During 1832-3 four escaped convicts, Beaven, Britton, Jefkins and Brown, kept the country side in terror. Beaven was a native of the Hunter, in New South Wales, and had been transported to Van Diemen's Land for horse-stealing. Britton was a convict from the old country, his offence being smuggling; but during the affray in which he was captured he saved the life of one of the coast-guards, who had been knocked overboard, and the sentence of death passed upon him was on that account commuted to penal servitude for life. After several assignments to settlers, during which he made a very bad name for himself, he took the bush with Beaven, who had absconded from the Cataract Hill gaol gang.
Before the two men had been out very long they killed Mr. Bartlett and his servant at the Supply Mill. The murder was discovered by a Mr. Cathcart, from whom the police received information, while a clerk in the Commissariat Department named Wilson went to bring Mrs. Bartlett away from the scene of the murder. On his way he saw and shot a large mastiff belonging to Beaven, and for that act the bushranger posted notices in public places that he would shoot Wilson in return. Later on, indeed, the gang (now including another escapee, Jefkins) stuck up Neale's farm in the hope of finding Wilson there on official work: failing to discover him they ransacked the place and tried to extort information about him from the overseer, whom they threatened to shoot. In the end they spared the man and made off.
On this visit they had a woman with them whom they had taken from the Female Factory in George Town, after shooting the gatekeeper, an old man of 60. She appropriated some of the overseer's clothes and afterwards accompanied the gang in man's attire.
In the "Government Gazette" of May, 1832, the following rewards were offered: – £250 and 500 acres of land for the apprehension of Britton, dead or alive; £200 and 500 acres of land for Beaven; £150 and 250 acres of land for Jefkins; or to any prisoner of the Crown a free pardon, his passage paid to England, and £200. Hearing of these rewards, and knowing something of the outlaws and the country where they "ranged", a prisoner named Hall, volunteered either to kill or capture them, and the authorities accepted his services. He was thereupon allowed to go into the bush, and at once joined the gang, who were pleased to receive an old "mate" and admit him into their circle. They then planned a robbery, and while Britton and Jefkins went to reconnoitre, Hall stayed with Beaven to watch the road. The two men were standing together when suddenly Hall placed his gun close to Beaven's head and fired. The shot was fatal, the back part of the bushranger's skull being nearly blown off, and the man fell dead.
Hall rushed off to give information to the police, who returned with him to the spot and removed the body. An inquest was subsequently held and a verdict of "justifiable homicide" was returned. Upon Hall's return he informed the police that an assigned servant in the town, named Brown, had been assisting the bushrangers; but when search was made for this man it was discovered that he had joined Britton and Jefkins in the bush.
Hall then set out with the police in pursuit of the two remaining members of the gang, and knowing the country he was able in a short time to drive them from their haunts. The unfortunate woman whom they had taken from the factory was discovered alone in one of the gullies, the bushrangers having left her behind in their flight. The search was continued for several weeks without success, and it was generally believed that all three criminals had escaped from the colony. Hall received the reward from Government, and obtained an appointment in the Sheriff's office, which he held for many years, after which he left the colony.
The bushrangers had not gone. In April, 1833, they appeared on the Tamar, plundering right and left. In October they became more daring. Lieutenant Vaughan, Mr. Henty, of Landfall, and a neighbouring hotel-keeper were all visited and robbed with much audacity. Having shot a constable during this last raid, the idea occurred to them of pretending to be constables looking for themselves, and in this guise they plundered the George Inn at Georgetown. The Launceston press waxed indignant: rewards were again offered for their capture, and increased: the police were doubly active: but all to no purpose. Their hunting through the bush was fruitless, although on one occasion they came across a boat which the bushrangers had only just left, and apparently in haste, as though closely pressed; for in it were found some bedding, a couple of guns, and some provisions—the boat having been hauled up a small creek that runs into the Tamar.
On New Year's morning, 1835, the pilot on the river conveyed some information to the police at George Town which set them in active motion. He had been looking through his glass and had observed three men on the western beach, who he at first thought must be excursionists or a hunting party; but closer observation led him to the conclusion that they were either police or bushrangers. The chief district constable and three others at once set out for Kelso Bay, where the men had been seen, and on the road met a shepherd who informed them that at midday he had seen three men with heavy knapsacks and firearms crossing the Badger. Camping on the road that night the constable picked up the tracks on the following morning on the beach, and from their freshness it was decided that the men could not be far off. Resting on this discovery, the party leisurely breakfasted, and then followed the tracks to the edge of the bush. But here they were confronted by Britton, who stepped out about sixty yards from them, challenged Constable Smith (who happened to have come to the colony in the same ship with him), and at once fired. The fire was returned with interest by the police, when Britton dropped on one knee as though to shelter himself behind a bush. Smith wanted to advance; the chief constable, urging that it would be an unnecessary exposure of life, ordered a retreat, saying he would get reinforcements and resume the pursuit next day. Accordingly eight constables were told off next day to follow the runaways, but, as might be expected, the game had disappeared.
About three weeks after this Brown and Jefkins made their appearance at a limeburner's hut at Port Sorell. They were emaciated, and declared they were starving, having had no water for three days and nothing to eat for five days but a parrot and a cockatoo. They had pieces of blanket and leather tied about their feet instead of shoes, while Brown had a grey jacket drawn on instead of trousers and Jefkins had pieces of blanket sewn around him. They tied their host up, and camped with him for the night, but while moving across to a bark-chopper's hut the next morning they were surprised by the police. Brown shot a constable (Britton's enemy, Smith), and was himself shot in the shoulder. Jefkins ran up to his help, calling out to his opponents "Come on, there's enough of you to eat me." He fired two shots harmlessly, and was then hit in the head.
Brown was taken with the two dead bodies to George Town, but he did not long survive. As for Britton, no more was ever heard of him. Brown before death owned that he (Britton) had been hit in the first fight, and had been left behind in the bush with a badly-injured leg while the other two went in search of food.
The remains of Constable Smith were honoured with a public funeral at which the whole of the police and military attended. The others who were with him at the time of the skirmish received the rewards that had been offered for the capture of Jefkins and Brown, and one unfortunate constable, who had been very active in the pursuit, but had been sent on other duties on the day the capture was made, took the loss of the reward so much to heart that he shot himself in the stomach and died instantly. He was a prisoner constable, and doubtless hungered for the free pardon and passage "home" which would have been his portion of the reward had he been present at the time of the capture.
Source: The Bushrangers (1915, February 19). The Farmer and Settler (Sydney, NSW : 1906 - 1955), p. 7.
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