In this episode we head back to earlier and perhaps simpler times to 1854 and Little Bourke street in Melbourne. Luke and Mary Lucas had immigrated to Australia in 1849 with hopes of a better life. In 1852 the Lucas family moved to the Little Bourke Street area of Melbourne. But by November 1854, both…
Read MoreWhat drove a man to murder his neighbours wife and his very own son and leave his wife in a pool of blood clinging to life. James Ross would be executed for his crimes at the Geelong Gaol, becoming the first regional execution following the passing of the Private Executions Bill, taking executions from the…
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James Ross was a man with a temper and a jealous streak that would ultimately lead to his death at the end of a noose in the Geelong Gaol. What his wife Mary suffered in their two short years of marriage was horrendous. Ross’ jealousy led to the deaths of his neighbours wife and his…
Read MoreThe story of Edward Fuller and his sister in law Ellen is one of jealousy, infedility and murder. The events of May 1869 in a small house in Noble Street, Chilwell led to the death of one man and set in play a series of events that led to the entire Fuller family ending up…
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In September 1869, a prisoner boldly escaped the Geelong Gaol by changing clothes in a water closet and walking straight out past the Governor’s office. John McHenry or James Clark as he was originally known grew up in the streets of Shoreditch in London. Before coming to Australia he would see the inside of some…
Read MoreIn this episode we have a look into the life and crimes of one of the more cheekier escapes from the Geelong Gaol. John McHenry or James Clark as he was originally known grew up in the streets of Shoreditch in London. Before coming to Australia he would see the inside of some of…
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In October 1865, Elijah Dixon alias Charles Alfred Dives took an axe and murdered his wife, Elizabeth and their two small daughters, Julia aged 3 and Elizabeth aged 1. This all took place in the small bedroom of their hut at Cherry Tree Flat near Sebastopol, just outside Ballarat. The couple’s two sons, James and…
Read MoreIn October 1863, Elijah Dixon alias Charles Alfred Dives took an axe and murdered his wife and two small daughters just outside Ballarat. The couple’s two sons were left alive. What made a husband and father take this course of action – what is jealousy over his belief his wife was being intimate with other…
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