Hobart town Jack’s Death; Recalls Strange Story

Northern Advocate, 18 July 1938, Page 4

Hobart town Jack’s Death; Recalls Strange Story

The death occurred at Onehunga this week of Mr John Gallagher, who was known as “Hobart Town Jack" to the older generation of New Zealanders. Just how he got this name has never been definitely stated. “Hobart Town Jack" was one of the most talked-of identities of the Thames goldfield days, and his fame was as wide as the Auckland province. He is one of the gi’eat figures of Thames folk-lore, about whose feats of endurance as a runner many tales arc told.

A strange incident in connection with Mr Gallagher’s career was reported one day in November, 1925, when the Auckland “Star" printed the following;—

“HOBART TOWN’S" DOUBLE. THE BODY IN THE HARBOUR. REMARKABLE RESEMBLANCE, CORPSE NOT IDENTIFIED.

“Hobart Town Jack," Mr John Gallagher, the central figure in the strange drama of mistaken identity that is a topic of conversation at the present time, had a double; and that double was the man whose body was taken from the harbour on Saturday last, and who. on Monday, was buried under the wrong name of John Gallagher, by Hobart Town’s own family. When the photograph that appeared in the "Star” last evening was seen by those who knew Hobart Town, the likeness to the dead man was immediately noticed by those who had seen the corpse. It was stated by a police officer that the only marked difference between the man in the picture and the one now buried was that Hobart Town was shown with a moustache, an adornment which the dead man did not possess. Otherwise the cheek-bones, prominent lips, hair >nd general appearance were ic.ntical with the unknown man. How much like Hobart Town the dead man was can be better realised when it is remembered that not one or two members, but practically every one of the staff of the Municipal Fish Market, where Mr Gallagher was as well-known as the harbour itself, were positive that the body found in the water was that of the man who is alive and well in Ness Valley, Glovedon. Confronted with the photograph, they were astonished. “The man found in the water was Hobart Town to a T,” said one of the men to a “Star” reporter. The fact that the dead man did not have a moustache was looked on as a minor detail, for Hobart Town himself did not have one when he was last in town.

There is also the extraordinary fact that Hobart Town's own son identified the body as that of his father. • And. in the meantime, the identity of the man who was buried on Monday remains a mystery. The police arc ‘ till making inquiries. The body, when recovered from the sea, was clothed in a double-breasted brown coat, black tweed trousers, grey shirt and tan

shoes. Hobart Town Jack will come to Auckland when the inquest proceedings arc resumed. His friends here will be pleased to see the hero of the remarkable story, if only to talk with him about the fame that came to him so suddenly.