Ravenswood Dreaming, page 26
Everywhere the Thomas boys stopped to pick up or deliver cargo, the talk along the river was about Yagan, Midgegooroo and Munday.
William Keats became concerned about the safety of his sons William and James (who was only thirteen) who were working for Henry Bull and moving back and forth between his properties in Bull Creek and the Upper Swan. Even though the boys knew Yagan, he was not to be trusted and would be likely to take out his anger on anyone who provoked him.
The reward money offered for the capture of the three outlawed Aboriginal warriors was having the desired effect. Military and civilian groups searched in every direction for any trace of the wanted men. Thirty pounds was indeed a small fortune. Perhaps the fugitives would be found together and then the reward could be fifty or even seventy pounds, an almost unimaginable sum to many of the servant class. The searches continued through the rest of April and in to May.
The news along the upper reaches of the Swan was that Midgegooroo and Yagan had been sighted in the Helena valley. Acting on a tip off that Midgegooroo was camped somewhere along the Helena River, Captain Ellis and three soldiers from the 63rd regiment and two settlers who were familiar with that country, found abandoned campsites. A little further on they came across Midgegooro and after a short struggle he and his five year old son were taken in to custody and transferred to Perth jail. The little boy was placed in the care of a married couple. It was evident that Midgegooroo was ignorant of his outlaw status and unaware that he would most likely face the death penalty.
The arrest of this irascible and treacherous old warrior caused a sensation in Perth and Fremantle. It was written up in the newspaper and Captain Ellis was hailed a hero. Many people came forward with accounts of Midgegooroo’s misdeeds.
He was accused of several counts of robbery, three counts of murder, and several instances of threatening to spear people and attempting to spear people. One of his accusers was the twelve year old son of Erin Entwhistle who witnessed first-hand Midgegooroo (and Yagan) throw spears which entered his father’s breast and killed him. Thomas Hunt, a police constable, gave evidence that he had known Midgegooro for about three years. Midgegooroo had frequently demanded provisions from him under the threat of violence and repeatedly robbed him when he was working at a sawmill near Bullcreek. Most people thought of him as a dangerous and furious ruffian.
John, on reading this account, recalled the day when he and William Gaze on their way to work had encountered Midgegooroo and several other natives. It had frightened the daylights out of them. Then later at the saw mill south of Clarence, Midgegooroo and the others had come to demand a bag of flour, which Mr Anderson had said was a regular occurrence.
Midgegooroo remained in custody while the government executive decided his fate. Apparently the decision to execute Midgegooroo was finally made by the Lieutenant Governor Irwin after a close examination of statements made by several witnesses. Settlers like Robert Lyon and George Fletcher Moore warned Irwin that there would be serious repercussions. They expressed the opinion that he should be transported to a place where he could not cause any more trouble. Lyon again objected to the execution on the grounds that Midgegooroo was a prisoner of war and it was in fact illegal to kill him. Nevertheless Irwin was determined to press ahead. He was of the opinion that Midgegooroo as an acknowledged leader must be executed. It would send a strong message to the Aboriginal people that their barbarity would not be tolerated. He also believed that it was necessary to act quickly as public opinion was demanding swift and final justice.
Even though he was regarded as living under British law, Midgegooroo was not tried in a court of law nor given the dignity of a hearing before a military tribunal. Consequently no lawyer was ever appointed to defend him and he was not given the opportunity to defend himself, as any other British citizen would have been given. The language barrier would have prevented him from doing this anyway.
Irwin confirmed that the final decision was his:
With the unanimous advice of the executive I therefore have decided on his execution as the only sure way of protecting the colony from a deadly enemy. His status as an acknowledged chief will make his death a more striking example.
The Perth Gazette reported the execution:
The death sentence was read aloud to an assembly. The constables and others prepared the prisoner for his fate. In less than five minutes he was pinioned and blindfolded, and bound to the outer door of the jail. A party of soldiers from the 63rd regiment were advanced to six paces. The signal was given. They fired and the prisoner died instantly. He took three musket balls in the head and one in the body.
About two weeks later, on the jetty in Guilford, in a conversation with Young John and his father, George Moore reflected. News of the impending execution had spread through the settlement’s Ale houses like an offer of free grog at a picnic. Consequently a large number of people, many of them intoxicated, witnessed the execution with relish and actually applauded, something, which one would have thought, would have been suppressed, given the gravity of the occasion.
George Moore also pointed out that there were few if any Aboriginal people present when Midgegooroo was shot, therefore it did not have the desired effect.
For some time after the execution, the Noongar people, particularly the Beeliar group remained unaware of Midgegooroo’s death. Unable to find any trace of his father, Yagan, who was well known to George Moore, came to Moore’s homestead to see if he could get any information. George Moore claimed ignorance of Midgegooroo’s whereabouts. Yagan was angry and worried and said that if Midgegooroo was killed he would take the lives of three white men.
This was not the sort of news that the Thomas family wanted to hear. Young John, and in fact any members of his family could become targets for an angry Yagan. It was now well known and understood that the Aborigines did not forget an insult or trespass. After all they weren’t sure that Yagan did not have some grievance against Young John and would have killed him at Kelmscott if he could have. The spearing of the soldier at Clarence was some considerable time after Yagan’s exile to Carnac Island. The Velvick brothers had been speared in similar circumstances.
George Moore continued. Two days ago on the 2nd of June he had been paid another visit. This time by Weeip, Narral (Yagan’s son) and some women. He was again asked about Midgegooroo and also about Midgegooroo’s five year old son. Again he had concealed the truth.
Then on the 3rd of June 1833, Yagan had again come and this time Moore had told him that he had made enquiries and Midgegooroo had been shot. Yagan was very angry and stormed off. Moore had then, via another person, passed on the information to the Governor that Yagan had knowledge of the execution. (Moore himself could have been rebuked or even dismissed if it was known that he had encountered the outlaws, Yagan and Munday and made no attempt to take them in to custody or inform the authorities)
Subsequently several groups of six soldiers each were directed to patrol along the Rivers with orders to suppress any uprising and use any degree of force necessary to ensure their own safety.
The Thomas family decided that while the hunt for Yagan continued they would not contract to undertake any journeys up the river. Instead they would contract to unload or load any ships that anchored in Gage Roads and if there was nothing on offer they would go out fishing. Old John and Young John decided that it was a good opportunity to complete some of the finishing touches to the house.
Despite the extra patrols of soldiers along the rivers, stealing of sheep, goats and poultry increased markedly as did theft of vegetable crops and raids on storage buildings. This increase was probably in response to the news of Midgegooroo’s execution. There were numerous reports of settlers firing on trespassers and Aboriginal people being wounded. Crops were destroyed and sheds and haystacks set on fire There did not seem to be any easy solution to the conflict. George Moore expressed his concern that if the stealing did not stop and settlers’ stock continued to be plundered the killing would eventually escalate and the Aboriginal people would be exterminated. There would be great loss of life on both sides.
Yagan remained at large through the remainder of June and in to July and avoided any contact with the military. His whereabouts were concealed by Weeip’s group. At times it seemed that Weeip even offered to lead the troopers to Yagan and then mislead them. It was as though Weeip(who was never aggressive), was playing a double game, pretending to be friendly with settlers and then condoning theft by members of his tribal group and protecting Yagan at the same time. But Yagan was playing a dangerous game staying in the district and brazenly moving about in the open. Perhaps he was unaware that the bounty placed on him would cause private citizens as well as the military to hunt him.
The following account has been pieced together from information provided by the Perth Gazette, military officers who attended the scene, George Moore and James Keats youngest son of William Keats senior. (statement before the magistrates)
On the 11th of July 1833, William Keats the younger and his young brother James were shifting some cattle on Henry Bull’s property north of Guildford. They had just sat down for a rest and to have something to eat. While they were sitting there in the shade they noticed a group of Aborigines including Yagan, Weeip, Heegan and others that they did not know cutting across the field. They hailed the group who, on seeing the two young familiar faces, altered their course to say hello.
The group informed the boys that they were on their way to Henry Bull’s house to collect some bags of flour as they had run out of food. The Keats brothers warned Yagan that if he was seen at the house he would be arrested or shot. It was decided that half the group Yagan, Weeip, Heegan and one other would wait with the boys and the rest of the group would proceed to the Bull Homestead.
Secretly the two boys had decided they would kill Yagan and collect the reward money. During the afternoon William Keats aimed his gun at Yagan and attempted to shoot him but the gun jammed. Yagan did not notice this attempt on his life. The boys must have been acting strangely as Yagan got annoyed and suspicious and threatened them. He stormed off and walked down to the river where the other Aborigines had lit a fire and were cooking some damper with the flour they had obtained at Henry Bull’s house.
Desperate to carry out their plan William cocked his gun and rested it casually in the crook of his arm. The two brothers then walked down to where the Aborigines were sitting around the fire and almost immediately William aimed his gun and shot Yagan in the back of the head. The force of the shot at close range propelled Yagan forward and he sprawled face first onto the ground and didn’t move or utter a sound. The group was thrown into confusion and unsure of what had just happened. However they soon recovered and ran to get their spears. James saw Heegan about to throw a spear and fired at him. The ball hit Heegan in the head and wounded him seriously. Weeip had raised his spear and James fired his second barrel at him but in his haste missed. The boys ran away and split up in two different directions, William heading along the river and James abandoning his gun and jumping in the river. The Aborigines chased William and brought him down with a spear. James looked back as he emerged on the other side of the river and saw Weeip and several other natives repeatedly thrusting their spears into William’s body. James who was only thirteen, ran through the bush and cut back to Bull’s farm to seek help and raise the alarm.
James then guided a party of settlers and servants to the catastrophic scene in the faint hope that his brother would still be alive. They came across his brother’s body, several spears had entered his back and he had numerous spear wounds to his throat and face. His broken gun, smeared in blood, lay on the ground where it had been thrown. It had been used to smash William’s head and face until he was almost unrecognizable. They checked his pulse, there was none. Fifty yards further on they retrieved the gun that James had discarded. There was no sign of the remaining group of Aborigines. They proceeded cautiously another two hundred yards.
The fire was still smouldering and two pieces of damper lay on the ground next to a bag that had split open and spewed a large patch of snow white flour across the black mud of the river bank. Sprawled awkwardly on the ground about three feet from the fire was the body of Yagan. He was face down, his head twisted to one side. Blood had oozed from the wound and trickled down across the patch of flour like a red ribbon. Other than the head wound he looked perfect, the rest of his magnificent frame untouched. One of the men bent over to get a closer look at his face. Part of his tribal marking was visible on his right shoulder. Yep this is Yagan. I know his face well…. and those markings he added, and pointed at Yagan’s shoulder…He’s dead for sure.
One of the other men had walked a little way up the bank. There’s another one up here. He’s still breathing. The rest of the men walked up towards the tree. In the grass at the base of the tree they found Heegan. He was still groaning and choking from the blood and mucus that was blocking his windpipe.
The shot had hit him just above his left eye and blown away most of that side of his skull. Part of his brain was hanging out of the gaping hole.
Someone else spoke. Better put the poor bastard out of his misery, he hasn’t got a chance.
The man who had first spoken nodded then walked over and put the barrel of his gun to Heegan’s head and blew it to pieces.
Are there any others?
James couldn’t speak. The horror of what they had done had all but paralyzed him. He shook his head from side to side.
You better wait over there. The order was directed at James.
I’ll stay with him. One of the men walked over to James, grasped him by the shoulder and guided him over to a log that had been washed up in the last flood.
The men returned to the campfire and held a short conference to decide what they should do. The boy, James Keats, was to be escorted back to Henry Bull’s house by two of the men and left with Mrs Bull. They would then relate the events that had occurred to Mr Bull and then return with spades to bury the bodies of Yagan and Heegan and a litter to carry William Keat’s body back to the homestead. Unbeknown to James the men had planned to take Yagan’s head back as proof of his death.
Once James and the two men had departed the rest of the men set to work and cut off Yagan’s head and that part of the skin on his back that had the tribal markings. The bodies were then carried about thirty yards up from the river to a spot they thought would be suitable to dig the graves. The two Aboriginal warriors were buried side by side and their spears stuck in the ground to mark their graves. The party then returned to the homestead with William’s body and a canvas bag containing Yagan’s head and skin.
The next morning, with an armed escort, James, William’s body and the grotesque specimens were loaded on to a wagon and transported to the jail at Perth.
In Perth the head was officially identified as that of Yagan and then released to Mr Bull’s servants to be returned to Bull’s farm. Ensign Robert Dale was directed to escort the party travelling back to Henry Bull’s Farm. Somehow Dale was given permission to take charge of the head which he said was of scientific importance. It was preserved by smoking and remained in his possession for some weeks. In September Dale left the settlement and returned to London, taking the head with him.
On arriving at the Perth barracks James Keats was brought before the magistrates (Wm. Locke-Brockman, E.B. Lennard, and Henry Bull Esqs.) and asked to give his account of the sequence of events leading to the shooting of the two Aboriginals and the spearing of his brother. A copy of his statement was read back to him and he agreed it was correct and made his mark.
The two boys had acted within the law and fulfilled the requirements of capturing Yagan dead or alive. The reward of thirty pounds would be paid in due course. The shooting death of Heegan was in self defence.
Word of the killing of Yagan and the spearing of William had already reached Fremantle. William Keats, their father, was on his way up to Perth not knowing which of his boys had been killed. He arrived in Perth about midday and hastened to the barracks to collect his son.
To abide by the requirements imposed by the Governor, arrangements had already been made to conduct a service and bury William in the graveyard at Church Hill.
Later that day William and his son James attended the service at the graveside. They were then required to meet with magistrate Henry Bull and the Lieutenant-Governor Irwin for a briefing and payment of the reward of thirty pounds to James. Henry Bull had spoken to the father and son and advised them that James should leave the Swan River settlement as soon as possible as it was no longer safe for him. The Aboriginal people would seek to kill him as payback for the death of Heegan and Yagan. While the military would do everything in their power to suppress any uprisings they were powerless to protect him all the time. The blacks were patient, persistent and observant and sooner or later they would get to him despite any reassurance to the contrary. As soon as it was decided where the boy would be sent he would be given a letter of introduction to be passed on to the governor of that colony. This should ensure that he was assigned to an employer who would see that he was taught a trade and looked after.
The press had been warned that James Keats was a boy of thirteen years and that as such he was not to be approached for an interview or statement as he was severely traumatized by the affair. Likewise the father, William Keats, was to be left in peace so that he could best take care of his youngest son and they could grieve for the death of the eldest son William.
