 June 1861 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Mary Ann Rainberd and her two children near Kapunda
Warretya (Kop Robert) – 7 June 1861 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Mary Ann Rainberd and her two children near Kapunda
Warretya (Gogeye Jimmy) – 7 June 1861 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Mary Ann Rainberd and her two children near Kapunda
Nilgerie – 1861 – Hanged near the scene of the crime at Fowler’s Bay for the murder of Thomas Berggoist
Tilcherie – 1861 – Hanged near the scene of the crime at Fowler’s Bay for the murder of Thomas Berggoist
Mangiltie – 1861 – Hanged at Port Lincoln for the murder of Margaret Impey (Impett) at Mount Wedge
Karabidnie – 1861 – Hanged at Port Lincoln for the murder of Margaret Impey at Mount Wedge
John Seaver – 11 March 1862 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Police Inspector Richard Pettinger at a ball at Government House, Adelaide
Malachi Martin – 24 December 1862 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Jane Macmanamin at Salt Creek
Carl Jung – 10 November 1871 – Hanged at Mount Gambier for the murder of Assistant Bailiff Thomas Garraway at Deep Gully, near Mount Gambier
Elizabeth Woolcock – 30 December 1873 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Thomas Woolcock at North Yelta. The only woman executed in South Australia.
William Ridgeway – 1 January 1874 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Frederick Burt at Coonatto
William Page – 27 October 1875 – Hanged at Mount Gambier for the murder of Mary Julia Buchan
Charles Streitman – 24 July 1877 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Robert Woodhead at Wallaroo
Hugh Fagan (alias James Lynch) – 15 April 1878 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Patrick Bannon at Saltire
Jonathan Prest – 16 July 1878 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of his wife Mary Prest near Port Adelaide
Robert Johnson (alias William Nugent) – 18 November 1881 – Hanged at Mount Gambier for the murder of Trooper Harry Pearce
William Burns – 18 January 1883 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Henry Loton on the high seas, off the Cape Verde Islands. “While waiting his doom, he formed an attachment to a young sparrow, which he tamed perfectly. He was greatly affected by the sight of the bird flitting about the scaffold while the preparations for his execution were in progress”
Mah Poo (alias Charlie Bow) – 10 November 1883 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Tommy Ah Fook in Hindley Street
William Brown (alias Allen, alias Lane)– 24 August 1894 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of George Morowsky at Waukaringa
George Lynch – 6 November 1895 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Donald Ross at Balaklava
Joshua Beard – 10 July 1897 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Walter Hall at Streaky Bay
Lolli Kayser Singh – 17 January 1900 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Sunda Singh at Denial Bay
Thomas Horton – 12 May 1904 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of his wife Florence in Rundle Street
Albert Bonfield – 5 January 1905 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Caroline Hinds at Kensington Gardens
Notella Habibulla – 16 November 1906 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of his wife Edith in Bristol Street (off Cardwell St)
James (Joe) Coleman – 2 July 1908 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Constable Albert Ring at Glenelg
John Robins – 16 March 1910 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Robert Ownsworth in Moonta St Adelaide
Hadji Khan – 5 April 1910 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Said Mahommed at Frome Creek
Carlos Augustus Bonello – 5 May 1910 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Norma Plush at Siegersdorf
Percival Budd – 24 April 1919 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Harold Jacques at Crystal Brook
Alexander Newland Lee – 15 July 1920 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of his wife Muriel at Rhynie. Lee was the nephew of Martha Needle[GR2]
William Francis – 22 November 1927 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of his wife Myra at Rosaville, Mount Gambier
William Haines – 16 December 1927 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Devina Schmidt at Bridgewater
Frederick Carr – 12 November 1929 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of his wife Maude at Birkenhead
Thomas Blythe – 9 January 1930 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of his wife Sarah at Unley
Harold James Box – 26 April 1944 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Albert Edmund (Lance) Brown at Gawler Place, Adelaide
Charles O’Leary – 14 November 1946 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Walter ‘Spoggy’ Ballard at Nangwarry, near Penola
Alfred Griffin – 22 March 1950 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Elsie Wheeler at a Hutt Street boarding house
John Balaban – 26 August 1953 – Murdered at least four people. Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Zora Kusic at Torrensville
William Feast – 23 March 1956 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Eunice Gwynne at Wingfield
Raymond John Bailey – 24 June 1958 – Convicted for the Sundown Murders. Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Thyra Bowman
Glen Sabre Valance – 24 November 1964 – Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Richard Stang at Kooroon Station. Last person to be executed in South Australia.
[GR1]Malachy Martin (also Malachi Earl Martin) (c.1831 – 24 December 1862) lived in South Australia in the 19th century and was convicted and executed for committing a willful murder in 1862. Although in most official records his given name is written as “Malachi” it is clear that his parents actually gave him the traditional Irish form of the name, popularised through the veneration of St. Malachy, a twelfth-century Bishop of Amagh
[GR2]Martha Needle was an Australian serial killer known for poisoning her husband, three children and future brother-in-law. She was hanged on 22 October 1894 at the age of 31. Needle was convicted for the murder of Louis Juncken, brother of her fiancé Otto Juncken, on 15 May 1894. Although Needle collected substantial sums of insurance money, her exact motive for murdering her family has not been determined. Several times she stated her innocence, but was eventually hanged.
Ningavil – 3 July 1841 – Indigenous. Hanged at the Windmill, Wickham Terrace, Brisbane, for the murder of surveyor Granville Chetwynd Stapylton at Mount Lindsay
Patrick Fitzgerald – 8 July 1850 – Hanged in front of Brisbane Gaol, Petrie Terrace, for the murder of James Marsden at Gigooman
Jacob Wagner – 8 July 1850 – Hanged in front of Brisbane Gaol for the murder of James Marsden at Gigooman
Angee (An Gee) – 6 January 1852 – Chinese. Hanged in front of Brisbane Gaol for the murder of James Holbert in the Burnett district
Davy – 22 August 1854 – Indigenous. Hanged in front of Brisbane Gaol for the murder of Adolphus Trevethan on Rawbelle station in the Burnett district
Dundalli – 5 January 1855 – Indigenous. Hanged in front of Brisbane Gaol for the murders of Andrew Gregor and William Boller. This was the last official public execution in Queensland
William Teagle – 28 July 1857 – Hanged at Brisbane Gaol for the murder of his wife Mary Leighton at Drayton
Chamery – 4 August 1859 – Indigenous. Hanged at Brisbane for the rape of Mary Treatroff at Dugandan
Dick – 4 August 1859 – Indigenous. Hanged at Brisbane for the rape of Mary Treatroff at Dugandan
Thomas Woods – 7 December 1860 – Hanged at Brisbane for the murder of Gabriel Morell at Coonambula
Georgie – 12 Dec 1861 – Indigenous. Hanged at Brisbane for the rape of Bridget Ryan at Little Ipswich
Tommy – 2 April 1862 – Chinese, real name not recorded. Hanged at Brisbane for the murder of George Lang at Nebo
Matthew McGuinness – 8 April 1862 – Hanged at Brisbane for the murder of a shepherd named Schaff between Gayndah and Mundubbera
Alexander Ritchie – 1 August 1864 – Hanged at Toowoomba Gaol for the murder of Charles Owen at Yandilla
Jackey – 3 November 1865 – Indigenous. Hanged at Brisbane for the murder of Ann Mee at Degilbo
Rudolf Mornberger – 13 December 1865 – German. Hanged at Brisbane for the murder of Heinrich Bode on the Logan River
Thomas John Griffin[GR2]– 1 June 1868 – Police officer and gold commissioner hanged at Rockhampton Gaol for the murder of troopers John Power and Patrick Cahill on the banks of the Mackenzie River while they were on duty escorting a large sum of money from Rockhampton to Clermont
Billy – 7 December 1868 – Indigenous. Hanged at Brisbane for the rape of Mary Thompson at Tivoli
Jacob – 17 May 1869 – Indigenous. Hanged at Brisbane for the rape of Jane Knott and Amelia Reichmann at Ideraway
John Williams – 24 November 1869 – Hanged at Rockhampton for the murder of Patrick Halligan[GR3] at Eight Mile Island
George C.F. Palmer – 24 November 1869 – Hanged at Rockhampton for the murder of Patrick Halligan at Eight Mile Island
Alexander Archibald – 22 December 1869 – Hanged at Rockhampton for abetting the murder of Patrick Halligan at Eight Mile Island
Gee Lee – 7 March 1870 – Chinese. Hanged at Toowoomba for the murder of Louis Vernon at Caroline sheep station on the Burenda run, in the Warrego district
Jacky Whitton – 7 March 1870 – Indigenous. Hanged at Toowoomba for the rape of thirteen-year-old Henrietta Reiss at Bodumba station near Warwick
William Prendergast – 28 March 1870 – Hanged at Brisbane for the murder of Patrick Hartnett at Fortitude Valley
William Brown (or Bertram) – 29 August 1870 – Hanged at Toowoomba for robbery under arms at Mangalore
Donald Ross – 21 November 1870 – Hanged at Rockhampton for the murder of George Rose at Springsure
George – 15 May 1871 – Indigenous. Hanged at Rockhampton for the rape of Ellen Manning at Gracemere
Dugald – 28 May 1872 – Indigenous. Hanged at Brisbane for the rape of twelve-year-old Catherine Hutchinson south of Gympie
Patrick Collins – 29 May 1872 – Hanged at Brisbane for the murder of Simon Zieman at Gunde Gunda Creek near Surat
John Garbett – 10 March 1874 – Hanged at Brisbane for the murder of Tom Conroy at Taroom
Alick (alias Johnny) – 29 December 1874 – Pacific Islander. Hanged at Brisbane for the rape of eleven-year-old Gertrude Brauer at Doughboy Creek
Jackey Clayson – 14 April 1875 – Indigenous. Hanged at Rockhampton for the rape of Johanna Kopp at Palmerville
Johann (John) Wenzell – 29 August 1876 – German. Hanged at Brisbane for the murder of Joel Martin at Gabbinbar, Toowoomba
George – 18 May 1877 – Pacific Islander. Hanged at Maryborough Gaol for the rape of Mrs McBride
Tommy Ah Mow – 18 May 1877 – Pacific Islander. Hanged at Maryborough for the rape of Mrs McBride
James Cunningham – 14 January 1878 – Hanged at Brisbane for the murder of Frank Steinebecker near Cairns
Sam Ah Poo – 19 August 1878 – Chinese. Hanged at Brisbane for the murder of M. Fisher McMichael at Bundaleer Plains, near Noorama
Ervora (alias Johnny) – 23 December 1878 – Pacific Islander. Hanged at Brisbane for the murder of Charles “the Swede” Andrews near Tambo
Joseph Mutter – 9 June 1879 – German. Hanged at Brisbane for the murder of Maria Josephina Steffen at Ravenswood. “When the drop fell the convict’s head was completely severed from the body. The executioner attributed this horrible result to the hard condition of the rope, caused by the frost”
Joseph Wells – 22 March 1880 – Hanged at Brisbane for armed robbery and attempted murder at Cunnamulla
James Elsdale (alias Munro) – 31 May 1880 – Hanged at Brisbane for the murder of Michael McEvoy at Belltopper Creek, Aramac
Jimmy Ah Sue – 31 May 1880 – Chinese. Hanged at Brisbane for the murder of Ah Coo Wah at Copperfield (Clermont)
Maximus ‘Pedro’ Gomez – 21 June 1880 – Filipino. Hanged at Brisbane for the murder of William Clarke on Possession Island(Bedanug), Torres Strait
Kagariu (Johnny Campbell) – 16 August 1880 – Indigenous. Bushranger. Hanged at Brisbane for the rape of Jane MacAlister at Kipper Creek, Northbrook
Ah Que – 12 December 1881 – Chinese. Hanged at Brisbane for the murder of Ah Wah and Geon Ching at Palmerville
George Byrne – 22 May 1882 – Hanged at Brisbane for the rape of Susan Isaacs in Elizabeth Street, Brisbane
Towolar (Jemmy) – 5 June 1882 – From Ambae, New Hebrides. Hanged at Brisbane for the murder of Jeremiah Worth at Bundaberg
Jango – 15 October 1883 – Indigenous. Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Eliza Mills at Dingo. He was sixteen at the time of his crime
George – 15 October 1883 – Indigenous. Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the rape of thirteen-year-old Johanna Anderson at Gracemere
James Gardiner (alias McMahon) – 15 October 1883 – Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of ‘German Ada’ at Rockhampton
Walter Edward Gordon – 25 October 1885 – Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Walter Bunning near Rockhampton
Tim Tee – 5 April 1886 – Chinese. Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Jimmy Ah Fook at Dulvadilla
Wong Tong – 21 June 1886 – Chinese. Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Kok Tow near Bundaberg
Christopher Pickford – 30 May 1887 – Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Martin Emmerson at Ravenswood Junction
John Harrison – 13 June 1887 – Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of William Thompson
Ellen Thompson – 13 June 1887 – Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of her husband William. She was the only woman hanged in Queensland
Sedin – 12 November 1888 – Malay. Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of John Fitzgerald and Christian Meyriga at Normanton
Edmond Duhamel – 12 November 1888 – Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Sarah Ann Descury at Croydon
Michael Barry[GR4] – 2 June 1890 – Hanged at Rockhampton (Wandal) for the murder of his wife Mary. He was the last person to be hanged in Queensland outside of Brisbane
Donald – 25 April 1892 – Indigenous. Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the rape of Eva Scott at Hornet Bank Station near Taroom
Frank Charles Horrocks – 26 September 1892 – Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Rudolph Weissmüller at Mooraree near Brisbane
Charles Gleeson – 24 October 1892 – Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Patrick McKiernan at Prince of Wales Island (Muralug), Torres Strait
Leonardo William Moncado – 24 October 1892 – Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Bob, an Indigenous cabin-boy, on board the Northern coastal trading vessel Sketty Belle
George Thomas Blantern – 23 October 1893 – Hanged at Boggo Road Gaod for the murder of Flora McDonald at Marlborough Station
Hatsuro Abe – 28 May 1894 – Japanese. Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of a Japanese widow, Omatzie, on Thursday Island
Miore – 20 May 1895 – Pacific Islander. Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Francis Macartney at Avondale. See Narasemai below
Narasemai – 20 May 1895 – Pacific Islander. Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Francis Macartney at Avondale
Sayer (also called Safhour) – 22 July 1895 – Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Peter Anderson near Etowrie near Mackay.
Jackey – 4 November 1895 – Indigenous. Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Jacky Williams near Mount Morgan.
Frank Tinyana – 4 November 1895 – Filipino. Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the attempted murder of his wife Amelia and the murder of Constable William Conroy on Thursday Island.
William Broome – 11 June 1900 – Indigenous. Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Mary Le Blowitz near Bundaberg
Charles Beckman – 13 May 1901 – Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Alfred Anderson at Bowen
Wandee (or Wantee) – 27 May 1901 – Pacific Islander. Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Alfred Burnstead near Townsville
John Rheuben – 30 September 1901 – Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Fanny Hardwick[GR5] at Rockhampton
Arafau (or Orifough) – 3 December 1901 – Pacific Islander. Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Morris Summers near Farleigh
David Alexander Brown – 9 December 1901 – Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Graham Haygarth at Charters Towers
Patrick Kenniff – 12 January 1903 – Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Constable George Doyle at Lethbridge’s Pocket near Carnarvon
Sow Too Low (or Sotulo) – 22 June 1903 – From Malaita (now part of Solomon Islands). Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of John Martin and Sergeant David Johnston at Mackay Gaol. He was also thought responsible for the murder of 12-year-old Alice Gunning near Mackay
Gosano (also called ‘Kanalso called Charlie’) – 17 April 1905 – From Malaita (now part of Solomon Islands). Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of John Parsons at Ingham
James Wharton – 17 July 1905 – Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of William Munday at Toowong
Johannes – 14 May 1906 – From Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Constable Albert Price
Twadiga – 14 May 1906 – From Gawa Island (now in Papua New Guinea). Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of five-year-old William Baulch, at Homebush, near Mackay
Look Kow (or Lee Kow) – 31 December 1906 – Chinese. Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Lee Chay Yuen in Townsville
August Millewski – 16 December 1907 – Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of an Indian man, Wallum Nabby, near Nananga
Bismarck – 19 April 1909 – Indigenous. Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Janet Evitts at Jundah
Arthur Ross – 7 June 1909 – Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of bank clerk James Muir
Alexander Joseph Bradshaw – 13 June 1910 – Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of George and Alice Sutherland at Carron River, near Croydon
George David Silva[GR6]– 10 June 1912 – Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of seventeen-year-old Maud Ching at Alligator Creek, near Hay Point. On the same occasion he also murdered Maud’s younger siblings Teddy, Dolly, Hugh and Winnie, and their mother Agnes
Charles Deen – 5 May 1913 – From Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Peter Dana (Dina, Dinna) at Innisfail
Ernest Austin– 22 September 1913 – Hanged at Boggo Road Gaol for the murder of Ivy Alexandra Mitchell. He was the last person executed in Queensland
[GR1]Granville William Chetwynd Stapylton (1800-1840) was a pioneer explorer and surveyor in Australia.
In 1839, Stapylton was one of the three surveyors (the other two being Robert Dixon and James Warner) sent by New South Wales GovernorGeorge Gipps to the Moreton Bay penal colony, arriving on the Sarah Jane.[2] Their first task was to make a coastal survey of Moreton Bay and then to survey Brisbane and the surrounding districts in preparation for the closure of the penal colony and the opening of the area for free settlement in 1842.
He was killed on 31 May 1840 by Aboriginal people while surveying, 14 miles (23 km) east of Mount Lindesay.
[GR2]Thomas John Augustus Griffin (27 July 1832 – 1 June 1868) was an Australian police officer and gold commissioner who was executed in 1868, after being found guilty of the double murder of two fellow police officers, Constable John Francis Power and Constable Patrick William Cahill.
The murders were committed on the banks of the Mackenzie River near the present-day site of the Bedford Weir at Blackwater, Queensland while the troopers were escorting a large sum of money from Rockhampton to Clermont, which Griffin stole and then hid when he returned to Rockhampton. The money was discovered after Griffin was executed when it was revealed he had attempted to conspire with a turnkey while locked in his cell, negotiating a possible escape and drawing a pencil sketch of the money’s approximate location.
In a notorious case of grave robbery, Griffin’s grave was illegally exhumed more than a week after his execution, and his body deliberately decapitated and his head stolen.[
[GR5]The murder took place in a boarding house in one of six cottages located next to the Terminus Hotel, known as Carpenter’s Cottages, owned by local identity Edwin Robert Carpenter. Hardwick had moved into the boarding house with her three-year-old son and her mother upon leaving Rheubens, after which she commenced a relationship with a Sinhalese cook called Charlie Price, which prompted Rheubens to become jealous. Rheubens desperately attempted to convince Hardwick to re-commence their relationship, during which time Rheubens allegedly assaulted Price on two separate occasions.
On the evening of 2 June 1901, Rheubens attempted to visit Hardwick but following another of Hardwick’s rejections, he went away and returned with a tomahawk. Following a struggle, Rheubens produced a sheath knife and stabbed Hardwick in the chest before leaving the scene.
Within an hour, police located Rheubens at his home where he was arrested in a violent struggle. After being taken back to the watchhouse, police discovered Rheubens was suffering from a head injury. After a medical examination, Rheubens was transported to Rockhampton Hospital under police escort. He was admitted to hospital where he stayed under police guard.
[GR6]George David Silva (1884 – 1912) was an Australianmass murderer. Silva, who was of Sinhalese descent, worked as a farmhand on a property owned by Charles Ching at Alligator Creek, about 20 miles from Mackay, Queensland.
On 16 November 1911, Charles Ching told Silva he was traveling to town for supplies and money for Silva’s wages. While he was away Silva murdered the six Chings after the eldest daughter Maud had rejected his advances. The bodies of Agnes, Maud, Hugh and Winnie were found in the house. Mother and eldest daughter had been shot by a revolver and a muzzle-loading rifle, while the boy and baby had their skulls smashed in. The bodies of Teddy and Dolly Ching were found a mile and a half away; both had been shot and their skulls smashed in.
Police and aboriginal trackers inspected the crime scene, and after the trackers stated that there was no trail to follow the police homed in on Silva. Silva, fearing a lynch mob from Mackay, eventually confessed to police.
John Davis – 13 October 1846 – Hanged for his involvement in the Cooking-Pot Uprising
Samuel Kenyon – 13 October 1846 – Hanged for his involvement in the Cooking-Pot Uprising
Dennis Pendergast – 13 October 1846 – Hanged for his involvement in the Cooking-Pot Uprising
Owen Commuskey – 13 October 1846 – Hanged for his involvement in the Cooking-Pot Uprising
Henry Whiting – 13 October 1846 – Hanged for his involvement in the Cooking-Pot Uprising
William Pearson – 13 October 1846 – Hanged for his involvement in the Cooking-Pot Uprising
James Cairnes – 13 October 1846 – Hanged for his involvement in the Cooking-Pot Uprising
William Pickthorne – 13 October 1846 – Hanged for his involvement in the Cooking-Pot Uprising
Lawrence Kavenagh– 13 October 1846 – Hanged for his involvement in the Cooking-Pot Uprising
William Scrimshaw – 13 October 1846 – Hanged for his involvement in the Cooking-Pot Uprising
Edward McGuinness – 13 October 1846 – Hanged for his involvement in the Cooking-Pot Uprising
William Brown – 19 October 1846 – Hanged for his involvement in the Cooking-Pot Uprising
John Liddall – 3 November 1846 – Hanged for murder of Henry Clarke
Bernard Macartney – 3 November 1846 – Hanged for murder of Henry Clarke
[GR1]William Westwood (7 August 1820 – 13 October 1846), also known as Jackey Jackey, was an English-born convict who became a bushranger in Australia.
Born in Essex, Westwood had already served one year in prison for highway robbery before his transportation at age 16 to the penal colony of New South Wales on a conviction of stealing a coat. He arrived in 1837 and was sent to Phillip Parker King‘s station near Bungendore as an assigned servant, but grew to resent working there due to mistreatment from the property’s overseer. In 1840, after receiving 50 lashes for attempting to escape, Westwood took up bushranging. The following year, troopers captured Westwood at Berrima, where he was convicted of armed robbery and horse stealing and sentenced to life imprisonment at Darlinghurst Gaol. Westwood escaped again and continued bushranging until his re-capture in July 1841. Sent to Cockatoo Island, he led a failed mass escape, and was transported for life in 1842 to Port Arthur, Van Diemen’s Land.
Westwood tried to escape from Port Arthur two times and received 100 lashes for each attempt. He successfully escaped in 1843 by swimming the channel; two other convicts who accompanied him were eaten by sharks. His new bushranging career ended that November when he was captured and sentenced to twelve months hard labour and solitary confinement. The following year, William Champ, Port Arthur’s new commandant, promoted Westwood to his boat crew, and approved his removal to Glenorchy on probation after the convict rescued two drowning men. Within several months, he returned to bushranging, and after his capture in September 1845 outside Hobart, was transported for life to Norfolk Island. There, in response to commandant Joseph Childs‘ confiscation of the prisoners’ cooking utensils, Westwood led the 1846 Cooking Pot Uprising, during which he murdered three constables and an overseer. He was captured and executed along with eleven other convicts.
In the days before his execution, Westwood wrote an autobiography at the suggestion of Thomas Rogers, a religious instructor, who later had it published in The Australasian. Westwood also wrote a letter to a prison chaplain who had once befriended him, detailing the severe treatment of Norfolk Island prisoners by the authorities, and decrying the brutality of the convict system as a whole. It was published widely in the press and cited by activists campaigning for the end of penal transportation to Australia.
[GR2]The Cooking Pot Uprising or Cooking Pot Riot, was an uprising of convicts led by William Westwood in the penal colony of Norfolk Island, Australia. It occurred on 1 July 1846 in response to the confiscation of convicts’ cooking vessels under the orders of the Commandant of the penal settlement, Major Joseph Childs.