AFTER THE MURDERS
Wednesday 6 November
Griffin and Bedford start for Rockhampton with Griffin keeping Bedford in front of him all the way. About 20 miles into the journey, Griffin rides off the track to rearrange his swag (at which point some notes escape and fly about in the breeze).
Thursday 7 November
Griffin and Bedford arrive at Rockhampton. Both the men and another named Hornby called at the Commercial Hotel. Griffin ‘shouts’ his friends and tenders a torn and tattered £1 (No.1440).
Extracted from the Queensland Police Gazette of 4 December 1867, pgs 88 – 91.
Same Day
John Petersen, an employee of the Bedford Hotel, was out looking for a horse and as he was going towards the river bank he noticed a kind of stench and followed its direction. He came upon the bodies about 200 yards from the river. He calls out “Good morning” but does not get an answer. He sees one body lying in a straight position with its head resting on a saddle. The body is covered with a blanket to about half way up the face, he lifts the blanket to see the face which shows some blood and evidence of worms and flies, but he does not recognise him. Peterson sees another body nearer the river with its legs drawn up, the face is not so disfigured as the other, but he still cannot identify him.
Petersen reports the finding of the bodies to Sub Inspector Stokes at the Native Police Barracks. The NMP attends the murder site and then place the bodies between two sheets of bark and buries them.
Friday 8 November – Meanwhile News reaches Rockhampton
Griffin asks Sub Inspector Elliott and if he has heard the rumour that the Clermont gold escort has been found dead. Elliott makes inquiries to authenticate the information of the death of the troopers. The startling official news is brought by the mailman via telegraph that the two escort troopers had been found dead at the Mackenzie River – initially the report stated that the men had been poisoned. Griffin, shows himself as both distressed and surprised at the news.
Sub-Inspector George L. Elliott (Image courtesy QPM, PM1616)
A party consisting of Sub-inspector Elliott, Tom Hall, Manager Australian Joint Stock Bank, Henry Abbott, Police Magistrate, Dr Salmond, a black tracker and Griffin made ready to start for the scene of the murder.
Griffin was loud in his demands for a ruthless hunting-down of the murderers, even before it was officially known that murder had been done. He protested so much which confirmed some suspicions in the mind of Sub-inspector Elliott that had been building since Julian was relieved of his command.
In protesting to Elliott about his suspension, Julian had reported the various subterfuges adopted by Griffin to delay the start, and his belief that an attempt had been made to poison him. Elliott had been inclined to dismiss the complaint until during the ride out, Griffin went out of his way to express surprise that the escort had been robbed. He also told Hall that the troopers would have been shot despite the report of poisoning and lack of reference to shooting at that stage.
Griffin tries to wreck the carriage in which he is travelling with Dr Salmon. As the journey continued Griffin showed visible signs of nervousness. Elliott suspiciousness grows and during the night he extracts the cartridges from Griffin’s firearm.
Sub-Inspector James Balfrey of Clermont Station, heads for the murder site and arrives 24 hours before the Rockhampton party. He visits the scene briefly to note the burial of the bodies and sees Sub Inspector Stokes who has all of the trooper’s effects from the scene. He sends a telegraph to the Commissioner advising of the deaths and the amount of stolen money.
Saturday 9 November – The Investigation
The Rockhampton party arrives the Mackenzie River crossing at 9am.
The bodies are exhumed, and a post mortem is conducted by Dr Salmon.
On arrival Griffin shows much nervousness and on nearing the scene of the murder, he exclaims, “My God! I cannot face this” and sits on a log 50 or 60 yards away from the scene.
The camp is well examined by the officers of the native police who with the aid of their bush experience and the dry characteristics of black loamy soil, find tracks leading to and from the camp and to the hotel.
Griffin’s small boot prints are a match to the tracks, they show that he moved from the camp towards a small lagoon, which was away from the both the camp and the public house, to a log where he sat down. He then retraced his steps from the log to a point of the track leading to the public house. There are no other tracks.
Sub-Inspector Elliott and Detective Kilfeder conduct interviews with:
Mary John Petersen – concerning the movement of the escort men and the discovery of the bodies
Alfred Bedford – concerning hearing shots that night and what he observed of Griffin
Sub Inspector Uhr has a conversation with Griffin, on the subject of poisons. Griffin speaks of his knowledge that while mineral poisons are easily detected in the human stomach, vegetable poisons, such as morphia, are difficult to trace.
Arrest of Griffin
When the first post-mortem examination is completed, Sub-Inspector Elliott confers with the other police at the scene, the doctor, and completes speaking with and interviewing the witnesses. He is now sure that Griffin is the prime suspect. At 11am Detective Kilfeder and Sub-Inspector Elliott arrest Griffin on the suspicion of murder of John Power and Patrick Cahill.
Monday 11 to Thursday 14 November
An initial Court sitting is held at the Bedford Arms Hotel at the direction of Henry Abbott the Police Magistrate. Depositions are taken from Sub Inspector Elliott, Detective Kilfeder, Dr Salmond, Mr Alfred Harding Bedford, John Petersen, Sgt James Julian, Mary Petersen, Sub-Inspector Charles Uhr, Sub- Inspector Richard Stokes, Jonathan Ashcroft, Inspector James Balfrey and John Reborah.
Tuesday 19 November
Griffin’s arrival
On Tuesday 19 November crowds at the Rockhampton station awaited Griffin’s arrival, but police took him from the train at a nearby station and brought him inconspicuously in a cab to the lock up.
First Rockhampton Court appearance
The Deposition Clerk reads the warrant, remanding the prisoner from the court held at the Bedford Arms, Mackenzie, on the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th instant, and the depositions then taken. Sub Insp Elliott then told the magistrate that he was not prepared with evidence to go on with the case and requested a remand of eight days. The remand was given.
After everyone returns from the Mackenzie River, the case against Griffin continued with great care and judgment by Sub Inspector Elliott, who had shown that in addition to the courage and pluck required to knock’ over a bushranger, he possessed also the coolness and calculation of a first rate detective. The main links and mass of closely connected evidence was put together by him, and the case was subsequently completed. Detective Kilfeder joined him first the day of notification of the murders, Sub Inspector Stokes of the Native Police and Uhr at the Mackenzie Station, Sub Inspector Balfrey of Clermont and then Detective Slattery from Maryborough, and lastly, Sub Inspector Samuel Lloyd from Brisbane.
30 November
Dr Salmon describes his findings and 20 other witnesses give evidence at the committal proceedings against Griffin and he was duly committed to stand Trial at the Rockhampton Supreme Court.
14 December – The Trial starts
The trial takes place in the Rockhampton Supreme Court before Justice Alfred James Peter Lutwyche, who was the first judge for the Supreme Court of Queensland, and a jury of 12.
Justice Alfred James Peter Lutwyche, was the first judge for the Supreme Court of Queensland (Image courtesy SLQ)
The Crown is represented by the Attorney-General, the Honourable Ratcliffe Pring, QC (afterwards Mr Justice Pring) and Mr Charles Lilley, QC, afterwards Chief justice of Queensland.
Mr Charles Lilley, QC, afterwards Chief justice of Queensland (left) and Attorney-General, the Honourable Ratcliffe Pring, QC (afterwards Mr Justice Pring) (right) (Images courtesy of the SLQ)
For the defence were Mr Edward MacDevitt, a clever Irish barrister, newly arrived, Mr Hely and Mr Samuel Griffith.
For the defence were newly arrived Edward MacDevitt (Left), a clever Irish barrister, H.L. Hely and Mr Samuel Griffith (right), a young Welsh born lawyer, aged 22. Later Chief justice of Queensland, Premier and Chief Justice of the Commonwealth. (Images courtesy SLQ)
At the trial, a total of 60 witnesses were called to give evidence:
Chinese gold diggers, as most were not from an English-speaking background an interpreter had to be used and because they were not of Christian belief, they were sworn by blowing out a candle.
Each gave evidence that they had given Griffin money and he gave each a piece of paper in return for their money. They stated they paid money to Griffin approximately 4, and some up to 8, months earlier for escort to the Rockhampton bank. Griffin after transferring to Rockhampton kept telling the Chinese that their money had not arrived from Clermont. They all stated in evidence that Griffin had paid them at the back of the Club House Hotel, and the date of payment coincided with the dates prior to the escort leaving Rockhampton and the evening that Griffin took charge of and had possession of the money from Power.
The bank tellers gave evidence as to how they had narrated the numbers on the notes and how the notes had been placed in the parcels, and how each parcel was packed and tied. The police all gave evidence and it appears that Julian was a main witness as to how the escort had three starts to commence the journey to Clermont.
Bedford and the Petersens gave evidence as to circumstances at the Mackenzie River and how shots were heard in the early hours of the morning. How Griffin had a ‘big awful swag’ and how Griffin went off the road to adjust the swag.
Mr Pitt gave evidence as to how he had located the one-pound note in the vicinity where Griffin had gone off the road to adjust his swag. Evidence was produced to show that the note located by Pitt was one of the notes that had the number recorded by the bank staff. The tattered note produced by Griffin at the Commercial Hotel was also confirmed as being another of the notes recorded by the bank staff and was part of the escort money.
The fact that his small shoe prints were found at the scene indicated a different version of events to what Griffin had stated, that Power went looking for the horses in the early evening. Griffin’s comments to others and his behaviour whilst travelling from Rockhampton to the Mackenzie with the investigating party, were all given in evidence during the trial.
All this circumstantial evidence led to Griffin’s conviction. At no time, to this point, did he admit to killing the police officers.
28 March Sentencing
The jury returns to the court room and the foreman announced that they had found Griffin guilty of the murder of Power and Cahill and is sentenced to death.
Queensland Police Gazette Entry Vol. V, No. 4, 1st April 1868.
Execution of Griffin
Griffin remain in the Rockhampton gaol, until his appointment with the hangman. He maintains his innocence publicly the whole time to his execution, he did however confide in a turnkey at the prison during his wait for his execution on 1 June 1868.
The execution of Griffin was recorded in a spectacular article headed, ‘Execution of Griffin’ in the Rockhampton Bulletin on June 2, 1868.
The executioner, having completed all his ghastly preparations, shook his victim by the left hand and withdrew to the entrance of the platform, where he said, “God bless you.” A painful pause of a few seconds here occurred whilst the executioner waited for a signal from the Sheriff. On this being given, the bolt was quickly drawn, the drop came clanging down, and the murderer – Griffin – passed into eternity. His death must have been almost instantaneous as there was fracture and dislocation of the second and third vertebrae. The body fell a distance of four feet six inches, reckoning from the floor of the platform to the rope as he hung suspended. As the body fell the right leg and thigh were drawn up, then there was a trembling and a quivering of the feet, the result of muscular action rather than pain, and all was still; he was dead. The body swayed about for several minutes and settled at last with his face to the wall. After the lapse of about thirty-five minutes, Drs Salmond, Callaghan, Thon, and Robertson, examined the body. Life was pronounced extinct, and the executioner cut the body down. It was placed in a coffin which had been placed under the gallows and must have been before Griffin’s eyes as he ascended to his death.
Griffin describes a struggle between him and the troopers and that he shot them in the stomach and eye – however both were shot from behind. He told the principal turnkey where he had hidden the money, but it could not be found at that point.
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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 3: 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