LIFE IN THE FIFTIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2104, 21 June 1894, Page 41

LIFE IN THE FIFTIES.

AN OLD MINER'S REMINISCENCES

OF A VICTORIAN GOLDFIELDS ADVENTURE.

By A Minbb of '51.

A Press Association telegram appeared in various newspapers a few weeks ago to the effect that a coroner in Victoria had stated that in 1860 a*bu6hranger had shot a man, who immediately ripped bis assailant in the stomach with a knife, killing him. Before dying, however, the bushranger shot a constable who tried to arrest him, the three men all dying within three minutes. Reading the above set a few of the old miners of the early fifties talking about old times, when we found that Mr W. Simpson, of Orepuki, was an eyewitness of the tragedy referred to, and that the ccroner was very little out in his statement.

The scene of the occurrence was a d'ggings named Havelock, situated near Maryborough, and the tragedy took place in 1858. A Spaniard named Lopez kept a restaurant, and three armed men entered one Sunday night about 11 o'clock with the intention of robbing the place. Lopez drew his knife, when one of the robbers shot him in the breast, but he made a rush at the man who shot him and ripped his stomach open, when the robbers made off. But a sergeant of police — the camp being close to the restaurant — heard the row, and rushed out in his night clothes and tried to arresfc the man who shot Lopez, but the robber fired at him and shot him through the heart, and then fell himself. A constable who followed the sergeant got assistance and carried all three bodies into the policacamp, the bushranger being laid between the other two. Although he appeared to be dead, he actually lived until Monday afternoon, and Mr Simpson saw him just before he died. As soon as he was dead the body was thrown down an old shaft and the shaft filled up. The booies of the sergeant and Lopez were taken into Maryborough to be buried.

Of course there was great excitement in Havelock on Sunday night and Monday morning, and a crowd of miners determined to clear all the grog shanties out of existence. To effect their object they pulled 11 of them to pieces, destroying all the furniture and grog found on the premises. Te complete their work they also went out to a grog shanty at a placs called Bit-a-Bit, which they set fire to, there being no other tents or buildings near it, thus making a clean sweep

of the places of resort and shelter of a large gang of robbers and cut- throats who infested Havelock.

As a proof that tbe maintenance of law and order at that time largely depended on the miners themselves it may be mentioned that no coroner's inquest or governmental inquiry was ma'e in connection with this occurrence, serious though it was.

Among other reminiscences related was the following, in which the writer took part, in 1852. When Pegleg Gaily, Bendigo, was discovered, two brothers, William and John Murray, had a claim which was turning out very well — so well, indeed, that some men who belonged to a crowd who were trying to terrorise and frighten the holders of any ground that was supposed to be rich out of their claim, tried to jump the Murrays' claim; but they "caught a Tartar," as the Murrays, knocking the picks off the handles, went for the jumpers, and sent them home with sore boned. After dark, accompanied by a number of their friends, they approached the Murrayg' tent quietly, and cut the ropes, letting the tent down on top of them, and started striking them with sticks, and, it was said, using knives as well, as the tent was found to have been pierced in several places with a knife. William Murray crept from under the tent and gained the Bheltar of a wnipstick scrub close "by, bat John, a very quiet fellow, who had hardly ever a word to say, got out from under the tent with a revolver in bis hand and shot five of his assailants, three of whom died before daylight, the other two, I believe, recovering. Of course there was terrible excitement among the diggers, who collected in large numbers during the night. As the crowd to which the men who were shot belonged .was very numerous, and threatened to shoot everybody in the gully, word was sent over to Eaglehawk and the other gullies, bringing many hundred miners together, and these kept the rowdie3 within bounds until the arrival of the commissioner, who came on to the ground about 10 o'clock, accompanied by several troopers. He rode up to where the three dead bodies lay, and heard all that the principal men bad to say. After making the necessary inquiries, he was satisfied that he had learned all about the affair. He asked where was the man who had shot the rioters. John Murray was standing just at the head of the commissioner's horse, not having said a single word during tbe inquiry. When he was pointed out the commissioner moved his horse a step forward, and putting his hand on Murray's head, said, "By , young fellow, if I had a score of men like you I could keep the peace in Victoria ! " He then shook hands with Murray, and rode off with his troopers. This concluded tbe whole of the business, which for some time afterwards was spoken of as the battle of Pegleg. Tbe result was exceedingly beneficial to the whole of the district, as tbe rowdieß found they could not do as they liked, and there was very little jumping or rowdyism after that time.