Gold, crime and the Newstead district in the 1850s
The murders which occurred in the Newstead district in
the late 1850s might be seen against a background of rapid social and economic
change driven by the Victorian goldrush. It was a time when thousands of
diggers descended on the bush near Newstead, in numbers which have never been
repeated. This was an era when a great deal of lawlessness existed across the
Colony, and the justice system was stretched in its ability to cope.
The discovery of gold in Victoria, in the early 1850s,
precipitated a quite unanticipated wave of humanity pouring into the colony. As
a result, Victoria’s population went from 72000 in 1850 to 534000 by 1860.
Towns like Castlemaine and Maldon sprang up overnight,
and by 1854 around 20,000 diggers were reported to be at work on the Maldon
goldfield, which was to the north of Newstead.
By the mid 1850s a township had begun to emerge at
what is now Newstead. The settlement
became a convenient Loddon River crossing place for travellers passing
through the area, to places further west like Talbot or Maryborough, or even
far distant Adelaide; and centres to the south like Daylesford and Ballarat. As
Newstead township developed it serviced the needs of miners and farmers in the
district with its shops, stores, hotels and blacksmiths. Numbers of farmers
also took up arable ground in the area, after some of the land previously
occupied by squatters was
auctioned by the Victorian Government, in the period after 1854.
Initially travellers crossing the Loddon at Newstead
were obliged to ford the river, but this was difficult due to the steep river
bank at that location. Floods also frequently caused travellers’ to endure
lengthy hold ups. To encourage
passing trade, publican Thomas Jones of the ‘Bullock Driver’s Home’ at Newstead
erected a simple log bridge across the Loddon in May 1855. This structure seems to have had only a
brief existence before it was replaced by a more substantial bridge in August
1856. The replacement bridge was paid for by ‘Newstead Hotel’ publicans James
Thomas and Frederick Beard, who had erected this structure on the basis that
tolls would pay for the up keep, but the collection of tolls for this private
venture subsequently proved to be unlawful. The township was also graced by an
ill-fated government punt across the Loddon above Newstead in 1856, but this
proved to be something of a white elephant that attracted little public use.
After the punt was swept away by floods in 1857 the service was abandoned.
So by 1857 - 1859, which is the focus of this work,
Newstead was well established, having grown from a river crossing place to a
small town with several hundred people living in the township area and
servicing nearby farms. Along the banks of the Loddon River and adjacent areas,
many small farms had been established, and in the forested country to the north
east of Newstead township, gold mining was being prosecuted by miners who at
times were numbered in their thousands.
Mining to the east of Newstead commenced around
1855. Auriferous ground was
followed by miners west along the Castlemaine - Maryborough Road from South
Muckleford, to Green Gully, and later into the Mia Mia Creek area. By May 1855, 2000 diggers were reported
to be seeking gold at South Muckleford, and within a month or so diggers were
hard at work in Green Gully. To slate the thirst of the diggers in the area
‘Monck’s Racecourse Hotel’ had been erected at South Muckleford, and half a
dozen shops had opened (all now long since gone). The bush was alive with
people, and it was reported that in the early days there was a vibrancy on the
field where ‘at night everyone fires his pistols, and every dog barks his
utmost.’
The Mia Mia goldfield extended north to ground around
Sandy Creek (the southern area of which was later known as Welshman’s Reef). By
April 1857, there were something like 1500 miners at work on the Mia Mia, and a
street of stores, blacksmiths shops etc. had also sprung up in what only
recently had been virgin bush.
So violent was the diggers’ assault on nature that
traces of alluvial mining throughout this area of bush are still clearly
visible to this day, even though the mine shafts only extended a few metres
into the ground in most instances. Fortunately, forest regrowth is gradually
obliterating this evidence of this human industry.
Taken as a whole the mined area constituted several
square kilometres of gold bearing land just east of Newstead township. The rush
to these fields gradually subsided, but even in 1859 it was estimated that the
population in the Newstead district was still around 2000, with many of these
being connected with mining in the Green Gully/Mia Mia area. The area also
attracted a significant number of Chinese miners.
Miners were very much a floating population, with an
inclination to immediately respond to favorable news or even the rumor of a new
goldfield, and ‘rush’ to a new diggings, often at very short notice, in the
hope of ‘striking it rich.’
There was also much hardship. Life for most miners and
small farmers was very harsh. Water was often scarce, particularly in the
summer when the Loddon River tended to became a chain of waterholes. Food could
also be expensive. Much accommodation available was of the most basic kind, and
people lived in tents or bark huts for years on end. Schools were also
conducted in tents to begin with, for those children lucky enough to be able to
attend class. Such medical
treatment as was available was limited in scope, and any serious injury or
illness could quickly result in death.
The gold rush period was dominated by single men
seeking their fortune. In such an environment individual diggers needed to find
a ‘mate’ to work with them, or work in small teams for safety and to be
effective. Nevertheless, many family groups were also present on the gold
fields. It was estimated that in 1856, the Castlemaine goldfields district
European population of 25700 was
made up of 16600 adult males (65%), adult females 3950
(15%) and children 5150 (20%).
In addition, there were about 4500 adult Chinese males
present on the Castlemaine goldfields district at that time. Few Chinese miners brought wives and families to Australia.
Complicating the difficult living conditions,
alcoholism was a serious problem. Hotels did a roaring trade, and such edifices
competed with less salubrious inns or as they were politely called ‘refreshment
tents’. Less congenial establishments were the unofficial grog shanties, which
seemingly existed for another purpose such as a store, much to the annoyance of
the authorities. So widespread were these unofficial dens of alcohol abuse,
that a correspondent from Newstead writing to the Castlemaine Advertiser in early 1859 was
moved to exclaim, ‘are there no police to look after the grog shops. They
flourish here like mushrooms, and it is melancholy that nearly all the money
got for wages here goes for drink, in these accursed places.’
Unfortunately, theft was endemic in colonial society.
Robbery under arms was a hazard of the road, and individual travellers were
particularly vulnerable. Theft of
cattle and sheep was on a scale that farmers needed to be eternally vigilant or
risk losing their livelihood. Newspapers would carry lists of horses ‘missing’
together with descriptions of the animal, and the amount of a reward offered
for their safe return. In fact the return of ‘lost’ horses in exchange of a
reward, became an industry in its own right. So bad did horse stealing become that no sale of a horse was
legal unless the seller issued a proper receipt documenting the transaction.
Unfortunately, horse thieves were often able to get around these restraints,
with the aid of cleverly forged receipts.
Violent crime was prevalent, and it is said that many
acts of violence, even murder, went unreported. A situation complicated by antipathy towards the police and
related officialdom by much of the populace. This attitude subsided but slowly
in the wake of changes brought about in the wake of the Ballarat Eureka
rebellion in 1854.
On occasion the diggers’ were known to administer
their own form of justice to claim jumpers, without the involvement of the
police or the courts, as might be seen by a report in the Mount Alexander
Mail
of 25th May 1855 which noted that ‘about 200 (diggers had) assembled to
administer justice to a claim jumper’ on the South Muckleford goldfield.
Nevertheless, the police gradually became more
effective. They were assisted by the emergence of newspapers throughout the
more settled areas. News of
serious crime could then be circulated widely and the assistance of the
community sought to bring alleged criminals to justice.
Frequently a large reward was offered by the
government of the day to encourage the populace to come forward with
information
Complimentary to the police during this era, were the
goldfields wardens who monitored the gold extraction process and adjudicated on
matters pertaining to claims. John Bull was the Resident Warden for the
Castlemaine district. He was supported by a team of wardens who regularly
patrolled the diggings. One such instance was the visit to Green Gully by
Maldon based Robert Cleghorne Mackenzie, on 16th December 1856, when he settled
four disputes over claims during his time there.
A significant factor in the commission of violent
crime in colonial society, was that many mentally ill people were permitted to
roam the countryside at will. In
some cases families or friends did their best to cope with a person who was
disturbed, but many mentally ill people were left to cope on their own.
Inevitably this resulted in some deranged individuals attacking others, often
with serious, and sometimes fatal consequences. This was an era when the
medical profession considered both mentally ill or the retarded (the so called
idiots) as falling into the general classification of ‘the insane.’
At least three of the four accused in
the cases considered in this work involved somebody who was obviously suffering
from mental illness to some extent.
Before the gold rush period in colonial Victoria, individuals deemed to
be ‘insane’ or ‘lunatics’ could be confined to a gaol, if space could be found,
because no other colonial institution was available that could secure such
people. Apparently ‘ordinary’ prisoners could receive remissions to their
sentence if they were prepared to look after ‘insane’ inmates. However, this
seemingly practical solution to a resource problem, had the drawback of
randomly mixing criminals with the mentally ill.
The Yarra Bend Lunatic Asylum (near the Merri Creek
junction) opened in 1848, and it was expected that this facility would receive
all mentally ill in the then Port Philip Settlement who needed institutional
confinement. As time went by the Asylum became hopelessly overcrowded, with the
result that ordinary gaols were again resorted to as a place to hold the
mentally ill, until a place at Yarra Bend became available. If
somebody who was sent to Yarra Bend or a gaol on the grounds of insanity
appeared to have recovered they could be released, even though they may have
suffered successive bouts of psychosis. At times this had fatal consequences if
the person was of a violent nature. This was a period when care for the
mentally ill was in an embryonic state, and effective treatment was something
for the future. Usually the best that could be done in most cases was to
provide custodial facilities, even if this was often totally inadequate to meet
the need.
The four murders which took place in the Newstead
district between 1857 and 1859 were unconnected in the sense that they were not
the work of a serial killer.
However, there was a link which connected all the
Newstead murders. This was the district coroner for ‘The Loddon’ who conducted
an inquest into each murder cited in this work. That man was Dr William Fisher
Preshaw.
Preshaw was one of the first medicos to practice on
the Castlemaine goldfield, where he arrived in 1852. Preshaw became heavily involved in community
activities, and was associated with Castlemaine’s first ‘hospital’ which he
conducted privately in a tent. A
magistrate he sat on the Castlemaine bench, and was also a founder of the
Castlemaine Mechanics’ Institute. He conducted many inquests at
Castlemaine and outlying districts until his death in 1866.
Preshaw was a competent and diligent coroner, and the
paperwork he filed on the 1857 - 1859 murders has proved invaluable in the
preparation of this work. These
inquest reports would invariably include a list of the names of the inquest
jurors, sworn witness statements (depositions), the verdict reached and any
‘riders’ (additional statements) that a jury desired to make.
Although individual inquest jurors and witnesses would
sign the necessary documents, if they were capable of doing so, (many were not
not literate and would sign documentation with a cross), it is apparent that
the content of these papers was always set out in longhand by Preshaw himself.
Unfortunately, Preshaw had a somewhat poor hand, with the result that much of
the material that he wrote is exceedingly difficult to read.
During this era Victorian law required that a jury
(usually of 12 men) be assembled to investigate any questionable death that was
reported. An inquest was carried
out immediately a coroner became aware that a death had occurred. This would
normally take place the day the death was reported, or the following day. There
were practical reasons for this, as a lack of refrigeration meant the remains
of a deceased needed to be buried as soon as possible, particularly in the
warmer months. Another factor was that the coroner and jury had to physically
sight and check a corpse for any marks of violence. In the case of an inquest
it was usual, but not necessarily the case, that an independent physician also
conduct a post-mortem examination of the deceased, and give evidence of any
findings to the inquest, and any subsequent criminal trial.
Unlike today, when an inquest might take days, weeks
or even months to hear, and a finding not be made available until much later,
an inquest in the 1850s would usually take but an hour or so, to work through.
The jury would commonly provide a verdict immediately after the inquest
hearing, and any necessary paperwork would be finalised at the same time.
If there was any doubt, a coroner could adjourn an
inquest to a later date to permit the police to undertake further
investigations, but such cases were the exception. One thing juries did not do
during this period was actually visit the scene of alleged crimes. Indeed the
same situation applied to trials. Juries in such cases essentially listened to
evidence, maybe asked a few questions of the coroner/judge or witnesses, and
came to a decision. Expert witnesses were restricted to medicos giving an
opinion or conducting a post-mortem examination. Such evidence might, or might not be,
accepted by jurors. In reaching a verdict, juries of this era did not hesitate
to make comments about any negligence that they perceived was associated with
any death, by way of so called ‘riders’ or for that matter any other aspect of
the case. For example, medicos, much to their discomfort, were frequently
criticized by juries for alleged negligence.
As the Newstead district lacked a hospital or morgue,
inquests of that era took place in any building that was convenient for the
purpose. More often than not, this was a nearby hotel where a parlour would be
used as an inquest venue.
By careful examination of relevant inquest papers,
trial briefs, newspapers reports and other documents it has been possible to
recreate much of what occurred in respect of the 1857 - 1859 Newstead district
murders.
As each of the murders under consideration resulted in
a trial. Attention is drawn to the
fact that inquest papers for each death as the result of a murder are usually
attached to the relevant trial brief, created to assist the crown prosecutor
for each case. Trial briefs
include background reports prepared by the police and any other witness
statements that were available. These papers, which were originally held by the
Victorian Crown Solicitor’s Office, are now in the keeping of the Victorian
Public Records Office.
Unfortunately the trial briefs themselves usually provide limited
information about specific trials beyond the names of the judge, crown
prosecutor and jurors, the dates of the trial, and the verdict.
The only record of actual trial proceedings that exist
are reports which appeared in contemporary newspapers. Some of these reports
are very detailed and obviously close to transcript quality, others not so.
Each of the murder trials that are considered in this
work, were heard before circuit judges at Castlemaine. The trial judge for two
of these cases was Justice Redmond Barry, a man prominent in colonial public
life, being associated with the founding of the Melbourne Public Library and
the University of Melbourne, and many other worthy causes, but perhaps best
remembered as the judge who sentenced Ned Kelly to death. The other two cases were heard by
Justice Edward Eyre Williams.
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