THE BARRABA MURDEE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 9494, 25 April 1894, Page 5

THE BARRABA MURDEE.

FULL PARTICULARS OF THE CRIME. At half-past one o'clock oh the afternoon of April 18 two armed men rode up on horseback to (Hie Barraba branch of the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney, entered the banking room, shot the manager dead, and, being interrupted, fled , before they had succeeded in procuring any booty. The attempt was a daring and a reckless one. It threw the township into the greatest excitement, and the police being absent, the able-bodied residents, armed and mounted, went in pursuit of the perpetrators of the murder. The fugitives, who were mounted on splendid horses, rode along the Campo Santa Road, which would lead them into very wild country. Both oonstables stationed at Barraba were absent at the time of the tragedy, but they returned later in the day. Strange to say, the officers met the murderers eight miles from Barraba, but they were not then aware of what had happened, and so they passed the men. The murder took place during the dinner hour. No one other than the manager and his wife was about the bank. The manager was at dinner with his wite in a room adjoining the bank office. When the two men entered the office the manager locked the door communicating with the dining-room. Directly afterwards Mrs. McKay heard loud speaking, and endeavoured to enter the office, but was unable to do so, the door being looked. Immediately afterwards two shots were fired, one hitting the manager just above the left ear. The other, penetrating the locked door, struck the wall of the dining room. The bullet was subsequently found on the floor. Three or four residents, as soon as they heard shots and the screams of Mrs. McKay, hurried to the scene. The murderers were just remounting, one being on his horse with a bulldog revolver in his hand, which he pointed at the people approaching the bank. He wore a slouched felt hat with a white turban. He had a full brown beard. The second man was very dark, and had a full beard. It is not known whether the manager tried to use his revolver. The mounted police and black trackers from here and the outlying stations were all sent in pursuit. McKay leaves four children. Mr. McKay expired in a few minutes. '• Several shots were fired. Two of the bullets have been found in the adjoining room. The third bullet is still lodged in the head of the victim. The men must have been frustrated in their design, as on entering a large amount of notes and coiu was found on the table adjoining the safe. The men, after the deed was done, rushed out of the bank, and a youncr fellow who endeavoured to send their two horses, which were tied up in front of the bank, adrift, was threatened to be shot. They also pointed their revolvers at some of the men who were running towards the bank. Their horses seemed to be in splendid condition, and of the very beat kind. One of the murderers had some black crape tied over his face when the robbery was committed. It appears that when the men entered the bank the manager, Mr. McKay, was at dinner with his wife in a room adjoining the banking-room. The manager went into the banking-room to attend to the men, and as he passed through he locked the door between the business premises and the diningroom. There were no witnesses to the tragedy. There is no doubt that th« object of the men was to rob the bank, and it is, therefore, thought by some of the officials of the head office that the robbers did not intern! to kill Mr. MoKay. It is surmised that when the robbers covering Mr. McKay with their firearms ordered him to bail up, he drew his revolver to make a fight of it, and that on seeing this the desperadoes anticipated him by putting a bullet through his head.

Mr. W. C. McKay, the victim of the outrage, was 38 years of age. He was a married man, and leaves a widow and four children, the youngest an infant. He resided with his family at the bank. He was the son of Mr. George McKay, of Orange. The branch at Barraba is a small one, consequently Mr. McKay was the ouly officer stationed there. He nod been there. 13 months and a-half, having previously been manager of the branch at Oandelo, and before that he was for some years manager of the Cobar branch. It was for the sake of Mr. McKay's health that he was removed from Candelo to Barraba. Altogether the murdered manager had been for 20 years in the employ of the Commercial Bank. He was highly respected by his superiors and fellow employees. He was not athletic, and did not enjoy robust health, but he is credited with having plenty of courage, and it is thought that had he not attempted to fire on the intruders his life would have been spared. Tho bank huiiriiot* »t Ba.traba. in. * brick structure and stands at tho corner of the main street of the township and the road leading to Campo Santa. It stands back from the road, and is sut rounded with a paling palisading. The entrance to the banking-room is at the corner of the building, and next to the banking-room comes the manager's room, adjoining whioh is the dining-room and the residential part of the building. The bank stands in a somewhat lonely position, the post-office being about 200 yards from it and the polioe station about 250 yards. A church stands on the opposite corner, and along the road are two or three residences, one or two small shops, and, further along, some public houses, Barraba is a postal township, with a population of about 420. It is 311 miles north of Sydney on the Manilla River, and is 60 miles from Tamworth, with which it has daily communication by coach. The district is mainly occupied by farms and stations.