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MURDER OF THE

CLERMONT ESCORT
(Concluded)

BY:Fitzroy

THE AFTERMATH

Strange and incomprehensible as it may seem Thomas John Griffin, executed from willful murder and robbery, caused nearly as great a sensation in Rockhampton after his death and burial as he did before his misdeeds met their inevitable punishment. It will be remembered that to the scaffold itself he denied his guilt to every person–clergymen, friends, and foes. After such continued and persistent assurances of his innocence to the very last it naturally caused the greatest astonishment in the town when it was learned that Griffin really had confessed to the murder, while to those who were most desirous that he should confess for his own sake, he had remained unflinchingly obdurate.

The fact was that Griffin never entirely lost hope that he might escape the fate that confronted him, and to the very last he thought he might be able to bribe the gaolers to assist in his escape. Of the £400 in narrated notes taken from the escort bag, only a small portion had been accounted for, and it was by means of this hidden money that Griffin hoped to buy his way to freedom.

Even to the gaol officials Griffin declared his innocence until the warrant for his execution had been sighed. After that he endeavoured to bribe the turnkeys by offering them a large sum of money. They said he had no money, and in order to prove to them that he had, he admitted to them that he had killed Power and Cahill and stolen the £4000 the troopers had in their custody. He told the turnkeys, John Lee, and his assistant, Alfred Grant, that the bank notes had been “planted” by him in the neighbourhood of the escort camp near Ottley’s and he gave them two sketches of the spot where the notes were hidden. These men had been out searching on three nights, but could find no money.

After Griffin’s execution, being unable to find the money, the turnkeys reported the confession to the gaol authorities, and of course they were severely reprimanded for not reporting the matter at once.

GRIFFIN’S CONFESSION

No one will for a moment imagine that Griffin confessed to the murder with any other object than that the turnkeys would find the money and in return would provide him with the means of escaping from gaol, or furnishing him with something to commit suicide so that he should escape the disgrace of being hanged. The story of the turnkeys, as told by Griffin, with reference to the murder, was as follows: -

When Power brought out the money from the bank to Ottley’s on the 29th of October, Griffin took it away to Ottley’s and broke the seal, taking out the bundle of notes with which he paid the Chinamen. The bag containing the rest of the money was sealed on November 1st in the presence of Power and Gildea, and given into Power’s charge, and Griffin and the two troopers set off on their journey, as already described. On the night of November 5th the troopers went to their camp at the Mackenzie River, but did not expect Griffin would camp with them. However, about 11 o’clock, Griffin went across from Bedford’s Hotel. He did not go the usual direction, but came upon the opposite side of the camp. When Griffin was within about 20 yards of the camp Power sprang up and fired at Griffin without first challenging. The bullet, Griffin said, went through his beard. Before Power could fire again Griffin fired, and the bullet entered Power’s eye and went through his brain. Meanwhile Cahill had attempted to shoot Griffin, but missed, and Griffin returning the shot, sent a bullet into Cahill’s’ stomach, but did not kill him. Cahill still tried to shoot, but Griffin rushing forward knocked up Cahill’s arm, and in the struggle Cahill’s revolver exploded and he shot himself through the head.

All this statement, which went to show that Griffin shot the troopers in self-defence, was simply a tissue of lies, and quite at variance with the evidence. The camp was near the high bank of the Mackenzie, and to get round in that direction, he would have had to climb up the river bank. Armed men presumably on watch, would have been on their guard, while anyone coming direct from the hotel might have caused no alarm. Further Griffin made both the troopers fire at him, while only one shot had been fired from Power’s revolver (presumably the one fired at a hawk), and Cahill’s revolver was fully loaded. Power, the doctor proved, had been shot from the back of his head, the bullet coming out at the eye, and Cahill had been shot from behind the left ear. There was no evidence of a struggle, and if there had been how was Cahill to shoot himself behind the ear? Bedford also gave evident that he only heard two shots, one for each of the drugged men. Then there was the brandy bottle with half its contents gone, showing that the men had partaken of part of it. These are a few of the discrepancies, but Griffin’s account of the affair deceived no one.

Griffin went on to say that having killed the troopers he became mentally distracted and wandered into the bush and go lost. At last he found his way back to the camp and laid down on a blanket. He thought at first of committing suicide, but was restrained when he thought of this affianced wife. He, therefore, resolved to brave the consequences and have a fight for it. He placed the men in the position in which they were found, and then opened the bag with the bank notes and burnt the coverings. He placed the notes in his blanket, and strapped the parcel on to his saddle. He then returned to Bedford’s and they started for Rockhampton. On the way down he made Bedford ride in front so that he would not notice the trouble he had with the swag. At one time a bundle of notes fell on the ground from the end of the blanket, and the wind blew them about, which accounted for the note Pitt found soon after. Having bound up the sway more securely it remained on the saddle all the way to Rockhampton.

At the Club House, Griffin said he did up the parcel of notes strongly with six straps, and went out to the low tree. As Griffin was hiding the notes Trooper Gildea passed very near him and Gildea passed without seeing him. Griffin kindly said Gildea was too drunk to notice him, a very unlikely tale.

When the turnkeys could not find the parcel, and Griffin heard that Gildea had left for England, Griffin came to the conclusion that after all Gildea had seen him plant the notes, and had afterwards secured the notes and departed. This was wrong, of course, Gildea’s friends having sent out the money for his passage.

Not being able to find the bank money, the turnkey’s appeared to discredit Griffin’s story. The turnkeys also told Griffin that Sub-inspector Elliot suspected Griffin on the day the party left for the Mackenzie. Griffin replied that if he had know that he would have shot him (Elliott), Uhr, Abbott, and Julian, and if he could not then escape he would have shot himself.

Griffin made the Turnkeys promise to send £500 of the bank money, if they found it, to his sister in Ireland. He would be satisfied if the bank had to pay 20s for every £lost. The notes (narrated) cold easily be disposed of by going the Peak Downs and buying gold and so scatter the notes among the miners.

FINDING THE BUNDLE OF NOTES

It should be mentioned that the A.J.C. Bank had offered a reward of £200 for the recovery of the stolen notes.

After the execution of Griffin it is evident the turnkeys were afraid their keeping the confession to themselves would get them into trouble with the authorities. Accordingly Grant decided he would tell the Governor of the Gaol. Mr E. Sheehy, and did so, making the excuse for the delay in doing so that they thought Griffin would confess his guilt at last. Mr. Sheehy told the Sheriff, and he told Mr. Tom Hall.

On Tuesday, June 2nd, Mr. Hall and Mr. Wm. Pattison, with the sketch plans Griffin had given the turnkeys made an effort to find the parcel of notes, calling at the gaol en route to ask that the turnkeys should not be allowed out. On learning this the turnkeys declared it was not fair as they would be done out of the reward. Grant obtained leave to go to his home, and getting a horse rode after Messrs. Hall and Pattison. When Grant reached the banker he said it was not fair as they would lose the reward. But Mr. Hall said whoever found the money the turnkeys would get the reward as they furnished the sketches and information. Grant said £200 was a small reward for such a large sum of money and asked if Mr. Hall would recommend that a larger sum should be given if the money were found.

Lee soon after joined the party and the search began, Messrs. Hall and Pattison going together, and the turnkeys by themselves Lee went straight to the hollow stump of a tree and found the bundle of notes almost immediately. He took it out and held it up to the others, who were only a few yards away. Mr. Pattison declared Lee must have known where the money was as he found it so readily. This Lee denied. The valise contained 3733 £1 notes and as Griffin had paid the Chinamen 252, there were only eighteen short of 4000.

The conduct of the turnkeys was reported to the Government, and, after consideration, the reward of 200 was paid to them, and they were dismissed from the service. They left Rockhampton for the south.

Thus in two days after Griffin’s assurance that he was innocent of the murder of the escort, his admission of the crime was known to the public and the balance of the money he stole was restored to the bank.

GRIFFIN’S HEAD TAKEN

The confession of the murderer and the recovery of the stolen money was expected to finally close the excitement in connection with this sensational crime. Not yet, however, there was another incident in connection with it to cause consternation in the town, and in the whole State for that matter.

A rumour had spread in Rockhampton that someone had declared his intention of removing Griffin’s head, apparently for scientific investigation. In order to prevent such a thing being done a watch on the grave was kept by the authorities the whole week after the execution up till Sunday night. By that time probably every person had come to the conclusion that the threatened desecration of the grave was only a canard Griffin’s coffin. Whether this was done to save time, the dead body being from the steamer Tinonee, or as a sort of protection to Griffin’s body, is not known, as the following Monday morning it was found that the grave had been opened and the head removed.

At first some gruesome amusement was caused, in the supposition that the head of the man from the Tinonee had bee taken (said to be a Chingman) but it was not so, for as it happened the person after the head knew about the coffin on the top of Griffin’s and of course, removed it.

The sexton found the grave had been disturbed on the Monday morning, but delay was caused before permission was given to open it, and thus the rumour spread that the wrong head had been removed. When permission was obtained it was easily seen there had been some interference with it, but so well was the work done that the investigation declared at least six men must have been engaged in the removal.

It was not so and the writer had the story from the man who did it. Only two men took part in the affair, and a lot to trouble they had through losing a knife. Strange to say, the principal in the affair made very little secret about it, and certainly hundreds of people have been show the skull.

There was a good deal of pretence about the affair, and the Government offered a reward of £20 for the conviction of the person who violated the grave. Needless to say, no one ever claimed that reward.

The head was not easy thing to get away with successfully, and it has to be buried and removed on two occasions to escape the vigilance of the authorities. On one occasion it was buried in a large garden, and the wife of the owner of the place seeing the suspected person in the garden with her husband, said to him a playful manner “What did you do with Griffin’s head?” “It is buried under that tree, replied the person asked, pointing to where the earth had been recently dug up. “Ah,” she retorted, ”You would not be so ready to acknowledge it if that were true.” As a matter of fact it was the literal truth; the head was buried there at that moment.

Both disturbers of the grave have been dead some years. One of them-the assistant-was for many years connected with the Salvation Army, and the writer has often listened to him giving his “testimony” in the hope that at some time he would be moved to disclose his share in the nocturnal desecration, but he was always loyal to his employer on that occasion, and not a word passed his lips.

INCIDENTAL ITEMS

Inspector Brannelly (long since dead) was the sergeant of police at Clermont during the time Griffin held his appointment there. He was a good writer and he did most of Griffin’s correspondence for him. He told the writer that he used to send a monthly remittance to Mrs. Fitzherbert, or some such name. Whilst Griffin was in gaol awaiting his trial two letters came to him. One of these was from his wife asking why the usual remittance had not been forwarded, and the other from Mrs. Power, the mother of Trooper Power, whom Griffin had murdered. Brannelly was one of those who refused to believe Griffin guilty till he saw the writing on the parcels of notes he gave to the Chinamen. Then he was convinced, for hew knew its writing well.

Sergeant Julian continued running the escort for some months, till the duty was handed to the regular police, after which Sergeant Brannelly was in charge for about five years. Julian was a man of dignified appearance, and in consequence was known as “Count Julian.” He belonged to a good family in County Kerry, Ireland. He left the escort work in 1869, and accepted the position of overseer on Mount Playfair Station, where he is believed to have died soon after.

John Francis Power belonged to a family of some standing at Carrick-on-Suir, Ireland. He was a brother of Father Pierce Power, who was drowned at Gayndah. Patrick William Cahill was a schoolfellow of Power’s at Mount M’Nulken, being temporarily absent, older than Power, but after the two met in Brisbane in 1865 they remained mates, and in death they were not divided.

Inspector Thomas Judge, a very popular police officer in the early days, but who died decades ago at Winston, used to tell the story that when Griffin was first brought to Rockhampton after his arrest, he was given into Judge’s charge at the lockup, the lockup-keeper M’Mulken, being temporarily absent. Griffin was taken into the office preparatory to being put in the cell. A horse, all saddled and bridled, was standing outside the lockup. Griffin took up a big ebony ruler from the table and handled it in an absentminded manner. He said, “Hand me that valise Judge, will you!” Judge was about, to stoop for the valise when the caught a glimpse of Griffin, and saw such a diabolical expression on it that it gave him quite a fright. “Pick it up yourself,” said Judge. There was no doubt in Judge’s mind that, seeing the horse outside, he intended to hit Judge on the head and then make a bolt for liberty on the saddled horse.

Relics of Griffin were distributed among a considerable number of Rockhampton people.

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