It was 1883. The Wilsons lived in a weatherboard shack by the railway line between Epping station and Campbell Town in mid north-eastern Tasmania. WIlson, a line repairer, was in bed with his wife on the night of April 9. He was about to lose his life as a drama said to be inspired byContinue reading “Kelly gang admirers on murder spree”
Author Archives: Sharyn Moodie
Boss brained in self-defence
James Brennan was a drover who was killed in outback Queensland via the handy instrument of a shovel. Or to use the eloquency of the Truth newspaper of the time, ” With a Shovel, Batters Out His Boss’s Brains. The wielder of said shovel, William Shehan, also spelt Shean, but also known as Shannon, wasContinue reading “Boss brained in self-defence”
Fire consumes new widow and family
It was a tragedy when Sophia Quinn and her five children lost their father, a part owner of the Parkes flour mill, in January 1895. So when Mrs Quinn, the children and her sister were burned alive in August, the newspapers’ elequent responses were heart-rending. Mrs Quinn’s brother George Perry and a youth named CookContinue reading “Fire consumes new widow and family”
Shoot, you bastard, shoot
Shoot, you bastard, shoot. These were the last words Charles Corse said to his murderer. He had just put his head between his legs – assumedly to present his rear – as he made ‘a disgusting noise with his mouth.” There is more to the story of his death at the hands of mine managerContinue reading “Shoot, you bastard, shoot”
Christmas Day sorrow
This dirt-dusted gravestone in Cunnamulla cemetery only caught my eyes because I have a thing for 1888. And the stone was so covered in debris it was difficult to make out more details. But when I cleaned it off, this is what was below. Parents Richard and Alice had married in 1887, and it appearsContinue reading “Christmas Day sorrow”
Convict lived long life of excitements
John Pedley’s newspaper obituary described him as “quite a character, with a fine Roman head, and a splendid memory, which he retained almost to the last.” This character was forged in the flames of transportation as a convict as a teenager, the harshness of frontier life, Aboriginal massacres and being kidnapped by bushrangers. Aged 90, inContinue reading “Convict lived long life of excitements”
Strychnine ends sorrows
William Stamp, 54, was chief engineer at No 4 Pump Station on the outskirts of Merredin. One day in March, 1928, he walked into the engine room dripping wet and asked a fellow employee “how’s things?’’ When his co-worker asked why he was wet, he said “Things are not too good with me. “I haveContinue reading “Strychnine ends sorrows”
A bitter epitath
Alex McKay was one of nine people murdered by the Jimmy Governor gang, touted as Australia’s last outlaws. McKay’s gravestone stands proudly in the Gulgong Cemetery, New South Wales, slightly apart from other graves. It declares he was “brutally murdered by the blacks.” The Governor story is well studied in Australian history, with its overtonesContinue reading “A bitter epitath”
Ornaments and oddities
Graves are sometimes embellished in intensely personal ways, which tell a bit about the person and the times in which they lived. Here are some of the meaningful, poignant or sometimes plain strange things I have seen decorating graves. Then there are embellishments which stand for hard work. I can’t quite get my head aroundContinue reading “Ornaments and oddities”
Dying so far from home
In Australia’s pioneering days, many died far from home. “Rev John Otley Rhodes, missionary in Ceylon who died in Bathurst, March 21, 1881 on his way to England in search of health, aged 36 years.” – Bathurst cemetery “John Kirkup born at Healthpool, Northumberland, England, died 23rd July 1883 in his 50th year, and wasContinue reading “Dying so far from home”
Way to go Australia 