Royal Commission Second Report Part XV ( page 22)

full text

The Royal Commission Second Report -Part XV Cont

pronounce decisively as to the precise point of time at which Superintendent Hare saw Mr. O'Connor on his way back to the station; but as nearly all the witnesses agree that Mr. Hare was not more than from five to ten minutes in the front, it seems probable that he must have sighted Mr. O'Connor in his first position as he describes and before the Queensland Inspector had sought the more secure shelter of the spot where he remained until Mr. Sadleir's arrival. Mr. Hare, on reaching the platform, had his arm bandaged by Mr.Carrington, one of the representatives of the press, and he then left the station with the intention of resuming his position at the front. Great loss of blood, and consequent physical exhaustion, prevented him from doing so. He states that he felt great pain, and as the blood continued dripping from his wrist he became faint. He was clearly apprehensive of bleeding to death, and in this extremity he is said to have called to Mr. Rawlings - "For God's sake, Rawlings, go and get me a horse, or anything that will carry me to Benalla, where 1 can have my wound dressed properly." He was observed sitting near a log not far from the fence by Constable Kirkham, but finding it necessary to return to the station, Superintendent Hare re-appeared there after an absence the second time of from five to eight minutes, according to the evidence of the reporters. He fainted and fell down on reaching the platform. He was then lifted, placed in a railway carriage along with the ladies, who administered some sherry, under the influence of which he shortly revived. He then arranged to be sent to Benalla by one of the engines, and this was done. Here ends the first phase of the Glenrowan affray. Superintendent Hare, when he took his departure from the scene, appears to have been under the impression that he left Mr. O'Connor in charge of the attack. No doubt such was his intention, but Inspector O'Connor seems throughout the morning to have been animated by but one idea, namely, that by remaining in the deep cutting where he had sought shelter he was guarding the front of the premises, thereby cutting off all chance of escape for the outlaws from that quarter. A little reflection, however, would have led this officer to see that, if the outlaws did attempt an escape, they were not likely to select the front, where they would have had to run the gauntlet between the various parties of police stationed there. If an escape were attempted at all, it was more likely to have been by the rear of the hotel, where the ground was covered with timber and scrub, while the Warby ranges were only a short distance off. Therefore, instead of standing in the cutting, blazing away every time a flash was seen from the hotel, Mr. O'Connor might just as well have been on the platform along with the ladies, the reporters, and other non-combatants. Indeed the appearance of ladies at such a juncture was somewhat incongruous. It was a mistake to have allowed them to accompany the party from Melbourne , and, as a fact, their presence seems to have had the reverse of an inspiriting influence upon the officer in charge of the Queensland contingent. He held his position until the arrival of Superintendent Sadleir and the reinforcements from Benalla. About the same time Sergeant Steele arrived from Wangaratta with his contingent, having ridden down with the greater part of them, a few proceeding by train. Mr. Sadleir, on reaching the ground, sought Mr. O'Connor, and consulted with him. After the first volley some of the female prisoners in the hotel escaped; but at the time Steele took up his position, close to the rear of the hotel, Mrs. Reardon and some members of her family endeavored to make their escape. Mrs. Reardon, who had a child in her arms covered with a shawl, states distinctly that Sergeant Steele deliberately fired at her, and produced, before the Commission, a shawl perforated apparently by a bullet. Steele denies the allegation; but admits having shot young Reardon who, it is asserted, neglected, when ordered, to put up his hands. The ball or pellet fired entered his breast, and lodged beneath the ribs, but did not cause death. Indeed, the firing at this time, by all accounts, seems to have been indiscriminate, the blacks particularly being industrious in potting away at the premises. The prisoners, in a state of terror, arranged to hold out a white handkerchief, at which several shots were immediately fired, a proceeding highly reprehensible, as the most untutored savage is supposed to respect the signal of surrender. The order was given to fire high, but not before one of Mrs. Jones' children and a man named Martin Cherry were wounded, the latter fatally. About seven o'clock , Ned Kelly, the leader of the gang, was captured. He had been wounded in the foot during the first brush with the police. He left the hotel by the back shortly after, and selected his own horse, which he led away into the bush at the rear. On the way he seems to have dropped his rifle and the skull cap that he wore inside his iron headpiece, not far from the house. He then seems to have endeavoured to disencumber himself of his armor, but, being unable to do so without assistance, he evidently made up his mind to break through the cordon of police, rejoin and die with his companions in the hotel. His capture was effected without much difficulty or danger, as he was wounded in several parts of the body, and was incapacitated from using his revolver with effect. As the tall figure of the outlaw, encased in iron, appeared in the indistinct light of the dawn, the police for a time were somewhat disconcerted. To some it seemed like an apparition; others thought it was a black man who had donned a nail-can for a joke, but as the shots fired from Martini-Henry rifles, at short range, were found to have no effect, the sensation created seemed to have been akin to superstitious awe. One man described it as the

Previous page / Next page

 ! 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.

The previous page / next page . . . Royal Commission index