Royal Commission report day 27 page 16
The Royal Commission evidence for 8/6/1881
(see also introduction to day 27)
[[../../people/peD_G/dowsett%20Jesse%20Mr.html|Mr Jesse Dowsett]] sworn and examined
10898 By the Commission— What are you?— Guard on the Victorian railways.
10899 Do you remember the morning of the day on which the Kellys were captured?— Yes.
10900 Where were you on that morning?— I left Benalla after five o'clock .
10901 You went up with Mr. Sadleir and his party?— Yes.
10902 You were in charge of the train that time?— No; I was to have taken the first special up— it was arranged on Sunday, but there was some alteration made waiting for the special from Melbourne, and I was told to go home, and they would call me. They did not come to call me, but, about close on five o'clock, a chap that works on the coal stage came and knocked at the place where I was living, and told me that the Kellys were fighting Glenrowan, and Mr. Hare had come back wounded, so I jumped up and shoved on my clothes and ran over, and was just in time to go on the engine as it went away.
10903 You were not in any official capacity on the railway then?— No.
10904 You got there when?— Somewhere about half past five.
10905 Of course it was not light then?— No.
10906 What were you first engaged in on going there?— Shortly after I got up there they were talking about that one of the outlaws must have got away. They showed a revolving rifle and a skull cap, and Mr. Sadleir was talking to Constable Kelly—asking him how things were going on—and I heard him enquire where Mr. O'Connor, and Kelly said he was down in the drain, opposite the hotel. While they were talking like this I heard some screams that seemed to come from the hotel, as if a woman was getting hurt; and I think Dr. Nicholson was making some remark were there women and children in there —a lot of conversation; but I cleared out when I heard this woman calling out, and I went up to the back of the station and crept on my hands and knees to where there were some tents alongside the railway fence, and I could hear her screaming out, but I could not see her distinctly for the smoke; but presently I saw a woman with her hair hanging down her back and screaming, with a child in her arms; so I called to her softly to come to me. I said, “Come to the police;” and she came towards me, crying most bitterly not to shoot her child the same as they had shot the father. I put one arm partly round her and took the child in my arms, and made my way to the station the best way I could.
10907 What time?— Shortly after six o'clock , I should say.
10908 What happened then?— Of course everybody was on to her to know who was in there, and what they were doing. I stayed there myself some little time, and I thought, “I will go back to where you came from, there does not seem to be anybody up there.” And I went up there again, and saw a man behind a tree that looked rather suspiciously at me, and I said, “Railway,” and stepped towards him. This was a policeman, and we stayed there a considerable time, and the firing was going on; there seemed to be any amount of pellets going about.
10909 You could hear them in the trees?— Yes, and hear them whistle; and all at once something seemed to come as if somebody was hitting me at the back, and I turned round and saw this strange-looking object coming over the hill from the Wangaratta side.
10910 What time was that?— About half past seven.
10911 Was it getting daylight?— Yes, but the smoke of the guns hung over the ground and made like a fog.
10912 What did you do?— It proved to be Ned Kelly afterwards, but at the time it looked like a great big blackfellow. I called out, I said, “Healey, what is this coming?” and somebody behind said, “Keep back, keep back”; but the object kept coming on, and presently I saw it was from that direction the shots came that seemed to strike me, and I said, “You had better scatter, boys.” The figure then seemed to stop in a clump of saplings, and you could see him from the centre firing away several times, and I went along.
10913 In what direction did he fire?— Well, it seemed as if it was pointing towards where I was.
10914 Towards the railway station?— Not exactly, but at the angle between that and the hotel.
10915 You cannot say whether it was towards Arthur?— No, he fired several times.
10916 What then?— I kept going from tree to tree to try and get closer to him, and Constable Kelly was on the right; and I thought as the outlaw Kelly seemed to sit down in this clump of saplings that he was reloading, and I thought it was a chance of firing at him; in fact I kept pegging away at the foot of the clump of saplings, and I said to Constable Kelly, “If you come here you can get a shot at him.”....
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