Murder at Burrum Heads
MURDER AT BURRUM HEADS?...(Traveston)
World War 1 was only seven weeks old when a battle of a different kind was happening on a 16 acre selection, officially described as portion No. 39 Traveston, but known at the time as Cypress Hill.
Traveston is now known as Burrum Heads.
Alfred Henri Samuel Girling was shot in the neck by a Thomas Llewellyn and died instantly.
Llewellyn had obtained a conditional lease from the Crown in Jan. 1913 to occupy this block; the rent was low as the land itself was poor.
The shooting was the result of a long standing feud of a domestic nature between the both parties where much quarrelling had taken place over the preceding months.
The shooting centred around five people:
Firstly - Girling, (the victim), his de-facto wife Mary Ann Davies and their daughter, eight year old Raby Marie Llewellyn Girling.
Secondly - Thomas Llewellyn (the accused) and his wife Marcia, (or as she was later named Maria).
It was a marital mix up as Mary Ann Davies was the sister of Llewellyn, and was still the legal wife of a James Davies of Newcastle N.S.W. She had left her husband and eight children (the youngest was a set of twins just 21 months old), some 16 years before and went to live with Girling in South Africa.
They never went through with any formal marriage but she had another three children with Girling, two of which died and the remaining child was Raby, a witness to the shooting.
Girling was born in the Orange River State of South Africa.
He was also a married man who fathered six or seven children and deserted his wife for Mrs. Davies. He was a well built, strong man aged in his early fifties.
Llewellyn on the other hand was of a similar age but of a more delicate nature and at the time was in receipt of an invalid pension and had been on the sick list of his club for some time.
From the evidence brought up at the trial, Llewellyn had selected the land in question in his name and lived on it with his wife Marcia.
He had a deep affection for his sister Mary Ann and even though they lived in different continents they corresponded regularly.
As early as 1901 Mary Ann met up with her brother in Newcastle and he expressed a desire to go to South Africa but he had no money to even contemplate such a journey. She made him a proposition, if he could somehow procure the children from their father and bring them over to South Africa she would pay all fares. She gave him sixty pounds which was quite a tidy sum in those days.
She had made at least three visits from South Africa to Australia in connection with the children by her lawful husband but without a successful outcome.
She left for South Africa a few days later.
Llewellyn travelled to Durban, South Africa soon after but was without the children, he had spent most of the money but said that he would repay it as soon as he could find employment.
He was to take up residence in the Girling house while in South Africa.
He finally returned to Australia and went to live at Traveston.
Whenever he was short of money he would write to his sister who was always ready to oblige. On one occasion he asked for money to buy himself a boat as he lived so close to the water he may eke out an existence catching fish.
Mary Ann worried about her brother to such an extent that she broke up her home in South Africa and decided to return to Australia and live with him on the block.
The trio of Girling, Davies and Raby arrived back in Australia in September 1913 and they all lived in the house with the Llewellyn’s.
Within a week tensions were being strained, Llewellyn remarked to his sister that he didn't like Girlings ways and didn't know how she could live with him. It was at this point he found out that she had not divorced and was not married to Girling; he was visibly upset that they were living in this type of a relationship and producing children out of wedlock.
This may have been the first spark of the drama that was to enfold at a later date.
As a result Girling went back to South Africa alone while Davies thought it better to move away, so took Raby and went to live with Oscar Caldwell Robinson Ross and his family on the bank of the Burrum River.
Before leaving Australia, Girling asked Llewellyn if he would repay the monies his sister had advanced him over the years.
Of course he had no chance of doing this but to satisfy the debt he transferred the deeds of the land over to Girling on the condition that he could live on the farm and have the use of five acres of land as long as he lived.
The deeds were transferred legally but the condition of continuing to live on the land was only one of a verbal agreement between Girling and Llewellyn.
Davies then had a separate house built on the block and later Girling returned to Australia and took up residence there.
This was to prove an unwise move as Llewellyn seemed to resent Girlings existence on the site. He cut the wire netting around his corn paddock and let the wallabies in, ring barked some of his orange trees and started to use filthy language in front of his sister and Raby and once threatened to shoot them both.
This type of behaviour just couldn't go on and as a result Girling wrote him a note that he would like him to leave.
Llewellyn was livid with rage, he took the note to Oscar Ross a timber getter and said to him that Girling was trying to break up his affection for his sister and had asked him to leave the place.
He then said “I haven’t long for this world, but before I go I will blow his brains out."
Now that the two families were living on the same 16 acre block of land and in separate houses the tensions never abated and as a result Girling called at the Lands Commissioner’s office in Maryborough to ask if they could mediate on the problem.
A representative of this department, a John Sumner Pears Bourne made an on site inspection of the property on the 4th of September, met with both parties and explained that he had received instructions from head office to report on the troubles between them. It was still leasehold land and the department had an obligation to see that there were no hostilities between the tenants
They all went inside Girlings house and for just on an hour he tried to find an answer to the problem, Llewellyn said little but paced up and down in a frenzy.
Mr. Bourne then asked Llewellyn "have you got a gun in that house?" to which he answered “yes”. He then turned to Girling and said “That is part of your premises, there is a gun in there and my advice to you is to go in, seize the gun and smash it over the nearest stump."
Girlings conduct was very quiet during this meeting; he kept his temper under trying circumstances while Llewellyn was storming up and down the room with fists clenched and threatening personal violence because he thought he was being treated badly.
At one stage Mary Ann said “Oh Alf, let’s leave the place, I would do anything for peace and quiet."
If only Girling would have taken the advice of either Bourne or Davies on the day of that meeting he would not have been left lying in the dust some four weeks later.
He did, however start to wear a revolver he had bought in South Africa several years before.
On the morning of October 2nd, Girling left his house about 9AM to bring up his horse from the horse paddock. He intended to travel to Howard later on.
He arrived at a gateway his left hand was in the winkers of the horses bridle and was confronted by both Llewellyn and his wife who objected to him using this gateway access. He did explain that to use another gate he would have to travel over land he had just ploughed and sown.
Mary Ann at this time was busy in the house when Raby alerted her to what was going on. She looked out of the doorway and saw Marcia punching into the head of Girling.
He put his hands to his face to protect himself and the horse backed away.
When Mary Ann entered the scene she went for Marcia, Girling went for his horse and Llewellyn went into his house and emerged with a double barrelled shot gun.
Mary Ann told Girling "Alf, take the gun from him or he will shoot you or some one".
Even though the gun was pointed at Girling the barrel was, at this stage, pointed to the ground.
Instead of reasoning with the man, Girling walked towards him while Llewellyn backed up towards his house, the gun still pointed to the ground.
It may have been a game of bluff as a smaller man was being stood over by a man almost six feet in height and over 12 stone in weight who demanded he hand over his gun.
"This is my property now and I'll have that gun" he said.
To force his hand Girling’s hand went down to his hip to draw his revolver and then a shot rang out and as a result Girling fell backwards.
Mary Ann went to his side and Raby went for water. They washed the blood from his face he made a slight gurgling noise and then died.
Mary Ann turned to her brother and said "you killed him".
Marcia then replied "good enough for him, you ought to have the same, by God. Mary you are doomed, if Tom don't shoot you I will. You will be shot yet".
Mary Ann asked if they would help her move the body to the shade but Llewellyn refused to touch it but just walked around with his shotgun still in one hand and Girlings pistol in the other.
Raby showed much wisdom for a child so young, she turned to her mum and said "Oh Mumma, come they may shoot us, never mind our hats". They both fled the scene and headed towards a neighbours place some three miles away.
They hadn't gone far when they heard the sounds of a horse and trap, it was the Llewellyn’s. Thinking they were coming to murder them they lay down in the long grass till they passed.
They then retraced their footsteps back to the house, covered the body with a sheet, harnessed up the horse which was still tied up to the gate post and took off to report the tragedy to the Howard Police.
In the meantime Thomas Llewellyn and his wife arrived at the Howard police station about 1 PM and reported to police constable Michael Dunn.
He said “I have done it at last, I have shot Girling. If I hadn't shot him he would have shot me, he looked desperate".
Llewellyn then surrendered a browning pistol which he said fell out of Girlings hand after he had shot him in the neck with a single shot from a double barrelled shot gun.
The pistol had six live shots in the magazine and one in the chamber.
He then surrendered his shotgun.
Constable Dunn rang his superiors at the Maryborough police station and then arranged for Llewellyn to write and then sign a statement on his version of the tragedy.
It was now about 2PM. and Constable Dunn arranged for Howard's medical Practitioner Dr John Joseph Hanly to do a post mortem on the body.
They all returned to the scene of the shooting.
On the way down the track they met up with a sulky with a woman and a child on board, it was Davies and her daughter Raby; they were on their way to Howard to report the tragedy.
They turned the sulky around and both parties headed off to the farm.
On arrival about 2.45PM they saw the body of Girling lying on the ground where he fell but covered with a sheet.
The doctor took several grains of shot from the right side of the neck of the deceased and inspected the body for any other signs of injury and then gave his official reason for his death, ` ‘Gunshot wound’ and signed the death certificate.
Constable Dunn had no option then to take Llewellyn back to Howard and hold him for trial at a later date.
Girling did however make the trip to Howard that day but only to be buried in the Howard cemetery.
It sure was a busy day.
On Tuesday October the 12th at the Howard Police Court, Thomas Llewellyn was officially charged with the wilful murder of one Alfred Henri Samuel Girling at Traviston on October the 2nd.1914.
The accused reserved his defence and was committed for trial at the next sittings of the Supreme Court in Brisbane on the 2nd of November.
On November the 4th 1914 the Supreme Court met in Brisbane, swore in a 12 person jury and commenced proceedings, Llewellyn pleaded not guilty of the murder charge against him.
The case lasted two days, evidence was heard from all persons involved but Raby was excused as the judge believed she was far too young to realise the meaning of an oath, and both parties agreed to this decision.
The result of this trial was that Llewellyn was acquitted of the charge of murder, as he only acted in self-defence.
© China Johnson. 2011.