AFTER THE TRIAL and EXECUTION
June 2 – Location of the Stolen Money
The money was subsequently located after a search of the area surrounding Mrs Otley’s but it was damaged and rendered useless by damp. Griffin said that there was £3730 leaving £16 unaccounted.
June 9 – Grave Theft
Sensation did not end with Griffin’s death at the gallows, or the finding of the valise of bank notes. The horrendous news was broken on June 9 that his grave had been opened and the head severed from the body and removed.
The Cemetery Board had suspected an attempt would be made to interfere with the body and so ordered the Sexton to keep watch for the first two nights.
During this period the sexton and Tucker, the undertaker, decided to bury the body of an unknown Chinese seaman in the same grave… to prevent people stealing Griffin’s body.
20 reward offered – no takers
It soon became known the grave robbers were men with an interest in the science of phrenology and that they hoped to find in the shape Griffin’s skull an explanation for his actions. Many were aware that William Callaghan, the town’s best known doctor, was the ring leader and that the skull remained in his possession, but it was not publicly acknowledged until long after his death. A man who assisted in the gruesome exhumation wrote from England in 1918 and told how Callaghan, R.D.H. White himself had carried out the plan.
Griffin’s Personal Property
Griffin’s watch was raffled and an ad was placed in the Bulletin on August 8, 1868, it read “Griffin’s watch to be raffled for! Only two more chances … for that invaluable watch which so long ticked in a murderer’s pocket,”the winner of the raffle was Mr Milford, a well-known solicitor who was the attorney for the defence. Griffin’s three saddles and uniform had already been sold at auction, and even tufts of his beard and pieces of the hangman’s rope were eagerly snapped up by the public. It is understood small lengths of the rope sold for one shilling each.
Sub-Inspector Elliott claimed Griffin’s sword.
June 9 – Skulls of Power and Cahill returned for Burial
July 13, 1869 Burial at Rockhampton
It was eventually decided that the bodies of the two murdered troopers be exhumed from their grave at the Mackenzie River and be interned in Rockhampton. A public collection was taken up for a monument to be erected in the Rockhampton Cemetery. A number of articles publicising the burial were placed in the Rockhampton Bulletin and a large gathering turned out to farewell the officers Power and Cahill.
A monument is erected at the old South Rockhampton cemetery for the murdered troopers, the inscription reads:
Of your charity
Pray for the repose of the souls of
JOHN POWER
and
PATRICKCAHILL
Members of the Gold Escort Corps murdered at the Mackenzie River
Whilst in charge of Public Treasures on the 6th day of November 1867
Rockhampton grave of John Power and Patrick Cahill, members of the gold Escort Corp murdered at Mackenzie River 1867 – Monument at South Rockhampton Cemetery. (Image courtesy QPM, PM2642a)
Evidence
It is believed that Griffin drugged the liquor which the troopers drank, and they vomited it up but the events of the night are wrapped in mystery. The probability is that Griffin drugged both men and that Power was unexpectedly awake when Griffin tried to remove the money, and fired at him, and then that Griffin shoot both men, so they could tell no tales.
As a pig had been found dead nearby. It was thought that the pig had eaten the vomit of the dead men.
He had a parcel described in Bedford’s evidence as ‘a big awful swag,’ probably containing the stolen money; and while in the bush away from Bedford’s observation, he readjusted the swag. The evidence for this is that a one pound note, identified by the number as one belonging to the bundle sent by Mr Hall was later found near this spot, by a person named Pitt, and this must have been dropped by Griffin in his repacking operations. Bedford remarked later upon the nervousness of Griffin, and how he had lagged behind him, subsequently as they neared Rockhampton, Griffin turned off towards the settlement where his fiancee lived.
Both the landlady Eliza Pearson and the barmaid Kezish Seymore, also known as Annie, gave evidence. Pearson stated that Seymore was given the one pound note from Griffin. When she got it, she turned around and said to Mrs Pearson, in Griffin’s presence and hearing, “look at this note, there is one number off the corner”. She said nothing to them . Mrs Pearson replied “you know who you got it from it’s all right,” and she put it in the till. No one had access to that till but herself and Kezish. Mrs Pearson further stated in evidence that she did not take the money out until between twelve and one at night. She took it out of the till and put it away in the drawer in her bedroom and locked the drawer. She left it there until Monday following, she then gave it to Kezish, with other notes, to pay into the bank on her account. There were no other notes with the corner torn off; both remembered this note, in consequence of a dispute whether they ought to change it in its mutilated condition. When banking the next day the bank official’s attention was called to the condition of the note. This was also one of the stolen notes.
On Wednesday, November 6, the morning that Griffin and Mr Bedford returned to Rockhampton, Mary Peterson, wife of John Peterson, and in the employment of Mr Bedford at the Bedford Arms, Mackenzie, said at the original hearing that she had lent the two troopers a billy can to make tea. On the following morning about ten o’clock she went to the camp for the billy-can, and when she got about fifteen yards from one of the troopers lying on his back covered with a blanket; she called out but he did not answer. She said that she thought he was asleep, she stated in her evidence that she only saw one. She then returned to the house. Her husband asked about them and she said that they were fast asleep. John Peterson stated that on Wednesday the 6th he was awakened by Mr Bedford and told to give the horses a feed of corn, and Griffin told him to get the horses out of the stables. Peterson stated in evidence that Griffin appeared to be in a hurry and called for the horses a second time, he told him that the horses had not finished their corn yet. Griffin then went to the stable and they left for Rockhampton within the hour of waking Petersen. Mr Petersen did not see a swag on the prisoner’s horse at the time.
Sub Inspector Stokes was again present when the bodies were later exhumed for examination by Dr Salmond. Mr Peterson stated that he did not hear any shots fired the night before Griffin and Mr Bedford left for Rockhampton
The Doctor gave evidence at an examination into witnesses at the scene on November 11, 1867. On the examination of the victims by Dr Salmond, the bodies were found to be, of course, in a very extreme state of decomposition, but the heads had a shot through each of them proving thereby that if they were in fact poisoned, it appears the troopers may have been showing signs of recovery after their sickness from their overdose of poison and Griffin had deliberately shot them.
That certainly upset Griffin’s statements, because if Power was out looking for the horses his tracks would also be seen – Griffin’s boots had been measured and fitted exactly to the track. All the facts were of great consideration, these tracks combined with the whole of the circumstances showed a circumstantial case against Griffin.
Sub Inspector Elliott and Balfrey thought the first thing was to hold an inquest of death, but Mr Abbott would not have it. He stated that he should have the prisoner up at once. The case commenced that evening and was continued until 2 o’clock in the morning. One of the important matters of the case was that Griffin had been with the two troopers drinking at the camp and stated that he left them at lam on Wednesday, and Bedford had him arriving at the Inn at ten to four. Griffin claimed that he was lost in the bush for three-quarters of an hour, but had not been able to account for the other two hours. Bedford stated that he heard one shot about lam and another two hours later. Elliott was also suspicious of Griffin’s demeanour on the way out to the Mackenzie, especially his forecast that the men would be found shot – first reports had suggested poisoning.
In 2012 a new monument to the two slain officers was positioned at Bedford Weir and new plaques were placed in the Rockhampton Cemetery,
Plaques were placed for the two slain officers John Power and Patrick Cahill at the Rockhampton Cemetery in 2012. (Image courtesy QPM)
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This information was researched by Curator Lisa Jones and sourced from the best Queensland Police Museum resources available at the time of writing. The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday 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. Email: museum@police.qld.gov.au
“FROM the VAULT – Gold and Greed Part 4: the murder of Constables Power and Cahill in 1867” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under 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