Abstract

Tracing a Nineteenth Century Murder in the Bathurst Free Press

This paper will explore how an intriguing problem that arose in my research for the writing of a biography of Australian-born pioneer novelist, journalist and naturalist, Louisa Atkinson, led to issues of the Bathurst Free Press in 1854. It will include the chequered and time-consuming steps that led to the location of Louisa's ostensibly missing step-father, George Bruce Barton, at Winburndale, near Bathurst , his committal on a charge of manslaughter, his trial for murder and the outcome. Barton, charged with shooting William Rogers, known as "Brandy Hot", a reaper on his property, claimed to have fired in self-defence after being threatened with an axe. The Coroner's jury returned a verdict of manslaughter, the Bathurst Free Press commenting that all witnesses except one had been drunk at the time of the shooting but Barton was put on trial for murder at the next sitting of the Circuit Court.

The paper will analyse the style and substance of the reporting of this trial in the Bathurst Free Press, including the detailed reporting of statements by witnesses, the conduct of the trial and the summing up by Mr Justice Therry. It will discuss the importance of this evidence in establishing Barton's character and in interpreting Louisa Atkinson's novels with greater understanding and insight.

Patricia Clarke
Independent Scholar