David SUTHERLAND

New South Wales Police Force

Cousin to Senior Constable William SUTHERLAND, NSWPF ‘Q‘ “Possibly” 4257 ( born 1854 in Scotland & joined NSWPF on 26 Sept. 1882 ) OR  6417 ( BORN 1869 in Scotland & joined NSWPF on 27 May 1892 )

Uniform # A 356

Regd. # ‘Q‘ 5460

For the purposes of this website ‘Q‘ represents those Police joining between 1 March 1862 ( commencement of NSWPF ) – 23 February 1915 ( Commencement of NSWPF current numbering system )

Rank:  Constable

Stations:  Darlinghurst ( No. 3 Division ) – Death

Service:  From  11 October 1887  to 3 June 1889 = 1+ years Service

Awards:  ?

Born:  ? ? 1863 @ Canterbury, New Zealand

Died on:  Monday  3 June 1889

Cause:  Shot – Murdered

Event location:  MaCleay St, Potts Point, NSW

Age:  25 – unmarried

Inquest date:  Thursday  6 June 1889

Funeral date:  Wednesday  5 June 1889

Funeral location:  ?

Buried at:  Waverley Cemetery, cnr St Thomas St & Trafalgar St, NSW

Grave Location:  C of E, Sec 9, Grave 941

 Memorial at:  ?

DAVID IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

 Funeral location:  ?

FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS AND INFORMATION TO Cal

About 3am on 3 June, 1889 the constable was patrolling MaCleay Street, Potts Point when he saw a man enter a yard and walk to the rear of a dwelling. He detained the man a short time later as he left the premises and spoke to him regarding his actions. When the man attempted to leave, the constable took hold of him and again asked what he was doing. The offender told the constable to let him go or he would shoot him. A struggle ensued and when both men lost their balance, the offender shot the constable in the abdomen.

While they were on the ground the offender again fired at the constable who drew his baton and struck his attacker. Constable Sutherland was then able to take the revolver from the offender, but as he was quickly losing his strength due to his wounds, the offender quickly retrieved the weapon and escaped. He was very soon arrested by Senior Sergeant Robertson and Sergeant Hogan.

Constable Sutherland died later that day, however not before providing his colleagues with a dying deposition and a positive identification of his attacker, John Morrison.

This death was a major factor which led to the general arming of Sydney Police in 1894. Previously, country and mounted police had always been armed, but the Sydney foot police for some reason had not.

The constable was born in 1863 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 11 October, 1887.

At the time of his death he was stationed at Darlinghurst.

David SUTHERLAND was identified by his Cousin, Constable William SUTHERLAND after the murder.

William SUTHERLAND was later to be murdered in 1901 by a ‘kosh’ on the head.

Evening News ( Sydney )     Monday  3 June 1889   p5 of 8

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/108894588

Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW : 1888 – 1954),

Wednesday 5 June 1889, page 3

05 Jun 1889 – The Murdered Constable. – Trove

Goulburn Herald ( NSW )   Thursday  6 June 1889  p2 of 4

THE MURDER OF CONSTABLE SUTHERLAND.

We subjoin further particulars of the tragedy in Macleay-street, Potts Point, reported by telegraph in our last issue: It appears that at about 3 a.m. on Monday, as Senior-sergeant Robertson and Sergeant Hogan were standing at the corner of William and Victoria streets, they saw a man walking towards them. He was proceeding at a very quick pace, and noticing that he was very much excited and out of breath, they stopped him. His trousers, coat, and vest were all smeared with blood, and there was a severe wound over his left eye. While they were questioning him Mr. McElhone junior came up, and said that there was at constable lying on the footpath in Macleay street. The senior-sergeant and Mr. McElbone at once took a cab and went to where the constable was reported to be lying, and in the meanwhile the blood-smeared man was conveyed to the Darlinghurst lookup.

Sutherland ( the constable ) was found lying, as indicated by Mr. McElbone, dangerously wounded,  but conscious . He was taken to the hospital, where he was found to be wounded in the abdomen, no hope of his recovery being entertained. Sutherland unhesitatingly identified the man who had been arrested, and who gave the name of John Morrison, as the man who had shot him, and Morrison, who had been brought to the hospital for the purpose of identification, responded, ” Well, it’s wrong of you to say that. I did not shoot you.”

Subsequently the deposition of the wounded man was taken, and he succumbed to his injuries shortly before seven o’clock on Monday morning.

The substance of Sutherland’s deposition was as follows: – At half-past 2 a.m., while the constable was standing near the residence of Mr. C. J. Roberts, Chatsworth, he saw a man enter the gates in front of the adjacent house and pass towards the rear of the premises. After the man had been inside the gates for a minute or two some dogs which were there began to bark, and they continued doing so until the man left and walked into the middle of the road. The constable and the man exchanged a “ good-night ” greeting, and the constable observed, ” you’re out early. ” The man then attempted to make off. The officer, however, caught hold of him, and asked what he was doing. The man replied, “ let me go. If you don’t I’ll shoot you, ” and he immediately thrust his right hand into his trousers pocket. A struggle ensued, and just as they were about to fall the man fired his revolver. Whilst on the ground he again fired. The constable, however, could not say whether the latter shot took effect. Before either of them regained his feet the constable drew his baton and gave the man a severe   blow on the head. Owing, however, to his weak state the blow was not as severe as he hoped it would be. The constable, though wounded, wrested the revolver from the man, but as he was very weak the other soon got the better of him, and raising himself, snatched back the revolver, and made off. Whilst the injured constable’s depositions were being taken, the prisoner, who had been brought to the bedside of the wounded man, inquired whether the revolver did not go off accidentally. Replying to this the dying man said, ” no, you pointed it direct at me. ”

The next piece of evidence as to the fatal affray is furnished by Mr. Benjamin Backhouse, a gentleman living close to the scene. He was awakened by a pistol-shot, which was followed shortly after by a second report. He then saw a man running at full speed along Rockwell-street, and at the same time heard loud cries for help. He got out of the house in time to see the man who ran down the street scale the fence at the end of the street, and he became lost to view. He then found the wounded constable and afforded him what assistance he could until the arrival of the police and others.

When the scene of the affray was examined later on, a large morticing chisel was found, and this instrument corresponds with a number of marks on premises in the locality. A six-chambered nickel plated revolver was found concealed in the grass in Mr. McElhone’s paddock, close to where Mr. Backhouse saw the man scale the fence. Four of the chambers were loaded, and the remaining two had been discharged. A third article was also discovered, namely, a cloth tweed hat of large size, which gives colour to the report of the captured man having had an associate.

Constable Sutherland was a young and energetic officer, only twenty-five years of age, and unmarried. He had been about twenty months in the force, and was highly spoken of by his superior officers and comrades. Morrison is also a young man of about twenty-five, stiflly built, and described as a cabinet maker by trade. He is said to be a native of England, and was previously unknown to the police.   He has a wound over the left eye, such as would be caused by a constable’s baton. When brought before the police court this morning he made no reply to the charge of murder, and has so far maintained silence as to the part he is supposed to have played.   He was remanded to the coroner’s court.

The coroner commenced an inquest on Tuesday, when William Sutherland, a police constable stationed at the Glebe, identified the body of the deceased as that of his cousin David Sutherland, who was twenty-five years of age, and a native of Canterbury, New Zealand. He was a single man. He had left £32 in the Savings’ Bank, Oxford-street, Sydney, and a life policy for £250. Deceased had left a mother and a number of brothers and sisters in New Zealand. Evidence was given in substantiation of the facts above detailed, and the inquiry was adjourned to Thursday.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/100114828

South Australian Weekly Chronicle ( Adelaide, S.A. )   Saturday  8 June 1889  p21 of 24

THE MURDER OF CONSTABLE SUTHERLAND.

( By Telegraph )

Sydney, June 6.

The coroner’s Inquest relative to the death of Constable David Sutherland, who was shot whilst arresting a burglar at Pott’s Point on Monday morning, was concluded to-day, a verdict of wilful murder being returned against James Morrison, the man who fired the shot.

Morrison will come up for trial at the Quarter Sessions, commencing July 15. Whilst Sergeant Hogan, one of the two officers who arrested Morrison, was giving evidence to-day the prisoner told him that he had better tell the truth. When asked if he had any questions to put to Hogan, Morrison said — ‘ No, your honor. He would only tell lies If I was to. ‘

The coroner, in summing up, said there was a great deal of circumstantial evidence to bear out the statement  made by the deceased constable that the fatal shot was wilfully fired. To their verdict the jury added a rider recommending that in future no constables should be allowed to go on night duty in the suburbs or on lonely beats singly, but in pairs, so that in case of emergency they might be in a better position to act. The foreman added that this course would entail an extra expense, but the money would be well spent in the protection thus afforded to life and property.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/95148258

The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser ( NSW )

Sat. 8 June 1889

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/18972138

The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser

Sat. 15 June 1889 

The Late Constable Sutherland.

The inquest relative to the death of Police-constable David Sutherland was concluded on June 6th.   The jury returned a verdict of wilful murder against the prisoner, James Morrison, who was accordingly committed for trial at the next sittings of the Central Criminal Court.

A rider recommending that in the suburbs and on lonely beats, two constables should patrol together was added. The prisoner appeared to feel his position keenly, and towards the conclusion of the inquiry his agitation became apparent. He never asked a question and only spoke twice, on each occasion denying the veracity of a witness.

Sir Henry Parkes has sent the following letter to the Inspector-General of Police with reference to the late Constable David Sutherland: — ” Sir, — You will be good enough to convey to the members of the police force the expression of my deep regret for the loss which the Government has sustained by the murder of Constable David Sutherland. The highest conduct of man in any station of life consists of the fulfilment of trust and the performance of duty. David Sutherland did his duty to the very death. His steady sense of obligation, and his heroic effort to perform his part when his life-blood was ebbing away, furnish an example which could hardly be excelled in front of the enemy on the battle field. His conduct in life and death reflects highest credit upon the force of which he was a member, and will make his memory respected by all good men. ”

In accordance with the request of the Premier the letter has, under the direction of the Inspector General of Police, been recorded in the Orders, and read on parade at the various stations to all of the metropolitan police force, and was published yesterday in the Police Gazette for the Information of the police generally.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/161928600

THE ARMING OF POLICE.

The South Australian Register of

6 February, 1894 printed the following.

OBJECTION TO ARMING THE POLICE.  Sydney, February 5.

The Inspector-General of Police [Fosberry] says that one objection to arming the police with revolvers is that the use of firearms may become too common, and if the public get familiar with the snap of the revolver a similar state of things to that prevailing in the United States may be brought into existence. Concerning the two men injured the constables are improving in health.

The same newspaper on 27 February, 1894:

REVOLVERS USED BY THE POLICE. Sydney, February 26.

Two police had an exciting contest last night at Redfern, when they were arresting four men on a charge of thieving. Directly the constables sought to detain them a rough-and-tumble fight occurred, a number of roughs seeking to enable the suspects to escape. Eventually two of the four men broke away, and the others were on the point of being rescued when the police drew their revolvers and threatened to fire on the larrikins. The presentation of firearms completely cowed them, and the constables succeeded in conveying two of the men arrested to the station. This is the first occasion on which the police have found it necessary to use revolvers since their issue, and had they not been available the constables would have been severely maltreated.

Thomas Edward WALLINGS

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  ‘ P ‘ 716 

( ‘P’ = Pre 1862 when NSWPF “Officially” commenced )

Rank: Mounted Constable – 15 July 1855

Senior Constable – appointed 1 March 1862

Sergeant 2nd Class – appointed 1 June 1868

Senior Sergeant – appointed 1 November 1877

Stations:  , Molong ( January 1865 ), Mudgee ( September 1869.  Sgt In Charge of Mudgee to Bathurst Gold Escort ), Dubbo – death

Service:  From  15 July 1855  to  20 September 1878 = 23+ years Service

Awards:  ?

Born: ? ? 1838 in Dubbo ( although other records state a native of England )

Died on:  Friday 20 September 1878

Cause:  Shot – Murdered

Event location:  Marthaguy Creek, ( near Warren ), NSW

Age: 40

Funeral date:

Funeral location:

Buried at:  Old Dubbo Cemetery, Myall St, Manera Hts, Dubbo, Church of England Portion, Section R2

Memorial location:

Thomas IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

On the night of Thursday 19 September, 1878 Sergeant Wallings, Senior Constable William Souter and Constable John Walsh were searching for a gang of bushrangers ( Captain Midnight & his gang ) when they set up a bush camp near the Wonbobbie Inn, Marthaguy Creek (near Warren).

The following day ( Friday 20 September ) at 6am the three police rode to the inn where they suspected they might find the bushrangers. Constables Souter and Walsh remained on guard outside while Sergeant Wallings approached the inn. Meanwhile, Constable Souter saw a man about 50 metres away carrying a rifle. He rode over to him and was told he would be shot if he came any closer. Souter called to the other police who rode down to him.

Sergeant Wallings then fired a warning shot and told the man to surrender, however the man replied that he himself would fire if the police came any closer. Sergeant Wallings then advanced on the man and pointed his revolver at him. The man then turned suddenly and dropped to one knee. As he did so, he fired at the sergeant, hitting him in the chest. In the confusion the offender ran a short distance away and took cover from the police. A short gun battle took place, however, the offender, being far better armed with a rifle, compared to the police revolvers, managed to escape. The two constables then directed their attention to assisting the wounded sergeant. The wound suffered by Sergeant Wallings ( shot through the heart and lung ) proved to be severe, and he unfortunately passed away almost immediately.

A few weeks later, the Sydney Morning Herald dated 10 October, 1878 reported the death of the murderer, informing its readers that “News has just reached the metropolis that the man who shot Senior Sergeant Wallings at Dubbo has been killed by the police, shortly after he committed the murder. The cold-blooded villain shot Wallings in the execution of his duty. He was pursued by Sub-Inspector Duffy and Constables Latton and Gray of Bourke, in the most unrelenting manner, and traced to the borders of Queensland, where he made a desperate resistance. The police shot at the horse he was riding and fatally wounded the murderer, whose name is said to be George Gibson. This man’s death is one which has not in any way been regretted by the general community. It was such a death as luckily there is not much necessity for now-a-days. The police deserve the congratulations of the public here for their bravery in this instance, which however, is only of a piece with much the New South Wales police have accomplished in the suppression of crimes of this nature. A movement has been initiated for relieving the widow and eight children of Wallings.

The sergeant was born in 1838 and joined the police force on 15 July, 1855. In 1862 he became a member of the newly-formed New South Wales Police Force. At the time of his death he was stationed at Dubbo. The offender was the bushranger “Midnight“.

John CARROLL

Patrick KENNAGH

Eneas McDONNELL

John PHEGAN

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  ????

Rank:  ALL were Special Constables

Stations:  ?

Service:  From  ? ? ?  to  9 January 1867

Awards:  ?

Born:  see below

Died on:  Wednesday  9 January 1867

Event location:  Braidwood

Cause:  Shot – Murdered

Age:  see below

Funeral date:  ?

Funeral location:  ?

Buried at:  Braidwood Cemetery

[alert_green] John CARROLL,  Patrick KENNAGH,  Eneas McDONNELL & John PHEGAN are mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_green]  *NEED MORE INFO

John Carroll (a senior warder at the Darlinghurst Gaol) was the leader of a group of four men sworn in as special constables to search for and capture the Clarke Gang of bushrangers. The patrol consisted of Carroll, Patrick Kennagh, Eneas McDonnell and John Phegan. They were well-armed and in January, 1867 had for some time been posing as surveyors in the Braidwood area in an attempt to discover the whereabouts of the bushrangers. On the afternoon of 9 January the four men were walking through an area of very dense bush on Jinden Station, having left their horses behind on that day for some reason, when they were ambushed.

Witnesses apparently twice heard shooting in the area at that time but did not investigate until the following day. In a clearing in the bush McDonnell and Phegan were found, shot to death, and about 800 metres away Carroll and Kennagh were found, also shot to death. Carroll was found lying on his back with a neatly folded handkerchief on his chest with a one-pound note pinned to it. A large sum of money he was carrying in his pocket had not been touched. The wounds suffered by Carroll and Kennagh suggest that not only were they murdered, but that they were actually “executed”. It is generally thought (and also often disputed) that their attackers were members of the Clarke Gang, however this has never been proved.

The Sydney Morning Herald of 12 January, 1867 informed its readers of the following.

BRAIDWOOD – MURDER OF THE SPECIAL CONSTABLES.

Friday: The four special constables – Carroll, MacDonald, Fagan, and Kennagh – sent here to capture Clarke’s gang, were on a visit to a station at Jinden, when they heard that Clarke would be at a place two miles distant from there, the constables went on foot with the intention of endeavouring to capture him, and, it is presumed, were met by a lawless mob and shot dead. It is said that Carroll’s legs had been broken, and his feet turned to his head. The mournful news reached Braidwood last night, and caused universal indignation, and cast a gloom over the entire population. Mr. Griffin and Superintendent Orridge are now holding an inquiry.

Like Carroll, Kennagh and McDonnell were prison warders (McDonnell was also an ex-policeman), while Phegan had been chosen for the search because, as a former associate of the Clarkes, he knew the Braidwood area well. They had been authorised by Colonial Secretary Henry Parkes to undertake a “secret expedition for the capture of the bushranger Thomas Clarke and his associates.” They had been promised wages, reward money (if successful) and significant positions in the Public Service for their endeavours. This situation, of course, was not popular at the time with substantive New South Wales police officers. A monument was later erected in the memory of these men at the Braidwood Cemetery (and inexplicably, McDonnell is referred to as Eneas ‘McDonald’).

These murders represent the highest number of police ever killed in a single incident of this type in Australian history. It is only surpassed by the spearing of patrols of Native Mounted Police in Queensland in the 1860’s. (Ned Kelly killed three Victorian police officers in a single incident at Stringybark Creek in 1878).

Special Constable McDonnell was born in 1817,

Special Constable Carroll in 1829,

Special Constable Phegan in 1837, and

Special Constable Kennagh in 1841.

 

 

 

Clarence and Richmond Examiner & New England Advertiser ( NSW )    Tuesday  12 February 1867    page 3 of 8

Meetings of sympathy with the families of the special constables recently murdered continue to be held, and much indignation is expressed at the rottenness and inefficiency of our expensive military police force. A commission, with a great preponderance of officialism in it, has been appointed, to inquire into the circumstances of the late murders of the special constables, and the state of the Braidwood district. The public have little confidence in the fitness of the commissioners.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/63665154

 

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Special constables Carroll, Phegan, McDonald, and Kennagh, shot dead at Jingera, by Clark’s gang, January 9, 1867.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/112710985

 

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September 30 2015 – 7:16AM

Police and Bushranger descendants tour bushranger sites in district

Braidwood was overflowing with people during the weekend from visitors who had come to town for all sorts of events and celebrations.

The Police and Bushrangers Descendants who travelled from all over NSW and some from QLD came to enjoy the company of like-minded people and to learn more about the local Braidwood bushrangers and the policeman who were involved in their capture in April 1867.

The group was lucky to have many distinguished historians and authors who facilitated as commentators, guest speakers and experts.  This was a well-run event.

The group would like to thank Paul and Annette Briggs and family who spent many long hours scheduling and organising the experience. As a result, all of the participants enjoyed their time in the Braidwood District. Paul Briggs is a descendant of Lionel Pottinger, one of the Special Police sent after the Clarkes.

The group gathered at the Braidwood Services Club on Friday night for dinner followed by a briefing on the weekend and guest speakers from within the group before their early start the next morning.

About 80 people, including local guests, gathered at the Garan Vale Woolshed at 8.15am on Saturday morning ready to depart for their day tour of the significant sites of the Connell and Clarke bushrangers in the Ballallaba, Krawarree, Jinden and Kain areas of the district.

The first interesting site was the Clarke residence on the Cooma Rd adjacent to Brick Kiln Creek where Jack and Mary Clarke (parents of Tom and John Clarke) lived.  Peter Smith and Paul Briggs spoke and recited information about this site. Along the way Paul Hart provided information about several curious sites along the road, including Mrs Appleby’s store and house, the Willis homestead, Bendora and bridle tracks including the Rugby Track.

The group viewed the Nithsdale homestead and the surrounding property where the oldest of the Clarke children were born, during the 1840’s. This was also the location of the local Ballallaba police Station. Along the road, the tour mangers pointed out the Coles, the Church, the school, the Berriman and Connells family home sites.

The areas and locations of the Griffin brothers were also pointed out. These three brothers had substantial involvement in the Bushranging episode during the 1860s.

The site of a well known and notorious landmark, ‘Michael O’Connell’s Traveller’s Home Hotel,’ opposite Jim O’Connell’s house was pointed out. A few stories were told and a visit to the Gundillion cemetery provided a few photo opportunities of Michael O’Connell’s gravestone.

Morning tea was abundantly provided by the good hosts of the Deua Tin Huts. A few more stories were exchanged and were appreciated by all.

The group was eager to travel to Khan Yunis to locate the site of Berry’s Hut where the Clarke bushrangers were finally taken by a small but dedicated group of troopers in 1867.

A substantial luncheon was provided by the Gundillion Progress ladies at the local hall. After a delicious lunch, the group travelled to Jinden to visit the property of Janette and John Hindmarsh where the temporary burial site and the site of the killing of the four unfortunate Special constables was pointed out to the large group.

On travelling back to Braidwood the tour travelled along the Jerrabatgulla Road visiting the house site of Michael Connell senior and ‘Gilston‘, the family home of the Hart family. This is where Charlotte Hart, the wife of Tom Clarke grew up and lived.  The group was bailed up by a couple of bushrangers who travelled on the bus to Braidwood ensuring that all travellers behaved themselves.

On arriving in Braidwood a quick stop at the local Braidwood Cemetery allowed the group to visit the final resting place of the Four Specials. The large memorial that was built to remember them was regarded with much interest.

On Saturday night a marvellous dinner and singalong was had at the Garan Vale Woolshed. Peter Smith led the vocals on several songs from the bushranging era to demonstrate how the community supported and even sympathised with the bushrangers during that chapter of Australia’s history, like this verse from the Kelly’s Byrne and Hart “..As high above the mountains so beautiful and grand, Our young Australian heroes in bold defiance stand, In bold defiance stand, my boys, the heroes of today, So let us stand together boys, and shout again, “Hurray!””

The weekend was topped off on Sunday with an interesting tour of the local Historical Museum and a tour of the Bedervale Homestead.  Many thanks to Jill Clarke for her notes from the tour.

https://www.braidwoodtimes.com.au/story/3391817/police-and-bushranger-descendants-tour-bushranger-sites-in-district/

 

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A bloody ambush.  Clarkes to be retried.  pdf

http://www.bwdmag.com.au/BWD_11/%20BWD11_2223.pdf

 

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Samuel NELSON

25/10/2012

Samuel NELSON

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  ?

Rank:  Constable

Stations:  Moreton Bay, Collector ( 7.5 years )

Service:  From  5 August 1857  to  26 January 1865 = 7+ years Service

Awards:  ?

Born:  ? ? 1823 – arrived in N.S.W., from England, aboard the ship ‘ Parsee ‘ in 1855

Died on:  26 January 1865

Cause:  Shot – murdered

Location of Event:  Collector, NSW

Age:  38

Funeral date:  ?

Funeral location:  ?

Buried at:  Grave in the C of E portion of the Catholic and C of E Cemetery, Collector

Grave:  34 54’54S, 149 25’51E

Monument:  34 54’44S, 149 25’53E

[alert_green]THOMAS IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_green]

Shortly before 6pm on 26 January, 1865 bushrangers Hall, Dunn and Gilbert attacked Kimberley’s Inn at Collector. At the time the local police were out searching the area for the bushrangers, and the only man on duty in town was the lockup-keeper, Constable Nelson. When news of the attack reached the constable, he remarked to his wife that he would simply “have to do his best” against the gang. As he approached the hotel, armed only with a police carbine with bayonet attached, the constable was shot by Dunn who had hidden behind a fence post. Nelson was hit in the chest by a shotgun blast and, as he staggered, Dunn fired again, hitting him in the face. He died almost instantly.

 

The bushrangers then stole the constable’s personal belongings and the carbine, and escaped. The entire incident had been witnessed by young Frederick Nelson, one of the constable’s nine children, who was also fired at by Dunn. Frederick Nelson would later go on to have a long and successful police career himself. Hall, Dunn and Gilbert all met with violent deaths shortly after this incident. Hall and Gilbert were shot dead by police, and Dunn was convicted of Constable Nelson’s murder and was hanged: fitting results for this extremely violent gang of criminals.

 

Many years after the murder the Australian Town and Country Journal dated 27 November, 1907 printed the following story.

 

BUSH RANGING DAYS RECALLED.

When Mr. Carruthers, in his capacity of Premier, visited the country some time ago, a spot was pointed out to him at Collector, in the Goulburn district, at which Constable Nelson was shot dead over 40 years ago, while assisting in the capture of the notorious bushranger, John Dunn. The then Premier promised that a suitable monument would be erected to mark the spot, and that has just been completed by Messrs. Ross and Bowman, of Pitt-street. It will be unveiled at an early date by the Treasurer, Mr. Waddell. The Metropolitan Superintendent of Police, Mr. Sherwood, has received a photo of the monument, which stands 9ft 6in high. It shows the stump of what “was at that time a tree near where Nelson stood when he received the fatal wound, and another higher stump behind which some of those held up by the outlaws took refuge. The monument bears the following inscription near the base: “Erected by the Government of New South Wales to the memory of Constable Samuel Nelson, who was shot dead on this spot while in the execution of his duty, by the outlaw John Dunn, January 26, 1865.” On the other side are the words, “In memory of a brave officer”.

 

The constable was born in 1823 and joined the police force on 5 August, 1857. In 1862 he became a member of the newly-formed New South Wales Police Force. At the time of his death he was stationed at Collector.

 

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January 9 2008 – 5:00PM

Wollongong police memorials

• ALEX ARNOLD

 

The NSW Police Force carries on its logo the phrase “Proud Traditions since 1862“, but capturing the history of these traditions at an operational level has never been a priority for the force.

However, almost 150 years after it was first formed, NSW Police – and Acting Southern Region Commander Gary Worboys in particular – is using history as a tool to instil pride in those wearing the uniform.

Three memorials for Wollongong police officers who died while serving the community were unveiled at Wollongong Police Station yesterday at a ceremony attended by family members and former colleagues of the deceased officers.

The memorials, located in the hallway of the detectives’ floor, feature images and biographies of the men as well as an account of the incidents that led to their deaths.

The memorial wall was Mr Worboys’ idea, with Senior Constable Dave Henderson given the task of completing the project.

Snr Const Henderson said the project had involved research through police archives, old copies of the Illawarra Mercury and interviews with family members.

Mr Worboys, who will return to his former role as Wollongong Local Area Commander at the end of the month, said he became inspired to record police history during his time as commander of the Goulburn LAC. It was there he heard about a policeman who’d been shot by bushranger Ben Hall’s gang at Collector.

Mr Worboys said research led to the discovery of the grave of the officer, Samuel Nelson, in a cemetery near the police station, but it was found to be an “absolute shambles“.

The grave was restored and distant family members invited to take part in a subsequent ceremony, proving to Mr Worboys the value of history to the police force.

“There is so much history associated with police stations, but as walls get painted and people move on we don’t capture that history.”

“The memorials and the stories they have attached to them provide officers with a link to the past and makes them realise they are not the only ones who have walked these corridors.”

Mr Worboys said the memorials not only represented distinguished service, but the trauma, grief and heartache suffered by families.

He said the last death of a Wollongong officer on duty was in 1969, and he hoped no more stories would be added to the wall: but the memorials were a reminder that policing was a dangerous occupation.

Among those at yesterday’s ceremony were Constable David Reiher‘s father Bruce, and Constable Ray Paff‘s widow Valerie, who described the memorial as “a wonderful tribute” to her late husband.

“It may have been a long time ago. But you never forget,” she said.

https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/602982/wollongong-police-memorials/

 

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Grave in the C of E portion of the Catholic and C of E Cemetery, Collector.

 

 

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Sydney Mail     Saturday  4 February 1865     page 6 of 12

Inquest on Constable Nelson.  

( From the Herald’s Correspondent. )

On Friday last Dr. Waugh, coroner, held an inquest at Mr. Kimberley’s Inn, Collector, on the body of Samuel Nelson, who was shot by the bushrangers on the previous evening.

The following witnesses were examined : —

Mr. Edwards, who gave similar evidence to that given at the magisterial investigation, and which has been already published.

Maurie Mellan deposed : I am a labouring man, looking for work; yesterday afternoon I was stuck-up by bushrangers and detained till near dark ; I remained at the spot all night and this morning, coming towards Collector, when within about a hundred and thirty yards of this house I found two single barrelled fowling-pieces which had apparently been thrown carelessly down beside a tree ; I gave them to the police ; I believe the bushrangers were Gilbert, Hall, and Dunn.

Constable Bourke deposed that one of those guns was leaded with two balls, the other was not loaded.

Frederick Nelson, aged about eighteen, oldest son of deceased, deposed : I am farming about Collector, and resided with my father, the deceased ; my father was named Samuel Nelson, and was lock-up keeper here ; he was aged about thirty-eight years, and had been in the police force here about seven years and a half, and had previously been in the police force at Moreton Bay ; I had tea with my father yesterday evening, and afterwards went over to Mr. Waddell’s and remained there about half an hour and on leaving I saw my father in constable Bourke’s yard ; he left and walked towards home ; I did not speak to him as he was a good way off ; I had heard that the bushrangers were at Kimberley’s, and went towards there to see if it was true ; on my way I met Mr. Edwards, who told me it was true ; while I was going towards Kimberley’s my father was also doing so, but from a different direction, and got near the house before I did ; when my father got near a fence close by the house, a bushranger sprang from behind the fence and called to my father to stand, and fired immediately afterwards, on winch my father staggered into the road and called out ” Oh! ” the bushranger fired again, and my father fell ; I was inside the fence at this time, and about ten yards from my father; the bushranger called on me to stand, but I ran away, on which the bushranger fired at me, but did not hit me ; it was light enough for me to see, but not to recognise the man who shot my father ; I spread the alarm through the township of what was going on, and after a while my brother came and said that the bushrangers had gone, on which I went up to Kimberley’s and found my father’s body had been taken inside the house ; he was quite dead ; while this took place my brother was compelled to hold the bushrangers horses outside Kimberley’s house, having before this been compelled to march there, a distance of three miles ; when my father fell I heard his carbine fall from his hands on to the ground.

Dr. Hanford deposed : I have made a post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased ; on examining the body externally, I found a bullet wound midway between the nose and the ear on the left side of the face ; also a wound, two inches long and two and a half inches broad, on the left side of the chest, and twenty shot marks round the wound ; the wound took an oblique direction downwards   ; the stomach was protruding through the opening ; on examining the cavity of the chest, I found the heart lacerated to the extent of one and a half inch at the anterior and lower half towards the left side; the remaining viscera wore healthy ; on examining the abdomen, I found several shots in the liver, and a portion of a wire cartridge with several shots in it, which I produce ; the shots correspond with those I have just taken from a wire cartridge given to me now; the stomach was perforated, but the other viscera were healthy ; the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth ribs on the left side were fractured; the brain and membranes were uninjured ; the ball most probably, passed into the deep muscles of the neck, as I could not trace its course ; death resulted from the wound I have described and no other cause.

Elizabeth Nelson, widow of the deceased, deposed : Yesterday evening I got word that the bushrangers were at Kimberley’s ; deceased was out but was speedily found, ran home, put on his belt, took his loaded carbine with the bayonet on it, and left the house saying, ” now, I am just going to do my best ; ” I did not again see him alive.

Thomas Kimberley gave evidence to that a already published, and added : The bushrangers brought down from upstairs and took away two single-barrelled fowling-pieces, both loaded with cartridge ; the guns now produced are the same ; the bushrangers took from me property to the value of about £26, consisting of boots and men’s and boys’ clothing, and a six-barrelled revolver ; directly after they went away some of the people who had been brought here or stuck-up by them, went to deceased and found him quite dead ; I have examined the place where deceased was found, and ascertained that it is about twenty yards from where the bushranger stood when he fired.

Thomas Mensey, a bootmaker, deposed to having been stuck up by three bushrangers and kept in custody till nearly dark ; afterwards returned to Mr. Kimberley’s, when he met the same parties within a hundred and fifty yards of the house ; believed them to be Ben Hall, Gilbert, and Dunn ; at Kimberley’s was told the bushrangers had just left.

Eliza Mensey, servant at Kimberley’s, deposed: I was here yesterday when the house was stuck-up by bushrangers ; I went upstairs with one of the bushrangers with the keys to open the drawers; he remained there a few minutes and conversed with me ; he told me his name was Hall, and that the man outside on guard was Dunn ; I was standing on the step outside the front door when the shot was fired ; the man who fired the shot was the man Hall called Dunn.

The jury returned a verdict that deceased was wilfully murdered by John Dunn, and that Benjamin Hall and John Gilbert were aiding and abetting. The jury added a rider strongly recommending the family of the deceased to the favourable consideration of the Government.

 

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Sydney Morning Herald, 28 January 1865, p 7

Nelson, Samuel (1827–1865)

Goulburn correspondent:—Yesterday Hall’s gang stuck up about thirty pcrsons on the road, taking from them various amounts, from half-a-crown to £11 12s. Twelve drays were stopped. The robbers broke open cases, took a little clothing, and a double barrel gun. They drank bottled porter, and gave some to the people. Two watches were stolen, one horse, saddle and bridle. Judge Meymot passed along the road just before escorted by two troopers, Gilbert rode out from the bush, and constable Gray gave chase, but was called back by the Judge. The police on reaching Collector, were joined by two others, and accompanied by Mr. Voss and a magistrate, went in search of the bushrangers. After they had gone, Hall, Gilbert and Dunn, went into Collector and stuck up Kimberley’s Inn. On this reaching the ears of the lock-up keeper, Samuel Nelson, who was the only policeman there, he took his carbine and went up towards Kimberley’s. Dunn met him on the road, called upon him to stand, firing at the same instant. Nelson cried out “stop,” and fell. Dunn fired again. Both shots took effect, one on the head or neck, the other in the heart. Nelson never spoke after receiving the second wound. After he committed this murder, Dunn went to Kimberley’s Inn, and the bushrangers left the township. Subsequently the police sighted them on the brow of a hill and charged them, the bushrangers leaped their horses over logs and made off, and were lost sight of, the evening being intensely dark. They abandoned a stolen horse.

Mr. Voss held a magisterial inquiry on the body of Nelson last evening, and the coroner held an inquest to-day.

Nelson had been in the police force for some years, and was much respected. He leaves a wife and eight children. Two of his sons saw him shot; one was holding the bushrangers’ horses at the time.

The outrages by Hall’s gang cause great excitement here.

http://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/nelson-samuel-1513

 

 

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Goulburn, January 28th.

We have been kindly favoured with the following extracts of a letter from Mr. District Judge Meymott to his brother. Dr. Meymott. It bears date, Gunning, January 28th, and the writer says : —

I am thankful to be able to tell you that I have arrived safely at this place, about halfway between Goulburn and Yass. But though my journey from Goulburn has been safe, it has not been without adventure.

I left Goulburn about eleven forenoon, on Thursday, the 26th, escorted by two mounted troopers, one in advance, and the other immediately behind my carriage. I came by way of Collector, partly to visit Mr. Murray and partly in hopes of avoiding the bushrangers who were known or believed to be between this place and Goulburn. However instead of avoiding them, I fell in with them.

After having journeyed about eighteen miles, we had to descend rather a long hill winding through thickly wooded country. At the bottom of the hill was open country, and a lagoon called Rose’s Lagoon on the left ; on the right, rising hills highly timbered near the base, but increasing in thickness of bush towards the top, where it became dense forest. When near the lagoon, the trooper in advance galloped on towards the hill on the right, making signs to the man behind to follow, which he very soon did, and away they went at high speed up this hill. I drove gently down towards the lake, and, on nearing it, I saw eight or ten people under a tree near the water, about fifty yards off the road, and two drays and a cart, and several horses. I drove up to them and found they had been there, some two or three of them, since six in the morning (it was then past two), having been stuck-up by Ben Hall, Gilbert, and Dunn ; the number of persons stuck-up increasing as the day wore on.   The spokesman told me that the ruffians had only a short time before lit a fire and ordered him to make tea for them, and they were about to have a meal (other prisoners being found in the cart) when Dunn who was on the look-out, spied my advance guard through the trees about half a mile off, and called out ” Here’s a —   trap! ” Gilbert said, ” If there’s only one let’s face him. ” Directly afterwards, my carriage and the other trooper coming in sight, Ben Hall said, ” No, there’s more of them, let us be off. ” So saying, they leaped on their horses and galloped away as hard as they could up the hill I have described, and it was on my advance guard seeing them in the distance, that he put spurs to his horse and made towards that hill.

A few moments after I had joined the bailed-up party, my troopers returned, having lost sight of the bushrangers in the thickness of the bush. When the police     heard who the men were, for they did not and could not know before (especially as they were fully a mile ahead when the trooper first saw them), they were desirous of going in pursuit. Mr. Voss, a magistrate, came up at that time, and, after a little consultation, it was thought best for us to come on to Collector. So we parted from the captives, who were very glad to be released, and came on to Collector, Mr. Voss, with what force he could collect, intending to go in pursuit of the bushrangers, and myself proceeding onward to Mr. Murray’s, about a mile and a half farther, which I reached in safety shortly after four o’clock.

But the exciting events of the day we not yet over, the worst part remains to be told. About eight o’clock in the evening, Mr. Edwards (Mrs. Murray’s brother), came in with the news that the highwaymen had been in to Collector, and had robbed one or two stores, and that while Hall and Gilbert were in a public-house and store kept by Mr. Kindesley, or some such name, (Dunn watching outside,) a policeman was seen to approach, and Dunn shot him dead on the spot. The gang then made off from the place, and, according to rumour, fell in with Mr. Voss and his party. Some shots were exchanged, and the thieves escaped, minus one horse, saddle, and bridle, which are now in custody of the police at Collector.

Mr. Edwards also said he had heard that before leaving Collector, the robbers had been heard to state that they meant to visit Mr. Murray’s.

This news, of course, created some excitement, but I am pleased to say, no weak, foolish fear among the household.

All the available men and arms were, as speedily as possible, collected, the entrances secured, and watch was kept   by turns all night. About ten yesterday, the police came to Mr. Murray’s, to escort me onwards ; but as the bushrangers were still hovering about in the neighbourhood, I thought it best not to take away two out of the three policemen in the place, and that it was much better for them to stay where they were, in case their services might be needed. So we kept watch, and were all day under arms at Mr. Murray’s, and the police kept a good look-out about the town ; but all remained quiet.

This morning I heard of one report, that the gang had come on this way with the determination of attacking me for interfering with them the day before; but another report seemed to be more likely to be correct, viz. that they intended to waylay me and see me safe on the road for some miles with the police, and then to go back and finish robbing the town.

I left Mr. Murray’s about 10.30 a.m. with the two troopers and a civilian who was coming this way, and arrived here in safety. We met two villainous looking fellows on the road, whom the senior constable (Bourke) questioned, but could elicit nothing from them. They were doubtless Ben Hall’s scouts, and I think it very possible these fellows would soon have told Hall that I had passed on and that the gang would return to finish their work at Collector. If they do, they will meet with a warm reception, for special constables have been sworn in, and everybody round is prepared to give them battle.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/166660831

 

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Queanbeyan Age and General Advertiser     Thursday  29 March 1866     page 4 of 4

EXECUTION OF JOHN DUNN FOR THE MURDER OF CONSTABLE NELSON.

(From the Empire.)

John Dunn, the notorious bushranger, paid the penalty of his misdeeds yesterday morning, upon the scaffold inside the walls of Darlinghurst Gaol.

At 9 o’ clock precisely the death-bell tolled, and the prisoner, attended by the Revds. Fathers Dwyer and McCarthy, came forth pinioned from his cell. These reverend gentlemen had been with him since eight o’clock, and it is satisfactory to know, that since his conviction he received their ministrations, and those of   the Sisters of Charity, with sincere good will.

As they walked towards the scaffold the prisoner repeated in an audible voice the prayers after the Rev. Father McCarthy. Owing to the wound received at his capture, the unfortunate man limped along painfully, but still he bore himself bravely up, and appeared as cool and collected as any of the spectators. At the foot of the scaffold, Father McCarthy bade him adieu, and he dragged himself up the ladder, accompanied by the Rev Father Dwyer, who remained with him to the latest moment. When the rope was adjusted round his neck, he still continued to pray, and his lips were moving when the white cap shut out from him the crowd who faced him and the bright sunshiny morning. At this time, when only a moment intervened between him and death, he clasped his hands together, and not a quiver or tremor of the limbs betokened that he was afraid to die. He died indeed like a penitent Christian, without fear, and without bravado.

His death, owing to the length of rope allowed him, was instantaneous. As he hung suspended, he was absolutely motionless, and it is most likely, from the absence of nervous or muscular contraction, that the spinal marrow was completely disjointed. After hanging the prescribed time, his body was cut down, put into a coffin provided for him by his godmother, Mrs Pickard, and then carried to the hearse outside the gaol walls, where it was received with wailings and moanings from a great number of women collected there. Mrs Pickard, with the dead man’s brother and his uncle, followed the body in a mourning coach, which proceeded to the Catholic burial ground, near the Railway Station. The rites of the church having been duly performed, the body was interred amidst the tears and groans of a very motley lot of people, old women prevailing, the majority of whom seemed to have but little regard to the precept of the Apostle, that, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness;” and so ended the career of the youngest of Frank Gardiner’s gang.

Dunn, in conversation with the gaol authorities, attributed his fate to Gilbert and Ben Hall’s “Old Man ” who pursuaded him to leave his parents roof for a lawless and murderous life.

When he was received into the gaol he was in very bad condition, owing to the hard life he had led in the bush, and the suffering produced by his wound. He then weighed only 9 st. 6 lbs., but yesterday he weighed 10 st 8 lbs., thus showing that regular food and a resigned mind are conductive to health. Those who saw him at his trial were struck by his greatly improved appearance yesterday.

A day or two before his execution he wrote a letter to the governor of the gaol, and thanked him for his kindness and attention, and also to Mr Carroll, a warder, who was his chief attendant for a fortnight. On Sunday he was engaged up till midnight in religious duties. He then went to bed, and slept soundly till half past 6, when he rose, washed himself, and ate a hearty breakfast, and concluded his last meal with a pipe of tobacco. He then gave himself up entirely to the priests, from whose ministrations he derived great consolation; and he asked Father John to “stand close to him till the last moment.” He made no regular confession to any of the officials, nor did he deny his guilt.

An unusually large number of people assembled to see him hanged, and amongst them was a man who came from Windsor for that purpose. The spectators, amounting to about seventy, were deeply impressed with this last act in the career of Dunn.

We learn from reliable authority, that Dunn was born December 14th, 1846. His mother was in the service of Mr James Manning, brother of Sir William Manning, and was married to Dunn’s Father at the age of seventeen. Mrs Pickard, who is the wife of Mr W. P. Pickard, storekeeper to Mr Keele, merchant, was present at Dunn’s birth, and became godmother to him. She had a special order from the Colonial Secretary to visit the condemned criminal, and we understand she called to see him daily. She may be truly said to have behaved like a mother to him, and to have acted like a noble, kindhearted, good woman. When Dunn   joined the bushrangers, his father rode in search of him in the hope of rescuing him from an evil life but his horse died from over-exertion, and he was compelled to return home from his unsuccessful search.   Dunn’s parents are settled on a small farm and are in poor circumstances.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/30636617

 

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Queanbeyan Age ( NSW )     Tuesday  7 April 1914     Page 2 of 4

Obituary.  

MRS. ELIZABETH NELSON.

MRS. ELIZABETH NELSON, relict of the late Constable Samuel Nelson, of Collector, died at her late residence, Goulburn, aged 85 years, the cause of death being senile decay.

She leaves three daughters and five sons, also 44 grand children, 14 great grand children, and 5 great great grand-children.

The funeral took place on Thursday morning at half past 10 o’clock.

The late Constable Samuel Nelson was shot by Bushranger Dunn at Collector on 16th January, 1864. He was aged 40 years, and left a widow and eight children.

The story of the bailing up of the township of Collector by the notorious bushrangers, Ben Hall, Gilbert, and Dunn, on the evening of January, 26 1865, is well-known to the older residents of the district.

The bushrangers took charge of the Commercial Hotel and store at one end of the town, conducted by Mr. and Mrs. T. Kimberly. A little girl brought word to Nelson that the bushrangers were at Kimberly’s. Though advised not to go near them single handed, the brave fellow, arming himself with his carbine, said his duty commanded him to go. Dunn, who was in front of the hotel on seeing Nelson approach shot him as he stood behind a post. The constable staggered and fell, whereupon Dunn killed him outright with another shot. Dunn was after wards caught, found guilty, and hanged.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/31401167

 

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Samuel was also the father of Jonas Goode NELSON – NSW Police – Mounted Constable who died in 1924 aged 72.

 

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Ken Medway

19 February 2014

Travelled across from Gunning to Collector yesterday and checked out the monument to Samuel Nelson and his grave.

GPS Co-ordinates
for grave 34 54’54S/149 25’51E
for monument 34 54’44S/149 25’53E
Page 48 in Beyond Courage

 

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Canberra Times

January 16, 2015

Hall gang re-enactment in Collector for 150th anniversary

Tim the Yowie Man takes a look at Collector’s Wild Colonial Day over the Australia Day long weekend. A re-enactment will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Hall gang’s hold-up, which resulted in John Dunn killing Constable Samuel Nelson.

• Tim the Yowie Man

It’s the murderous event which put the village of Collector on the map. On  January 26, 1865, outlaw John Dunn shot dead Constable Samuel Nelson outside the Kimberley Inn while his partners in crime, the notorious Ben Hall and Johnny Gilbert raided the hotel.

The brave Nelson, on being informed that the Hall Gang  was in town, had earlier marched defiantly from the nearby police station towards the hotel with the aim of stopping the infamous mob of bushrangers in their tracks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next Sunday, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the dramatic hold-up, a Wild Colonial Day is being held in Collector in which descendants of both Nelson and the Hall Gang  will converge on the town.

One of the most anticipated highlights of the day is the planned re-enactment of the tragic events of January 26, 1865. Although playing out such a momentous event in our region’s history will be no doubt be entertaining for the crowd, I don’t envy the performers of the Gold Trails Re-enactment Group who will need to settle on an agreed sequence of events that unfolded on that fateful day in 1865, the exact details of which appear to have been lost in the mists of time.

One person who has spent months poring over the evidence is Boyd Trevithick, Nelson’s great-great-grandson. In doing research for his family history book, Believe Nothing That You Hear and Only Half of What You See: a compilation of sundry articles, facts, photographs, maps, poems and family anecdotes dating back to 1087AD, (self-published, 2011) Trevithick reports he was “constantly confronted with conflicting accounts”.

“Discrepancies exist as to precisely where John Dunn stood to shoot, what course Nelson took, the distance from which the shooting occurred, the times of the day, the words uttered, whether Nelson staggered forwards, backwards or towards the road and where exactly Nelson fell,” explains Trevithick.

Trevithick isn’t the only one to have struggled to provide a definitive account of the details leading up  to Nelson’s death. Respected historian, the late Stuart Hume, whose widely lauded article  published in the Goulburn Evening Post on January 26, 1965, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Nelson’s death, wrote “to try and get an accurate account of what actually did occur is to find the wayside strewn with garbled, highly coloured accounts from old hands who’d ‘heered telled’ arguments from bush lawyers with a misguided sympathy for the bushrangers and bush balladists using poetic licence to cover a multitude of sins”.

Two of the most contentious issues concern what have subsequently become Collector landmarks – first, a rotting wooden stump standing next to the Bushranger Hotel, and second, Nelson’s final resting place.

 

1. Stumped

Trevithick reports that his “family members have handed down two versions of the role the stump played in events of 26 January 1865,” and he cites the following references to illustrate these disparate accounts.

The Queanbeyan Age (11/2/1908) reports “… The railing encloses the stump near which Nelson stood when he received his fatal wound.” Meanwhile, The Sydney Morning Herald (10/2/1908) reports “. Inside the railing [of the memorial] is one of the posts of the fence behind which Dunn concealed himself on approach of the Constable …”

Regardless of the significance of the stump, cynics have questioned whether it’s plausible that a 150-year-old stump could still be standing, suggesting that perhaps the stump isn’t the original from 1865 and, is, in fact, a ‘replacement’.

2. Grave diggers

Nelson died during the height of summer and with no morgue within cooee of the Collector, Hume reports, “research indicates that he was hastily buried without the aid of a minister in the grounds of the police station [still operational] … over the grave they struck a willow stave which grew, and, in the course of time, only the willow wept there”.

“Although there is currently no marked grave in the grounds of the police station, some old-timers did recall a willow growing there mid last century,” reports life-long local Gary Poile. However, the precise location of the willow may be a moot point for those who wish to pay their respects to the slain police officer, for it appears that Nelson was unlawfully exhumed  about 50 years later.

Hume reveals that “just after World War I someone decided to remove Nelson’s remains from the Police Station without an exhumation order or permission from the family”. “Not knowing exactly where Nelson lay…they sank several ‘duffers’ till they struck paydust in the shape of the constable’s bones. These they reverently gathered and crawling through a hole in the dividing fence put them in a grave alongside the Kimberleys [in the neighbouring cemetery].”

According to Hume, with the public becoming more history conscious, some years later a cross was  placed on the freshly dug unmarked grave in the cemetery and inscribed “Constable Nelson 1865”.

Neither Hume (nor Trevithick) uncovered the identity of those who allegedly moved Nelson’s bones, nor their motives. Trevithick hypothesises that it may have been “so that Nelson was buried in consecrated ground”.

While snooping around Collector this week I bumped into a couple of bushranger-era enthusiasts who questioned whether Nelson’s remains were moved at all. The duo suggested that a ground-penetrating radar, or perhaps something even more invasive, ought to be employed to prove the presence of remains.

I don’t know about you, but I think poor old Constable Nelson suffered enough trauma in the final moments of his life and that he should be left to lie in peace, wherever that may be.

 

Fact file

Collector Wild Colonial Day: Commemorating the 150th anniversary of the day Constable Samuel Nelson was killed on duty by John Dunn outside the Bushranger Hotel. Next Sunday,  January 25, from 10am–4pm in Collector Village (about a 30-minute drive north of Canberra on the Federal Highway). Free admission.

Expect: Historical displays, re-enactments, bush poetry, author talks, food, wine, local produce, art and craft. Devonshire tea and all day barbecue.

For the kids: Horse and cart rides, face painting (small charge) and bushranger activities (if you dare!) all day.

Shoot-outs: The Gold Trails Re-enactment Group will perform a realistic re-enactment of the murder of Constable Nelson at 3pm near the Collector Police Station (Bourke St) and again outside the Bushranger Hotel (Church St) about 6pm.

Become a star: At midday, there will be a re-enactment of the trial of John Dunn, including an opportunity for “extras” to participate (scripts will be provided).

Don’t miss: The rare collection of guns and equipment used by bushrangers and police during the colonial period (in the Memorial Hall).

Nelson’s Grave: Located in the Anglican Cemetery in Bourke St.  About 3.30pm, the NSW Police Chaplain will lead a graveside Memorial Service, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony.

The stump: Takes pride of place next to Nelson’s Memorial outside the Bushranger Hotel. Unfortunately, there’s precious little information on the state of the stump in 1865, so it’s difficult to determine if it’s the original. However, if any suitably qualified foresters would like to offer an educated opinion, I’d love to hear from you.

More: www.facebook.com/Nelson150 or ph: 0423 672 153

 

 

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Canberra Times

January 27, 2015

Gang-gang: 150 years ago – Constable Samuel Nelson shot in Collector

• Ian Warden

One hundred and fifty years ago this week the brigands Ben Hall, John Gilbert and John Dunn descended on Collector and Dunn shot dead brave constable Samuel Nelson. The gang fled. The Sydney press throbbed with the news. The murder was on 26 January and the inquest, held at Collector the next day, was reported in great and grisly detail by the Sydney Morning Herald. 

Frederick Nelson, 18, eldest son of the dead man’s many children, saw his father shot dead.

” ‘A bushranger sprang from behind the fence and called to my father to stand, and fired immediately afterwards [with a shotgun], on which my father staggered into the road and called out “Oh!”. The bushranger fired again and my father fell. I heard his carbine fall from his hands on to the ground.

“Dr. Hanford deposed: I have made a post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased; I found a bullet wound midway between the nose and the ear on the left side of the face; also a wound, two inches long and two and a half inches broad, on the left side of the chest, and twenty shot marks round the wound; on examining the cavity of the chest, I found the heart lacerated … I found several shots in the liver … the stomach was perforated. Death resulted from the wounds I have described and no other cause.

“The jury returned a verdict that deceased was wilfully murdered by John Dunn, and that Benjamin Hall and John Gilbert were aiding and abetting.”

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/canberra-life/ganggang-150-years-ago–constable-samuel-nelson-shot-in-collector-20150126-12yg5f.html

 

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The New City of Canterbury Bankstown

Samuel Nelson

Samuel Nelson was born in 1828 in Chesterton, Oxfordshire, England. His Father was Samuel Nelson and mother Elizabeth Taylor. In England he married Elizabeth Goode who was born in 1828.^[1]

They came on the ship called “Parcee” and arrived in Sydney on 11th January 1853. Samuel and Elizabeth could both read and write. They came with their three children who were born in England, Fredrick 6 years born 1846, Henry 1848 4 years, Jonas 2 years 1850. While the ship was at sea Elizabeth Nelson gave birth to Matilda Parcee Nelson. The ship anchored in Sydney and then proceeded to Queensland.^[2]

Samuel Nelson worked at Drayton Darling Down’s then made his way to Collector N.S.W. which is between Canberra and Goulburn. Four more children were born at Collector Emma born 1857, Samuel 1860, David 1862 and Thomas 1864.

It was on a Thursday, Foundation Day 26th January 1865 in the country town of Collector, when the team of bushrangers, John Dunn and his group, were spotted in the District. They had bailed up Judge F.W. Meymott and two escorting troopers at Geary’s Gap a few miles south of the town. The gang of bushrangers were almost on the outskirts of Collector, when they bailed up a bootmaker named Tom Menzy; three farmers named Mitchell and William Deveron and James Bull; and a 16 year old boy named Henry Nelson – the constable’s son.

At the police station Constable Samuel Nelson was studying his day’s labour. He had chopped a good supply of wood and his gardens were in fine shape. He was looking forward to cleaning up a hearty supper and a quiet evening with his family, including his wife who was eight months pregnant with their ninth child. Suddenly, a young girl came running towards him calling “Mr Nelson come quickly the bushrangers are at the Kimberley’s Inn”, then shots from Dunn’s gun were heard.^[3]

Samuel Nelson entered the station and put on his uniform, jacket and belt while Elizabeth his wife looked on in surprise. At the trial of Dunn, Kimberley’s Inn Keeper said “John Dunn came back from direction and said there one of your bloody are down”. When somebody asked who was shot Dunn said “a little sandy bugger”. Kimberley replied “I felt sure it was Nelson knowing he was a short sandy man”.

Some of the other people brought in the dead body of Constable Samuel Nelson who had a wound on his cheek and a large wound over his heart. Fredrick Nelson was fired upon by the accused. Henry Nelson was forced to hold the estranger’s horses under the threat of having his brains blown out.^[4]

The trial of John Dunn on the 19th February 1866 jury returned the verdict of guilty, the sentence of John Dunn was to be hanged by the neck till he was dead. On the 19th March 1866 the 19 year old murderer was taken from Darlinghurst to the place of execution and was hanged.

http://www.canterburycommons.net/index.php?title=Samuel_Nelson

 

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Thomas SMYTH

25/10/2012

Thomas SMYTH

Late of  ?

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  ????

Rank:  Senior Sergeant – Death

Stations:  ?, Lambing Flat, Albury – Death

Service:  From  8 February 1858  to  4 September 1864 =  6+ years Service

Awards:   No find on It’s An Honour

Born:   ? ? 1830

Died on:   29 September 1864 in the Imperial Hotel, Albury

Age:  33 – 34

Cause:   Shot – Murdered

Event location:  Doodle Cooma Swamp

Event date:   4 September 1864

Funeral date:   ? ? ?

Funeral location:   ?

Funeral Parlour:

Buried at:   Albury Cemetery, 460 Buckingham St, North Albury, NSW

 Memorial located at:   Memorial stone and plaque are located 2 kms west of Henty on Pleasant Hills Rd ( the Lockhart Rd )

[alert_green]THOMAS  IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_green]

 

  

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FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS AND INFORMATION TO Cal

 

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May they forever Rest In Peace

 

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In late September, 1864 the sergeant was camped in the bush with three troopers near Albury during a search for bushrangers, when two men, one of whom the bushranger Daniel Morgan, crept up and fired several shots into the police tent. One shot hit the sergeant, entering his shoulder and exiting through his back. Despite these wounds the sergeant was able to return fire, forcing the offenders to retreat and escape. Sergeant Smyth was soon treated by a doctor however he died of the effects of the wound within a couple of days. The vicious Morgan was shot to death by a farmhand in April, 1865.

 

The Empire newspaper dated 5 October, 1864 printed the following brief account of the incident.

 

DEATH OF SERGEANT SMYTH – It is with deep regret that we have to record the death of Senior-Sergeant Smyth, at Albury, on Thursday night, from the wound he received in the cowardly night attack a few weeks back at Doodle Cooma Swamp. It was at first hoped that the unwearied care of Dr Wilkinson would have brought him round; but haemorrhage having set in, little hopes were entertained of his recovery, and he gradually sank until he yielded up his brave spirit on Thursday night. He was a very deserving officer, possessed of more than average intelligence and shrewdness, which eminently fitted him for a police officer. His courage was unquestionable. Previous to his being stationed at Albury he was at Lambing Flat, on leaving which town be was presented with an address by the inhabitants, expressive of their appreciation of his valuable services in the repression of crime on that large goldfield.

The McIvor Times and Rodney Advertiser of 23 September, 1864 printed a detailed account of the incident.

“THE BUSHRANGER MORGAN.

A party of police, consisting of Senior Sergeant Smyth, Senior Constable Baxter, Constables Connor, and Maguire, and a blackfellow named Jimmy Reed, were camped on Sunday night at Dougal’s [sic] Swamp, near Keighran’s station. They had just got tea, and were lying in the tent yarning, as is usually done by persons camped out. They had no sentry on guard – that duty being delayed until they “turned in” for the night. Suddenly their discourse was cut short by a volley being fired into the tent amongst them. Sergeant Smyth immediately jumped to his feet, calling on his men to follow him – he firing two shots in the direction he fancied the volley came from. The men who rushed out of the tent immediately after him, scoured the bush in every direction, as well as the darkness would allow them, but failed to find any traces of the ruffians; but, from the tracks discovered at daylight next morning, they must have overrun the bushrangers in the dark.

“They remained in the scrub about an hour, when they, after some consultation, deemed it better to return to the tent, which, considering that the night was dark, arid the surrounding scrub would completely shelter the attacking party, was, to say the least, attended with some danger. Baxter and Connor crawled on their hands and knees to the tent, and found Smyth lying on his back dangerously wounded, and fast bleeding to death. They took everything out of the tent and, having covered poor Smyth up in the few blankets they had, they managed to convey him to Keighran’s station, he still bleeding and suffering great pain, where they remained until daylight. Constable Baxter and the blackfellow then took up the track near the tent, and started to follow the ruffians up. The other two constables proceeded to the Ten Mile Creek, to give information and obtain medical aid for Smyth.

“Superintendent McLerie who was proceeding to Sydney on sick leave, happened to be at that place; and he immediately ordered his buggy to be taken off its springs, and the body to be used as a stretcher to convey Smyth to Ten Mile Creek. From the position of the bullet holes in the tent, there cannot have been less than five bushrangers. There are seven bullet holes in the tent; the bullets were picked up inside of it, some of them belonging to a large bore pistol. Constable Connor had a very narrow escape. He was lying down, leaning on his elbow, in the tent, when one of the balls went through the sleeve of his coat, inflicting a slight wound about two inches above the elbow joint. Superintendent McLerie has deemed it necessary to return to Albury for the present. Sub-inspector Morrow and a party of police have started from Albury in pursuit of the bushrangers; and Sub-inspector Zouch has left Wagga Wagga on similar duty.

“A strange incident occurred in connection with this cowardly attack. Shortly after the party were camped, two men came up and were admiring the site chosen for the camp, remarking that they could not have chosen better. They are well known as bush “telegraphs,” being the two men to whose house Sergeant Carroll traced Morgan some time back. Sergeant Smyth’s wound is a very dangerous one. The ball entered immediately above the nipple of the left breast, following the course of the ribs, and came out under the left shoulder-blade; so that, while the wound may not be considered mortal, yet fatal results may ensue from it. The people are greatly excited on this murderous attack, which in cold-blooded treachery far surpasses the Lachlan escort robbery.”

The Empire newspaper dated 5 October, 1864 printed the following brief account of the death of the sergeant.

“DEATH OF SERGEANT SMYTH
It is with deep regret that we have to record the death of Senior-Sergeant Smyth, at Albury, on Thursday night, from the wound he received in the cowardly night attack a few weeks back at Doodle Cooma Swamp. It was at first hoped that the unwearied care of Dr Wilkinson would have brought him round; but haemorrhage having set in, little hopes were entertained of his recovery, and he gradually sank until he yielded up his brave spirit on Thursday night. He was a very deserving officer, possessed of more than average intelligence and shrewdness, which eminently fitted him for a police officer. His courage was unquestionable. Previous to his being stationed at Albury he was at Lambing Flat, on leaving which town he was presented with an address by the inhabitants, expressive of their appreciation of his valuable services in the repression of crime on that large goldfield.”

In April 1865 the vicious and cowardly bushranger Morgan was shot to death by a farmhand in at Peechelba Station, near Wangaratta (Vic).

The sergeant was born in 1830 and joined the police force on 8 February, 1858. In 1862 he became a member of the newly-formed New South Wales Police Force. At the time of his death he was stationed at Albury.

 

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/30580797

 

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Senior Sergeant Thomas Smyth to get a proper gravesite after he was murdered by bushranger ‘Mad Dog’ Dan Morgan in 1864.

Marguerite McKinnon@@marguerite_mck1

7 Dec 2017, 7:55 a.m.

 

It’s taken 153-years but moves are finally underway to give some restitution to Senior Sergeant Thomas Smyth, who was murdered by notorious bushranger ‘Mad Dog’ Dan Morgan in the hills near Henty in 1864.

Sergeant Smyth’s unmarked grave is now set to receive a memorial headstone to rectify what is believed to have been an administrative oversight lost in the 1951 transferral of Albury’s three cemeteries from church to council.

Police officers, both active and retired, had bemoaned as “a sad end and undignified burial” of Senior Sergeant Smyth after he was shot trying to recapture the bushranger, who had been terrorising the region.

In 1864, ‘Mad Dog’ Morgan had recently committed his second and third murders before he arrived in the Henty area. Widespread fear and an outcry from the press at the time saw the reward for Morgan’s capture raised to £1000, and parties of special police were sent to track and capture him.

On September 4, Senior Sergeant Smyth had set up camp with three troopers in the Henty hills, when Morgan and another man crept up and fired several shots into the police tent, hitting the sergeant in the shoulder and exiting through his back. Morgan later said he had been watching the camp for some time.

Despite his wounds, the sergeant ran out of the tent and returned fire, forcing the offenders to retreat. The wounded officer then collapsed. He was transferred to Kiamba and then Albury where doctors claimed he was recovering, before he hemorrhaged several times.

The Empire newspaper dated October 5, 1864 reported that “he yielded up his brave spirit on Thursday night. He was a very deserving officer, possessed of more than average intelligence and shrewdness, which eminently fitted him for a police officer. His courage was unquestionable”.

Senior Sergeant Smyth was buried in an unmarked grave in an Albury cemetery, however there is a memorial stone on Pleasant Hills Road just outside Henty.

NSW Police is hoping to rectify other unmarked police graves. Dan Morgan was holding hostages when he was shot dead in Victoria by a farmhand in April,1865.

This excerpt is from an Australian Government site about bushrangers:

“Daniel Morgan brought discredit to the popular ‘currency heroes’ by his mixture of violence, abuse and seemingly meaningless murders. Morgan claimed his innocence at his first conviction in 1854, at the diggings near Castlemaine, which he said was ‘framed‘ by a squatter. During his time at Pentridge Prison, he developed a violent dislike for police. Upon his release, he began a campaign against society at large and the police in particular.

Morgan once took issue with an overseer’s wife when the man was away on business, demanding money from her as he forced her against a blazing fire until she suffered severe burns to her legs. Morgan also tried to burn squatter Isaac Vincent by setting fire to his woolshed after he had tied Vincent to a nearby fence. After Morgan bailed up coaches, he would stampede the horses – sending them and their drivers to destruction.

Eventually he was shot and captured in 1865 after being outwitted by a nursemaid and station hand at Peelhelba Station near Wangaratta, owned by the McPhersons.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

The story Restitution for murdered police officer after outcry over his unmarked grave | Photos first appeared on The Daily Advertiser.

http://www.theland.com.au/story/5105955/restitution-for-murdered-police-officer-after-outcry-over-his-unmarked-grave-photos/?cs=4951

 

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John SMITH

25/10/2012

John SMITH

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  ?

Rank:  Trooper

Stations:  ? , Araluen

Service:  From  ?  to  10 February 1860

Awards:  ?

Born:  ? ? ?

Died on:  10 February 1860

Cause:  Drowned

Event location:  Crown Flat, Araluen

Age:  ?

Funeral date:  ?

Funeral location:  ?

Buried at: Unmarked grave at Araluen Catholic Cemetery

[alert_yellow]JOHN is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_yellow]

 

The trooper was drowned in severe floods at Araluen in February, 1860. The Sydney Morning Herald of Monday 20 February, 1860 graphically reported the floods, advising of “Losses to life and property, the extent of which are yet not known, from a subject of a dark page in the annals of Braidwood and surrounding districts.” It went on to describe the sad death of Trooper Smith.

 

….The next calamity to human life occurred at the police camp. Trooper Smith, who had lately joined the force, was endeavouring to escape to Mr. Sweeney’s house, when the current carried him off, and his corpse was discovered when the water subsided; it was entirely buried in the sand, part of the arm projecting.  Several bodies not known have been recovered, and it is anticipated that at least seventeen human beings have lost their lives in the Araluen flood. ……..

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/13036792?searchTerm=trooper%20john%20smith&searchLimits=l-decade=186|||l-year=1860

At the time of his death the trooper was stationed at Araluen. No further details are known as yet.

 

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The Goulburn Herald ( NSW )  Saturday  18 February 1860  p 2 of 4

…….

One of the Troopers of the Southern Patrol, a fine young man named John Smith, was drowned while endeavouring to cross from the police camp to the Cornstalk Inn.  In fact the destruction is general and conceivably great. …..

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/103400139?searchTerm=trooper%20john%20smith&searchLimits=l-decade=186|||l-year=1860|||l-month=2#reloadOnBack

 

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The Empire ( Sydney )  Monday  20 February 1860  p 3 of 8

……. At the Police Camp the water rushed in, and one of the troopers named Smith, whilst making his way from there to Sweeney’s public house, was carried away by the rushing torrent and met with a watery grave : his body, together with the bodies of two Chinamen, have been recovered. ……

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/64097583?searchTerm=trooper%20john%20smith&searchLimits=l-decade=186|||l-year=1860|||l-month=2

 

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Chief Constable Charles FOX

25/10/2012

Chief Constable Charles FOX

New South Wales Police Force

Illness –  Suicide

Muswellbrook

25 August, 1856

 

Charles Fox was Chief Constable of Muswellbrook when he took his own life on Monday 25 August, 1856. The following paragraph appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald of 29 August, 1856.

 

On Monday, the 25^th, an enquiry was held at the courthouse, Muswellbrook, before the coroner, Mr J.B.West, and a jury of twelve, touching on the death of Mr Charles Fox, chief constable, who, on the same morning, had committed suicide, by shooting himself with a pistol. It appeared on evidence that the deceased was latterly under medical treatment for general debility and depression of the mental faculties and had been for some time past labouring under hypochondria. It seemed on a view of the body, which presented a shocking spectacle that he had placed the muzzle of the weapon in his mouth, which dreadfully shattered… A finding of ‘Destroyed himself while labouring under temporary insanity’ was accordingly made. The deceased was much respected as a steady inoffensive man, and has left a widow and one son.

 

At the time of his death the chief constable was stationed at Muswellbrook.