Hartley Court House - 1837 to 1937

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9 HARTLEY AND ITS COURT-HOUSE. 21 The early Police Magistrates at Hartley had full proof of this. Many a constable was no sooner engaged than he had to be dismissed for drunkenness, abusive language, or connivance with prisoners. Because of the official hold on them, ticket-ofleave holders were more satisfactory constables than free men. The biography of such men would yield rich reading. For instance one ticket-of-leave man, aged 43, active, intelligent, able to read and write, who was recommended for the position of constable, had been an overseer at Norfolk Island, then constable at Liverpool, after which he was employed driving a horse team between Bathurst and Sydney. The course of events in 1839 gives some idea of the conditions at the Court-House in its early days. In January the Police Magistrate complained of the insufficient number of constables, there being only two. Although the sheep shearing wTas over it was impossible to induce anyone to enter the service, since work in private service was much less and the pay much higher. The district of Hartley had little to recommend it to a constable for the necessaries of life were at least fifty per cent, dearer than in Sydney and not readily procured. Moreover, although the district duty was weighty, the escort duty was most severe, the police at this station undertaking nearly all the escort duty between Bathurst and Penrith. Arriving at Bathurst with prisoners the constable from Hartley would be given any prisoners for delivery at Penrith under warrant for Sydney or Penrith. The two constables then on the establishment were constantly on the road, one of them having marched seven hundred miles within two months. Such duty incurred great fatigue and more expense than the pay of 2/3 a day would admit. Only the desire to obtain a conditional pardon prevented this ticket-ofleave man from resigning. The Police Magistrate drew attention to the inadequate pay and the inadequacy of the staff. The staff in May, 1839, consisted of a chief constable in receipt of £75 per annum, one ordinary constable receiving 2/9 per day, two ordinary constables receiving 2/3 per day, a watchhouse keeper who received 3 /- per day and a scourger 2/6 a day. A n I n g e n i o u s E s c a p e . A bout this time an ingenious escape was made from the Lock-up. A dangerous prisoner was kept on a chain by the
22 HARTLEY AND ITS COURT-HOUSE. Part of the rear of Hartley Court-House. Through one of the windows of the Lock-up a prisoner managed to escape in 1839 by soaping his body. The iron cross-bars were added later. Police Magistrate’s orders, and liis irons were examined at a late hour by the Lock-up keeper. However he freed himself by using a piece of hardwood as a hand-cuff key. He then removed the window and by soaping his body succeeded in forcing it out between the iron bars. The keeper heard the chain rattling, got up, and went to the door to listen, but the prisoners heard him and raised a shout to warn the man who was out and who, in spite of an immediate search for him. managed to escape owing to the darkness of the night. On examining the window Blair found that some of the woodwork had been loosened before, “ having been very badly put together ” . He ordered strong hardwood lining and iron crossbars for the windows. Blair applied unsuccessfully for a convict to be assigned as wardsman to the Lock-up. The Lock-up was cleaned and the
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Hartley Court House - 1837 to 1937

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