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Charge of Murder against
Inspector Wheeler, of the
Native Police.
This case is reported at length in the
Copperfield Miner of the 15th, and occupies
nearly four columns. The principal
witness was Thomas Baker, a constable
stationed at Belyando, and from his testimony
we cull the following:— I was at the
Belyando police camp on the 11th March
last ; I saw a strange blackboy in the
camp ; he was taken from the blacks'
quarters to the police barracks by the
native troopers at 9.30 p.m.; have since
heard that the strange blackboy's name
was Jemmy; I accompanied them to the
barracks ; the boy had no clothing on, but
had handcuffs on his legs; saw Mr. Wheeler
assist the native troopers to remove him ;
they took him to the barracks and put
another pair of handcuffs on his hands;
they passed a strap through his handcuffs,
and from them to the rafters outside the
barracks under the verandah ; in removing
Jemmy from the native troopers' camp to
the police barracks he was on his feet, and
was partly carried and partly pulled along;
they let him drop on the ground before Mr.
Wheeler assisted ; Mr. Wheeler then kicked
the blackboy Jemmy while on the ground,
two or three times; could not swear where
Mr. Wheeler kicked him ; think it was on
the back ; the blackboy was lying on
his side; believe Mr. Wheeler had
his boots on at the time ; after
Jemmy was brought up to the barracks,
Mr. Wheeler told one of the troopers to
flog him ; do not remember which trooper;
while Jemmy was triced up with his hands
above his head, his feet were on the
ground ; he could stand well ; the trooper
flogged him with a horsewhip—giving him
about eight or nine cuts on the back; the
whip used was the small end of a teemster's
whip (without the thong) about four
feet six inches long; the end was flexible
and easily bent— somewhat similar to a
riding whip ; it was a cane whip covered
with a greenhide covering; another trooper
was then told to flog him, by Mr. Wheeler,
and Jemmy had received about twelve
more blows when the whip broke; Mr.
Wheeler then flogged Jemmy with a
leather girth with the buckle cut off— (exhibit
A produced) ; that is the girth ; Mr.
Wheeler struck Jemmy about six or twelve
times with the strands ; Mr. Wheeler then
called the native trooper Toby, who gave
Jemmy about twelve strokes; after this
Mr. Wheeler gave him a few more
blows ; after this, prisoner told another
trooper to flog the boy Jemmy; the trooper
flogged him with (I believe) the girth ; the
trooper gave deceased about twelve or more
strokes ; I then said to prisoner, "That
will do, sir, the boy has had enough ;" do
not remember prisoner making any reply at
the time, but he stopped the punishment,
and had Jemmy taken to the troopers'
camp ; all the blows I saw were on his
back, where they were directed; saw him
taken down from the rafters; did not notice
what state he was in ; he was carried
back from the barracks to the camp by
the troopers ; followed the boy at some distance,
and saw him in the camp; he was
sitting on the ground ; he had only the
handcuffs on his legs and wrists; did not
see any wounds on his hack or chest at that
time; some conversation then passed between
prisoner and the blackboy in broken
English; prisoner then called for another
pair of handcuffs, and connected the hand
cuffs on Jemmy's wrists with those on his
feet; prisoner said, "I will take you home
in the morning;" I then returned to the
barracks with prisoner ; as I was leaving
I heard the gins wrangling with Jemmy at
the fire ; I returned to the troopers' camp
about five minutes after having left with
prisoner, and gave the troopers orders what
horses they had to ride in the morning ; did
not go nearer than twelve yards to Jemmy ;
at that time he was still talking to the
gins; I then went back to the barracks,
distant about sixty yards; next saw the
blackboy on the morning of the 12th
March ; he was in the camp, sitting on the
ground, a little nearer to the fire than he
was the evening before ; did not take any
particular notice of his state then ; the
boy seemed to have very little the matter
with him ; he was still naked ; afterwards
went up quite close to him at the request
of prisoner, and then did not notice anything
the matter with him, only that he
was covered with dust from where he had
been lying all night.
Dr Harricks, who made a post-mortem
examination of the body, described a number
of wounds which he found on it, and
attributed death to a severe attack
of peritonitis, accelerated by a nervous
shock caused by the wounds.
Frank Hamilton deposed : I am a general
station hand and live at Banchory ; know
Ditley, an out station on that run ; remember
Wednesday, 15th March last ; on
the evening of that day saw a black boy
named Jemmy ; was told that he was lying
near the lagoon covered with a blanket,
and went to see him ; he was alive then;
now remember it was Sunday night the
12th, not the 15th I saw the deceased;
lifted him partly up and wished to get him
to the hut; he dropped down again ; saw
that the black boy's body was cut or striped
by some kind of whip as well on the back
as on the front ; the wounds were bleeding
at the time ; do not think exhibit A would
inflict the wounds I saw ; all the wounds
ran into each other and it would be almost
impossible to say with what they were
done ; thought a whip had been used ; saw
the deceased on the 11th March—he was
with me all that day with cattle and came
to Ditley with me in the evening about 7
o'clock ; that was the last time I saw him ;
he had clothes on— trousers and shirt ;
have known the boy about 8 or 9 months;
have never heard him complain of any
sickness—consider him a sound healthy
black boy ; went to see him on the
evening of the 12th the wounds were
bleeding and very much swollen ; the black
boy made a statement; said to him you
will be all right in two or three days, to
which he replied "bail ; me die ; altogether
broken" (pointing to his stomach) :
he did not say anything else; he made
another attempt to get to the hut—he
staggered a few yards and then fell down ;
got the other boys to make a fire by him ;
Mr. McGavin was present part of the time;
after the fire was lighted I sent him some
food but he would not take it ; did not see
him again that night ; saw him again on
the morning of the 14th he had then been
brought up to the hut by the black boys
in the night; saw him early on the morning
of the 15th ; he appeared worse; saw
him again about 10 o'clock ; Mr.
Brown sent for me to go to the hut : I went
there the black boy was then alive ; at Mr.
Brown's request I stayed with Jemmy who
died that day ; Jemmy was lying under
the verandah on a piece of bark with
a blanket over him ; he kept rolling
over and over, on his side and back for
about a quarter of an hour; tried to prop
him up to stop him from rolling, and he
then seemed to be quiet; then went away
for a few minutes, and when I returned he
had rolled off the bark on to the ground,
and was lying on his belly, dead; then
acquainted Mr. Brown ; afterwards assisted
to bury the body of the deceased ; did not
see the body exhumed on the 17th ; should
have taken the boy to be about ten years
of age—not more.
By the Bench : The deceased never spoke
after I came to him from the yards on the
day he died.
The Bench considered the case was made
out, and committed the prisoner, Frederick
Wheeler, to take his trial for the wilful
murder of an aboriginal named Jemmy, at
the next Supreme Court, Rockhampton, on
October the 2nd, 1876.
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