Royal Commission report day 52 page 11
The Royal Commission evidence for 4/8/1881
(see also introduction to day 53)
[[../../people/peQ_R/quinnPartickSy.html|Patrick Quin]] giving evidence
17706 Did you know the woman?— Yes, it was Mrs. Skillian, sister of Ned Kelly.
17707 What happened when you told Mr. Sadleir that?— I told him and Mr. Nicolson I should like he should come, or some of his men come, and I would go with them up the King.
17708 Did they take any notice of that?— Yes. – Mr. Sadleir asked me to stop and to see Mr. Nicolson, and I did so. Mr. Nicolson made an excuse. He said, “This woman might be only leading you astray.” “Well,” I said, “it might be possible, but I do not think it, because I saw the man with her after she left my place starting away, and I ask you to come now, and if not to telegraph to Mansfield or Wangaratta, and I will lead the men any way you think best.”
17709 Was there any action taken upon that at all?— Mr. Nicolson said he was after coming in from a long ride and the horses were tired, and made an excuse, and asked me if Thursday would do.
17710 What did you say?— I said, “If those men are short of rations they will not stop there. They are not going to wait on your pleasure or anybody else's, and I would like you to come at the present time.”
17711 He did not come at that time?— No; he said he would come on Thursday.
17712 He did not telegraph to any men for you to meet them?— No.
17713 Was there any other occasion?— On Thursday Constable Strahan came to me and said that Mr. Nicolson could not come. On the same day I went out for a load of rails, and a man called Tom Roach came to me at the dray, and said he was out all night; that he had pitched a billy of water on his fire that night because Kelly had come to his camp and four more. He said he left part of his things after him. So I said I supposed he had no supper or breakfast, and he said, “No,” and I invited him to come along with me and have some. So he put on the dray, and I told him, “My wife is sister to Ned's mother, and you will not let her know anything,” and he jumped off the dray and said he would not go in, and I said he need not be frightened, I would not say anything about it, and he came in and had some breakfast. He asked me after if there was a police camp at Greta, and I said there were police there; and he said “I will not go there, for I was talking with Ned, and he said if I gave information to the police he would shoot me.” Then the man said he was going away to New South Wales.
17714 Did you give this information to Strahan when he came?— Well, no, I did not, because he told me at the time that he had seen police upon the King, and he believed they were after them.
17715 You did not give any information at that time to the police?— No, I could not.
17716 Did you at any time after do so, or did you know of any of the movements of the gang?— After the police being shot, Detective Ward and Constable Strahan came to me, and they asked me to go down to see Mr. Nicolson, and I did so; and he asked me if I would assist him in getting the gang, and I said those men would keep out of my road—they had already done so, especially after their shooting the police. So Mr. Nicolson said he would pay me, and I said I would take no payment, and advised him to be very cautious whom he did pay. I said, “If you do not mind, those men will have a long reign, because they are good bushmen and good horsemen, and they do not care about grog, and it will be very hard to entrap them into any place.
17717 Did they come to your place at any time after that?— I believe there was one of them at my place after that.
17718 You did not see him yourself?— I did not, but a little boy of mine told me there was one talking to a girl at my place. I saw the five men at my place once together—Ned Kelly and Dan and three other men—I suppose Byrne and Hart, but the other I was not certain of.
17719 Did you know it was Byrne and Hart?— Well, only just from seeing them with the Kellys.
17720 Where did you see them?— On the Gap over Greta.
17721 Do you remember anything about the fight?— No, but I told Mr. Sadleir on the next day.
17722 What did he say to you?— He said he would go and see Mr. Nicolson, and tell him of it, and would go and have a try. At the time I saw them there were two young fellows coming along the road about that spot—at the place—and they spoke to me. They asked me if I had a match on me, and I was pulling out the matches, when I thought if I lit those matches they would see who I was. It was just after dark, and I did not give them the matches. So I got off my horse, and there was a bough standing on the road; I broke that, and turned on the road, and we talked a bit; and after that I saw two of them running back from the road in the same direction they were coming from; so I got on my horse and came away. ....
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