SIXTY YEARS AGO

Hokitika Guardian, 17 September 1932, Page 6

SIXTY YEARS AGO

SOME C A LAM ITIES OVER PAST. . t£®';' MiAU&GATAPU MURDERS. (Fixjm newspapers files of ‘1866.) Early in July, 1866, the mystery of (the if ate of the missing men ,who left Deep Creek for Nelson was cleared up. On Thursday afternoon, Joseph Thomas Sullivan, the oldest and perhaps the 'worst looking of the four prisoners in Nelson gaol (availing himself of the offer made by His Excellency tlie Governor, of a free pardon to any But the actual murderers), voliun. •barily confessed to his complicity in the deed, and at the same time informed the police that a fifth murder had also been committed on the road. There was little doubt that it was the merest accident that others, who were close by, did not share the same fate. The authorities thought first that Levy might confess -and he was moved from the lbck-up to the gaol.

When' Sullivan heard of this, he became suspicious, and, determined himseK to obtain the pardon, sent' for Sergeant-Major Shallcraes, and related the following story : —They knew that the diggers were on the road, and taking advantage of a cutting in the road, two of them got in front, and the others in the rear. According to Sullivan’s . story, the travellers . were stopped .and mad e secure, and marched into the bush on the upper side of the road by 'Levy, Burgess and Kelly, while he, Sullivan, took charge of the hprse and led it away to shoot it. H e said he heard six shots. When he got back he found that his three companions had murdered the four men, shooting three and strangling the ; fourth with a scarf. By the account given to him, one of the poor fellows was hard rfco kill, and three shots nere fired at him. The information given ! by Sullivan as to the place where the murders happened proved to be corked.. About 120 men had been searching for a 'week or more and they brought the bodies down, elung in canvas tied to poles, pa’bnquin fashion. i The finders described the scene as heart-rending. Although the dead bodies had lain for sixteen days on the mountain side, they were not decom- , posed. The face of Kempthorne was calm and placid, the dhot through the head having produced instant death. That of Pontius was dreadfully- bruised by the heavy stones which the murderers had. thrown on his body. v Poor Mathieu had had the hardest death of' all. The first bullet fired into his body had been turned aside from a vital part By striking against a rib. Then his coat had been turned aside, and a knife plunged into his breast, and at last, his legs had been strapped and the blood-thirsty villains fft-ed into the knife wound. The victims were bur:ed in the Nelson cemetery.

The volunteer searchers refused to •accept any part, of the £2OO that had been offered as, a reward by -Mr Kempthome.

The ci'’cnms(tances attending , the murder of Jamie Battle, an old sa'lo-r, were even more horrible than that of the other four men, as there was not the same incentive for gain. The four ruffians were on t)lie Nelson side of the- Tiinline Bridge, when old Jamie came up, and Sullivan joined him, on the road fio Nelson, and learnt that he was going to Nelson to look for a ship.

Thinking that but Little was to be got out of him, he dropped back and told th e others, but Levy said that if he had hi-s way, no living soul should be-'suffered to pass.

One of the gang said.: “Come, old man you must have, some gold.” battle drew -his sheath knife, but was quickly overpowered. Sullivan went on a-head, and another man to the back fo keep the road clear, and the other two dragged 1 their--victim into -the bush and shot ‘him. The Hvo murderers came back to th e road with three -pounds, and a little silver, the fruit of their most cold-blooded, villainous deed. Sullivan also declared that another man was implicated with ■ BurgesSj-K-eily, and Levy in the murder of Mr George Dobson, whom they strangled and buried.

1 The mystery of the -robbery of £2500 worth of gold from the- Bank of New Zealand .in Okarito the previous May, was solved by -means of Sullivan, who (implicated that a police officer had been concerned in the robbery. The three prisoners, Burgess, Levy, and Kelly 'had been te'-d by another prisoner that Sullivan -had confessed, and it was reported that, one of them said that they always thought he was a scoundrel, and that it had been their intention ifco settle him le,st h e should ‘split.’ After 'Sullivan’s confession, from the information supplied, the police found the -body of iMr George Dobson. The inquest was 'held at Greymouth, and a verdict was given: “Murdered on •28th May -by persons unknown.” Mr Dobson was buried in the Greymout/h cemetery between the of Messrs Whitcombe and Townsend, early explorers, who were both drowned. Th e coffin was carried along the beach •through loose sand. The Lord Bishop of Christchurch read the funeral service, and Mr Haast, Tils Honour the Super -itotendent of tlie Province, Commissioner Sale, Wardens 'Revel! and Kynnersley, were amongst those present at the 'funeral. On July 10th the four murderers wer e brought before the Nelson Court for further examination, and all four were charged with the murder of tfamie. Battle, and remanded. Further -particulars wer e given oi .Sullivan’s confession. He acknowledged that more than twenty people had begp. murdered on ths West Coast,

mostly between 'Hokitika and Greymouth and buried in the sand. He stated that Levy, being a Jew, had conscientious soruples against efhedding blood, and always strangled the victims whom it was his business to kill.

At a meeting held at Solomon’s Cafe d e .Paris, Hokitika, for the purpose of taking preliminary steps to erect a monument to the memory of Messrs Whitcombe, Howitt, Townsend and G. Dobson, Mr Browning, of the Survey Department, stated that Mr G. Dobson began hjs career in 1859 in Canterbury and belonged to the same department as himself. '

In 1859 the Coast was but little known, although rush wag..,,.setting, steadily in,, in, the T ...direction pf// the Brunper, and a staff of sutyfyors was sent to pioneer the way. Wlhjtoombe, who was r .a- pupill of the...,qele.- ( brated engineer Brunei, was surveyor and succeeded in penetrating the snowy ranges, and striking the Hokitika river, down which, accompanied by a Swiss named Louper, he proceeded. ' The sea wag reached, and the beach followed up towards the Grey, but m attempting to cross the Teremakau in a '-rotten old canoe, they were both washed out to sea. W hitcombe lost his hold and was drowned, but the Swiss managed to cling :fo tli e canoe and after buffeting with the surf for hours, was cast up on the bench only to fiiid the dead body of. Bis companion. Townsend, an .early explorer, wae, also drowned--in one of the. rivers. t ~ ■Charlton Howitt was drowned -itt. Lake Brunner. 'He,,was well known m Victoria, being either the son. or nephew of Dr Howitt, and brother to Alfred Howitt, the Gippsland explorer,and who afterwards was despatched to recover the remains. of Burke and Wills.

On July I.3th Mr Wilkie, a storekeeper, was found dead in a water hole about four, mii'-es from Greymouth on the Arnold track, He is believed to b e the other victim spoken of by Sullivan.

The body of a man, minug his head and with both legs broken, wa s .found at Arnold Junction. !

At Nelson the body of Jamie Battle w.as found at the spot indicated by Sullivan. At the inquest, the evidence showed that there were signs of strangulation, and the verdict was wilful murder-. Sullivan described how the storekeeper at the Grey was robbed and murdered. The. store .was first entered by gome of the party, who demanded his money. On hi.s refusing,: the assailants half strangled him, and. promised him his life if he wouid disclose where t!he . money was. He did -so, and immediately after they had. taken the gold, ith'ey -strangled him and threw his body in the .river., A baker who resided in the c am f -: quarter wag also missing- 'H e disap.; •peared,, having a batch of bread ready for , the oven, and was' never' seer, again

On August 9th at Nelson, the fom prisoners were charged with the inurdm of Tames Battle on the previous Jum: -.12. Sullivan’s statement, as to t'hi murder was head out. The prisoner 4 were asked if they had anything to-' say Sullivan' eaid that, ‘ Kelly and Burgess had fold him in gaol that they would get him hanged, Kelly protested his innocence, and Levy -said that he had no 'statement to make. Burgess read a long statement prefixed by Biblical allusions, and said that it was made to - disabuse the public m.nd of the perjured and guilty statement ol the prisoner Sullivan, for the murderer Sullivan was a wretch, who would gi* to any lengths to save his own life; since there was undeniable proof of bis guilt. He said that he was walking one day with Kelly in the streets of Hokitika, when a man passed whom Kelly said he knew! He said his name was Sullivan, and that he was ‘a character’. Kelly took Burgess 'to the Rose, Thistle" and Shamrock Hotel., and they played cards with Sullivan.. Sullivan played a man for money and began to cheat. They went outside to fight, and Sullivan gave the man in charge for robbing him of half a sovereign. Burgjess became intimate with him and joined him in several robberies. On© proposed robbery was that of Mr Fox, the banker at- the Grey. They intended to rob the bank at Okarito, and for that purpose, procured some troopers’ clothes. They robbed the police camp in Hokitika and took four revolvers.. They went to Grey on May 26 and stopped at the Provincial Hotel. Sullivan left then for few days and during that time Mr Dobson was nnitdered. Sullivan told him they had made a mistake in stopping a man that they took to bo, a banker, and who turned out to be only a surveyor. Sullivan said that he was such a nice young fellow, but after they had stopped him they could not let him go, so they took him off tlie road, and burked him (meaning clicked him). The victim laughingly said: “Did you think 1 was ,a balnkelr? All 1 I have is six pounds.” SulMn said: him, compass and feiffll, for lip had a cm ipass with, ijvinu” jf

Burgess went on to -describe bow they went to Nelson in the W-n”"by,' and the subsequent murders of .I.lines; Battle, and the four men at MaUfL : gatapu as described by Sullivan, hut. Burgess 'accused Sullivan of taking the principal paid in the murders. • THo four prisoners were, comm i%.d fox- trial at the Supreme Court. When, the Supreme Court opened or. September 13th. the Grand Jurv brought in a true bill against Bu-tr gess, Levy a-nd Kelly for tlie murders of Mathiteu, Kempthorne, Dudley and Pontius, and against all four prisoners for the murder of James Battle.

The prisoners pleaded not guilty. Sullivan stated that lie arrived in Tasmania la® a prisoner of tli© Crown

in , 1840. He escaped to Victoria, and was Sent to Port Arthur in 1848. He resided at Sandhurst in 1853 as a storekeeper. He denied complicity in the proposed robbery qf ,Parr -at the Ahaura, but-acknowledged going with Burgess and Kelly to . rob Keir, the banker, at. .Ross, -and Wilkie, the storekeeper at Greymouth, and to murder Fox, the gold buyer at Grey, under the influence of Burgess.

He denied any part in the murder of Dobson,;but was shown thie body by Murray vvilo was in custody in Ho ti-kla. The judge; occupied seven hours in summing - up: the evidence against Burgess, Levy and Kelly, and the jnryr brought in a verdict of guilt;-. Sullivan?was tried by a special jury for [the murder of Battle and found gujlt.v. I-/”'.' ■

Tlj'-c judge sentenced the four men to death. - 'On September 28 the warrants for the execution of Burgess, Levy and Kelly arrived in Nelson, hut the Government commuted the capital sentence passed on Sullivan, to one of penal servitude for life.

Sero-eant Dyer, who returned from Nelson, .stated that he had talked to Sullivan, and he had stated that the gang had made anvay with many travellers between Hokitika and- Kanieri. On October 5, Burgess, Levy and Kelly were executed in the gaol yard at Nelson. Kelly and Levy repeatedly declared their innocence, and Burgess stated that iSulivan was. guilty qf the murders of Battle and Mathieu, and also Dobson. '..-At! the pnd' of November, Sullivan wa® f bronjgsj)i .to Hokitika as a witness: Thepe- wais a hostile, demonstration one’ his arrival. On DedeafibbP 1, James Wilson alias Murray wits' jbbarged with complicity in the niiirtter of Geoi-ge Dobson. There were li ; numerous witnesses, amongst them; being E. B. Fox, who had escaped the bushrangers hv going down the Grey-! Diver in a boat from the Arnold, '[ j i

Sullivan -in;; bis evidence described meeting the prisoner Murray at the Hope and Anchor Hotel, and walking down Revpllj Street and going with him to the/Golden Fleece Hotel. He then' Went; on.; ':to describe their visit to Gi'eymo'utjh: and gave a description to the eff:eet--that Murray and Kelly had murdered Dobson'P -Sullivan was in the witness box for fifteen hours altogether. On December 13 William de Lacey was charged with being concerned in .a-.conspiracy to murder E. B. Fbx, •■fee gold buyer. Sullivan was the principal witness, and stated that de Laoey provided the gang with information; re Fox’s; movements. :

Sulllivail' also the principal witness' in .the trial of W. H.. Chamberlain for .perjury las a witness. Tin ,blearing in the Magistrate’s Court took over a fortnight and the prisoners were committed to the Supreme Court Sulli van ...was- sen t hack t o Nel son, an d afteitwo yeiayhj .itas ' theh to tli;e .Dunedin, gadi; Owing to-the loss of' the files,, the Supreme Court evidence is not available.

Thus..„ ended, -the _ :w m©st- •- notorious series Of crime and robbery on the .West Coast goldfields. , -Our .series of articles nqw concludes with a few notes from the files of 1866.

• On July 7tli, 1866, .the firet telegram was sent from Hokitika to Greymouth .( '.

..Mr Warden Price, reporting on Okarifo district for the month of June gavi the following gold returns: —Febru.ary,; 4000 ounces; April 6530 ounces; May, 8695 ounces.;. June, 12,106 Ounces. The population of tint Okarito district was estimated at 3000 distributed as follows:—Tow-n of Okarito 500, Canvas Town and Lake 30 Saltwater to Wanganui 150, Five MiltBeach 1500, Three Mile Beach 100, Waiho Forks 30, Gillespies Beach 650 Cooks to Biruce Bay 130.

i During the month June 16th to July 14, 47 vessels arrived at Hokiika with 705 passengers, and 51 sailed with 199 passengers. A total of 50,488 : ounces of gold were exported. J At the Supreme Court sittings held bn : July 16th 1866 His Honour Mr Justice Gresson, in his address to the jury, stated, that the calendar was heavy, "tomprising manslaughter, burglary, irobbery, rape, stabbing, forgery, assaults, riot, horse stealing, embezzlement, lareery and escape. A, boy of 16, for altering cheque' on the Bank of New South Wales, was sentenced to IS months’ hard labour. A. coloured man, for passing, a £5 valueless cheque, received nine months’, hard labour.

' iFof (dealing, a horse, a man, aged 46' yeals, received eight years’ penal servitude.

A pi an who received £lO from a woman tojpay two accounts, did not do soq and.; was charged with larceny as a bailee. He received nine months’ hard labour.

A man was charged with stealing a cheque from the cook of the Hotel at Okarito. In the evidence a barber described the prisoner’s , He went from the barber’s shop t!o the Okarito Hotel, and then into the Greatest Wonder of the World,, aud changed a note. The sentence was (nine months’ hard labour.

Another prisoner who falsely represented that he was authorised to .receive) a. carpet bag left in a storekeeper’s charge, received six months’ 'hard, labour.

"During the sittings, one of the lawyers said that the prosecutor- was “thrice sheets i)n <i>he wind.” Hip ffo-ntjur remarked that if scientific terms were used then hd must have spmbone to explain their meaning. Onie; prisoner was sentenced to 14 days’ 1 hard labour for stealing a pocket handkerchief.

Op! ,|[nly 29th the event of the week nt Okjirito was the run on the Bank of Ne\v Zealand. When the English

news arrived about the failure of the New Zealand Hanking Corporation, it was whispered that the Bank) of New Zealand was broken. The news spread with immense and tney rushed the Bank, withdrawing'their deposits and changing New Zealand notes for those of the Bank of New South Wales. The news spread to the Five Mile rush. To “the bank” was the word and down went shovels and barrows, and the Bluff wqs soon swarming with men panting, rushing, and perspiring in their'mad haste to oe among the first in Okarito. Hunt’s rush at Bruce Bay in the scrub was nothing to it. The panic ceased next day but while it lasted £IO,OOO was withdrawn. *

On August JBth, the : s,s. William Mishin, with passengers from Duned|n|! ijvejvtJ 'on rthe Spit and passengers and landed when the tide went ou|, /0 On' September 2, the p.s. Lioness also came to grief and landed on the spit alongside the William Mi skin.

In September an exhibition was opened for a week or two, consisting of a moving diorama illustrating the scenes and incidents, of recent frightful’ tragedies, that had been perpetrated on the West Coast by a gang of murderous ruffians.

On September 7 the fortnightly escort arrived from Ross with 3100 ounces of gold. On September 28 the escort arrived from Waimea with. 3300 ounces of gold. :: : On October 4, 1866,. the first elec-

tion for the Municipal Council was held and the following were elected : —Hungerford, J. Bonar, C. Williams, ■J. R. Ecclesfield, Curiiming,.- Shaw, F. L. Clarke and Fitzsimmons.

A. return of the export of gold from Greymouth between Aug. 1865 to September 1866 totalled 260,315 ounces.

On November 2, the paper announced that a new feature in the sporting world of Hokitika had been introduced by the proprietor of the Shamrock Hotel Revell Street, in the shape of an excellent rat pit 18ft in. diameter.

The Rangatira left for Sydney via G lpymou'cj’i ion (December 4th with 12000 ounces of gold, of which 5013 ounces came from Hokitika. On December 10th the Claud Hamilton took 19000 ounces of gold to Sydney of which 9000 ounces came from Greymouth.

On December 29th a notorious character! Hokitika, thp famous “Bully” Hayes. He arrived as captain of the brig, Rona, 150 'tons, from Fiji. Part of the cargo consisted of 50,000 oranges, 50,000 limes, 1000 cockatoos, 80 pigs, 200 pineapples, 200 citrons and some South Sea Island curiosities.

In view of the depression in this year of grace 1932, it is interesting to read of ‘the financial crisis in England «ini. l-866j -as- told, inthemam news of the-West “Coast Times-. 1 Europe- was in a- state of turmoil. Italy, Austria and Prussia were all embroiled. The Pope had fled' from Rome and Garibaldi had marched into Venetla. Attempts had been made to assassinate the Czar of Russia ana also Count Bismarck.

President Johnson in the United States was having a lot of trouble with his reconstruction policy. The Spaniards* had bombarded Valparaiso. The 11th of May stood out in gloomy prominence in the chronicles of English financial history. It was known as Black Friday, and was a day of disaster, ruin, and loss to thousands. Overend Gunney and Co., Ltd., s'fcqpped payments to the tune of twelve millions. The European Bank stopped payment and the New Zealand Banking Corporation, established in 1863,witlj a capital of 600,000 failed. The Bank of London (unlimited) failed and numbers of private firms went bankrupt, the figures running into millions. The Bank of England rate went up to 10 per cent, and in one day the reserve was reduced from eve i millions to three millions. Wo learn from the “West Coast Times” July 26th 1867, ‘that great distress prevails in the metropolis of the province of Canterbury and that there are many men, able and willing to work, who, with their families, aie enduring the pinching of great poveity, simply on account of the lack of employment. On July 27 a handsome looking brigantine, the Hannah Newton, under full canvas tried to sail oveiythe bar at neap tide, and came to grief on the north spit alongside the wreck of the Gratitude. She had sailed from Sydney in nine days. Til© Gratitude had gone ashore on the 22nd, and the wreck was sold for £l9. The barque Frederick was wrecked on the 23rd and was sold for £9O, but the bargain was a dear one for the purchaser, as she was washed off the spit, and sank in the channel. A small schooner named the Alice was also wrecked, and her crew of .three escaped death by,a miracle.