OUTBACK POLICE

Hokitika Guardian, 2 August 1926, Page 3

OUTBACK POLICE

TRACKING NATIVE MURDERERS. . SYDNEY, July 15. I Another epic i'ea.t in outback police ” work in Australia his made readers in tho newspapers in southern cities realise what splendid work the guardians of tho law in the far-flung bickb’.ocks are doing to make our sparsely-settled regions safe for the white settler. The { scene of this exploit is in the uncivilised north-western portion of tire continent, given over to cattle stations thousands of square miles in extent. From savage country, into which: ho plunged weeks ago in search of the native who speared Frederick William Hay, manager and part-owner of the Nuila-Nulla station, Constable. Regan, of tho mounted police, has emerged with a black prisoner and three nativewitnesses. THE CRIME. Mr Overheu, Hay’s partner, describes tho killing of Hay and the subsequent early part of the chase after the murderers, in a letter to his father. Tho tragedy occurred in May last, I-lay’s body, with ghastly wounds, being found beside the carcase of a cow freshly-speared. It was surmised that Hay had surprised cattle-spearers. Mr Overheu says that after Hay was missed, black trackers found ids horse. The saddle eyas covered with bloodstains. They wont-back over tho horse’s trades nearly all one day, and found Hay’s body about sundown. It appended that Hhy had surprised a mob of blacks with a freshly-killed cow. and chased some of them. Either one or mere of tho blacks dropped into the long grass and speared him in the back as he went by, or they turned on him. One spear glanced along his ribs and severed four or five arteries. After Hay fell from his horse, the blacks enrried him to the shade of- a tree, where he was found dead. They took off his clothes, hut replaced lus 1 boots. Hay bad fired one shot irorn an old revolver, which was almost usc--1 less.

THE CHASE. Mr Overheu stated that his aborigine ]M)y knew the tracks of the blacks near the scene of the murder, and gave hint their names. They belonged to a treacherous tribe, which rarely came near the station. The tracks of two of them were also identified as those of blacks who had killed a half-caste and a Chinese at a mission station, and one of thorn was reported to have murdered two men in 1920. Mr Overheu swore to avenge his dead partner. He accompanied Constable Regan, who had been detailed to capture the murderer, and, accompanied by a party of black-trackers, they set off on a mission fraught with grave danger. It took them on a daring trek”through 'the territory of uncivilised tribes noted for their fierceness and strength. Six weeks went by withon' ' a word of \he party. Then at the end <. 0 f i ns t week two bronzed and bearded men walked into the police station at Wynclham/on the north-west coast of Western Australia. With them were a handcuffed native, three others under close surveillance, and two grinning, triumphant hlacktrackers. The handcuffed aborigine was charged with the murder of Hay, and the other Three f are being detained ns witnesses, whose testimony will, it is stated, convict, the murderer of Hay.