Royal Commission report day 18 page 14
The Royal Commission evidence for 11/5/1881
(see also introduction to day 18)
'Constable Alfred John Faulkiner' giving evidence
5619 By the Commission. —Then, if that was done, they could not be there without your finding them?— Yes.
5620 By Mr. Hare . —If they were in the gullies, if one man did not catch them another would?— Yes.
5621 By the Commission. —You have been all through that district up the Mitta, and all round the Kelly country, as it is called?— Yes.
5622 Have you come to any conclusion as to what the movements of the Kellys were. Do you think they remained, being fed and provisioned, round about the Warby Range, Greta, Glenrowan, and their own homestead and the Fifteen-mile Creek, or do you think they remained away from that?— I think they were somewhere in the Warby ranges, from Greta across to Fifteen-mile Creek. That was their general track and their stronghold.
5623 There in one circle of twenty or thirty miles?— Yes.
5624 Round Glenrowan, where they were captured?— Yes.
5625 By Mr. Hare. —Before I came there, were you in other search parties?— Yes.
5626 Did they work in the same way?— Yes.
5627 Did they think they were throwing away that time?— No.
3628 By the Commission. —Was it pleasant work?— I think not; some very cold nights.
5629 It wears the clothes out quickly?— We were in plain clothes.
5630 Is it not considered very rough work on them?— We used to put on any old clothes.
5631 By Mr. Hare. —You remember the night I watched Bryan 's place?— Yes.
5632 Describe the state I was in that morning?— That evening we watched the place with Mr. Hare, Canny and I; we stayed up in a potato field till about 2 a.m. in the morning. The other men were all round the house. Then Mr. Hare instructed Canny and me to go to Wangaratta. We got a party of police, and brought them back. We met Mr. Hare coming back, and He spoke to me. I would not speak to him at first. I did not know him, because his whole face was covered with icicles from the hoar frost. We watched there till daylight, and as soon as daylight we saddled up the horses and started to search the ranges.
5633 And were out the whole day then?— Yes.
5634 Do you remember going to some tracks up a hill?— Yes.
5635 And we followed them?— Yes, some five or six miles.
5636 The following day going up do you remember some information of a fire on the top of the hill?— Yes; we went to the top, and there was a fire and some stones removed, as if the men had lifted the stones, and the fire had got the start of them and spread on the hill. We thought it was a place no one would go unless they were compelled to go.
5637 Did you see any marks of people going up?— I think we saw the marks of stones.
5638 Do you remember we camped on a swamp that night?— Yes.
5639 Next morning did we see any indications of anything?— Yes; we were going up the hill, and we came to a little pool of water, and we went to look at it, and there were three or four footprints there.
5640 What sort of footprints?— A very big foot.
5641 anything about the heel of the boot?— I do not remember.
5642 By the Commission. —It was stated in evidence when the ploughshares were stolen about Greta there were footprints with very high-heeled boots; was there anything remarkable about the footprints?— I could not say; the sand closes up.
5643 Was it at the springs on Bruno's selection?— No.
5644 By Mr. Hare. —We continued searching those hills?— Yes.
5645 Do you remember going up to , and his taking, us up to the place where he was?— Yes.
5646 Do you remember seeing any indications there of anything?— We came across a tent and no person at home, and a couple of bags of chaff and a pair of hobbles and cooking utensils outside.
5647 Any marks of horses?— Yes.
5648 Shed or unshod?— I think shod.
5649 We watched that place some time?— Yes, we did....
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