The Argus at KellyGang 19/3/1881 (3)
Mr Hare and I ran up towards the house, he talking to me, and when at a short distance from the front of the place were stopped by a volley of bullets from its verandah. Almost simultaneously with the firing Mr Hare said, "O'Connor, I am wounded - shot. In the arm, I must go back." This Mr Hare did, not having been five minutes on the field. It was I who told the men to take cover, also the order to cease firing and to let the women out. Mr Hare's statement as to having fired several shots is untrue, also his statement of having returned to the front, as he never left the railway platform after he returned there. Again, his statement is un- true when he states he saw me running up a drain, as I did not take cover for fully 10 minutes after Mr Hare disappeared. I remained at my post (immediately in front of the house) under heavy fire until half past 10 am, having held it for upwards of seven and a half hours, and only left when a superior officer arrived and took command .The chief commissioner arrived at Glenrowan at about half past 5pm, after the whole fight was over, and when he saw me he hardly condescended to recognise me. I returned next day to Melbourne, but never received a word of recognition for the services of my men or myself until Lord Normanby officially thanked me through Captain Standish.
In conclusion, I must say that Mr Ramsay, the then Chief Secretary, subsequently sent for me, and thanked me most cordially on behalf of the Government of the colony, and stated that my services should he rewarded in the most substantial manner. After a little time he wrote a very complimentary letter to my Government.
In conclusion, I have to point out, as a Queensland officer of police, voluntarily serving in Victoria, assisting in searching for the Kelly gang, I have been treated in an ungentlemanly, ungenerous, and discourteous manner by the commissioner of police throughout the whole 10 months I was under his command , and subsequently by Superintendent Hare, in his official report of the Glenrowan episode, which contains false and coloured statements, calculated to make my services slightly esteemed, and to injure me seriously in my position as an officer of police. I submit that my voluntary action in proceeding to Glenrowan on the night of the 27th June, after my services had been dispensed with by Captain Standish, makes the injustice of Mr Hare's report greater, and I again appeal to you to grant me the inquiry, for which I have returned from Queensland.
I have the honour to be, your obedient servant,
STANHOPE O'CONNOR,
Sub-Inspector of Queensland Police
To the Hon. Graham Berry, Chief Secretary, Melbourne.
Letter of Captain Standish to Sub-inspector O'Connor
Melbourne Club, June 27, 1880.
My dear Sir,-I have just received telegraphic information that the outlaws stuck up the police party that was watching Mrs Byrne's house, and shot Aaron Sherritt dead. The police, however, appear to have escaped. In the urgent position of affairs, could you return to Beechworth with your trackers by the early train to morrow, or by a special train, if that can be arranged. If you can oblige us in this way, could you manage to come in at once to see me at the club by the hansom which I send out with this?-Yours faithfully,
FC STANDISH S O'Connor, Esq.
Flemington, 12th August, 1880.
Sir-I have the honour to request that you will grant me a board of Inquiry into the acts and occurrences of the Police department of Victoria during the time I was on special duty here as the officer in charge of the detachment of Queensland native police, acting in the pursuit of the Kelly outlaws, also, into the facts and occurrences concerning the death and capture of the outlaws at Glenrowan.
I trust you will see your way to grant me this re- quest, as, after the report of Superintendent Hare, published in "Argus" of the 20th July, 1880, and the evidence of Senior-constable Kelly on the magisterial inquiry at Beechworth, published in the "Age" of the 11th and 12th August, 1880, I feel it is due to the Police department of Queensland, also to myself as an officer and a gentleman, that my conduct and that of my men during the whole of the period referred to may receive the fullest investigation. If it is more convenient to you that this inquiry be included in that of any board appointed to inquire into the police administration of this colony, I would be content to allow mine to form part of it.
In conclusion, I beg to state that I do not wish to participate in any part or portion of the £8,000 reward, but only require to have an opportunity of placing my conduct and that of my men in the proper fight.
I have the honour, &c.,
STANHOPE O'CONNOR,
Sub-Inspector, Queensland Police
To the Hon Graham Berry, Chief Secretary of Victoria.
The other documents consist of a report by Sub-inspector O'Connor, which appeared in The Argus on 30th June, 1880, and Superintendent Hare's report on the Glenrowan affair, dated 2nd July, 1880, which we published on the 20th of the same month
THE ABORIGINES AT CORANDERRK
(BT OUR OWN REPORTER)
There are six reserves in this colony occupied by the blacks, under the supervision of the board for the protection of the aborigines. The stations are Coranderrk, Lake Condah, Lake Tyers, Ramahyuck, Lake Hindmarsh, and Framlingham.
All except Coranderrk are at a long distance from Melbourne, and in thinly populated districts, Lake Hindmarsh is in the midst of the mallee scrub of the Wimmera, and Lake Tyers is on the seacoast at the eastern extremity of the Gipps Land lakes. On the other hand, Coranderrk, which has been in occupation for about 10 years, is within 40 miles of Melbourne, and close to the township of Healesville at the foot of the dividing range. The board for the protection of the aborigines consists of private citizens appointed by the Government.
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