Royal Commission report day 30 page 9
The Royal Commission evidence for 15/6/1881
(see also introduction to day 30)
[[../../people/peQ_R/rawlinsC.html|Mr Charles C. Rawlins]] giving evidence
11742 Did you see whether his helmet came off then?— His helmet rolled off as he fell down.
11743 Did he trip or was it the effect of the shot?— He was shot by somebody, I am sure, in the knees.
11744 That would be your impression at the time?— Yes.
11745 Would it be with a revolver or a rifle?— Neither, at that time. He was shot with buck-shot from a double-barrelled breach-loader.
11746 Were you present when the revolver was wrenched from him?— Yes, I was close enough to see it—it went off when it was being taken away from him. Sergeant Steele had hold of his arm.
11747 Who seized the revolver?— Steele got hold of the revolver and I held down the wounded arm on the other side. He was shot in two places in the arm and had his arm on one side, and Steele pulled over his hand, and as he fell back his helmet rolled off, and Steele pulled him down and took the revolver out of his hand afterwards, but it went off while we were doing that.
11748 Are you confident Steele was the man who took it?— Steele was the man who had hold of his arm. I would not swear he was the one that took it out of his hand.
11749 The railway guard, Dowsett, swears he wrenched it out of Kelly's hand?— He was there but I could not say that he took it.
11750 He has the revolver now, and says he never gave it to anybody?— Well, I had the armour in my possession, but they would not let me keep it. I carried the armour down to the station after we took it off, so I suppose it belongs to me, at that rate.
11751 Did you see Mrs. Reardon coming out from the door?— Yes, I was there at the time.
11752 Did you see anybody shoot at her?— No. That part of the arrangement was just after the time I came back, after stopping the Wangaratta train. The reporters said the police had challenged some body up in the bush, and I said that was the Wangaratta police. I crept up to one of the tents and watched the house for a good time. We heard a noise inside, and, while listening, we also heard Steele challenging some one on the Wangaratta side, and then I heard a woman say, “Oh, my child ! my child ! Oh, my boys! Oh—(everybody).” Dowsett, the guard, passed close to me. It was pitch dark at that time, and I was straining my eyes to see who it was coming out. I could see it was a women carrying a baby in her arms, and Dowsett said, “Step this way, Mrs. Reardon.” He was within two yards of me at this time, and he lifted her clean over the fence and took her to the platform, and almost immediately after there was a great shout, and Steele fired. It was he challenged her, and he fired two shots in quick succession. I was watching her. Steele said it was Dan Kelly in disguise, and he fired two shots at that moment.
11753 Did you hear anybody threaten Steele if he fired on the woman?— No. I heard Bracken threaten to shoot Dwyer at the time we had Kelly on the ground; he got fearfully excited.
11754 Would that be the constable that kicked him?— He kicked him on the side of his leg and said, “Why did you kill my mate, Lonigan?” I thought the police were going to kill Kelly right off.
11755 Do you think Sergeant Steele fired at the woman?— No, I do not think so; I think he fired at the house at two people, one crawling along the ground.
11756 Did you see that one crawling?— Yes; one dropped down on his face; the other walked back.
11757 Did you see that one who walked back; had he his hand up?— He put his hand up at the time they said, “If you do not go back I will shoot you.” The other fell on his face and wriggled back.
11758 Did you see whether the one that walked back with his hand up was shot?— I did not think he was; he did not fall down.
11759 He fell as he got close to the door?— He got out of my sight as he got to the door.
11760 At the time Kelly was taken, did you see any movement amongst the police as if they were running away?— No; they ran the other way. I never saw a single man behave with cowardice the whole time. That one shot fired at the flag of truce was the only thing. It came from the front of the building. They kept up a tremendous fusillade from there; no one could have got out of the front of the building.
11761 Do you think that shot was fired by one of the black trackers?— It might have been.
11762 Did you hear Steele make any remarks when he fired those shots?— Yes; that was how I know him—I knew him personally. He made use of some expression with an oath in it; what it was I do not know. I was too far away to hear exactly what he said. I heard “Throw up your arms,” and “It is Dan Kelly in disguise.” I was lying down watching those two figures. After Mr. Hare had gone from the place altogether for half-all-hour, I went to Curnow's, to get a plan of the inside of Jones's, as I had arranged with Mr. Hare to meet the police on the Benalla side, so as to keep them from coming to the front of the house. At 4.30 a.m. o'clock I met an engine with two men on it, and they told me about the police coming from Wangaratta, and I asked them whether they knew where the gap in the line was, and they said, “Yes; it is at the foot of the bank.” I said, “No; it is on the top of the bank.” Then I went up to the station, and the reporters said something about the horses being taken away. I went off and caught a man taking the horses away, and when I got to the gap I heard the train coming up, and I struck a match, and the train stopped close to the gap. I also drove the horses back.
11763 Have you any notion of the time those troopers arrived?— It was five o'clock exactly; when I got to the gap it was about five. I struck the matches when the train came up, and a man challenged me and I told him who I was. Nothing would have prevented them going into the gap, because when he found the gap was not where it was represented to be, the engine-driver thought it was on the Benalla side, and he was going right into Glenrowan, full speed, when I stopped him—they would have been certainly wrecked. He made an affidavit to the effect that I saved the train, and Mr. Sadleir sent in an affidavit also that it was I that got the prisoners out at half-past ten.
The witness withdrew.....
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. |
The previous day / next day . . . Royal Commission index RC_index.html
