GOLDFIELDS HORROR.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 133, 7 June 1926, Page 7

GOLDFIELDS HORROR.

MURDER OF DETECTIVES. ARREST OF A PUBLICAN. A BARMAN ALSO IN CUSTODY. (By Cable.—Press Association.—Copyright.) (Received 12.30 p.m.) PERTH, this day. In connection with the murder of Inspector John Walsh and Detective Sergeant Pitman, of the gold stealing detective staff, the police have arrested Evan Clarke, aged 32, a hotel licensee of South Boulder, and Phillip John Treffen, aged 51, barman, and charged them with the wilful murder of Walsh. The two men are well known in the district, and their arrest has caused a sensation. — (A. and N.Z. Cable.) The terrible murder, the cutting up and disposal of the bodies in a shaft, makes a story that has few parallels in Australian criminal history. In relation to the finding of the bodies, the credit of locating the death-hole belongs to an observant Kalgoorlie resident, who, when passing along a track that goes close to an old abandoned mine, noticed a swarm of flies buzzing in the vicinity, and leaving and re-entering the pit mouth. His suspicions were aroused, more particularly when, upon closer investigation, his nostrils were assailed by a horrible stench. The inspector of mines (Mr. W. F. Greenhard), the engineer of the Boulder mine (Mr. C. Walker), and the secretary of the Chamber of Mines (Mr. W. Anderton) were deputed to assemble a special gang of good, game men, for stout hearts were required to penetrate the unknown, and, perhaps, dangerous depths of the abandoned mine. In adition went Detective Sergeant Purdue, Inspector Sped-ding-Smith, and three miners, "Billy" Batten, Norris, and Kempt.

The scene of the terrible discovery was characteristic of the goldfields country. Here and there was an abandoned pit, the landscape studded with stunted gums and saplings, with again here and there a broken ridge, grim sentinels of an era that has passed. It was a lonely spot, well chosen by men who deposited their hideous cargo into the depths of the earth.

"Billy" Batten, a little old miner, volunteered to descend the shaft, through the terrible stench. He was lowered by men ont he surface until his feet touched the bottom, 60ft below the ground level. A flash of an electric torch revealed a terrible sight. In Batten's own words, "Tt begared description." Batten succeeded in removing from what looked like a heap of bags a quantity 6f old galvanised iron and tins and rubbish. This was hauled to the surface piece by piece. Then an evil-smelling sack, reeking of decomposed flesh, was sent up. When it was opened the stoutest heart in the party throbbed wildly and faces paled. The bag contained tbe naked trunk of a man, from which the head, arms, and legs had been severed. In stature, it resembled that of Detective Pitman.

The next haul revealed the trunk of another man. slenderly built, such as Walsh. From thia the heads, arms, and legs were also mi"-ing. It was an atrocious sight. A pair of grey trousers, which were readily identified by police officers as being those usually worn by Pitman, when out on rough work, was found amongst the debris, also a gold sleeve link belonging to Inspector Walsh. It bore his initials "J.W."

The work performed at the bottom of that pit by Billy Batten was heroic. It will go down with those who witnessed and appreciated the work as a treasured memory of what public service really means. He was brought up for a whiff of fresh air on several occasions, but never once complained. For nearly four hours. Batten toiled at his dreadful task, until the hole was cleaned of everything movable.

Among the hundred and one things sent up to the surface was practically a complete gold-treatment plant, including fire-bricks, picks, dishes, gold scales, and parts of crucibles. These apparently had been hurled down the shaft by the hands which sent Walsh and Pitman to their doom, and undoubtedly comprised part of the outfit the raiding of which brought about the two officers' untimely end. An overcoat, which could not be identified as having belonged to Wal9h or Pitman, was also brought to light. It might yet prove an important link in forging the chain of evidence against some man. The appearance of the coat lea4s to the belief that Walsh and Pitman died fighting. The coat evidently had been worn by a big man, probably someone standing over 6ft. The buttons were hanging on strips of freshly-torn cloth, as if the wearer had been in a desperate fight, in which an opponent had griped the coatfront and ripped it open, taking the buttons with it. Bloodstained as it was. and a dangerous garment to own, the murderer or murderers no doubt dumped it down the mine with the remains, in the belief that it would never be found.

The bottom of the pit also yielded up a quantity of burnt bone, and Dr. S. Matthews, who examined the remains ol the bodies, declared that an attempt had been made to also destroy the trunks by means of fire. The finding of small portions of burnt bone among the debris in all probability accounts for the mising heads, legs, and arms of the murdered detectives.

Police opinion is that the men were murdered early on the morning of April 2S, in the vicinity of South Boulder.

The bodies were then cut up and burned, and what remained, together

with the movable part of the treatment

plant, was then catted some miles to the abandoned shaft. A bag of gold-bearing ore was also discovered in the pit. This, perhaps, indicates that the murderers are finished with gold stealing and the treatment of ore, and have decided to quit the country.

The cart tracks leading to the mine are regarded by the police as evidence most likely to lead them to the scene of the murder When the discovery was made, Detective Sergeant O'Brien and Trooper Goldie were miles away in another direction with their blacktrackers. Inspector Condon and Detective Sergeant Purdue, Sergeant ' Manning, and Sergeant O'Brien, who have carried out investigations to date *yith an amazing swiftness and accuracy of deduction, are of the opinion that during the night of April 27 Walsh and Pitman received information which led them to believe that activity would be shown the next morning by gold stealers at the plant south of Boulder, which they had under suspicion. The probabilities are that Walsh and Pitman proceeded to the scene during the night and secreted themselves in the vicinity, and were later attacked and killed.