Story of the KellyGang - the Royal Commission 8/9/1881
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Summary
of the evidence on day 51 of the hearings
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Question number
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Date
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Witness
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| 17128 - 17274 | 8/9/1881 | |
| 17275 - 17400 | 8/9/1881 | Insp Brooke Smith |
| 17401 - 17453 | 8/9/1881 | Const Twomey |
| 325 - 675 676 - 915 916 - 1065 11997 - 12079 16861 - 17127 17787a |
24/3/1881
25/3/1881 29/3/1881 16/6/1881 7/9/1881 20/9/1881 |
See the following dates for other evidence given by Ass Com Nicolson |
| 17454 - 17590 |
9/9/1881
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Insp Brooke Smith's evidence continued
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Appendix
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Title
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| 20 | Minutes of Proceedings at Meetings Held by the Royal Commission |
Summary of the evidence on day 51 of the hearings
8/9/1881 Ass Com Nicolson continued his evidence - some brief highlights
8/9/1881 Inspt Brook Smith commenced his evidence - some brief highlights
Brook Smith was at the Horsham police station as the sub-officer of the Wimmera district in 1881. In 1878 he was in the same position in North Eastern Victoria and based at Wangaratta.
The Royal Commissioners took Brook Smith through the evidence that had been given by SConst Johnston about the hunt for the KellyGang in the Warby Ranges.
"I was simply overdone"
What really happened in the Warby Ranges?
"Mr. Nicolson was very anxious I should go out again almost immediately, but I was very tired, and he was good enough to wait on me himself, and we started a morning or two after."
"Do you remember his being in Wangaratta under orders to go to Rats' Castle with a number of men?"
What did Brook Smith know about the KellyGang passing under the bridge in Wangaratta?
What did Mrs Delaney say to the police?
"We want you to notice that on the 4th you had ample information with reference to that party, do you remember what you did the day after you sent that telegram?-"
What was the ledge under the bridge where the KellyGang crossed like?
"Simply being utterly tired and wet-wet through that day that I came back (if you refer to that telegram). I had been wet through for nearly forty-eight hours before I wrote that. I came in and I had to start off that very Yarrawonga journey you are speaking of."
What was the the occurrence book?
"We want you to answer those charges. Did you, as the officer in charge of that party, show negligence in not availing yourself of the information you had on that occasion. You have had the evidence before you, and you came prepared to answer the charge?- "
"How could you be on a search party when you were every day in Wangaratta?-"
8/9/1881 Const Twomey commenced his evidence - some brief highlights
Early on the morning of 4/11/1878 Sgt Steele came through Wangaratta on the special train from Benalla to Beechworth. Const Twomey called Sgt Steele out of the van. Twomey told him he had reliable information that on the previous day the KellyGang had passed-that is, four young men riding four horses, two pack-horses in front with two heavy packs on each horse, and four others running bare-back in front of them; but the informant could not state whether the four horses running in front belonged to the party, as there had been horses running on the common there.
This matter was referred on to Insp Brooke Smith. Twomey provided detailed evidence of the delay in mounting the search after the KellyGang. He went to Peechelba with the main party where they divided.
The Royal Commission then came back to Twomey's attempt to interest Sgt Steele in the news of the citing while he passed through Wangaratta on the train to Beechworth.
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This document gives you the text of the report about the KellyGang for this day. The text has been retyped from a microfiche copy of the original. We have taken care to reproduce this document but areas of the original text may been damaged. We also apologise for any typographical errors. This document is subject to coypright.