Newsletter No. 10 - Blue Mountains Association of Cultural Heritage ...

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From Springwood burglar to Peak Hill murdererContinued from page 11It is plain to me that we want morepolice here if only as a temporaryexpedient, then there may be somehope of being able to keep one’sgoods intact. If no help is afforded,and more burglaries and theftsoccur it will have but one ending –somebody will be made a target of;perhaps the wrong man whichwould be a lamentable result.Revolvers are to be brought intorequisition by several of our folkwho are determined to use them tooif occasion demand it. Perhaps ourProgress Committee will make amove in the desired direction, for atpresent “our” policeman’s lot is nota happy one.”Nepean Times, July 19, 1890“Another petty robbery has occurredin the district. Miss Todd uponreturning home, near the railwaybridge, after a short absence, foundit broken into and some blanketsand a cruet stand abstracted. It is acurious thing that in all the latecases of robbery about Springwood,the thieves have appropriated acruet-stand. It does not seem tomatter much whether the stand iselectro or silver it is all the same tothem, it is taken. We wonderwhether he, she or they are going toset up a dining saloon, and are thuscommencing to appropriate thenecessary stock. It’s a risky game;and for our part we would rather buythe articles on terms, and leavebefore payment was required – withthe articles, if not too bulky.Nepean Times, July 26, 1890“Theft. – In the midst of life we arein theft, at least we find it so thisside of the Zig-Zag, and aconsignment of tower muskets willhave to be forwarded to the district.Neither our cruet stands or ourclothes lines are safe. In fact thissystem of petty foggingappropriation of other people’sunderlinen is the meanest type ofkleptomania. Last Saturday our twohotels had their clothes linesstripped in a most barefacedmanner, and the night before MrHumphries, a quiet hard workingman, had his home broken into anda quantity of wearing apparel andpapers taken. We can understanda starving homeless wretch filchingfrom the super-abundance of a richman’s house, the temptation beingso great, but for thieves to break inand steal from a hard working tillerof the soil seems the very poorestkind of employment.We would just as soon work for ourliving and take our natural rest atnight.”Nepean Times, August 2,1890“No more robberies. – Since thestirring events of the last week havetranspired, our village has returnedto its usual placid serenity. Wecarefully take in all our washedclothes at night, lock the back gatewith a six inch nail, and shove thecruet stand as far up the chimneyas possible. Having made thesepreparations, we chain the dog upto the grind-stone, and feel easy forthe night.”Nepean Times, August 16, 1890“Mr Parker’s house on Single’sRidge was entered the other day inthe absence of the owner, butnothing much was appropriated, butthere has been an increaseddemand for shot, caps and powderat Mr Rayner’s store. We pity themarauders if the vengeance iscarried out that we have heardthreatened them. Life will be aburden and death a happy releaseto them.”Nepean Times, October 11, 1890“A sensation is now beingexperienced through somediscoveries made this week byConstable Illingworth. It will berecollected that our little communitywas moved by feelings of alarm andindignation some few months agoin consequence of the numerousburglaries and robberies which tookplace in our midst, some which‘took the cake’ for barefacedness.Well the secret is being unearthedat last, much to our relief of mind,and very much to those who wereunfortunately wrongly suspected ofbeing participants in theproceedings. It is an old saying that‘murder will out’, and it looks as if itis going to prove in our case. Itappears that Mr Larsen 3 had in hisemploy as caretaker and gardener aman named Lars Peter Hansen.This individual enjoyed theconfidence of his employer for overa year and left for ‘fresh fields andpastures new”’about a month since.The next news we heard of Hansenwas that he had been arrested forsupposed complicity in the murderof a man named Charles Duncker inthe Peak Hill district. Opinionsbegan to be expressed here that hemight have been guilty of some ofthe crimes in this district. Then didour constable arise to the dignity ofhis profession. Without further adohe considered it advisable to makea little search for himself 4 in thehouse and grounds of Mr Larsen,and was well rewarded for histrouble by finding a ‘plant’. Awaterhole in the grounds was‘fished’ with the result that two tintrunks and part of a leatherportmanteau were found, minus thecontents, the said packages beingthose which were mysteriouslyconveyed away from the stationhere in June last. Heaps of rubbishwere overturned, resulting in thediscovery of sundry articles, all ofwhich have been already identifiedas stolen goods belonging to ourvillagers. In a cooking stove werefound some lumps of white metalwhich had evidently been melteddown in the hope of it being silver,but which it is probable issomething baser. Much thereforehas been done towards clearing upa great mystery. The circumstantialevidence thus afforded pointsstrongly towards Hansen as theperpetrator of at least some of therobberies. As at present he issuspected of the most serious crimeof murder, we can afford to wait andsee how he gets on with thatcharge.”A tomahawk like this missingfrom Springwood crime scene.Photograph by John Leary, OAMNepean Times, October 25, 1890“Since Hansen’s departure from ourdistrict we have been free fromrobberies, for which much thanks.The various goods found on MrLarsen’s premises, after Hansen’sarrest for the Peak Hill murder,which is believed to have beenstolen by Hansen, have all beenidentified; some as belonging tosome ladies at Miss Hooper’sschool 5 at North Springwood, andothers as the property of Mrs Hoare.HERITAGE 12July- August 2010
Murder of the little German on the Peak Hill roadContinued from page 12The only article missed by MrLarsen is a tomahawk which thatgentleman states he could identify.It is hoped he may have anopportunity of seeing the tomahawkwhich is said to have been inHansen’s possession about thetime of the murder.”Nepean Times, January 24, 1891“Murder will out! We note thatHansen has confessed to themurder of the little German on thePeak Hill Road. Who in our littlecommunity would have suspectedthat so quiet a man as Hansenwould have been guilty of theseveral robberies here, much lessthe serious crime of murder.”***********Lars Peter Hansen, 30 years of age,was born in Denmark and arrived inAustralia in about 1889. Afterleaving Springwood (probably withsome of his purloined pieces), hewent to Sydney where he stayed inlodgings with a German man,Charles Duncker, aged 23, and aSwedish man called PeterPetersen.In 1889 gold was discovered inPeak Hill in Central New SouthWales between Parkes and Dubbo,hundreds of people rushed there toseek their fortune, and the arearapidly expanded into a thrivingtown.Hansen and Duncker decided to trytheir hand at prospecting but rapidlyreached the conclusion that it wasnot for them – as Hansen put it toseveral people he met, “thediggings are all duffered out” and“there were too many people”. [Thiswas not exactly correct as goldmining is still continuing in PeakHill] They decided to return toSydney although Hansen told oneman he was going to catch a trainto Springwood.In September, 1890, Hansen andDuncker walked along the road fromPeak Hill to Dubbo where theyintended to catch a train. Severalpeople remembered seeing the twomen, describing Hansen as a tallstout man about 6 feet 7 or 8 inches[200cm] high with a thick accentand carrying a heavy swag with atomahawk strapped to it. One mansaid he looked fierce andfrightening. Duncker, a shortdistance behind him and hurrying tocatch up, was described as smalland slight and carrying a light swag.The next morning some of thesewitnesses found the body of a manthey believed was Duncker, lying onthe remains of a fire with a knifenearby.Hansen was immediately suspectedof murdering Duncker and theyfinally found him working on thedocks at Port Kembla.He was known to be trying to earnenough money for his passage toGermany. He was wearing a cap heclaimed to have bought fromDuncker and admitted to thepossession of a revolver, alsobought from Duncker, which was inhis box in Market Street. In the boxthey also found a number of pawntickets for Duncker’s clothes.When arrested he said, “I nomurder the little German”. He wastaken to Dubbo for the inquest and,on arrival at the railway station, wasgreeted with booing and hissingfrom the crowd. Duncker’s bodywas officially identified by theSwede, Peter Petersen.The knife was also identified asbelonging to Hansen. The inquestinto the little German’s deathconcluded that “he was murderedby person or persons unknown”.However, Hansen was immediatelycharged with the murder.At the trial he pleaded not guilty andsaid in his defence, “I no guilty. I killhim to save myself”. Mr JusticeStephen [son of Sir Alfred Stephen]passed sentence of death on him.On June 2, 1891, Lars PeterHansen, attended by ArchdeaconWilson, was led to the gallows ofDubbo Gaol 6 showing little anxietyor fear. When asked if he felt safehe replied, “Yes”, shook hands andsaid, “Goodbye”. He was asked ifhe had anything to say and hereplied in his broken English, “I amnot guilty of this murder. I die aninnocent man and a Christian, andtrust myself to Jesus Christ.”Although death appeared to beinstantaneous, the doctor said theheart had continued for someminutes after the drop.ENDNOTES1Mrs Alice Hoare, a wealthy widow,owned “Homedale”, a handsome villa,valued at £5,600.0.0 in 1884, located atthe corner of Homedale and RailwayParade. Mrs Hoare was the sister ofJohn Frazer, benefactor of the FrazerMemorial Church. Edward Deaneestablished the Blue MountainsGrammar School in Homedale in 1918.The house was demolished in 1975 tomake way for Wingara, an agedpersons’ complex.2“A cruet stand is a small stand ofmetal, ceramic or glass which holdscondiments. Typically these include saltand pepper shakers, and often cruets orbottles of vinegar and olive oil.”Wikipedia3Gustav Larsen and his nephew AxelBech were tobacconists in Balmain.They had come from Denmark and theircountry house in Springwood was“Elsinore” situated on the Bathurst Roadon 4 acres of land with a frontage of550ft stretching eastward from the firstPublic School (now the Springwoodnorthern car park).4Constable Illingworth’s decision tosearch the grounds of “Elsinore” wasprompted by Axel Bech’s daughterfalling in the water hole in the grounds.In retrieving the child Bech foundportions of three empty trunks. Heimmediately reported this to theConstable.5Miss Hooper’s school for girls was“Hartlands” (now “Hartfields”) on theHawkesbury Road, Springwood.6Dubbo Gaol 1871-1966 Eight menwere hanged at Dubbo Gaol includingJacky Underwood who inspired ThomasKeneally’s “Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith.REFERENCESThe Argus (Melbourne, Victoria) –various issues.Australian Encyclopaedia, GrolierSociety of Australia, 1963.Cook, Kerrin and Garvey, Daniel, “TheGlint of Gold”.Nepean Times – various issues.N.S.W.Family History DocumentServices www.ihr.com.au/secure/docimages/ inquests 1890/gg4115.gifN.S.W. Registry of Births, Deaths andMarriages.Sydney Morning Herald – various issuesWikipedia – Old Dubbo Gaolwww.olddubbogaol.com.auCruet Stands http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruet-standsMy thanks to Pamela Smith and JohnMerriman for research assistance,S.Evans.‘Australian history is almost always picturesque....It does notread like history, but like the most beautiful lies’--- Mark Twain, More Tramps Abroad (1897)HERITAGE 13July- August 2010
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