Queensland’s Criminal Practice Rules, 1900, ushered in a number of critical amendments throughout the following century. The Rules passed in 1900 were extensive and encompassed all levels of the courts that formed the judicial system, from the Supreme down to the Magistrate’s courts. A reprint of the Rules as they were in force in 1996, contained a breadth of entries, including archaic entries such as ‘Possession of Clippings’ (Form 106 Section 153) of gold or silver ‘which had been obtained by dealing with current gold [or silver] coin in such a manner as to diminish its weight’ and ‘Counterfeiting Copper Coin’ (Form 110 Section 157) ‘apparently intended to pass for the current coin called pennies, or for a coin of the United States of America called cents (or as the case may be)’.
A Voodoo Cross
Amongst more and less outdated sections under the general schedule of ‘Obtaining Property by False Pretences: Cheating’ between ‘Frauds on Sale of Mortgage of Property’ and ‘Receiving Property Stolen or Fraudulently Obtained’, Queensland Criminal Code contained a slightly more exceptional Section 432 ‘Pretending to Exercise Witchcraft or Tell Fortunes’:
(a.) Pretended to one to exercise [or use] witchcraft [or sorcery or enchantment or conjuration].
(b.) Undertook to one to tell his [or her] future fortunes.
(c.) Pretended to one, by virtue of a pretended skill in [or knowledge of] some occult science, to discover where [or in what manner] certain goods supposed to have been stolen [or lost] might be found.
Predictably, witchcraft prosecutions were not common. The section was omitted from the Code by Justice and Other Legislation Bill in 2000. Before it was struck out, however, there was an uncanny case or two that came to the attention of the police. In July, 1993 a wax voodoo doll was handed in to the Burleigh Heads Police Station. The item had been left on the complainant’s doorstep by an unknown person.
This wax Voodoo doll was handed in to the Burleigh Heads Police Station in July 1993.
From August to October, 1991, a number of mutilated wallabies and koalas were found by members of the public on separate occasions, in bushland areas around Capalaba and Sheldon. The incidents so outraged the local community of Capalaba/Redland Bay area, that local meetings were held to voice their concerns. A lengthy investigation by the Wildlife Task Force, in conjunction with the local police, resulted in the apprehension of an unstable young man from ‘Greenacres Caravan Park’, Capalaba. Although the defendant admitted to involvement in witchcraft practices after a raid on his caravan found numerous remains of native animals, he was charged under Fauna Conservation Acts rather than witchcraft. He was convicted in the magistrates court Cleveland on 12 November, 1991 and placed on 12 months probation, ordered to perform 100 hours community service and undergo psychiatric assessment.
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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing. The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au
“Exercising Witchcraft or Telling Fortunes” by Museum Volunteer and Researcher Dr Anastasia Dukova is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode