The Tego Springs Store and home of Herbert and Catherine Smith.
Catherine Smith was the wife of Herbert Smith, a hawker residing at Tego Springs, near Cunnamulla. The Smiths has been on friendly terms with a man named James Brokenborough, who stayed with them when he was out of work. But Smith noticed a coolness developing between his wife and Brokenborough. On June 24, 1907 at noon, James Brokenborough reported to Herbert Smith that the had shot Catherine accidentally that morning while out pigeon shooting.
Written on the photograph “The Tego Springs Murder. Place and position where Mrs Smith body was found, Jason Brokenborough, the alleged murderer, myself Constable Solomon Richards, D. T. Scuriah, the JP who held inquiry and my Tracker Jack. Person kneeling beside corpse is husband of deceased.”
Constable Cowley of the Hebel Police Station, was informed of the murder. That evening he went over to the spot and camped near the body and the next day made a searching enquiry. Dr Arthur Murray examined the body and found a bullet hole that had penetrated the left lung and the right ventricle of the heart causing death from internal haemorrhage. Constable Solomon Richards of Bollon Police Station was also involved with the investigation.
James Brokenborough, who murdered Catherine Smith in 1907
On June 28, Brokenborough told Cowley, “I shot her alright. I had good cause to do so. I was out after kangaroos coming out of the brigalow clump and saw Mrs Smith. I sang out to her. She looked at me and cantered away. She wouldn’t stop. I up with my pea rifle and shot her.”
Brokenborough was then arrested and charged with wilfully shooting Catherine Smith with intent to kill. It was thought that Brokenborough shot Catherine because she had rejected his advances. He was tried for murder in the Roma Circuit Court on September 17, 1907, found guilty and was sentenced to death. This sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in December of 1907.
Group of men surrounding the grave of Mrs Smith. The group will include Herbert Smith, Constables Cowley and Richards, D. T. Scuriah (JP), Tracker Jack and more than likely Jason Brokenborough.
The murder caused quite a sensation and was reported in the newspapers right around Australia.
Police camp in bush after the arrest of Brokenborough for the Tego Springs Murder. Tracker Jack (centre), Constable Solomon Richards (right).
In a time when photography was still a difficult and unwieldy exercise, an interesting element of this case is a series of staged photographs of the murderer and crime scene, taken by an unknown photographer, more than likely one of the two police officers involved with the case.
_______________________________
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 – “I shot her alright” – The murder of Catherine Smith, 1907” 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