The following was recorded as written by Constable 1/c Michael O’Toole of Wyandra Police Station, in the Charleville District, 114 years ago and by hand in the station letterbook.
9th February 1903
To the Sub Inspector of Police, Charleville
Report of Michael O’Toole 1/c Constable relative to the dead body of a man found near No. 2 bore on Claverton run.
1/c Constable M. O’Toole reports that on the evening of the 7th instant [February] at about 6.30pm a young man named Albert Dowsett, a stockman on Claverton, reported having found the dead body of a man about 10 miles from No. 2 bore and about 30 miles from Wyandra. On the morning of Sunday the 8th instant the Constable had to borrow a horse as he could not ride the Government bicycle as the country was very ruff [sic] and scrubby, to go with Dowsett to where the body was, leaving Wyandra in company with Dowsett, and arrived at No. 2 bore at about 2.30pm where the Constable and Dowsett was [sic] joined by a young man named Patrick Higgins, another stockman. Both are living at No. 2 bore and in the employ of Mr Arthur Leeds. After making some preparations for the burial of the body the three of us left immediately for the place where the body was, a distance of about 14 miles from the bore.
Image of a section of the Wyandra Police Station letterbook, held at Queensland State Archives, taken by history lover Jim Spurdle in 2014.
Dowsett pointed out the body to the 1/c Constable, the body had all decayed away, and could not be recognised, and apparently had been over 12 months dead. The 1/c Constable examined the body carefully and could not find any marks of violence on it, there was not part of the body missing, the body was clad in a light coloured Tweed trousers and a flannel shirt, and a pair of Blucher boots very much worn. The body was lying partly on the right side, the right foot stretched out, left foot slightly bent, and the right hand bent under the head, and the boot off the left foot. About 1 yard away underneath the head of the body the Constable found the remains of an old vest which is of a very peculiar black pattern. The 1/c Constable at once recognised the vest as being like a vest that a young man named John O’neil used to ware and in the left hand side and in the top pocket he found a rolled gold watch with a double silver chain attached. In the left hand trousers pocket he found a brown leather purse which he found in it an addressed envelope with the words as follows; Mrs L.O’neil, Edward Street, Kennedy Estate, Toowoomba.
Wyandra Police Station, c1980. In 1903 the original station building was not equipped with cells, and prisoners were secured to a ring in the floor of the police office by means of a chain.
Image No. PM1173 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum
1/c Constable was well acquainted with a young man by the name of John O’neil who used to stop at times at Mr John Moody’s Commercial Hotel Wyandra and was last seen alive about the 15th January 1902. When O’neil had a conversation with Mr Moody he told Mr Moody that he would [have] left the hotel before any of the would be [awake] in the morning. Mr Moody states that he asked him which wasy did he intend to go. He stated that he did not know whether he wold go to Eliman and work for Mr John Brayley who had the contact to wash all Messrs Fletcher Bros. wool, or go to Oakwood. O’neil has been missing ever since.
The 1/c Constable has shown the rolled gold watch to Mr John Brayley who positively identifies it as the watch he sold John O’neil some time previously, and O’neil had been working for Brayley several times. No doubt O’neil had started on a short cut track for Eliman and lost his way, and the 1/c Constable states that he must have perished for want of water. It is stated that O’neil had no water bag in Wyandra, and was supposed to start on foot. There is no water between Wyandra and where the remains was [sic] found. No doubt he thought to strike one of the Claverton bore drains but lost his way, the nearest water at present to shere the body was found is about 6 miles, at the time he left Wyandra the weather was very hot. There was no money found on the body, or any other property with the exception of watch, chain, and purse and the address enveilope. Mr Moody states that O’neils mother lives on Kennedys Estate, Toowoomba, and that John O’neil used to get letters addressed to him , to the Commercial Hotel Wyandra, but none lately.
The old Commercial Hotel, Wyandra. Image taken in 2010 by photographer John Coyle.
With the assistance of Albert Dowsett and Higgins they [sic] buried the body and returned to No. 2 bore that evening, a distance of about 42 miles. The 1/c Constable returned to his station at about 1pm on the 9th instant, a distance of about 25 miles. There is a post-mortem and some articles of clothing at Moody’s hotel which is the property of deceased, also a coat similar to the vest found under the head of deceased.
Signed, Michael O’Toole, 1/c Constable Reg 620
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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 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. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au
“FROM the VAULT- Wool Washing Thwarted By Want Of Water” by the Queensland Police Service 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