Crime Time: Australians Behaving Badly Read online

  Table of Contents

  INTRODUCTION

  1600s:

  JERONIMUS CORNELISZ

  1800s:

  ALEXANDER ‘CANNIBAL’ PEARCE

  MATTHEW BRADY

  AUSTRALIA’S FIRST BANK ROBBERY

  1850s:

  JOHN GILES PRICE

  LOLA MONTEZ

  BRIDGET HURFORD

  1860s:

  ‘MAD’ DAN MORGAN

  FRANK GARDINER

  MARY ANN BUGG

  ARTHUR ORTON

  1870s - 1890s:

  NED KELLY

  FRANCES KNORR

  FREDERICK DEEMING

  JOHN AND SARAH MAKIN

  20th Century: 1900s - 1930s:

  SQUIZZY TAYLOR

  THE SHARK ARM KILLING

  SNOWY ROWLES

  THE PYJAMA GIRL

  1940s - 1950s:

  CAROLINE GRILLS

  JEAN LEE

  ERIC COOKE

  MURRAY BERESFORD ROBERTS

  1960s - 1970s:

  RONALD RYAN

  DEREK ERNEST PERCY

  JOHN STUART AND JAMES FINCH

  ROBERT TRIMBOLE

  JAMES MILLER

  RAYMOND BENNETT

  1980s:

  GEOFFREY CHAMBERS AND KEVIN BARLOW

  DAVID AND CATHERINE BIRNIE

  JOHN WAYNE GLOVER

  JULIAN KNIGHT

  1990s:

  THE SIGMA BREAKIN

  PETER DUPAS

  MARTIN BRYANT

  LUCY DUDKO

  IVAN MILAT

  MARK BRANDON ‘CHOPPER’ READ

  THE SNOWTOWN MURDERS

  HEATHER PARKER – PETER GIBB

  2000s:

  MATTHEW WALES

  SEF GONZALES

  JOE KORP AND TANIA HERMAN

  NIKOLAI RADEV

  THE MORAN FAMILY

  MARIO CONDELLO – THE EX-LAWYER

  DONNA HAYES AND BENJAMIN JORGENSEN

  CARL WILLIAMS

  THE ADVENTURES OF

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  INDEX

  THANK YOU

  CRIME TIME

  – AUSTRALIANS BEHAVING BADLY

  by

  Sue Bursztynski

  Illustrations by Louise Prout

  CRIME TIME

  – AUSTRALIANS BEHAVING BADLY

  A collection of true Australian crime stories ranging from bushrangers such as Ned Kelly and Mad Dan Morgan through to serial killers, fraudsters and modern celebrity criminals. Crime Time contains details of the crimes, biographical details, portraits by Louise Prout and interesting trivia in Did You Know boxes.

  Sue Bursztynski

  Sue Bursztynski grew up in the beachside suburbs of Melbourne, where she still lives. For many years, she wrote fiction and non-fiction for small-press science fiction magazines before she won the Mary Grant Bruce Award for children’s literature and realised that what she enjoyed most was writing for young people. She has written nine books, one of which, Potions to Pulsars: Women doing science, was a Notable Book in the Children’s Book Council Awards. Another, Starwalkers: Explorers of the unknown, was nominated for the NSW Premier’s History Award.

  When not writing, Sue works in a school in Melbourne’s western suburbs. She enjoys reading, music, handcraft and old science fiction movies.

  Louise Prout

  Louise is an artist and illustrator. She has published over 28 children’s books and is currently illustrating the new Quentaris series.

  Louise’s mother taught her, at a very early age, how to draw and capture likeness, mainly in pencil, pen and watercolour.

  In 1993-94 Louise’s drawing career took off when she produced a best-selling calendar called ‘Tall Poppy Target’ Dartboard Calendar. This won the Australian Gift Award for that year. She then worked for sports magazines caricaturing celebrity personalities and politicians, before discovering and coming home to the delightful realm of children’s book illustrations.

  First published by Ford Street Publishing, an imprint of Hybrid Publishers, PO Box 52, Ormond VIC 3204

  Melbourne Victoria Australia

  Text © Sue Bursztynski 2009

  Illustrations © Louise Prout 2009

  2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1

  This publication is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the publisher. Requests and enquiries concerning reproduction should be addressed to Ford Street Publishing Pty Ltd

  2 Ford Street, Clifton Hill VIC 3068.

  Ford Street website: www.fordstreetpublishing.com

  First published 2009

  National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

  Crime Time – Australians behaving badly / Sue Bursztynski

  ISBN 978-1-925000-70-2 (ebook.).

  Target Audience: For children.

  Subjects: Crime – Australia – Juvenile literature.

  Criminals – Australia – Juvenile literature.

  Dewey Number: 364.10994

  Cover design © Grant Gittus Graphics

  In-house editor: Saralinda Turner

  Printing and quality control in China by Tingleman Pty Ltd

  To Mum and Dad, Mary, Gary, Maurice, Jo, David, Mark, Bianca and all the younger members of my terrific family

  Also by Sue Bursztynski

  Monsters and Creatures of the Night Potions to Pulsars: Women Doing Science Starwalkers: Explorers of the Unknown It’s True! Your Cat Could Be A Spy

  INTRODUCTION

  This is Crime Time, so get ready to discover Australia’s very own gallery of rogues – an Aussie litany of heinous crimes, dastardly deeds and terrifying tales…

  The human race is extraordinarily diverse in its interests. Some people are captivated by shoes and clothes, some engrossed with football or cricket or snowboarding, some would never be parted from their music players and some cannot turn off their mobiles although their texting thumbs are weak with overuse. Yet everyone – whether it be reluctantly or eagerly – is fascinated by wicked misdeeds and illegal acts.

  When I was a child my sisters and I would sneak looks at my father’s paperback copy of The Encyclopaedia of Murder by Colin Wilson and Patricia Pitman. It was kept in his wardrobe and we had to creep into the room and sit on the floor, hidden by the creaking wardrobe door, to read those terrible tales of blood and slaughter, of Jack the Ripper and the cannibal Alexander Pearce. How we shuddered with delicious fear when Pearce said he preferred human flesh because it was far tastier than pork. And we would read on, shuddering, until we were caught, or until it started to get dark and we had to tiptoe down the long, dim corridor after reading about the betrayal and massacre of the crew of the Batavia.

  These pleasures, these spine-juddering tales, are now laid out for you, and you don’t even need to hide behind the groaning wardrobe door to read them.

  Within these pages lie Pearce the cannibal and murderous Frederick Deeming, here is Sarah Makin with babies buried in her garden and there is Caroline Grills with her poisonous desserts. Here is a gallery of dreadful deeds and matchless crimes, from a well-planned caper that robbed a club full of bookies of all their cash to the sickening Snowtown murders with their ghastly barrels of human flesh. Here too, are the shamelessly audacious – like Lola Montez whose spirited attempt to find a spider in her dress left her nearly naked before an audience of Gold Rush miners.

  In this book you may feed yourself on horrors. Murders for money. Murders for status or position, murders for respectability and even murders for fun…

  But do not be afraid of dangerous strangers. Most murders in Au
stralia are still carried out by family members. By fathers, mothers, lovers and children. Listen out for the knock on the window or the footsteps on the porch but listen harder for the beating of your own heart…

  And now, get ready to unearth Australia’s deep, dark history of crime, true crime…

  Kerry Greenwood, Melbourne 2009

  JERONIMUS CORNELISZ

  THE ‘BATAVIA’ INCIDENT

  In 1629, long before Captain Cook explored the east coast of Australia, a Dutch ship called Batavia arrived on the western coast. However, it wasn’t exploring. It was wrecked.

  Batavia was a beautiful ship on its first voyage. It was full of treasure, with soldiers and passengers on their way to Java, part of Indonesia. The captain, Ariaen Jacobsz, reported to the head merchant, Francisco Pelsaert. Third in command was a merchant called Jeronimus Cornelisz.

  Cornelisz was a persuasive man who could talk people into doing things they would never normally do. He was about to do just this to a number of the crew.

  One of the Batavia’s passengers was a beautiful woman called Lucretia van den Mylen. All three men found her attractive. Pelsaert was in charge, so he got to be nice to Lucretia. Jacobsz was jealous.

  At the Cape of Good Hope, there was trouble over Lucretia, who had been attacked by some crew members. Pelsaert had to discipline them. Jacobsz was also still angry with him.

  For this and other reasons, there was going to be a mutiny. Cornelisz would lead it. The crew would kill Pelsaert and the soldiers and take over the ship. Not only would they get all that treasure, they could turn Batavia into a pirate ship. And Cornelisz would get Lucretia.

  But the ship was blown off course in a storm and ended up near the Abrolhos Islands, off the coast of Western Australia. On 4 June, Batavia crashed on a coral reef. The Batavia was breaking up so the passengers and crew had to abandon the ship. There were three islands nearby. Boats took the women and children ashore, while the crew packed whatever supplies they could.

  Unfortunately, they made the mistake of leaving behind most of the water. On the islands, there was some food, but no water. Pelsaert and some of the crew took the last of the longboats to look for water on mainland Australia. In the end, they went all the way to Java, over 1000 kilometres away, because the coast was too rocky and steep to land.

  While they were away, Cornelisz took over. The water supply ran out. Eventually, it rained, but several people had already died of thirst. Cornelisz didn’t care. He had other plans. They would fix the ship. Those willing to sign an agreement with him to become pirates would live. Everyone else would die.

  Cornelisz and his friends killed and killed, hacking people into pieces, drowning them, bashing them up. They murdered 125 men, women and children.

  Meanwhile, a soldier called Wiebbe Hayes had led a small party of men to one of the other islands to look for water. They found it and sent a smoke signal up to let the others know. They had no idea what was happening on the big island until some men escaped the murderers and swam to their island.

  Hayes knew he mustn’t let Cornelisz win. He and his small group of soldiers prepared homemade weapons and set up a stockade from which they could fight. Cornelisz and some of his men rowed to the island, but weren’t allowed to land. The battle went on for days. Hayes captured Cornelisz and some others.

  On 17 September, Pelsaert returned with a rescue ship, Sardam. Hayes managed to reach it first, told his story and that was the end of the mutiny.

  The mutineers were tortured for information. Some of them were taken back to Indonesia for trial, torture and execution. Others were executed right there, on the island, now called Batavia’s Graveyard, starting with Cornelisz, whose hands were chopped off before he was hanged. Cornelisz showed no regret for what he’d done, crying ‘Revenge!’ as they hanged him.

  Only two of the mutineers were spared. One was a cabin boy called Jan Pelgrom de Bye, the other a soldier, Wouter Looes. Instead of being executed, they were taken to the mainland and left there.

  Nobody knows what happened to these two killers. Maybe they died, or perhaps they were lucky and were adopted by a local Aboriginal clan. Perhaps they even have descendants today.

  DID YOU KNOW…?

  Australia’s youngest murderer was only seven years old. In 1908, Robert Davis of Irish Town, Tasmania, was arrested for the murder of his two younger brothers. However, when everyone realised how young he was, not even the prosecutor could bring himself to try a little boy and he was sent to a boys’ home instead.

  ALEXANDER

  ‘CANNIBAL’ PEARCE

  When Alexander Pearce, an Irishman, was transported to Australia in 1819, it was for stealing a few pairs of shoes. Today, that crime would incur a small sentence, but in those days, it could get you hanged. Alexander, however, was lucky. He was sent for seven years to the penal colony in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania). In fact, some of Australia’s nastiest prisons were in Tasmania.

  Alexander went to Macquarie Harbour, a prison so tough that prisoners were willing to kill each other, just so they could go back to the Hobart jail for a break before they were hanged. At Macquarie Harbour you could be punished for the smallest things – even for singing! Prisoners worked for twelve hours a day in winter, sixteen in summer, on very little food.

  Everyone believed that escape was impossible. The sea destroyed small boats, you couldn’t swim to freedom and the bush around the settlement was thick. If, by some chance, you did get out, Hobart Town was 225 kilometres away.

  In spite of all the risks, Alexander and seven other convicts decided to take their chances, first in a boat, then heading through the bush to Hobart Town.

  One of the convicts, Robert Greenhill, was a former sailor and knew how to find his way. The others were Matthew Travers, Alexander Dalton, Thomas Bodenham, William Kennely, John Mather and William ‘Little’ Brown.

  They hacked their way through the bush, but after nine cold, wet days, they had run out of food. Two days later, Kennely joked that he was so hungry he could eat a man. Robert Greenhill said this was a great idea. Human flesh, he said, tasted like pork.

  The first victim was Dalton. He had volunteered to whip other convicts back at Macquarie Harbour and wasn’t popular. Greenhill hit him on the head while he was asleep. The body was divided up the next morning.

  Brown and Kennely, fearing they might be next, returned to Macquarie Harbour. They made it back, but were so exhausted that both of them died anyway. At least they avoided being eaten!

  The next victim was Bodenham, whose body was shared among the four survivors. Even though they saw kangaroos and emus, the runaways had nothing with which to hunt them, so Pearce, Greenhill and Travers attacked and killed Mather.

  After a snake bit Travers, he made a very tasty meal for Pearce and Greenhill. Finally, Pearce took Greenhill’s axe while he was asleep and killed him. Taking an arm and a thigh, he continued on through the bush. From there on he was lucky. He met a shepherd, Tom Triffet, who was also Irish and was only too happy to help an escaped Irish convict. And Pearce learned that he wasn’t too far from Hobart Town.

  A few days later, Pearce left with two bushrangers, but in January 1823, soldiers caught the three men. The two bushrangers were hanged, but not Alexander Pearce, who was sent back to Macquarie Harbour. He said he’d eaten the other runaways, but the police didn’t believe such a crazy story.

  Other convicts at Macquarie Harbour now admired Pearce, because he had proved it was possible to escape. He might have got away with his crimes if he hadn’t developed a taste for human flesh. He escaped again, this time with a boy called Thomas Cox, who ended up as dinner. Pearce was caught with bits of Cox in his pockets and the boy’s body was in the bush nearby.

  On 19 July 1824, Alexander Pearce went to the gallows, not at all sorry for what he had done. ‘Man’s flesh’, he said, ‘is delicious, far better than fish or pork’.

  DID YOU KNOW…?

  Until a few years ago, a loophole in taxation law
allowed convicted Australian criminals to claim ‘business’ expenses, such as bullets, guns and other equipment needed in the practice of their criminal careers.

  MATTHEW BRADY

  THE GENTLEMAN BUSHRANGER

  When Matthew Brady was hanged in May 1826, thousands of women cried. He wasn’t exactly Robin Hood; if he gave to the poor, we’ve never heard about it. But he was good-looking and he had – well, style! Also, he was known for his courtesy to women and not killing without good cause. In fact, he only killed once and that man had deserved it. No, not quite Robin Hood, but close.

  Matthew Brady started life in Australia in chains. We’re not sure why. It may have been for theft, or, according to some versions of his story, for forgery. Whatever the reason, he was sentenced to seven years and left his home in Manchester, never to return.

  In Hobart, Matthew became an assigned servant. This was a system by which free settlers applied to have convicts to work for them. He hated being a virtual slave and tried to escape several times. During the first three years of his sentence, Matthew was whipped 350 times!

  Finally, Matthew went to Macquarie Harbour, a penal colony on Tasmania’s west coast. No one escaped from there. That was until Alexander Pearce and seven others managed it in 1822. Of course, only Alexander Pearce had actually survived the journey, because he ate the others. But now convicts knew escape was possible.

  In June 1824, shortly before Alexander Pearce was hanged, Matthew and thirteen other convicts escaped in a whaleboat, with soldiers shooting at them. Luckily for them, one of the men had been a Royal Navy navigator. He steered the boat to a place called Derwent.