 |
| Entrance of Macquarie Harbour, Van Diemen's Land, 1819; Phillip Parker King, 1791-1856 |
About the close of 1830 the colonial papers recorded the escape from Macquarie Harbour of five of the convicts, two of whom only arrived at the settled districts, after a journey of 16 days through the woods. These men stated that two of their companions, Richard Hutchinson, well known in the colony by the name of "Up and Down Dick," and the other Thomas Coventry (formerly owner of a little farm at the foot of the Dromedary), were left behind, after being with them six days, as they could not swim across a river. The remaining three Edward Broughton, Matthew M'Avoy, and one Fagan - continued their route until they were attacked by a party of blacks; the two first effected their escape, but Fagan was speared by them.
This tale was received with much suspicion, and Broughton and M'Avoy were closely examined by Mr. Mulgrave, the chief police magis trate, but they still adhered to their first statement. They were subsequently found guilty of being illegally at large, and were ordered for execution, the judge before whom they were tried, in pasting sentence, exhorting them to repentance if their consciences were burdened with murder, which there was much reason to fear was the case with reference to their unfortunate companions.
The true state of the case was at length elicited by the confession of Broughton, which was made just prior to his execution. He was at this time 28 years of age, and had been sentenced to death in England for robbery, under aggravated circumstances, at the early age of eighteen. He had more than once endeavoured to rob his own mother, and his horrible conduct was the means of breaking his father's heart and of hurrying him to the grave. After two years in Guildford gaol he was transported to Van Diemen's Land, and had scarcely landed in Hobart Town before his old propensities returned. He was at last apprehended for an outrage which he committed at Sandy Say, and was sentenced to transportation to Macquarie Harbour.
The five men already mentioned were in charge of one constable at an out-station. This man, Broughton declared, had shown him many personal kindnesses and refused him nothing which it was in his power to grant; and yet, on making their escape, he assisted to rob him of every article he possessed, not even leaving a loaf of bread, although fully aware that three days most elapse before he could obtain any more from the main settlement. Moreover, he had at various times tried to be accessory to his death by letting a tree fall upon him without giving him notice, for no other reason, it would seem, than that he was a constable, and the unwilling or passive instrument of flogging the men.
As soon as the provisions which they contrived to carry away with them were exhausted, four of them agreed to kill Hutchinson, and to eat his body in order to sustain life. They drew lots as to who should be the one to drive the axe into his head, and it fell upon Broughton, who executed his task without delay. They then cut the body into pieces, which they carried with them, with the exception of the hands, feet, head, and intestines. They "ate heartily of it," as Broughton expressed it. It lasted them some days and when it was nearly all consumed a general alarm seized the whole party, lest the one should kill the other, and the greatest jealousy prevailed about carrying the only axe they had, scarcely one of them daring to shut his eyes or doze for a moment, for fear of being sacrificed unawares.
Under these dreadful circumstances, Broughton and Fagan made a sort of agreement that whilst the one slept the other should watch. The next that was killed was Coventry, the old man; his murder was agreed upon while he was away cutting wood. M'Avoy and Fagan were anxious that lots should be drawn who should kill him, as in the former case, but to this Broughton objected, saying that he had already killed his man, and they ought to do it between them, so as to be in the same trouble as himself; still, he so revelled in blood, that although Fagan struck the first blow - on the head, just above the eye - he could not resist assisting M'Avoy to finish him and cut him to pieces.
"We ate greedily of the flesh," Broughton said, "never sparing it, just as if we expected to meet with a whole bullock the next day."
Before the whole of Coventry's flesh was consumed, M'Avoy one night started up, "looking horribly," and bade Broughton go with him to set some snares to endeavor to catch a kangaroo. They started off, leaving Fagan by the fire, and when they had gone about 300 hundred yards M'Avoy asked Broughton to sit down. Broughton, who carried the axe, was apprehensive that his comrade, who was the stronger man, wanted to kill him, so he threw the axe aside, farther from M'Avoy than himself, so that he might seize it first in case of any treachery.
M'Avoy then proposed that Fagan should be killed to prevent his turning approver; but to this Broughton objected, saying that he could trust his life in his hands, and both of them returned to the fire, beside which Fagan was lying warming himself. He looked up and asked Broughton if he had put down any snares, to which he replied, "No, there are snares enough if you did but know it." "I sat beside him," said Broughton, "M'Avoy was beyond me; he on I my right, and Fagan on my left. I was wishing to tell Fagan what had passed, but could not as M'Avoy was sitting close by, with the axe in his possession, looking at us.
After a time I lay down and had just fallen into a doze when I heard Fagan scream out. I leapt on my feet in a dreadful fright, and saw Fagan lying on his back with a fearful cut in his head, and the blood pouring from it. M'Avoy was standing over him with the axe in his hand. I said, 'You ____ dog, what have you done?' He said, 'This will save our lives,' and struck him another blow on the head. Fagan only groaned after the scream. M'Avoy then cut his throat with a razor through the wind pipe."
With all Broughton's scruples, and notwithstanding the compact entered into with the murdered man, he did not hesitate to assist in stripping off his clothes - he and M'Avoy actually quarelling for his shirt - and to cut up and roast the body.
It was their custom to roast all of their victims' bodies at once, as the flesh was lighter to carry, would keep longer, and was not so likely to be detected. Fagan's body was not all eaten, for, finding a kangaroo which had been caught by wild dogs, they threw away what they had left of it. Two days later they gave themselves up at Macguires Marsh, where was a hut belonging to Mr. Nicholas at the junction of the Shannon and the Ouse or Big River.
Broughton and M'Avoy were hanged on 5th August, 1831 .- Australasian.
Sources:
- Cannibalism of Convicts (1874, January 24). Warwick Examiner and Times (Qld. : 1867 - 1919), p. 1 (SUPPLEMENT TO The Examiner and Times).
- Entrance of Macquarie Harbour, Van Diemen's Land, 1819; Phillip Parker King, 1791-1856; Courtesy: State Library of New South Wales
No comments