Morpeth Moments

Send us Fan Mail The first successful circus in Australia actually originated from Hobart by an Englishman Robert Avis Radford in 1847. He used acts such as equestrianism, acrobats, and clowning, which mimicked the Astley circus in England. It was from this circus that James Henry Ashton, of the Ashton dynasty later established his own circus. The Ashton circus is the oldest continuing circus in A...

Send us Fan Mail This episode contains information of the 5th hanging at Maitland Gaol, NSW. Michael Collihane was charged for the rape of Mrs. Ann Milsom, at Aberdeen, NSW, on 10th May 1851, and hanged thereafter at Maitland Gaol on 2nd October, 1851. Michael Collihane obtained his Ticket of Leave with Passport, which allowed him to work on squatter's runs and so enabling him to obtain work...

Send us Fan Mail William Hayes was indicted for the willful murder of Benjamin Cott, at Dagworth, on the 13th November, 1850, by beating and wounding him with a certain blunt instrument, whereof the said Benjamin Cott instantly died. William Hayes was hanged at Maitland Gaol on the 25th April 1851.... but there is more to this story. References: Trove newspapers - https://trove.nla.gov.au Poverty,...

Send us Fan Mail This is the second episode in the series - Maitland Gaol Executions by Hanging. The first two hangings were Melville and Long Harry, executed on 16th September 1843. George Waters Ward was hanged at Maitland Gaol on 19th March 1849, for the wilful murder of Richard Connolly, otherwise known as Richard King. I would like to thank my son Brennan, for providing the voice of George Wa...

Send us Fan Mail Maitland Gaol is in East Maitland, NSW and this location was first used as a gaol in 1843, even though incomplete. In the same year, two prisoners were hanged for murder. Sixteen executions by hanging were carried out at the Gaol at the front gates and at the rear corner behind the old kitchen. The hangings took place between 1843 and 1897 - all for rape or murder. First being Mel...

Send us Fan Mail The first successful circus in Australia actually originated from Hobart by an Englishman Robert Avis Radford in 1847. He used acts such as equestrianism, acrobats, and clowning, which mimicked the Astley circus in England. It was from this circus that James Henry Ashton, of the Ashton dynasty later established his own circus. The Ashton circus is the oldest continuing circus in A...

Send us Fan Mail William Maher arrived at John Green's selection at Burren Station on the day of the tragedy, (4th September 1894) having shaved his whiskers off. He got off his horse near the house and fixed his rifle together, having carried it in pieces. He spoke to John Green, who, not knowing him, said, 'You have the advantage of me.' Maher said, 'You have not got the adva...

Send us Fan Mail Charles Hines, condemned to death by the Chief Justice, Sir Frederick Darley, at the Circuit Court held in Maitland in April 1897, for a terrible outrage committed on his step-daughter, at a place called Gundy, near Scone, suffered the last dread penalty of the law within the precincts of the gaol at East Maitland on Friday, the 21st May 1897. He was in the ominous words of the Ju...

Send us Fan Mail Michael McMahon  was the 15th person hanged at Maitland Gaol on the 12th December 1871, for the murder of John Jones at Hall’s Creek.  A magisterial enquiry was held at Denman, on the 8th of June, 1871, before G. A. F. Kibble, Esq, J P , touching the death of a man named John Jones, who was found dead under his dray, near Hall's Creek, on the 7th June.  -At nine o clock on Tu...

Send us Fan Mail There was a sigh of relief when the news got abroad in the middle of August, 1861, that the murderer, Black Harry, was captured. There was great excitement locally when, after his committal at Merriwa, he was brought on to Singleton; and placed in the local lockup. The people turned out in great numbers to get a glimpse of the notorious villain, whose atrocities shocked the whole...

Send us Fan Mail The Green family were very well known in the Hunter Valley. Walter Clement Green, vigneron, was the father of Frederick Davies Green, who was charged with the murder of Lilian Bridge, aged 16, daughter of William Bridge, employee of W. C. Green, on 14th April 1908.   References: Trove newspapers: https://trove.nla.gov.au Music: Lone Harvest & At Rest: by Kevin MacLeod. License...

Send us Fan Mail History records the tragic tale of the murder of Lilly Bridge in 1908 somewhere between her home and Norwood House. It is thought that Frederick Green (son of Walter Clement Green - winemaker), ambushed Lilly, who had rejected his romantic advances, and murdered her. Lilly was 17 years old and had worked for Mrs. Green. Her father worked for Walter Clement Green and lived in a cot...

Send us Fan Mail The Burke and Hare murders were a series of 16 killings committed over a period of about ten months in 1828 in Edinburgh, Scotland. They were undertaken by William Burke and William Hare, who sold the corpses to Robert Knox for dissection at his anatomy lectures. Writing to the Weekly Scotsman, a Leith correspondent says : — ‘In your journal some time ago, I read a powerful narrat...

Send us Fan Mail This story is an introduction to my next episode regarding Helen McDougal, paramour of William Burke. William Burke and William Hare committed 16 Killings over a period of about ten months in 1828 in Edinburgh, Scotland. They sold the corpses to Dr. Robert Knox for his anatomy lectures. Edinburgh was the leading centre of anatomical study in the early 19th Century, in a time when...

Send us Fan Mail John Jones age 24, arrived in Australia on the ship ‘Mary Pleasants’ as a free man, on the 9th August 1857. This episode tells the details of the crime which ended his two year stay in the new country and ended all his ambitions to prosper and succeed as others did on the same journey. Jim Crow was born in Clarence Town in 1837, south of Maitland, and it is believed he was a membe...

Send us Fan Mail In 1860, Francis Saville Kent, nearly 4 years old, was taken from his cot and cruelly murdered. His body was found in the privy at Road Hill House, Wiltshire, England. Five years later, Constance Emilie Kent confessed to the crime and served 20 years in prison. When she was released, she emigrated to Australia. For 20 years she was the Matron at Dr. Pierce's Memorial Home in...

Send us Fan Mail In the early decades of the early 20th Century, writes seemed to be looking back nostalgically at what had been lost during colonisation, and they attempted to recreate the past in their literary works. One such reporter in the 1920's, was the journalist 'The Man in the Mask'. He or she wrote nostalgic stories derived from factual events and real people. This episod...

Send us Fan Mail I have been doing a series about the 16 hangings that occurred at Maitland Gaol from 1843 to 1897. But there was an execution by hanging before the Goal was built and took place in the main street of Maitland in February 1838.  References Trove newspaper: - https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/ Music: Lone Harvest & Teller of Tales - Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed unde...

Send us Fan Mail On the 25 March 1925, a story appeared on page 3 of the ‘The Don Dorrigo Gazette and Guy Fawkes Advocate’ under the title of “Hunting the Bunyip of Hexham Swamp.” It appears that three men, Sam Millgate, Bill Wallace and Billy Parkes, back in 1879 swore they heard, during an evening’s wild duck hunt in the Hexham Swamps, what resembled the “roar of a lion” and were terrified by th...

Send us Fan Mail This story was brought to my attention from a listener. The article that led to my investigation began as follows:- Year1897 - "There's a fatality about the Keep family. Yes a fatality. I was  up in Maitland about 15 years ago when a Keep was poisoned. His wife and mother-in-law were arrested on suspicion, and one of them died in gaol. . . . . .Well, there was another Ke...

Send us Fan Mail Email from a listener: ‘What is it about Maitland women and their love of strychnine?’   ‘The Bishop’s Bridge story is interesting in that Sarah Nagle, store-keeper of West Maitland, was also involved in the Burton/Keep poisoning case, 16 years later. There was a witness in the Police court hearing that said that he had seen Sarah Nagle and Mary Nichols over his fence on the day b...

Send us Fan Mail William Ross and Jemmy the Chinaman were hanged at Maitland Gaol, NSW on 22nd November 1859. They were the 9th and 10th people to be hanged there. References: Trove: https://trove.nla.gov.au Lone Harvest, Teller of Tales By Kevin Macleod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Xia-Yu by Guifrog https://freemusicarchiv...

Send us Fan Mail Because I've been working on research and display for Anzac Day, I have given information regarding those who were connected with Morpeth, NSW, whether by birth, enlistment, residence or next of kin.

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, are the circumstances that led to the hanging of Christopher Walsh, on the 28th September 1854, for the murder of his wife Mary Walsh nee McLoughlan. Mary was seven months into her confinement. The baby did not survive. Listener discretion is advised as this story relates to violence against a spouse and suicide. References: Trove newspapers:- https://trove.nla.go...

Send us Fan Mail This is a continuation to the previous episode relating to the Australian Outback and a story about a bush grave. . . 'He sighed heavily in the listening silence that followed this remark and proceeded with his work. He filled the grave to the brim this time, and fashioned the mound carefully with his spade. Once or twice he muttered the words, "I am the rassaraction.&qu...