The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954)(about) |
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Monday 23 July 1900
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2 corrections, most recently by C.Scheikowski - Show corrections
TRAGEDY NEAR GIL-
GANDRA.
A FAMILY ATTACKED BY
ABORIGINALS.
FOUR PERSONS BRUTALLY
MURDERED.
HORRIBLE INJURIES TO OTHERS
RECOVERY REGARDED AS
HOPELESS.
LUCKY ESCAPE OF A CHILD.
SCENE OF THE MURDER.
FIENDISH CRUELTY.
GILGANDRA, Saturday.
A terrible tragedy was enacted last night at Breelong, about 10 miles from here, at the residence of Mr. Mawbey. A messenger galloped into town last night, and reported that the whole family of Mawbeys had been brutally murdered by blacks. Constable Berry at once proceeded to the house, and found that Miss Kerz, Miss Hilda Mawbev, and Percy Mawbey were dead and horribly mutilated. Evi- dently a tomahawk was used, their skulls being smashed completely in. Miss Elsie Clarke (a neice of Mawbey's), Miss Grace Mawbey, and Mrs. Mawbey were found to be wounded to such an extent as to give small hopes of recovery. The police had not returned up to noon, but a messenger who ar- rived this morning from Mr. Mawbey's states that the victims were murdered in bed at about 11 o'clock last night, and the perpetrators were believed to be a couple of aboriginal blacks engaged by Mr. Mawbey. The family is amongst the pioneers of this district and is fairly well to do, owning a large area of land on the banks of the Castlereagh. Miss Kurz, a provisional school teacher, who was murdered, comes from Girilam- bone, and has only been in the district a short time, and was boarding at Mr. Mawbey's. No men were sleeping in the house last night, Mr. Mawbey being away at the old Breelong Post-office, which belongs to him, while the family were residing in a new house at another part of the run about a mile away. The inmates of the house were all in bed, and as fast as they arose and tried to run away the murderers felled them. A report states that one little boy, seeing what was happening, crawled under a bed, and the blacks missing him endeavoured to find him, but were unsuccessful in their search. A large party of townspeople have left for the scene of the murder,
some being armed.
It appears that the blacks had been to Mr. Mawbey's old place and asked him if he was going to stay there all night. On his answering in the affirmative, they
said, " All right. We want some chaff in the morn-
ing."
Later.
The scene of the murder beffles description. Percy Mawbey's head is nearly severed from his body by a blow on the neck, apparently from a tomahawk. Miss Kerz was wearing a flannelette nightdress, and the stick that she was killed with, which is an abori- ginal weapon not unlike a nulla-nulla, is covered with blood and the fluff from the night dress.
The door of the room where the females slept was smashed in with a tomahawk. As soon as the in- mates woke and saw the blacks Miss Kerz and Grace
Mawbey rushed outside towards where the men were sleeping, about three-quarters of a mile away. The two girls were probably running hand in hand when they were overtaken and knocked down with sticks and a tomahawk. The little boy, aged about 8, who was concealed under the bed, heard some of the blacks say, " There is one more boy yet : we must get him." A black who was posted outside the door then sang out with an oath, " Sail into them, Jack, don't give any of them a chance; bash all their brains
out."