THE TASMANIAN MURDERS.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 1026, 25 April 1883, Page 2

THE TASMANIAN MURDERS.

DEVILS OF THE ATROCITIES COMMITTED.

A Laup ea ton cablegram published a few dayi a g 0 stated that two youths, named 0 g e p and Davis, had been committed foi’trial for the wilful murder of two men, ading that the details of the crime were atrocious, and that the murders ha created much excitement, r rom our Hbart files to hand we extract the followiiv details of the crimes : ilson, wliu vas a repairer on the line, and worked i: gang No 28, had gone to bed about th us ual hour on Monday night, and aft r being there some little time he was arc lae( j by stones thrown on the house. The family, consisting of Mr and Mrs William Vilson and four children, aged from twelv. to six years, and a visitor named were living in a s’ab hut with a si\a)l garden attached, situate about 40 yarl s from'.the railway line, and nearly three miles from Epping Forest station, Gampbdl Town. The husband, William Wilson, went outside to see the cause of the niise, and had not gone far when the report of firearms wag heard, and Wilson called out, “I am Shot.” The inmates of the hut heard''a furthernoise, and men calling for them to come out of the hut and they would shoot them all. In a terrible state of fear they remained inside, not daring to move. After a little time it was discovered’ that the desperadoes had piled wood, &c, at the side of the hut, which was set fire to in three places, and commenced to bum rapidly. Mrs Boram first, ventured outj with a child, taking a trunk of clothes, 'and then holding'up her hands, offered what money, &c, they had if their lives would be spared. She was in the act of stooping when she was also shot and fell, the slugs entering her aide, shoulder, and groin. The family meantime were all forced outside by the rapidly-spreading flames, and one of the,men caught,hold of a girl aged 12 and dragged her towards the bush. Her screams attracted her mother, who rushed to her aid. The murderer then presented a gun at and threatened to slmot both another and g?!£, and the mother gave him 10s, praying him to spare her children. Her entreaties prevailed, and the men eventually made off in tl,i,e direction of Epping station, threatening that they would return the following nightand continue their deeds.of ;

Bloodshed & Destruction. Two of Wilson’s boys, who subsequently escaped, ran. to Epping station; and; reported the murder, and, on help arriving, Wilson was found dead, having been shot in the head, breast, and groin, and must have expired immediately after calling out that hc'wasshot. ' Mrs Boratn is a middleaged woman, who was on her' way to Cleveland to take a situation, and was only staying at Wilson’s for that night, eu route. r Slie': was brought'to Campbell Town Hospital. Her injuries arenot considered dikely to be fatal. Tlie murderers behaved in a very desperate manner, declaring themselves as Jim Kelly and l)an Riley. They had a bright-barrelled gun, and a horse-pistol. Mrs Wilson lias identified one of ine mnrderers as a: young fellow named Jim Ogden, and known in the neighbourhood, the other being siuiilar in appearance,* with Tair : complexion and light whiskers. Wilson, when shot, was only clothed in his shirt, but he bad* suspended from his neck a small bag, containing the sum of £7. This lu£ inurshot him they broke in the windows with an axe, and set fire to the cottage at both ends. A later despatch says (—Unhappily, the

! Outrage i does not end with the above ; horrors on horrors have accumulated during the past 24 hours, and another inoffensive person Inis fallen a victim to the miscreants, who, for a brief interval, have' kept the whole : country side in a state of terror; The ; great consolation is, that, thanks : to the r j energy and pi uck of the : police and-resi-dents, they have been captured, and:are now in safe keeping*. It appears tliat two tramps answering the description of Ogden and his com panionr passed through Forth on Sunday last, and they are suspseted of stealing goods .from a dwelling atvsSym:mo ns Plain. Thence they apparently ;made their way by a devious route to I Eppiiig’ Forest, and waited until night \ before attacking Wilson’s residence. Having committed murder there, set fire to the house, and wantonly Woiiiided a Helpless ‘Woman, g' they took to the bush-at no great distance from the railway line, and waited 4 -for further victim's. ; Before leaving place they avowed their intention of attacking other residents ’in : tbe' neighbour* hood. No one : came to the assistance of tho. Wilson family ’during the time the attack was made. Mrs Wilson, it is said, fan tp a neighbour’s-hpuse about a quarter of a mile distant, ’and implored assistance,' either to capture the murderers, or, help to save a few of her household belongings from the : burning cottage, but, the men ; called upon declined to leave the]female: ; Inmates of their own dwelling: unprotected. j Thus it happened' t hat the entire premises ;of the Wilson family were destroyed, and it was not until daylight that the corpse of the murdered husband was.removed from the place where ho had fallen a victim to \ the. fire -of his Relentless assailants. ; A jury had just beep sworn in at Campbell Town on Wednesday to enquire into-the Death of W. Wilson, I when a 'amved, stating that Tom Bowley, of the railway, was' shot in the bush. This subsequently proved,ipcorrect. ,The inquest-was instantly adjourned, land the warden, the police and volunteers,.and the doctor all turned out to lattempt the capture of the murderers, < who- were believed to be in the forest. The muiderers,, James Ogden and James Mahoney, alias Sutherland, were captured, the same afternoon at 4 o’clock by Constable Phillips, James Smith, and Edward Curran. They had murdered Alfred Hphnan, formerly driver of Page’s mail coach, whom they shot dead that afternoon.without any warning as he was driving M’Kenzie’s lemonade cart to Campbell Town. Prisoners, when captured, made their boast that they could have shot SubInspector Palmer and Constable Phillips, whom they had covered with their guns in the dark while they (the police) were patrolling the forest. The prisoners did not seem much concerned, and were Singing: Kelly Songs in the loek-up. Alfred Holman was tniir; dered in cold blood. He was driving a lemonade cart ; from Launceston, and was shot while passing between Snake Banks and Epping. After shooting him the Qiurdsi'Gis took the cait into the hush. The police found his body covered up by a log. He was not quite dead at the time, but expired soon after. His lemonade cart was traced into the; bush, which led to the arrest of the murderers. They were freely helping themselves to the contents at the time. On the police coming up the murderers ran. The police*

followed and’-firedA;Wo shots/but without hitting them. The two murderers then surrendered. Holman’s head was terribly smashed. It was 1 o’clock when he was, found. He was alive, but unconscious, and died shortly before 2 o’clock. The ground bore the appearance of A. Severe Struggle having taken place. ; Hplraan was 35 years old, and at one. time kept a public-house at Hobart, and latterly a lodging-house in the Quadrant, Launceston. He was a most steady and indnstrious man. He leaves 1 a wife and three children. The murderers/had drunk, or other disposed of; 1 ten dozen bottles of ginger beer and a small keg of ginger wine, and" eaten a considerable quantity of biscuits. The murder took place between 11 and 12 . o’clock in the forenoon, and the murderers, after their capture, were driven to Campbell Town by Mr Page in his brake. They were in danger of being lynched on the way by the infuriated settlers, who had spent the whole of the previous night underarms and momentarily expecting an attack, knowing that Ogden and his associates were still in the district ,as they had been seen: and recognised there; after the Wilson murder. r ? - O gdeh’i Histoi’y. .Jim Ogden f the : iqurdever ;qfthe ganger; Wilson, is identical with a former inmate of the Boy’s Home, and, was then known as'Robertj Ogden. From enquiries made amongst people who knew him in his boyh’qodj it app’ears' that he evinced signs of a brutdl dispOsitibn ht an early period of hia life. Robert'Ogden is the youngest son of Thomas and Ann Ogden, who, from all accounts/ always bore a bad character. Both mother and father wore natives of Ireland. The former arrived in (he colony in the ship Elizabeth and Henry, and the latter’in the Moffatt. ! Soon after setting foot in Tasmania -the 'Ogdens started to earn ia livelihood by travelling through the Country -and- disposing of small articles of dress, lace, &c. The father was a man of ■ 1 * Weak Intolleet, and the mother lias, the name, of being half-witted. Between the years,lß66 and 1872, Ogden, senior; served six sentences in the Campbell street Gaol, amounting to two'years one month and seven days, for, suffering' 1 .his'‘'children ,to gp ‘begging. Mrs'Ggdeii'wiiß sentenced.’to 'seven days’; imprisWUißnt in 18(51 1 for disturbing 'the’ peacev - In' i 1872 Ogden/ senior, was' ad-, mitt edXintd 1 the Lunatic Asylum’ "at New’ Norfolk. Jde .remained inmate, of that institution- till?ffis deaih;”which"lkßaf3‘t6 have lakeUq>rabM.dfiring thclatterfpaft of the. year 1879. On the 16th February,!' 1875, the governors of the Boys’ Homo apprenticed the subject of this 'notice to; Jktaes ‘Hull, boatman, of Battery Point," ff)r a term of four years, to learn the business; of a boatman. He remained ■ with the 5 Hull family for about 12, months; • From thatpday he became their servant tillhis abrupt leaving, he showed: himself possessed/of ■ v. A Brutish-Temper, and bhfeitf of into a pk^ion; J yithottt ’provocation. . As a boy ytry bad in every conceivable respect, ahd’is a thoroughly low blackguard. He was small for his years, of a fair completion, with light hair. In temperhe was extremely violent; in character perr fectly untrustworthy, and greatly ad-; 1 dieted toixobbery and thieving.': To the; Hulls ho proved a very»darigerohs : ser- - vant, and was constantly " placingI’the’; 1 ’the’; whole family in great terror by his wild/: 1 nfess’of disposition. -It was u/comiUort; practice for him, when told to/ perform , shine Jitile work in’ connection 1 with the household/Ao pick up a brickja.nd shy it, s|j:aight at |the,; person speaking, to ;lum. On several occasions he was sent ; up : the. town with money to purchase articles; of food for his master, but never-carno back except in(the custody ,of a police officer; ; Once, by the merest accident/ Hull saved 1 hia little daughter from being hit on the'; head by a brick which Ogden '.had’hurled: at her. Whilst with the' Hulls young. Ogden frequently told them, thqt his., father had V Killei<a one of His Own ; Childi^en,

and afteß tying nPnjYiiP a bag ■ concealed itin;a waterho.ler.at Bream Creek some 15 years since. On the 18th August; 1879, Robert Ogden bolted from the Hnlls/hnd'; went to Launceston, where he changed his ! Christian name to James. About a year' and a half‘ago the young rowdy returned ~ to Mr Half; and'requested to be allowed tq: resume jjjs. former work, but this his.old) employer ‘would not” consent ;to.. As ayoungster,, v . wh t en, travel ling.. with his, parents over the.-, island he was, in the common habit of perpetrating robberies on'-.people. Tile police arrested >him«for Bleeping out in the sheds in the country; and he was sent to the Boy*V Reformatory for-Tour years. ;:! - Robert Ogden is ppw about 22 years of age. ' •Mil .. tf • ;•