1901 – Charles Beckman declared he did not kill Alfred Anderson, even as he stood on the gallows at Brisbane’s Boggo Road Gaol awaiting hanging for the crime. “I am now going to my end, and before my Maker, and I know it, I know this is my end, and again I say I amContinue reading “Innocence protested at gallows”
Tag Archives: murder
From piracy to professor
Archibald Watson’s life could have been so different. The eminent Professor of Anatomy is well known for his contribution to the development of anatomy and surgery in Australia. But the man described as an ‘’erratic, histrionic genius’’ was embroiled in controversy early on in his adult life when he took a trip on a blackbirdingContinue reading “From piracy to professor”
Killer erected memorial to his victim at cemetery
It’s a solid wooden cross, standing slightly apart from others at the Albany Memorial cemetery. The words are simple :- H Rodber, AB HMS Diamond, killed June 2 1885, aged 33 years The memorial was paid for by the man who killed the able seaman. So how did Henry Rodber (also spelt Rhodber in someContinue reading “Killer erected memorial to his victim at cemetery”
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Sacked man takes tomahawk to boss
Ilfracombe’s Railway Hotel licencee Bernard Muldoon sacked his yardman William Sheehan. The next day, Sheehan killed him. How did it come to this? Muldoon was only 44, Sheehan “older than 60”, although his exact age is unknown. Why Muldoon sacked him is lost to history, but details of an altercation the two had in theContinue reading “Sacked man takes tomahawk to boss”
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”
Barman kills policemen
Why would a barman shoot two policemen dead and wound a third in Bourke in 1877? No-one really knows, but newspapers of the day blamed either the delirium tremors, or a temporary madness on the part of one Samuel Getting. “ He must, it is thought, have been suddenly afflicted with homicidal mania, or madness,Continue reading “Barman kills policemen”
Way to go Australia 