Introduction
Recent tinkering in Trove has been focussed on uncovering the story of the murder of Charles Alfred Owen, of Yandilla, Queensland, on 29th April 1864. Alexander Ritchie was tried for the deed in July 1864, and having been found guilty was executed by hanging in August of the same year. He was the first person hanged at the Toowoomba Gaol.These events occurred in a region of Queensland now known as the Southern Downs, Leyburn is 67 km west of Warwick and Yandilla is a further 41 km. It is my home region and therefore of interest.
This post provides a simple narrative of the events as derived from the court transcripts published in the newspapers of the day and other sources on Trove. The chronology is broken into three segments, (1) events prior to 29th April 1864, which may provide some context for the events of that day; (2) a detailed recount of the day on which Owen was murdered and (3) events following the day of the murder which led to the execution of Alexander Ritchie.
Charles Alfred Owen: a brief sketch
Charles Alfred Owen was both a manager at Yandilla Station, and a Justice of the Peace. He was awarded his Commission of the Peace in 1861 (Moreton Bay Courier, Feb 14, 1861), this commission allowed him to conduct a court of petty sessions, which we was doing on 29th April 1864.
He [Owen] sailed for Australia in 1853, under an engagement with the Peel River Company, in the barque Tory, which was wrecked at Port Stephens. It was afterwards discovered that the vessel had been wrecked purposely, and the captain and mate were in consequence condemned to penal servitude. Mr. Owen landed in Australia with nothing but a shirt and trousers, and no shoes or stockings. With the rest of his property he lost, when the vessel broke up, letters of introduction to the Messrs. Gore. He went to the Peel River with Captain Price, and having received fresh letters of introduction from home, he was, after a time, made superintendent of the Yandilla cattle station, and afterwards became general manager with a share in that fine pastoral property. (Sydney Morning Herald, May 7, 1864)At the time of his murder Owen had been married to Rebecca Elizabeth Owen (nee Campbell) of Redbank, for nearly two and a half years. They had recently welcomed a son, who would have been ten months old. Owen was 36 years old.
Owen is consistently portrayed as a fair and kind man.
PRIOR to 29th of APRIL 1864
Four years prior to the murder of Owen, Ritchie had been employed at Yandilla Station, but was dismissed.Ritchie was employed on the North Branch portion of the Yandilla run about four years ago, having been engaged by Mr. J. Pierce, the overseer. The man was dismissed for misconduct, upon which he summoned the overseer before the Police Court for the amount of the work for which he contracted. Ritchie lost the case; but Mr. Owen had nothing to do with the matter, beyond being the manager of the stations, and refusing to pay money to which his overseer, backed by the Court of Petty Sessions, declared was not due to the man. (Queensland Times, May 10, 1864)This ‘misconduct’ seems to be for dodgy building i.e. “for the erection of hut, which fell down previous to being occupied” (Toowoomba Chronicle, May 5, 1864). However, fifty years later Ben Bolt writes the following contrary observation.
Ritchie had put up some huts on the head station, and a chimney on one of these had been a cause of dispute, being out of plumb — in fact Alec, must have taken the Leaning Tower of of Pisa as a model— and Owen had made a deduction as a mark of respect for Ritchie's new style of architecture. Parenthetically, it may be put on record that when that hut and several others in after years crumbled under the ravages of time and the white ants, that chimney stood solitary and inclined.So Ritchie carries resentment not just to the Yandilla Station but to the court for his loss. This loss, which amounted to £20, seems to be a trigger for how events unfolded on the 29th April. There were reports of Ritchie making threats toward Owen in the preceding weeks.
In the weeks leading up to the 29th April, Ritchie was working as a fencing contractor on a government paddock. He employed three other people in that team, Reuben Threcker (or Thacker), Billy Button and a character referred to as ‘Stuttering Jack’ (Darling Downs Gazette, May 9, 1914). They had a timber getting camp about 3½ miles from Leyburn on the Yandilla Road.
Ritchie had a house in Leyburn, a two bedroom ‘humpy’, which he shared with his wife, Mary Ann Ritchie, and his mother-in-law, Eliza Vowles.
Leyburn seemed to have two pubs, both run by women (in the court transcripts at least). ‘Mrs Bell’s’, or the Golden Fleece Hotel, and ‘Mrs Murray’s’, or the Royal Hotel. The Golden Fleece not longer exists, but the Royal Hotel is still extant. The Royal was originally built for James Murray in 1863, but he died from excessive alcohol consumption six months later, hence it being listed as ‘Mrs Murrays’, reasons for Charles Bell’s pub being referred to as ‘Mrs Bell’s’ are less clear. It is also not clear why Richie was not welcome at Mrs Murrays,
… the prisoner and his men used to go to Bell's house ; they had not been at Mrs Murray's for a long time ; (Testimony of Julia Cumming, Darling Downs Gazette, Jul 14, 1864)The drama of the day of the murder will include events where Ritchie is at both of these pubs.
FRIDAY 29th April
Owen is in Leyburn in his role as a Magistrate to conduct the Petty Sessions, he is accompanied by Thomas Hanmar of Talgai, who acts as the second J.P.… Three or four cases were disposed of, amongst the number Ryan v. Hayes, for illegally detaining a mare. In this case the Bench returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff. (The North Australian, May 17, 1864)Alexander Ritchie was seen at the Mrs Murray’s pub in Leyburn, around midday. He harassed Julia Cumming, a worker at the pub, for alcohol “on tick” and became verbally aggressive when she was refused him.
Mr Owen attends Mrs Murray’s pub, on a lunch break from his duties at court. Owen and Ritchie have a disagreement on the pub veranda, Ritchie being of the opinion that Owen owed him £20. Owen refused him the money and Ritchie is heard to make threats toward Owen over the course of the afternoon, e.g.
"B— the court and the b— magistrates ; they ought to be shot, and they will be shot yet that b—y wretch owes me £20, and if he does not pay me I'll have it out of him in a day or two." - (Testimony of Keely, Brisbane Courier, July 14, 1864)Ritchie asks his wife for 5 shillings, which she provides. Ritchie asks Mrs Bell for ‘powder’ and she says she has none. He sources a 16 ounce flask of powder from Gray, minus two charges. He pays 4 shillings for this. Ritchie returns home with the powder, he dismantles a single barrel gun in front of his mother-in-law, wraps the gun in a piece of calico from an old tent and straps it to the front of a saddle on a horse he then rode away on. He said he was going to shoot some ducks.
Ritchie is seen on horseback leaving Leyburn around 3:30 pm. He was also seen on the road between Yandilla and Leyburn on the day of the murder firing at trees by way of "ball practice," (The Brisbane Courier, May 7, 1864)
Around 4pm, Owen leaves Leyburn in the company of Rev. Thackeray, who is sitting beside him on a two horse buggy. Three other men on horseback, Connor, Moloney and Ryan, (all workers at Yandilla) are sharing the road with him. Owen catches up with Moloney and Ryan, about two miles down the road between Leyburn and Yandilla.
Ritchie’s is seen by his workers on the road to Yandilla about 4:30 pm, and he asks Thacker how far ahead of him Owen was on the track. Thacker notes that he had the gun with him and it was assembled. Ritchie is riding Thacker’s horse.
About 5pm Ritchie speaks to George Clay asking about the location of Mr Owen’s buggy and how many were travelling with him. Charles Clay also observes Ritchie following Owen in the buggy. Charles Clay later finds a piece of calico consistent with the cloth Ritchie used to wrap the gun, and a bullet hole in a tree.
Around 6pm, or 15 or 20 minutes after sundown, a shot is fired from behind the buggy and Owen slumps and drops the reins, the horses bolt at the report of the gun, and the reins having been dropped the carriage careers down the road where it is stopped by a large tree. Thackeray is thrown from the vehicle, but is uninjured. Thackeray brings Owen’s body to the ground whereupon Owen dies.
A man (it is assumed the man it Ritchie) is seen 50-100 yards behind the buggy and he canters away into the bush on horseback after the shot is fired. The people in attendance do not give chase, instead they attend to Owen.
Reports prior to the trial suggest that a gunman comes up to the buggy and shoots Owen from close range.
... a horseman rode up behind the carriage, and, placing a gun close to Mr Owen's head, blew out his brains, and immediately made off. Mr Thackeray was so surprised at the report of the shot, the body falling forward, and the horses bolting, that he can scarcely remember what took place : the murderer was not identified by him. (Darling Downs Gazette, May 5, 1864)Whether the shot was close range or from further away the result is the same. The post-mortem report will later be heard in court:
“I found a bullet wound on the right side of the back of the neck, the wound went through the spine about an inch below the skull, smashing the second and third cervical vertebrae into several pieces, and passing through the mouth at the back, wounding the tongue and smashing one of the front teeth; the wound was produced by a bullet, and was the cause of death.” (Brisbane Courier, July 14, 1864)On the same day, eight in the evening, Ritchie comes via the tent that his fencing team were staying in. Thacker’s testimony reads;
“the horse was then all covered with white lather ; he had a gun with him then ; he came up to the door of the tent ; he said, “I have seen Mr. Owen, and I have shot the devil” ; that is all he said to me ; he stopped there a bit, and then he went homewards ; I heard the prisoner say about a week before this that Mr. Owen owed him some money for putting some huts up, and said, " if I don't got the money I'll have his life." (Brisbane Courier, July 14, 1864)
Post April 29
The week after April 29
SATURDAY 30th APRIL
Ritchie is arrested having been found either in or under his bed at home, having shaved off his beard to make himself less recognisable as the man seen on the road. His wife lies about his absence from the house, she also buys him a new hat, having burnt the old hat, which linked him to the crime scene.Newspaper reports about Mrs Ritchie seem contradictory, some report on a woman in custody who is going to trial for accessory to murder.
ARRIVAL OF PRISONERS UNDER ESCORT.— ON Tuesday, Mary Ann Ritchie, from Leyburn, … received in the lockup Toowoomba, en route for Brisbane Gaol, under warrants of commitment for trial. The woman Ritchie is the wife of the man now awaiting his trial for the murder of Mr C. A. Owen, and she stands charged as an accessory to the murder both before and after the fact. We have it from unquestionable authority, that the woman has admitted she cast; the bullets for her husband, and further that she burnt her husband's hat ... after his return home— these admissions bring her within both categories set forth in the warrant. (Darling Downs Gazette, May 26, 1864)I could find no record of that trial in the newspapers. Another report gives the impression of a woman at large refusing to visit her condemned husband.
There is a rumour that Mrs. Ritchie, the wife of the murderer who is yet scarcely cold in his grave, is about to be married. Without vouching for the truth of this statement, I may safely state that a more heartless woman than this creature is, by all accounts, could scarcely be found on the face of Creation. Ritchie was anxious to see his wife before his execution ; when she received the communication, her reply was, ' I have had one tramp already to Brisbane on his account, and I'll not take another." God help the man who yokes his fate with that of such a woman? (Darling Downs Gazette, Aug 11, 1864)Dr. Sachse, the coroner, and Dr Burke dispatch to Yandilla.
SUNDAY 1st MAY
Burke arrives before Sachse, and seeks to start proceedings in the absence of the coroner.Dr. Burke. J.P. arrived at Yandilla on Sunday and as there was no Coroner, he intended holding a magisterial enquiry, and had empanelled a Jury when the Coroner from Warwick arrived, who said that an enquiry held on a Sunday was illegal. At this time, the report was spread that the prisoner had escaped from the cottage where he was confined — he was noticed by some females running across the plains towards the Condamine — a man named Reid overtook him and knocked him down with a whip handle, another person secured him, but in doing so the prisoner nearly bit off his finger.
At twelve, midnight, on Sunday, the jury were summoned by the Warwick Coroner to view the body, and adjourned until nine o'clock on Monday morning, at which time Dr. Sachse arrived, likewise Mr. Murphy, Inspector of Police, from Toowoomba. Dr. Sachse then empanelled a jury of seven, who viewed the body and selected Captain Vignolles as their foreman. The funeral was then proceeded with, and a more melancholy sight I never witnessed ; every man, woman and child followed, and all seemed sorrowful. The Rev. Mr. Thackeray read the burial service in the Church. The body was carried to the grave by six of the oldest employees, and deposited at the western side of the Church.
A few hours after the inquest was resumed, and after the examination of a great many witnesses, the inquiry was brought to a close at 12 p.m. on Tuesday night. While the jury retired to consider their verdict, the prisoner said that he desired to make a statement. His request was complied with, and the jury reentered the room, when he stated that he took the gun and overtook the man Ryan, to whom he gave it, saying also, "Ryan gave me 5s. and five noblers on Friday, to meet him on the road, and assist him to shoot Mr. Owen. With the 5s. I purchased the powder, after I gave him (Ryan) the gun. I immediately returned towards Leyburn." This statement not being credited, the jury returned a verdict against Alick Ritchie for wilful murder, and against William Button and Reuben Thacker for being accessories before the act.
Ritchie, although assuming weakness of intellect on the Sunday during the time the inquest lasted, appeared to be taking great notice of the witnesses who swore to him as being the man who committed the crime, and also as to the identity of the horse. (North Australian, May 17, 1864)
MONDAY 2nd MAY
Mr. Owens was buried in the little churchyard on the head station … followed to the grave by about 200 people— the majority belonging to the station — and many of whom appeared much depressed at the occurrence. (Toowoomba Chronicle, May 5, 1864)Inquest into the murder is begun by the coroner. Seventeen witnesses were examined and some gave depositions.
… if all accounts received are true, the coroner has conducted himself in a most extraordinary manner, even going so far as confining witnesses who were perfectly ready to afford evidence. It is to be hoped the Government will institute an enquiry into the circumstances. (Brisbane Courier, May 7, 1864)This holding of witnesses who were willing to testify, led to a conflict between Sachse and the Police Magistrate:
The inquiry brought the coroner, Dr. Sasche [sic], a German, into conflict with the police magistrate, Mr. J. C. White. Dr. Sasche [sic] had peremptorily ordered two witnesses into the lockup, although there was no evidence of their unwillingness to give evidence, and White remonstrated with him on his unBritish methods. Sasche [sic] then threatened to put the P. M. under arrest if he interfered with him during, the discharge of his duties as coroner. (Truth, August 27, 1916)This behaviour by Sachse was even listed for mention in the Legislative Assembly of the day.
MR. GROOM asked the Attorney General — "Whether his attention has been directed to the conduct of Dr Sachse, coroner for the police district of Drayton on the recent inquest on Charles Alfred Owen, Esq and to his imprisonment of two witnesses, who, without such arbitrary measures were prepared to give evidence. If so, is any and what action to be taken in reference thereto?"The following verdicts emerged from the coroners investigation.
The ATTORNEY GENERAL answered — My attention has not been officially drawn to the conduct of Dr Sachse on the occasion referred to. Upon complaint, properly made to myself officially immediate action will be taken in reference thereto. (Brisbane Courier, May 13, 1864)
A verdict of wilful murder was returned against Alexander Ritchie. William Button and Reuben Thacker were also stated by the jury to be accessories to the murder. The latter man has turned approver. Dr. Sasche [sic], the Coroner, threatened to put Mr. J. C. White, P.M., of Warwick, under arrest for endeavoring to obtrude evidence which he (the Coroner) deemed unnecessary. (Brisbane Courier, May 6, 1864)
Regina v. Ritchie, July 1864.
One of the most enlightened Judges that ever sat upon the Bench of justice, found himself imperatively called upon on Tuesday last, or the termination of the Toowoomba Assize, over which he had presided, to mark his sense of the increase of crime in the Western District, by attaching to it the indelible stigma of "The Black Assize."Transcripts of proceedings can be found in The Brisbane Courier, The Darling Downs Gazette, and The Toowoomba Chronicle. Readers interested in the makeup of the legal team and the jury can refer to these. Thirteen people were challenged as jury members, the majority or all of these by the prisoner (the transcripts disagree on this matter). The following witnesses were called:
Certainly, the calendar, both numerically and in the gravity of the offences charged was startling. The number of prisoners committed during the recess, from January Assize, was forty-five, although not one-half of that number were placed upon their trials. The offences included inter alia, murder, manslaughter, stabbing, mail robbery, forgery and uttering, horse stealing and robberies in dwellings. These crimes are certainly sufficient to bring odium upon any district, and doubtless much of tho opprobrium unjustly falls upon Toowoomba, in which town the Assize is held. It is simple justice, however, to the inhabitants, to point out to those at a distance, that a reference to the calendar will, at one glance, prove Toowoomba to be almost crimeless, our sister town of Ipswich taking the lead in this uneviable notority, by a majority of six to one. The mass of crime, shown by the calendar, flows in upon us from the enormous western district — larger in area than England — which is accorded but a miserable amount, of police protection. This district affords a wide field for the indulgence of unrestrained passion, and for carrying out the criminal views of the unscrupulous and designing. The overlander, also, from the adjacent colonies, crosses the Border with the avowed purpose of commencing a fresh career of crime in Queensland. Judge LUTWYCHE, making all allowance for these facilities for the commission of crime, could not disguise it from himself, nor conceal it from the jury, that crime was more rife, and of a more serious character hove than in any other district in the colony. This his Honor attributed to the want of religious and moral training in the community, requiring united efforts to be made before any good could be affected. He hoped that those who had the greatest power — that was the greatest means — would do all in their power for the spread of this religious and moral feeling throughout the community. His Honor also trusted that, if God spared his life until January next, he should not preside over so black an assize as he had presided over on that occasion. We endorse every word uttered by his Honor and trust that those who take an interest in the well-being of the community will, putting their shoulder to the wheel, further the advancement of moral and religious training as angst the rising generation. (Darling Downs Gazette, July 21, 1864)
Witnesses in order of appearance
Stephen John Burke, qualified medical practitioner at Drayton.William Harris, Sub-inspector of Police, Drayton.
Constable Peter Gallagher, Warwick Police.
Adam Colquhoun, a shepherd at Yandilla station.
Julia Cummin, cousin of Mrs Murray.
Mary Keely, barmaid and parlourmaid in the employ of Mrs Murray.
Richard Thackeray, a clergyman of the Church of England
Patrick Connor, overseer at Yandilla,
John Ryan, employee at Yandilla.
James Moloney, role is not clear
William Gray, resident of Leyburn
Eliza Vowles, resident of Leyburn, mother-in-law of the prisoner
George Clay, son of Charles Clay, resident at Forest Station.
Charles Clay, resident at Forest Station.
Reuben Threcker, splitter and fencer in the employ of Ritchie
William Button, splitter and fencer in the employ of Ritchie
John Pearce, overseer Yandilla Station
Patrick Liddy, store keeper, Leyburn
William Harris … Sub-inspector of Police, Leyburn.
The case for the Crown having been put, Mr Blakeney the assigned defence elected not to put a case for the accused.
The Jury decided on a guilty verdict within ten minutes and Lutwyche passed sentence.
His HONOR, in passing sentence, said : Alexander Ritchie, you have been found guilty by a jury of your country, who have given a most patient attention to your case of the crime of murder — a verdict in which I entirely concur, so fully satisfied am I of its justness. A more cold blooded act I have seldom had to deal with in my capacity of a Judge. Your conduct, I hope, will find very few imitators in the colony. It would be useless to say more to you now than to implore you sincerely to employ short time which remains to you upon earth in listening to the exhortations of those reverend gentlemen who will prepare you for the world to come, for I can hold out to you no hope of mercy on this side of the grave. The sentence of the law is, that you be taken from the place where you are to the Toowoomba Gaol, from whence you came, and there at such time as his Excellency the Governor with the advice of his Executive Council shall appoint, or at such other place and time as his Excellency the Governor with the advice of his Executive Council shall appoint, be hanged by the neck until you be dead, and may God, in his infinite mercy, have mercy on your soul. (Brisbane Courier, Jul 16, 1864)
Execution of Ritchie, 1 August, 1864.
… From the time that the last earthly sentence was pronounced, Ritchie persistently denied his guilt and any admission conveying contrary import can be gathered, only from his theory in his cell, that any man under certain circumstances was justified in committing a similar act, and that it was borne out by Scripture ; or his expressions upon the scaffold, that he was guilty in the eyes of man but not guilty in the eyes of God. Be that as it may, his guilt was manifest, and he has proved to be adjudged before a tribunal that cannot err.
This being the first execution that had taken place in Toowoomba, it became necessary for certain preparations to be made to carry out the sentence of the law, and directions were given for that purpose by the High Sheriff, E. H. Halloran Esq., who had remained in Toowoomba from the termination of the Assize, in discharge of his official duties.
The usual structure for public executions had been erected within the western end of the new Gaol, three sides of the erection being enclosed with glazed calico. A shell lay at its foot to carry away the remains when justice should have been satisfied.
The attendance of the Revds. Mr. Hart and Dr. Nelson, since the condemnation of the criminal, had been incessant ; but, without wishing to judge, apparently resultless. During the whole of Sunday night the latter gentleman was in the cell of the prisoner, and in the morning was joined by the Revd. Mr. Hart.
The hour appointed for the execution of the prisoner was eight o'clock. Before that time had arrived the prisoner's irons had been struck off, the warrant read and the pinioning performed. Shortly after eight o'clock the melancholy procession moved from the condemned cell and filed into the yard in which the scaffold stood erected. The prisoner's demeanour if not defiant was bold and determined and he marched to the gallows foot and ascended the scaffold without hesitation or assistance, preceded by the executioner, whose head was enveloped in black crape. After a slight pause the prisoner came forward and made the following address : — "Gentlemen, I am innocent of this charge in the sight of God, but not of men. God has put this punishment upon me for other sins of which I have been guilty, but of this I am innocent, and may God have mercy on my immortal soul. I trust you will allow me a few minutes to say a prayer." — The prisoner then with the firmness and fervour of a martyr repeated the prayer, commencing — " Oh Jesus Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world &c." Concluding his address as follow : — Gentlemen, I now bid you all goodbye ; it will be a warning I hope not to keep bad company. I am guilty in the sight of man, but not guilty in the sight of God ; and I cannot say with a clear conscience anything which should lead to the charge being brought against any one. That is all I have to say."
In a few seconds the drop fell and Andrew [sic] Ritchie was but as a clod of the valley. The fall was terrific being upwards of ten feet, the criminal dying instantaneously.
After hanging twenty minutes, Dr. Stacy declared the body dead, when by order of the Sheriff, the body was cut down and placed in a shell at the foot of the gallows, and was subsequently conveyed to the cemetery. The usual certificate was signed by the proper offices and certain gentlemen present, to the effect that the terms in the warrant of execution had been carried out.
Within the walls of the Gaol only about thirty were admitted. Without the walls, the assemblage was large, some taking to the trees as a place of 'vantage. To the shame of their sex be it said, upwards of a dozen women mingled with the crowd.
This just but tragic event has passed away ; may it be long ere the disgusting hangman's office be again required within the walls of Toowoomba Gaol.
Andrew [sic] Ritchie according to his own account was 26 years of age, born in Scotland and brought up in Belfast ; he removed from thence to Liverpool from whence he immigrated to this colony.
List of Sources in date order
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DELIBERATE AND COLD-BLOODED MURDER. (1864, May 5). The Toowoomba Chronicle and Queensland Advertiser (Qld. : 1861 - 1875), p. 3. Retrieved March 31, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article212788599
ASSASINATION OF MR. OWEn, OF YoNDILLA. (1864, May 5). The Darling Downs Gazette and General Advertiser (Toowoomba, Qld. : 1858 - 1880), p. 3. Retrieved March 31, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75512051
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Local and General News (1864, May 10). Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser (Qld. : 1861 - 1908), p. 3. Retrieved March 31, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article123603723
PARLIAMENT. (1864, May 13). The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), p. 2. Retrieved April 16, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1258445
THE YANDILLA MURDER. (1864, May 17). The North Australian (Brisbane, Qld. : 1863 - 1865), p. 7. Retrieved April 9, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article77434883
Supreme Court. (1864, July 14). The Toowoomba Chronicle and Queensland Advertiser (Qld. : 1861 - 1875), p. 2. Retrieved March 31, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article212786628
OPENING OF THE NEW INDEPENDENT CHAPEL IN MARGARET STREET. (1864, May 26). The Darling Downs Gazette and General Advertiser (Toowoomba, Qld. : 1858 - 1880), p. 3. Retrieved April 17, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75512228
LOCAL AND DOMESTIC. (1864, July 14). The Darling Downs Gazette and General Advertiser (Toowoomba, Qld. : 1858 - 1880), p. 7. Retrieved April 16, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75511743
TOOWOOMBA CIRCUIT COURT. (1864, July 14). The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), p. 2. Retrieved March 30, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1259686
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The Darling Downs Gazette. TOOWOOMBA, THURSDAY, JULY 21st. (1864, July 21). The Darling Downs Gazette and General Advertiser (Toowoomba, Qld. : 1858 - 1880), p. 2. Retrieved April 16, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75512648
THE EXECUTION OF ANDREW RITCHIE, FOR THE WILFUL MURDER OF CHARLES OWEN, OF YANDILLA STATION. (1864, August 4). The Darling Downs Gazette and General Advertiser (Toowoomba, Qld. : 1858 - 1880), p. 3. Retrieved March 30, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75512592
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EARLY HISTORY OF QUEENSLAND (1916, August 27). Truth (Brisbane, Qld. : 1900 - 1954), p. 9 (CITY EDITION). Retrieved April 9, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article201549529
