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The Nelson Photo News

 

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Murder on The Maungatapu

On the morning of June 12, 1866, four men departed from Deep Creek, a small township on the gold diggings close to Canvas Town, for Nelson. The men, John Kempthorne, Felix Mathieu, James Dudley and James Pontius, were making for the Grey diggings. They carried about £300 worth of gold and notes. They never reached Nelson. At what is now known as Murderers' Rock on the Maungatapu Track, the link between Nelson and Marlborough, the men were "bailed up" by four men and brutally murdered. The names of the murderers, Richard Burgess, Thomas Kelly, William Levy, and Joseph Sullivan, were to become household words throughout New Zealand.

They were apprehended in Nelson on suspicion of the murders, but until Sullivan accepted a chance of a free pardon by informing on his accomplices there was little direct evidence to ensure their conviction. Sullivan, Burgess and Levy were convicted of the murders and hanged, and Sullivan was convicted of the murder the day before, of James Battle, who was also waylaid on the track and robbed of £3 and brutally killed. But his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment and later he was pardoned.

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Murderer Sullivan

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Murderer Kelly

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Their four victims laid out in Nelson after discovery by search parties

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Murderer Burgess

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Murderer Levy

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This map, also the work of Mabille, shows the route taken by the murderers' victims and two elevations of the rock iteslf. There are several books available (very readable) which would help explain many of the references on the previous page.

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All the line drawings produced on these pages were the work of Theophilus Mabille, a Nelson civil engineer, the first volunteer for the search parties. He produced a picture story of the terrible murders on the road to Nelson.

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Mabille's impression of the hold-up

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The first news of the non-arrival of the four men and the likelihood of murder appeared in the "Nelson Examiner" (soon whole pages were to be devoted to the case).

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Preparing weapons for the attack the men had plotted while in Canvas Town

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The murder of James Battle (from the statement made by Burgess)

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Kempthorne shot by Burgess (also from Burgess's statement)

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Another impression of Mabille of the hold-up

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The murdered men's pack horse was shot and hidden. "Burgess held his head down and I shot him in the head", from Sullivan's confession.

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The division of the spoils at the Old Chimney, further along the track.

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Sullivan's decision to turn Queen's evidence led to search parties discovering the bodies on June 29

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Levy arrested at the bar of the Wakatu Hotel

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Kelly's arrest

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Sullivan was arrested at the Mitre Hotel

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A self portrait of Mabille

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The funeral of the victims at the Wakapuaka Cemetery was attended by a tremendous crowd

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This monument, erected by public subscription, still stands in the cemetery.

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This Government reward and free pardon notice, also produced in poster form, led to Sullivan informing on his accomplices.

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The death masks of Burgess, Kelly and Levy and the shotgun used by the murderers in the murders, in the Nelson Museum.

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Looking down past what was at first believed to be "the" rock to the track on which is standing part of the large crowd

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To commemorate the centenary of the murders, more than 200 men, women and children, walked the track to the site of Murderers' Rock on June 12. Most made the trek from the Nelson end. We walked in from the Pelorus side to get these pics. There was some doubt about which was the actual rock the murderers hid behind, but after studying the map and elevations printed earlier in this story, it was held likely that the rock was the one.
A much different welcome awaited us, as users of the track, to what was handed out to five wayfarers 100 years previously—the billy boiling and Laurie Gibbs, tramping club president, waiting for our signatures.