THE LAUNDRESS OF

LYELL

Can one woman really be blamed for the demise of the village of Lyell? Mary Gramatica was involved in murders, suicide and as many as seven deaths, including her husband, children, lovers and others. How much of this folk lore and local legend be true? Little evidence remains of what was once the bustling goldmining town of Lyell, New Zealand, other than a sign which reads:
A small farm over the river from here supplied the townspeople with milk and vegetables. Access across the river was provded by a shallow wooden box supported by a cable. One day the farmers two daughters were returning from school and when being pulled across the river in the box the rope broke, plunging them both into the river where they drowned.. This tragedy led to further tragedies; the father died of a broken heart, the mother was the cause of a murder in the town and she herself was killed by a horse and cart on the Lyell bridge after she had been drinking.

This book is the result of years of combing through newspapers and documents of the 1880s and gives the answer to these questions combining fact with fiction in order to flesh out the bones of this intriguing story.
!

Copyright Jeanette Brentnall 2012 The right of Jeanette Brentnall to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the author in writing. National Library of Australia Brentnall, Jeanette The Laundress of Lyell Life and Death in a goldmining town in New Zealand in the 1880s. Includes index ISBN 979-0-64649675-7

Typeset by the Author for Oak Beach Books Queensland Australia email: jnetbooks@bigpond.com Cover photograph by Grant Margison

THE LAUNDRESS OF LYELL

Life and death in a goldmining town in New Zealand in the 1880s. by

Jeanette Brentnall.

The Laundress of Lyell. INTRODUCTION This work is based on a series of events which occurred in New Zealand in the late 1880s. The names of the people portrayed have not been changed. Attempts have been made to find any living relatives but so far none have been discovered. This is partly due to the fact that almost all of the families died without leaving any descendants; one person involved in the events described in this work died by his own hand, another had been murdered by that person, and neither had children. Another died after having fathered at least four children, three of whom died in childhood. The mother of those children, Mary Gramatica, died in what was then old age (55) as the result of a road accident. The only child to survive reached the age of 75, but she had never married. Most of the dialogue throughout is comprised of the actual words of the subjects. The voices of these people have been retained by using their words verbatim from the newspaper reports, coroners' reports and court transcripts. In cases where the actual words were not available, I have given only the most likely responses to questions, and probable questions to which actual responses are available Where written material is referred to, the original wording has not been altered, the spelling and punctuation being left as written by the original authors. Where versions of events are my own interpretation, this is indicated by a change of font to indicate that they are hypothetical and not necessarily what actually happened. ACNOWLEDGEMENTS: I freely and gratefully acknowledge that the first five chapters have drawn heavily on previously published works by other authors. I have used such lengthy extracts from their books because they provide vital information which seemed necessary to include as it is not readily available to readers in Australia and places other than New Zealand. I hope the authors will accept my gratitude for allowing me to base this book on their painstaking research. Included among these writers are the unattributed reporters who wrote the meticulously recorded articles and reports of trials for the newspapers of the West Coast in the 1880s, whose labours have provided the basis of this work. They are the true historians of the times, and the internet has made access to those old newspapers in New Zealand readily available. I am also grateful for the generous assistance of the internet contributors to the GENANZ genealogical group: so much of the information in this book would not have been unearthed without their help. The staff of the museums and libraries of Nelson, Murchison and Hokitika, on the West Coast of New Zealand were very helpful. In particular, the Alexander Turnbull Library has an invaluable resource in their PapersPast web site which contains more than two million pages of digitised New Zealand newspapers from 1839 which is continually being added to and improved over time and without which this book could not have been written. Similarly the TimeFrames website of the National Library of New Zealand has a collection of very early photographs of the Lyell township and the West Coast.

I thank Mike Johnston for his detailed corrections and comments on previous versions of this manuscript; he provided much needed local knowledge to one who knew little of New Zealand history. Also I am very grateful to Dr. Terry King for his meticulous reading and constructive criticism of early drafts which led to significant revisions and in the end a better result. Others who have made contributions to the research include Barbara Ellard, Cathy Swaine, Ray Clark and Diane Wilson. My continuing thanks also are due to my husband Graham Clark, who works assiduously to give me the time to travel and write.

This is dedicated to my mother Thelma Jean Windley, my grandmothers Mary Victoria Broughton and Epsie Jane Linsell and their predecessors, whose lives as pioneer women in this country were so hard.

Jeanette Brentnall

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Lyell

There is no memory; they have perished as though they never existed; they have become as though they had never been born.

-- Ecclesiasticus

It all hangs by a thread, the swing of a pendulum, the flick of a wrist or the wave of a hand. In many lives there is one pivotal event, which can be seen in retrospect as the one by which events occurring decades into the future have been determined, even if unrecognised as important at the time. This is the history of one such event. If it hadnt happened as it did, none of the other tragedies which followed down the fractured paths of the decades from the late 1800s would have occurred. ~~~~~~~

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December 29th 1878 New Zealand The steel strands of wire twisted into a rope stretch taut across the chasm over the V shaped valley, from a tree on one side to a post on the other. Below, the yellow ochre-coloured floodwaters of Lyell Creek pour over round white boulders to blend with the peaking waves of the Buller River. The wooden crate, a box, not unlike a coffin in shape, is gripped at one side by the landing-keeper as the schoolgirl in convent dress steps in. She is followed by a heavy man, an Italian by the name of Guiseppe Tuena, dressed in the rough clothes of a miner. She moves aside to let him sit beside her, settles herself and clamps her hat to her head with her free hand. The crate is let loose, and begins to run along the wire, increasing in speed, making a high pitched scream. It stops unexpectedly in the centre of the drooping wire: the passengers with their combined weights are too much to allow it to continue. For a minute, time stands still. On the near bank of the creek a man, a farmer, watches, the webs between his fingers still wet from stripping the milk from the udders of his cows. The girl is his daughter, the light of his life, the apple of his eye, his reason for striving so hard to live in this wild country. He has loved her intensely, like a lover, for most of her fifteen years, a best beloved; obsessively, it has been said. He watches the girl climb into the crate and his chest fills with love for her, but this sours as soon as the man joins her. The father slaps his hand to his thigh and makes a guttural sound. The man is a threat; he thinks he can tell this from the way the girl looks across at him. His little darling, his baby, whom he carried everywhere on his shoulders, whose tears he licked dry, whose mouth he fed with treats from his own, obviously is not his anymore. She is looking to someone else to support and protect her. He has waited for three months to see her again but his little child has gone: this one returning from a term at the convent school in Nelson is not the same, but instead is a woman. Breasts which were once flat now push themselves into his consciousness, even from this distance. Again he groans, this time louder, and waves in a gesture which is not so much a wave of welcome as a threat to strike her; no, not her, the man. The movement catches her eye. She instantly reads her fathers feelings, she knows what he
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wants to do, to her and to the man. He wants to shut her away in safety from the world, and he wants to push the man, any man, out of existence. He wants time to stand still, to revert to days already gone. He doesnt want the future to happen; he sees it all and there is nothing but tragedy. In reaction to his signal, she moves back in the crate a little, pushing down the happiness at being back home, and almost flinching from his distant blow. She tries to stand. The crate lurches from side to side, and the strands of the cable fray and unwind. The man grabs at her sleeve and tugs her down, but the momentum exaggerates the sway of the crate and tips them with a sideways swing. The floorboards of the box open beneath their feet and they drop through to the roiling water. The girl falls first, her head pulling her down, falling over her feet, her skirts dropping over her face. The man follows, passes her. Although it happens very quickly, to her father it seems a slow inevitable progression in which he should intervene, but by the time he begins to move it is over and the worst he dreads has already happened. Her head strikes a boulder which moves only slightly in acknowledgement of her touch, and her blood mists into the cascades and flows away in flurries and does not stop. The tiny figures of her father and the others who had been waiting at the platform of the flying-fox crawl fall scramble down the slopes of the hillside to pick them up, too late to break the fall of the stringfree marionettes, the man despite his bulk being rolled over and dumped across the stones with no care for his bones, and the girl remains jammed by an arm now, under the water. The father wades in and reaches her, to drag her free by her skirt but it slips over her hips and instead of wrapping her wet arms around his neck, she flails and floats backwards and away, and cries and howls so loudly her mother can hear from the river flat below, and wonders what is wrong, but already knows. As the waters of the creek merge into the stronger flow of the Buller River her body is carried victoriously by the waves until it reaches the sea. She floats out on the waves as if heading back across the Tasman Sea for the main island of Australia where she had been born. Of the entire family, she is the only one to ever to leave the islands of the Colony of New Zealand. And this was the beginning of the end, the first in the series of events which one upon the other meant that now nothing remains in the valley on the terraced side of the creek. There is only a sign near the bridge to tell tourists, if they stop, that once in
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this lost place had been a village where lives were lived, fortunes won and hopes made bitter in the hearts of brave people from the northern hemisphere of this globe. Lives lived, loves lost, fortunes made or labour done for no return in the end, all forgotten in the hundred years now passed. It will all be the same in a hundred years again, and the lives forgotten unless someone disturbs the layers of beech leaves over the paths and graves, and that is what we shall do in the following pages. A branch in the road which looks as though it would end up in much the same location as its neighbour, turns out to veer into precisely the opposite direction. A yes instead of a no, a birth rather than a death, a pivotal decision or event which has implications for the future is the source of a myriad series of happenings; meetings for the first time and partings for the last, for countless individuals for generations to come, all of which sometimes can be traced back to that one choice. A match to a haystack, a handkerchief slipped into a pocket. The United States, Australia or New Zealand ... the flick of a coin, an accident on a bridge over a wild river.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The Laundress of

Lyell

CHAPTER 2
Ireland, 1858.

Mary leaves Ireland, travels by sailing ship to Australia to find her brother 1. who had been sentenced to transportation some years earlier, and had been working on the goldfields of Castlemaine. The trip out and the gold rush experience.
NO reason to stay, no reason not to go. Nothing left behind to care for, only the dead to cover and to mourn. With the final breath gone from the last of her family in Ireland, the hut in which Mary Giblin had lived became cold. The fire ebbed out, but not before filling the stone-walled room with puffs of peaty smoke impossible to breathe. Time itself wound down to a standstill like an untended clock, and stopped. Mary stood without moving, her eyes set on nothing. It was an end, and the beginning of she knew not what. She was reluctant for it to end, to let the present go and face the future, but at the same time waiting for it to begin. Folding all her possessions; a comb, a shawl, a small pair of scissors in the form of long-legged bird, a thimble, two needles, and a threadbare cloak, a second skirt and blouse, into a square of cloth, the girl hoists these over her shoulder and surveys the place she has lived in for her fifteen years. Nothing could be worse than this; a bare earth floor, air so cold the inner walls shining with ice and the stench of human and animal habitation imprisoned in the black soot from a fireplace which gives out little heat. A fine mist of rain wet her hair and soaked her clothes as she walked the paths and roads, her feet swaddled in rags, shoes under her arms for safe keeping against the time when she would arrive in the port. The advertisements had said, someone had told her, that a free passage could be arranged for young women willing to travel to the colony of New South Wales, if they were of good character and capable of hard work. As she admitted later in life, she was not a great scholar, but could read plain writing. Good character she had mainly due to the lack of opportunity to be anything else and the vigilance of her mother, and hard work was nothing more than she had already known.
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The ship was crowded, packed with more people together in one place than Mary had ever seen before. Below decks, no privacy, no space and continual noise, the constant creaking of timber decks and shouts from officers to deckhands, fighting children, and wailing women. But still overall an air of excitement and anticipation of the end of the journey prevailed, increased by recent letters from those already there, telling of fields glistening with gold after the rains. The ship was a small village compressed into a wooden space, a floating capsule on the meniscus of the inky blue black sea, and as the days went on Mary had an increasing feeling that the ship was sailing over the edge of the globe, of dropping down, down beneath her feet. Especially at night it seemed the ship was kept afloat by the combined will and the prayers of the passengers against their terror of the creatures fathoms below. It didnt help to think about the depths to which a leaking overturning husk would zigzag slowly before it settled onto the sandy seabed. Mary stood at the rail at the end of the ship, thinking that the white wake on the waves folding behind the ship was a thread of cotton, the last unwinding link with the land left behind, and watching wanted to reel it back, and return. She never did. ~~~~ Mary Giblin had been born in 1841 or 1842, and according to the information provided on her death certificate, this had taken place in County Tyrone, Ireland. 2. Perhaps she had been the ten-year-old daughter, in 1851, of another older Mary Giblin, of County Sligo, who was sentenced to transportation to Australia for seven years? Was this 59 year old woman her mother, the one convicted for stealing a waistcoat, and having already had previous convictions? Giblin is not a common name. The convict woman bearing the same surname languished awaiting transportation for two years, before being discharged on August 26, 1853. 3. The Giblin family in Ireland was up against hard times in the 1850s, as were countless others. For example, an Anthony Giblin, 18 years of age, was tried on 11th July, 1854 at County Roscommon and sentenced to transportation for 14 years, for burglary. Perhaps it had been his brother, James, of the same place who had been sentenced to seven years transportation on 25th February, 1848, for the strange charge crime of demanding fire arms with intent to shoot. Rather than brandishing firearms
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with intent to shoot the charge is one of demanding fire arms, which suggests that he was not in fact armed, but must have said something like give me a gun and Ill shoot you, or if I had a gun.... The threat was obviously just as damaging as the deed, and because of this he was required to leave Ireland on the ship Lord Dalhousie in April 1852.4 Possibly it was his older brother, Michael Giblin, who in 1849 was 18 , when sentenced to seven years transportation for felony and left for Australia on the Lord Auckland in 1852. Felony is defined as serious, usually violent, crime, but the details were not considered serious enough to be noted in the records.5. Another family member perhaps was Thomas Giblin, aged 22 at the time of sentencing to seven years transportation and who left his home in County Roscommon in 1837 for the lengthy voyage on the Westmoreland. On this occasion a comment was added that the convict was detained in Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin, on 18th April, 1838 and the reason given for the deferment of his departure was that the convict has nine orphans dependant on his support.6 ~~~~~~~~

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CHAPTER 3
Melbourne 1864

You're not the first, nor only one, The Scotsmen did beguile.

When Mary arrived at the Port of Melbourne in Australia the initial rush of inhabitants from the old world to the goldfields was almost over, and she could not find her brother.1 Even after only thirty years of European settlement, Melbourne was already a town of contrasts; grandiose mansions and public buildings built with the proceeds of gold or the expectations of great profits, and cheap shelter in a vast shantytown, bark huts and tents. Many families were squatting on government land along the Yarra River where the Aboriginal people also camped, in an area known as Canvas Town, between Princes Bridge and Emerald Hill. Many women were left behind by men who had gone looking for riches, promising to return. The colonial newspaper columns were full of messages from families waiting, begging news of those who had gone, and eventually notices of divorce proceedings for desertion became common. Mary Giblin found accommodation not far to the north of town on the river Yarra in one of a row of tiny terrace houses built at the least possible expense to be rented out to the wharf labourers. She bought her bread from a shop on the corner of her street from a man named OConnell, who had a son her own age. His name was Maurice, and the fact that she lived close by was not entirely coincidental, as they had met on the long tedious voyage out to Australia aboard the White Star. 2 The days on board ship passed more enjoyably once they discovered each others presence and established that although his family was from Scotland, there had been a lot of interactivity between the Irish and Scottish coasts and although their accents were slightly different to the ear of a practised linguist, their intentions were quite clear to each other. In a dark corner Maurice had convinced her that his hand up her skirts meant no harm, and once his rough kisses had squashed any protests, a short struggle to stay upright was rendered useless by a roll of the ship to starboard. She even broached the
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subject of marriage with him at their third meeting once her courage had risen, and he agreed that it was a fine thing in principle and something that he might do once his fortune had been found in the colonies, and yes, of course, he loved her as much as she was sure she loved him. His hair, to her nose buried in his neck, smelled like fresh rain and his hands were square and firm. But this was as far as he would commit himself, having no income of his own, and a reluctance to disobey his parents. His father was a man of some means already and being a canny businessman, reckoned that the many permanent dwellers in the town still and always would have need of sustenance in the form of flour and sugar and salt, and that the income from the sale of these items could easily outweigh the variable proceeds of the gamble of gold fossicking. Maurices father considered himself and his family to be a cut above the Irish, as did everyone else in Melbourne, and Marys accent to him was not the charming lilt it was to Maurices ear, but an awful whining which would only end up in wheedling sovereigns from his till. He forbad any talk of marriage, cutting it off at the first mention of the subject as soon as Maurice began to open his mouth. His son was meant for better things, though what they were was not yet clear, beyond the counter of his shop and the doors of the warehouse at the docks, which he was meant to guard. By the time Mary set foot on Australian soil, she was pregnant. She was dismayed to find that the queasiness she had been feeling did not stop once she reached solid ground, although pleased that the bleeding every three weeks had dried up. Whenever Maurices father left the shop in his charge, Mary would visit as soon as the coast was clear, and sit up on the sacks of flour in the back room, eating lumps of sugar by the handful. Her belly ballooned and she came to believe that once Mr. OConnell realised that an heir to his fortune was to be produced in due course he would relent and revise his position on his sons relationship with her. Mary stayed in a cottage nearby and Maurice visited whenever he could slip away from his parents scrutiny, saying that he was sleeping overnight at the warehouse to guard against thieves, which worked satisfactorily until one afternoon Mr. OConnell took a different route from the wharf back to the shop and spied Maurice closing the gate behind him in the morning as he left the house he sometimes shared with Mary. Being a man with a very suspicious nature, Mr. OConnell instantly assessed the
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situation, and chased his son up the hill, swiping at him with the horsewhip from the sulky he was driving. Immediately after the unpleasant shouted confrontation which was deferred until they reached the shop, and several strikes with the horsewhip, Maurice left his parents house at the top of the hill, and moved in with Mary at number 17 Barkly Street, Melbourne North3, down nearer the waterside, which was really more of a swamp than a beach. The houses here were built without allowing ventilation under the floor, the boards sitting on bluestone blocks only a few inches above the soil. There were no drainage pipes and the wastewater mixed with the rain and ran along the surface of the oily black clay under the floorboards. The resultant stink of stagnant water and the rising damp and powdering whitewash on the walls made living there unpleasant. There were only two rooms; a front parlour and a bedroom; the cooking and washing had to be done outside under a lean-to roof. The nightsoil man collected from a rear trapdoor from the small hut on the boundary fence to the cobblestone lane which ran behind all the houses. The couple stayed there for eighteen months, and Maurice found living with Mary and the squalling baby so claustrophobic that he eventually swallowed his pride and sought assistance from his father. By this time he would surely have forgiven him and altered his ideas about the future of his family. Mr. OConnell discussed the relationship and sensing some distaste for married life in his son after this short trial, immediately bought Maurice a ticket on the next ship sailing for New Zealand, which happened to be leaving within the next day or two. The news had reached Melbourne of a new gold strike over there and he thought it an ideal opportunity for expansion of his mercantile empire, and would have gone himself if he was younger, but would be keen to have a branch of the family business established in Hokitika, as soon as possible, and Maurice was the obvious person to do this. Maurice, after only a few minutes deliberation and a wrench of remorse in his stomach to trouble him, seized the opportunity and slipped out of number 17 the next morning early before the baby woke Mary. As soon as the first beam of sunlight pierced the panel of lace curtain strung on wire across the window, she reached across the horsehair mattress on the floor to touch Maurices back. The baby was breathing loudly through her mouth and stayed asleep.
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Mary stood up and looked out the window across the back yard and saw the door to the lavatory swinging open. He wasnt inside, and she knew he was gone. She slumped down on the mattress and picked up the baby, and automatically undid the buttons to her nightdress and pushed a nipple into its mouth. By the time the baby had finished draining all the thin milk from both breasts, Mary had decided to confront the childs father and find out if her fears were correct. She dressed in the best clothes they had, brushed her hair, twisted it up into a coil at the nape of her neck, and pinned a hat to her head. She looked young and beautiful, and determined. Mary walked up the hill and the few blocks to the store. Unusually, the front door was still closed, although it was ten in the morning. She walked around to the gate in the side fence and walked through the yard and knocked on the door. As she did so, there was a clatter of hooves from the stableyard behind her, and the sulky was drawn away out the back gates, which closed behind it, but before they did she saw the broad backs of father and son in their Sunday suits sitting side by side. Mary sat down on the steps just as Mrs. OConnell opened the door, coming out to make sure the gates were closed. Oh, whatever are you doing here, young lady? The girl from the ship, arent you? Mary stood up, not knowing what to say. She had seen Mrs. OConnell on board the ship, but never spoken to her more than to say good morning, as all the passengers did to each other after a time. Mrs OConnell had not taken much notice of the young Irish lass, except to be a little concerned that Maurices attention to her own needs seemed to wander whenever she was nearby. She was unaware that in the months since arriving in Melbourne, Maurice had continued to see Mary and had in fact been sharing her bed on a regular basis. Her own concern was that her only son had just departed the house and was setting off on yet another sea voyage for a land inhabited by savage cannibals and she did not know whether she would ever see him again. The last thing she wanted was to be diverted from the drawn-out lament she intended to give in to now that the sulky had gone. She would not even open the shop doors until after lunch. This girl had come at a most inopportune time, and was probably looking for work, but had no right to come
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to the back door inside their yard. As Mary stood up, she looked into Mrs. OConnells eyes, which were the same green as Maurices, and they stood gazing at each other and then at the baby between them. Without a word between them, Mrs. OConnell summed up the situation and after inhaling a deep draught of air into her aching chest, stood aside with one hand tightly around the big brass doorknob for support and invited Mary into the house. We named her after you, her first name is Ada. Dont worry, though, we have been properly married. Married! As soon as we arrived here, last year; we had to do it that way because Maurices father wouldnt have approved, and Im sorry we couldnt ask you to be there. The baby was her grand-daughter, and her son married. She had just lost her son and he had been replaced with a daughter-in-law and a grand-daughter, within the space of an hour. It was too much to accommodate in ones mind without a sherry and after at least two glasses each, Mary took her down to the cottage at number 17, to show her the birth certificate. It did indeed state that the parents had been married in 1863, the previous year, and that both parents were twenty-three years of age.4 But that is not right, my dear, Maurice is not yet twenty-one. And are you, how old are you, Mary? Are you really over twenty-one yourself? I may be. Yes, I am. But Maurice said he was twenty-three last year. No. He has married without parental permission, he is under age. The marriage cannot be legal. And at which church did this take place? St. Marys. St. Marys. The Catholic Church here in Melbourne is St. Franciss. The Catholic St. Marys around the corner. Thats the Anglican church, not Roman Catholic; it can be annulled. The baby must be given out for adoption, before Maurices father finds out. Mary refused to accept any of this, and was adamant the marriage was genuine, and that anyway even if it wasnt, Maurice loved her and would never give up either her or the baby.
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Where do you think he is then, you poor girl? Mary could not guess, and Mrs. OConnell told her that he had left just now for New Zealand and would not return, being already engaged to the daughter of a family from Scotland in a marriage arranged before they had even left England. Mary was so distressed at this news and cried so broken-heartedly that the goodnatured Mrs. OConnell took pity on her and told her the name of the ship on which he had left. In order to hide from her husband these potential new members of the family, she left the cottage and returned an hour later with money taken from the store safe, sufficient to purchase a ticket for Mary to New Zealand, and money to survive on for at least six months. Mary went immediately to the shipping agents to buy the ticket on the return voyage of the same ship back to Hokitika. The Alhambra, a ship of 1050 tons skippered by Captain McLean, was regularly making crossings of the Tasman Sea ferrying passengers from Melbourne to the South Island of New Zealand, taking relatives of earlier settlers to the good sheep grazing country behind the Alps. On the voyage which left Melbourne on 14 September, 1864, one of the passengers was Mrs. OConnell from Scotland heading for Port Chalmers. She was travelling alone and no one else of that name was on board.5 As Mary leaned against the cold rails of the ship and watched the waves slip under the vessel and race ahead of them to the west coast of New Zealand, words from a popular song known as The Deceived Girl ran through her head: but how can I have pity when you are just a whore?

Now get you back to England where Ill see you no more!, and repeatedly the ending of the final verse: Come all ye maidens, young and old, pray come be warned of me Scots were never, never true. And Scots will never be. 6 She denied that there could be any relevance in these words to herself, Maurice
being more Irish than Scots, but by the time Mary arrived only two weeks later, Maurice had already met his betrothed, and when she found him, he acknowledged that their marriage in Melbourne was not genuine and he did not want to live again with her and his baby, despite his inability to resist her appeals for kisses and his need to try once or twice again the pleasures her body offered. Maurice returned to Melbourne shortly after, unable to face having two women
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in the one town fighting for his name, leaving Mary and Ada stranded there, preferring to take his fianc to Melbourne to his fathers grocery store. Marys name was never mentioned, but his mother sometimes cried for the lost grand-daughter in New Zealand, when no men-folk were around. Five years later, Maurice OConnell was registered as having died in the insane asylum in Melbourne from chronic bowel complaints, alone and unidentified, his parents having passed away before him, the business lost, and having worked during his last years as a lamptrimmer.7 In New Zealand however Mary had met Peter Gramatica, an Italian-speaking immigrant from Switzerland, who was pleased to marry her, baby and all. He recognised and appreciated the voluptuous charms of this young woman and wished to avail himself of the benefits of her strength and obviously good breeding attributes, and being Italian, was blithely unaware of the stigma attached to the Irish in the British colonies, and would not have been too concerned even had he known of the troubles between those two countries.

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CHAPTER 4

1865 to 1867 No

country upon earth can appear with a more rugged and barren aspect than this doth.
1

Mary arrives in Hokitika, and marries Peter Gramatica. They move up the west coast from Hokitika to Westport and then to Lyell. After the Maori, the Dutch and the French had already reached the islands of New Zealand, the British finally arrived in the waters of the southern seas aboard the Endeavour in 1770, epitomised in the form of Captain James Cook. More than a century earlier the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman had sighted the South Island, arriving in 1642. After sailing up and around the west coast only to have four crew killed at a place which he then named Murderers Bay, now Golden Bay, he left forever, despite having claimed possession and bestowing the name of New Zealand upon the long narrow group of islands. Cook described the coast thus:
There is a narrow ridge of hills, rising directly from the sea, which are clothed with wood; close behind these hills lies the ridge of mountains, which are of a prodigious height ... No country upon earth can appear with a more rugged and barren aspect than this doth.2

The Frenchman de Surville was also in the area at the time of Cooks explorations and a century or so later, Dumont dUrville on the second of his three voyages to southern waters in 1827 in the Astrolabe reached the West Coast of the South Island and carefully traversed the coastal waters, describing what he saw as a fearful coast, where the sea broke with unexampled fury.3 He recorded having seen the mouth of the Buller River in flood, before moving on to less awesome parts of the narrow landmass which might prove more suitable for human habitation.
About five miles off Cape Foulwind, the corvette Astrolabe sailed through muddy water, with trunks of trees and debris of vegetation. The weather had become thick but there is no doubt that the depression which Durville had thought was possibly the mouth of a river was indeed the Buller River in flood ...as to the cause, there is reason to believe that it was due to the presence of a river or strong torrent which falls into the sea to the north
4

The rugged nature of the South Island coastline caused all these courageous global navigators, whose courage had been undaunted by the Antarctic extremities, and who had seen more than anyone else in the world of the seas and the countries fringing the edges of the Pacific Ocean,
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to recoil. On the charts, they had tracked straight across the latitudes of the 40s from the larger island of Australia or, more likely, directly from Hobart in the new British penal colony of Van Diemans Land, heading for the landmass of the islands of New Zealand. Once there, most glanced off the coast and left it to its own devices, daunted by the turbid effluences from its rivers, the entire trunks of uprooted trees strewn on the grey shores, the hollowsounding boulders of ice bouncing and tumbling down the rivers into the seas and the constant mists and winds. Only some forty or so years after dUrville charted the almost uninhabited west coast, there is a record of a Miss M. Giblin arriving at Hokitika on the 29th September, 1866, as a steerage passenger on the Alhambra after crossing the Tasman Sea from Melbourne. 5 She is listed as a single female, aged 19, from Scotland rather than Ireland from where she was supposed to have originated, but perhaps the English officials in the colonies saw little difference between the two. No other record has been found of a Miss Mary Giblin entering New Zealand. Somewhere in the Tasman Sea she had shed her use of the name OConnell. Many steerage passengers arrived in New Zealand and Australia without being individually identified by name, and no detailed immigration records were kept for those entrants into the country, making it now impossible to trace a particular individual who was unfortunate enough to have travelled steerage. When Mary reached Hokitika she was struck by the inappropriateness and incongruity of the raw Anglo-Celtic settlement perched on the edge of this long narrow chain of islands at the bottom of the globe, to an even greater degree than she had been to find an English colony growing on the Australian continental land mass. How bizarre it must have been, arriving to live at a new British outpost, in a place visited by Maori from the east coast who had prior ownership of the land and expect them to be accommodating rather than ingesting the interlopers. (They were not actually putting them up in the pa, the fortified village, they had built on the shore, but allowed them to settle nearby.) Although the natives might be terrifying in appearance and demeanour, they were human evidence that survival was possible as they did at least grow vegetables and know how to survive the bleak climate. And they were friendly, and if treated as such, behaved like equals or better. Whereas, in Australia, the natives were afraid of the whites, believing them to be ghosts of malevolent ancestors returned to torment them. Nothing subsequently had
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happened to disillusion them about this. The Maori belonged to this wedge of land by the right of prior occupancy and with a wary magnanimity were now accustoming themselves to sharing it, and incorporating the European interest in the softest of metals into their own system of values. White men were simply tossing aside the precious pounami boulders for which the tribesmen had risked their lives skirting the coast in their canoes to attain, delving deeper into the river beds and under the greenstone boulders for mere shininess. What use could the soft pebbles be? Certainly useless for the creation of any sort of weapon. But as the key to the economy of the European society, its value quickly became apparent to the Maori who then collected it enthusiastically and traded it for items of greater utility. Maori miners from Golden Bay were keen to outdo miners moving to the West Coast. This again was different from the attitudes of the aboriginal inhabitants in Australia, who were surprisingly lacking in enthusiasm for the gathering of gold. Having a collectivist attitude to possessions and an egalitarian ethos, the amassing of monetary wealth was as alien to them as the crazy ghost-figures who persisted in encroaching their territories in numbers and with habits beyond belief. Another strange feeling stirring thoughts in Marys mind was that of a sense of what was it of being released from the constraints of the past, of freedom, yes, briefly; being free for the first time in her life. A new country, a new beginning, where a person could reinvent herself and be anyone she wished. A marriage could be shrugged off like an old shawl and a new mantle of propriety flung over her head. The reverse side of the coin was the exciting fear of living with this lack of restriction upon her, and what this might allow her to do. The social rules and regulations prevailing in the home country would continue to change and evolve from the minute a ship left the shore, but in the minds of the travellers remained fixed at the time they left. The migrant takes with her the attitudes of the old country and enforces them emphatically in order to remain bound to those left behind. In others in the colonies, this common feeling had served to increase the colonialists need to enforce harshly the strictures and standards of the old worlds from which they had come, in order to allay the fear that they were in fact very alone in these vast wildernesses where no help could reach them in the event of a disaster and everything was so different; the plants, the animals, the seasons, the weather, and even the very soil on which they stood.
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The Laundress of Lyell

The tendency of the ground in New Zealand to shake and upheave, swallow up land without warning was nothing less than one could expect in a nightmare situation. Gulliver in his travels had experienced nothing more bizarre. Only the strong, the brave and the very healthy would survive - incidences of suicide and insanity were documented in newspapers amongst the early settlers. Accidents, particularly drowning, as well as commonplace infections, frequently and swiftly ended lives, and children with a tendency to explore were at particular risk in this unknown environment. Death was not an unusual occurrence in those years and Mary was typical of her time when it later was said that death is no stranger to her. Two decades earlier, in 1841 and 1864, five point seven percent of deaths in Auckland were the result of suicide, and four point seven percent were as the result of traffic accidents involving horses and carts. Accidents overall including these accounted for seventeen percent, natural causes twentyseven percent, while drowning was the most likely cause of death at thirtysix percent. Of all deaths, intoxication was a significant factor in fourteen percent of cases, and even included one death of a four year old child from alcoholic poisoning. 6 The prospect of a new beginning pushed thoughts of death and misfortune into the background in 1866, after Mary arrived in the South Island of New Zealand. Mary was married in the Roman Catholic Chapel, Hokitika, on 23rd October 1867. The marriage was the ninety-ninth in the register of marriages in the district of Hokitika. Peter Bartolomeos Gramatica was thirty and Mary Giblin gave her age as twenty-six. The dwelling place of the groom was given as Blue Spur, Kanieri, within easy walking distance from the bride, who lived in Hokitika. 7 Peters rank or profession is shown on the certificate as Miner but the space opposite Marys name for her occupation is left blank. Under condition he is shown as a bachelor, she as a spinster, not a widow nor that she may have been married before. Discreetly, no mention is made of the fact that she has already a two year old child, Ada Johana, registered under the name of OConnell, who had been born in Melbourne in 1864. In the Copy of Register of Marriage Extract, (an amended return, number 1485 of 1867 ~ the reason for the amendment is unknown) all the details appear to have been written by the one hand, that of the officiating minister, the Rev. P. H McDonogh, and even in the section where it is written that this marriage was solemnized between us, Peter Bartolomeos
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The Laundress of Lyell

Gramatica and Mary Giblin no obviously different signatures appear. Of the two witnesses, John William Fitzherbert and Johanna Sheehan, only Johanna marked the page, not with her name but with a cross and a crescent like a waning moon. Johana was the second name given to the first born daughter of Mary Giblin and perhaps she was a friend who had come with her from Victoria in Australia and had known Mary there. Hokitika at that time was renowned for riotous behaviour and outrageous goings-on. The barmaids of the taverns in the town were noted for their beauty, and the actresses and performers in the numerous entertainments provided diversions for lucky diggers with pockets bulging with gold. After her arrival, Mary may have been one of the many girls to find employment in this way. The arrival of Irish female servants was held responsible for a marked drop in the rate of literacy amongst the population which was noted in David McGillss The Lion and the Wolfhound :
a curious statistic shows, from this year on, Irish women emigrated in large numbers from Victoria to the (West) Coast. The ratio of 50 women to 100 men in 1867 was 90 to 100 by 1871. With this influx of mostly serving women came a drop in the literacy rate of about 6 per cent. 8

It is not recorded anywhere what occupation Mary was employed in prior to her marriage. The proportion of men to women was roughly four to one, so girls could take their pick of both employers and the male population, and choose the best if she was clever, even with a toddler at her skirts. A handsome or pretty young woman is not likely to have wasted her charms doing laundry, an occupation which requires few skills, hard work and would be an option of last resort. As to the men of the district, some visitors at the time, such as Miss Caroline Chevalier, who visited Hokitika at the height of the West Coast rushes, were appalled by them as 'set of horrible fellows', whom she characterised as 'many half drunk, some miserable, some wild'.
9

Servants were much in demand by the upper levels of the social

strata, those who were used to having others do their work, and wages were consequently high. One of the local newspapers denounced a society in which
'a slipshod, slatternly, stockingless, insolent servant woman demands and obtains from two to three pounds a week as wages besides her keep, while a thoroughly competent lady who opens a school for the education of girls, cannot get a sufficient number of pupils at four shillings a week to support her'. 1 0

Mary was described in later life as being a tall masculine woman, of the character known as
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strong-minded. 11 She was listed in the New Zealand Police Gazette of 1883

12

as being

five feet, six and a half inches tall, having a sallow complexion, hair black, eyes grey and nose pointed, mouth large and chin broad. Sallow then probably meant an olive or pale complexion rather than a peaches-and-cream rosycheeked appearance, as sometimes found in those of English stock. What strong-minded meant can only be guessed, but certainly strength of character was required for a young single woman to leave her familiar surroundings and travel alone around the world. The suffragette movement had scarcely begun in the old world and the idea of votes for women and an independent life was as yet unthought of in conservative and totally male dominated colonial society. She was described by Judge Richmond some twenty years later as being even then: a woman who excites the passions of men, and this of one who had borne by then at least five children. At the age of 26, as the voluptuous temptress she seems to have been, she surely could have taken take her pick of the men of Hokitika. One visitor remarked on the beauty of the barmaids of the West Coast, in hotels which were, he was surprised to find: . . . fitted with every luxury; dining rooms, billiard rooms, smoking rooms, bathrooms,
verandah, balcony, magnificent bar lamps and signs; and splendidly painted windows . . . Well, you take your seat, ring the bell, proceed to light your weed, and forthwith enters my goodness! What ringlets, what crinoline, what jewellery, we want beer, but that will never do; why it would almost be an insult to ask so much smiling beauty to bring you beer. We hesitate a moment about champagne; the price, however, of that luxury in Hokitika being notoriously higher than its quality, we compromise matters by being content with - well, something less expensive. The barmaids of the West Coast are 13 decidedly an institution.

A young Italian-speaking Swiss by the name of Pietro Gramatica considered himself fortunate to find such a beautiful and strong healthy companion as Mary for the arduous and difficult life ahead. They were at least both Roman Catholic, which helped overcome the problems the lack of a common language might have created in the beginning. From the steps of the church, Mary and Peter faced the mountains in the distance, in October still covered with the snows of winter, as they left the church after the ceremony. As they stood there together for a moment or two, before they put their feet on the new shallow steps as yet uncracked by earth tremors and moved into the next phase of their lives, all seemed right with the world, and full of promise and possibilities, and Mary must surely have been happy. She was married again, despite her baby, and now a respectable woman
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with an assured future, bound together with a man who was young, strong and full of enthusiasm and protective of her and her interests, if she could live up to his standards of behaviour. Together they would surely have a long and happy life, with the blessing of God and the priest. A predictable number of children would ensue and equally predictable were the roles each of them would play as parents. If she could have frozen one moment in time as the happiest in her life and be content if nothing further happened in her life, this would have been that moment. Peter and Mary were living in Hokitika in its very earliest days, when its growth and potential busyness must have seemed boundless. It was an exciting place to be at the time. In no way would it have felt like a remote and lonely outpost of the British Empire, rather it was the place to be; everyone in the southern hemisphere wanted to be there, if only briefly, in a frenzy to follow the trail of the latest gold strike. And although Hokitika was on the most rugged coast of a long narrow set of islands in the southernmost ocean on the globe, its nearby glaciers oozing almost into the sea, it nonetheless attracted thousands upon thousands to its long coastline at that time. Hokitika was the centre through which all traffic heading across the Tasman Sea from the Victorian port of Melbourne was channelled for the new rushes to the goldfields of the West Coast. In 1864 the Hokitika River had been no more than a name on a map, but by 1865 it was the fourth largest port in New Zealand. At the time Peter and Mary arrived on the West Coast, visitors had been amazed at the activity and volume of traffic in the port. It was unexpectedly noisy, due to the crowded streets, with shouting bell-ringing vendors at the doorways of the numerous shops, hammered together in urgent haste to commence business. Hundreds of would-be goldfinders hurried about, anxious to stock up and outfit themselves in order to be off to the next likely stream or river before any others found out about it.
from early morning till night one continual bustle with packer and bullock drays, loading for the different diggings, and buildings going up in all directions, from the substantial merchants store to the johnny-all-sorts.
14

The discovery of payable gold in Greenstone Creek had not only triggered off the rush to the West Coast, it had also enhanced the importance of the embryonic township near the mouth of the Grey River. However, new gold strikes in the last three months of 1864 shifted the centre of gravity southwards; in a matter of weeks the desolate sandpit at the Hokitika River became the main thoroughfare of a town, and the bush-fringed estuary a busy harbour.
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On 1 October 1864, Hokitikas first building was erected - a twelve by twenty feet store of saplings and calico on the north spit of the river. About eight hundred diggers were making wages on the streams between the Grey in the north and the Totora in the south. In December the entire population was estimated at a thousand; the total gold production was somewhat more that 1,400 ounces. For a time, Hokitika became the Colonys busiest harbour. The great majority of immigrants bound for the West Coast from other New Zealand ports disembarked at Hokitika. During the year 1865-7, approximately thirtyseven thousand people from other parts of the Colonies and the rest of the world disembarked at Hokitika. In 1866, 44% of New Zealands immigrants entered the Colony through Hokitika. Three years had been sufficient to make an unknown and unpredictable river one of New Zealands leading ports. The sudden transformation led a returned traveller to remark in March 1865 that he:
scarcely knew the place again, it had so changed; found Revell Street nearly a mile long, some very good buildings erected; no end of shanties, and the street crowded with diggers, so crowded that it was (with) difficulty I elbowed my way through. 1 5

In September 1865, another traveller counted 246 buildings in Revell Street, among them sixty-seven hotels, only seventeen fewer that in Dunedin. With buildings of calico, canvas and wood, Revell Street was so narrow that two men may almost shake hands across it... Unfortunately, the township stringing along the coast was at the mercy of the west winds and bore the brunt of storms which:
tore off sheets of corrugated iron and occasionally the false fronts of building as well; bowling them through the mud. Broken bottles littered footpath and alleyway. Behind the pretentious facades of Revell Street heaps of refuse collected at back-doors, while between the main buildings and high-water mark an odoriferous back slums of tents and shanties huddled beside pigsties, slaughterhouses, and stables, the stench from which is indescribably disgusting, and is wafted over the whole of Hokitika. Lines of offal, left by none too scrupulous slaughtermen, formed along the shore. 1 6

In 1867, the constant threat of flood was added to that of sea encroachment. The back
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slums of Revell Street were cleaned up in disastrous fashion in May and November when the breakers lifted shanties off their foundations to new sites further up the beach and washed others out to sea. One gigantic rolling wave, which absolutely topped the houses on either side 17 burst through a right-of-way into Revell Street itself and hotels with street frontages had their back premises destroyed. The town was situated behind one vast pile of driftwood on the stretches of sands which were the only land free of the vegetation which everywhere else grew down to the waters edge right along the coast. By autumn of 1865 Hokitika was established as the main port, the commercial centre of the goldfields and the Coasts first capital. Some two thousand people had spread themselves along the crooked length of Revell Street and up the crescent river frontage; substantial buildings were in the course of construction and a newspaper was projected. Hotels were no longer a yard of canvas and two poles. In addition to the more permanent buildings it resembles nothing more than a carnival side show alley . There were skittle alleys, billiard rooms, devils pool, and a Maori chief who had tomahawked seventeen rebels (admission one shilling) were number among its attractions. ... Although there was a hospital of sorts, it is necessary to
Imagine a hospital with a canvas roof, mildewed timber walls, noisome exhalations on every hand, to which enters the rain, the wind, and the damp breeze: and judge what chance the invalid has of his health being restored! ...The original building had no female ward, a reflection of the small number of women in the goldfield community; but it did have a special room for men suffering from the d.ts.1 8

It was not usual then for women to go to hospital for such mundane matters as childbirth, the attendance and care on such occasions being performed by other women who could act as midwives. From accounts of living conditions in Hokitika at the time, however, the lack of sanitation and town planning made residing there less than attractive. There was no provision for sanitation and the beach was described as being daily the scene of
unblushing indecency . . . disgusting exhibitions . . . which prevent the most healthy portion of our township from being the favourite promenade of both sexes. Nightsoil was dumped in the surf and thrown back by the next wave.
19

From the northern hemisphere, disappointed prospectors arriving too late for the rush in Australia made their next move across to New Zealand to try their luck there. After
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alighting from the ships at Hokitika they were faced with the choice of staying around that area and adding to the numbers of fossickers at Kaniere or a little further along the coast, past the Arahua River to Goldsborough, only then to be tantalised by the idea that perhaps the diggings were better up the Grey River or the Inangahua River after all. Inevitably, it must have seemed that the richest gold resources always lay in other rivers and valleys. After a brief time of easy pickings from the creek beds all the readily available nuggets were gathered, and until the mining companies established crushing works, independent miners left their diggings on rumours of untouched alluvial beds, this time in the mountains to the east. In 1869 on the first of April, a second daughter, Mandra Ellen, was born to Mary and Peter in Hokitika, (the registration number shown on the certificate was 734) the first of the family to be born in the Colony of New Zealand. 20 But by the time their next child was due to arrive, Peter and Mary had shifted their household along the wild coast of the South Island northwards to Westport and next to the Lyell goldfield, from where tantalising rumours of new strikes had been reaching the coastal townships. Although Peter had been working a viable claim on the river at Kanieri near Hokitika, from which he had been making a good living, the news of a strike at Lyell Creek tempted him to move the family there and take up a new claim. When news reached Hokitika of gold being unearthed at Lyell in attractive quantities, it must have seemed at first reading of the map that the shortest route to these riches was to begin at the black coal grounds of Westport at the mouth of the Buller River, and go all the way by boat through the Buller Gorge against the flow of the river until it met Lyell Creek. The longer alternative was to travel from Greymouth up the Grey River to Reefton and on to Inangahua Junction, where the Grey meets the Buller River, and on to Lyell. The roads which were being carved through the forests down the river valleys and along the coast were still little more than tracks at this stage and travel by sea for as much of the journey as possible was the more comfortable option for families. Pushing northwards along the coast from Hokitika, against the winds from the west, always on the lee side of the ship was the grey sand fringe littered with debris of bare tree trunks washed down the river from the slopes of the peaks. As ships pass by Punakaikis stacks of pancake rocks and Perpendicular Point, they must then strike out to sea beyond Seal Island and the seal colony at Tauranga Bay in order to round Cape Foulwind, before the final
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dash into the safe haven of Westport. Beyond, prospectors believed, lay the riches of the new goldfield, awaiting only the effort of collection from the surface of the ground. And in the early days, this was in fact true. The term goldfield may tend to give rise to the image of an Australian goldfield; hundreds of vertical holes topped with mullock heaps spreading over thousands of acres of flat dry grassy plains under an all-pervading sun. Nothing could have been more different from the diggings at Lyell and other mountainside gold workings in New Zealand. The exAustralian miners found conditions quite contrary to those they had been used to: cold rather than heat and wetness rather than cracking dry soil, dense beech forest instead of sparse spindly eucalyptus saplings. One of the biggest problems in Australian alluvial gold mining was the perennial lack of water for sluicing and washing the pans of gravel, whereas as in New Zealand the spasmodic over-abundance of water caused most of the difficulties. Creeks and rivers were found to rise in level dramatically in a matter of minutes, once rain fell, as it frequently did. Gold had first been discovered in 1859 on the banks of the Buller River near a place known as Berlins. 21 The ruggedness of the terrain and denseness of the almost impenetrable vegetation deterred only the most fainthearted prospector.
Certainly no more difficult country could be imagined than that in the Upper Buller at Lyell creek where diggers would soon be swarming in search of fortune, or indeed at the quartz reefs found later in the Inangahua. This is country which took well over half a century to be fully explored. Trackless bush, narrow frozen gullies, gushing streams and swift-flowing rivers, all these resisted the alluvial prospectors and quartz-reefers. The

goldfields were separated from the supply depots at the Buller and Grey river-mouths by the roadless gorges in the north and the equally rugged route by the Grey valley and over the Inangahua Saddle. 2 2

In October 1862 at the Buller River near Berlins, there had been:
dozens of canoes with Maoris and diggers .. of which there were about 200 here. These diggings require three days hard work to reach them, the passage being made in canoes, which have to be carried over several rapids. The return trip occupies but four hours, although it cannot be attempted except by skilful hands, as the shooting of the rapids is most dangerous - no less than 12 men having been drowned in the attempt. 2 3
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The Laundress of Lyell

The Tasmanian Maid, a steamer, crossed the bar at the entrance of the Buller River with a good number of Otago diggers and led upward to the Lyell Creek after the first gold had been discovered by a Maori named Epapara in Dec. 1862. 24 The Lyell Creek was worked for the two miles up to Irishmans Creek and beyond, and in 1863 there had been only 100 diggers there. Over subsequent years the population was to fluctuate dramatically according to the current value of the findings, and was limited by the difficulty in getting supplies to the place.25 Lyell Creek was renowned for its coarse nuggety gold, and nuggets of 17, 30, and 52 ounces were found there; the largest nugget ever found in New Zealand, at 108 ounces, was unearthed here. 26 Delayed further by the imminent arrival of a third child, Mary and Peter were still living on the coast in Westport when the easiest of the gold was being taken from the creekbeds at Lyell. On 22nd February 1871, a son, initially endowed with the names of Angelo Bartholomew Francis, was registered as having been born on 29th January at Westport to Bartholomew Grammattica and Mary Grammattica, formerly Giblin. The father of the child was the informant; Pietro, in his excitement, omitting his own first name.27 By the time they reached Lyell, ten years after the initial discovery of the nuggets liberally strewn around the creekbed, most of the alluvial gold had been pocketed by others. While they were in Westport, waiting for Mary to recover, Peter heard from his compatriot Swiss, Antonio Zala, of the new fields up in the hills beyond the Lyell Creek, and was encouraged to follow him up there. Zalatown was eventually to be found perched even higher up in the mountains above Irishmans Creek, beyond Lyell, at an altitude of 1600 feet, and was subject to bitter winter snowfalls and winds. To a Swiss, these were not mountains such as those he was used to in the Alps, merely hills, and for Mary it certainly would have meant the prospect of a positive change from the coast with its constant wind and rain which instead of coming down in drops ...fell in a regular sheet of water.28 The incentive of gold in great quantities was sufficient to overcome the trepidations about the journey ahead, and must have seemed more than worth the effort. Early accounts of the first penetrations by Europeans into that country were so negative that thoughts of subduing the forests and converting them into pastures, as had been done so rapidly elsewhere on the islands, were discarded after the first forays. The first explorers returned starving to Nelson on the eastern side of the Alps after many months, gratified simply to have survived the experience. The explorer Brunner, on what has been described at the greatest journey in
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New Zealand exploration, together with male and female members of the Rangitane tribe took six weeks to travel the seventeen miles from Nelson to the location of Lyell. It took them another fiftyfive days to move from the Inangahua Junction to the mouth of the Buller River, a distance of thirty miles.29 But the lure of gold easily overruled any hesitation and reluctance to endure hardship on the part of avid miners in search of pockets full of nuggets, and it was assumed that their families would accompany them and endure the hardships of the climate and the terrain without complaining, for what was surely to be only a short time until that lucky strike was made. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Lyell

CHAPTER 5
1871 the sun only shines for a few hours on the township, .. and in the winter not at all.

Mary and Peter move to the Lyell. They now have three small children: Ada, Mandra Ellen, and a new baby boy, Angelo, who was born there. The folk of Nelson were a sceptical lot, it seems, as even after an exploratory party led by Captain Wakefield returned from Massacre Bay in 1842 with several colours of gold, he was laughed to scorn by the people in Nelson, who refused to believe that they had landed in a country where such treasures lay hid. They however were quite willing to believe the reports of the discovery of good coal and limestone. 1 It took two decades before it became undeniable that there was indeed gold to be found in the mountains to the east, but as the historian Mike Johnston noted, it has to be borne in mind that it was not until the Californian gold rushes, followed by those in Australia, that it was realised that gold could be found strewn liberally around the countryside and was there for the taking. Nelson was a planned settlement founded by a London based company formed to finance the colonisation of the islands of New Zealand, and the first immigrant vessel, the Fifeshire, had only reached there in February, 1842. Only a month later the first edition of the Nelson Examiner appeared, produced on the printing press which had recently arrived on one of the earlier ships, and by April, it was able to advise the citizens that Nelson now possessed a gaol and a pair of stocks.2 For several years there had been reports of gold in the area, with payable gold found in Aorere Valley, in Golden (Massacre) Bay, in 1856, although the Nelson Examiner on 26 August 1857 reported that early explorer James MacKay believed that the country was as
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Lyell

destitute of gold as the Nelson Provincial Treasury.3 Despite this, in 1858 there came the first definite reports of gold on the West Coast on 21 April when the Nelson Examiner printed an item stating that a West Coast Maori chief, Tarapuhi, and his brother, Tainui, had brought with them specimens of small scaly gold, and that it was to be found in great quantities on a hill called Whakapoi, on the north bank of the Buller, which fortuitously for its Treasury was in the province of Nelson. In February and March 1861, Mackley, a sheep farmer, had brought back gold picked from the banks of the Buller River by Maoris with no more professional gear than knives and tin plates.4 Another explorer, Thomas Brunner, wrote to the Superintendent at Nelson in April that he thought:
there is a good goldfield on the Buller and that when the weather improves there will be a rush of all spare hands from this district and I think all the natives here are making preparations for starting. 5

At about this time a party of Maoris from the Buller arrived at Collingwood in the north of the island in Massacre Bay with about a pound's weight of gold, which they said they had obtained about 20 miles up the Buller River.6 In August 1862, Reuben Waite, the merchant who had previously been at the goldfields in Victoria, Australia, went up the Buller River to look at the place where the gold had been found in New Zealand.7
Three days journey from the sea coast, where a small stream came tumbling out of the hills to join the Buller, a party had landed on a tiny delta and found gold in the shingle as they walked across the stones. Nuggets up to an ounce and a half in weight had been picked off the surface of the delta, and other gold was lying about so plentifully that the men had been able to find it merely by kicking aside the stones. The stream was shown on the map as Lyell Creek. 8

Maoris were the first to bring to light the gold from the most difficult interior of the country. Forays were made into all the river estuaries of the north west coast, but news of the good
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Lyell

finds at the Lyell caused many of the prospectors to divert from other areas which had promised riches, and converge onto the Lyell Creek area. The first expedition up the Buller River in search of gold was organised by the astute Reuben Waite who with his friend, Saunders Rogers, had chartered the ketch "Jane" at Nelson for 50.
9

They filled it with provisions and managed to persuade sixteen men from Collingwood to sail with them. Waite stole some domestic cats on the night before they sailed to guard the provisions from rats at the Buller camp. 1 0

It was the considered opinion of most people in Collingwood that nothing good would come from sailing to the Buller with Reuben Waite, the madman from Victoria; it was a wild goose chase, and they got together to prove it by shouting criticisms at the men as they left Collingwood in May 1861. The journey took two days. 11 Waite tried to sail the boat up the river to the place described by the Maoris but had to return to the river mouth. Very little prospecting was done on this occasion, and having sold the provisions to the Maoris to his advantage for gold, Waite returned to Nelson for further supplies. The Lucas Nelson Almanac records that:
In November good news was received from the Buller. Three men who had been working at the Lyell creek brought to Nelson 1,300 ounces of gold, including one nugget of 93 ounces, and another of 50 ounces. There was, however, the old complaint of want of roads and the absence of police protection, and although about 10,000 ounces of gold were obtained at the Buller within a few months the diggers gradually left for other parts.1 2

On November 10, 1862, the "Gypsy" came into Nelson with 1000 ounces of gold and it was suspected that the passengers carried as much again in their pockets.13 The gold that Waite brought back with him from the Buller was displayed in a jeweller's window and it established the first real interest in the Buller goldfields. Some years afterwards Waite wrote:
Nothing was then said of the madmen from Victoria. They were all very anxious to have
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some conversation with the madman as they chose to call me. Many who were the first to stamp the expedition as costly, hair-brained enterprise were the first to ply their avocations and hurry to the new found El Dorado.1 4

His second trip was not criticised. He brought more supplies to the men who were already at the Buller, prospecting in winter in the bush in a mist of blowflies, sandflies, and mosquitoes. In August 1861 there had been eighty diggers, both Maori and European, at the Buller. On 28 August 1861 the "Jane" sailing from Nelson had to refuse passages to some thirty men for whom there was no room 15 but progress was slow during that year. With each southward run the sailing vessels took new recruits into the district, but nearly as many returned beaten by the living and working conditions. 16 The amount of gold going back to Nelson increased month by month, but there was nothing spectacular about the individual returns. The gold was there, found in patches among the river sands, but the mining methods were crude. The men relied on pick, shovel, and tin dish. With these they were merely scratching the surface while the real deposits of gold were below the shingle. Men who feverishly followed the surface gravels were those who returned to Nelson after the first few months. Others digging systematically down to the bottom of the gravel deposits were finding the gold that was beginning to make its way to Nelson in steadily increasing quantities. 17 The majority of the miners there in the very first days of gold seeking were Maori. In her book Yesterdays in the Golden Buller Ella Matthews mentions that John Mawhika first found gold at the Waimangaroa River at a place called Maori Bar, while eeling.
18

Only four years or so before Mary and Peter Gramatica were to arrive at the same place, the steamer, Tasmanian Maid commanded by Captain Whitwell entered the Buller River and landed cargo and sixty diggers in the scrub on 29 January 1862, there being no proper landing place. The population at the Buller was thus increased to about 200. The first white woman, Mrs John Martin, and her children crossed the bar at the mouth of the Buller to join her husband and their arrival completed the first European family at the Buller.19 The district continued to attract attention. During April 1862 miners were beginning to arrive at Nelson from Otago and Sydney for the Buller diggings. Nelson residents began to receive letters from overseas making inquiries about the Buller diggings. On 23 April, 1862, the schooner Nautilus had arrived at Nelson from the Buller with 600 ounces of gold and there was a notable surge of excitement when the "Gypsy" arrived with 750 ounces of gold .20
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At the beginning of 1863 there were 100 men working up the Buller River. Between them they had found hundreds of ounces of gold, which they were reluctant to sell at the prices offering at the diggings, in the belief that the purity of the gold made it worth more than ruling price. One party of four men had obtained a pound of gold per man per day with a tin dish. Another party of four men had found forty ounces in four days. Another party had got fifty ounces in four days. 21 On 11 February, the steamer "Lyttleton" brought to Nelson several large nuggets weighing from 6 to 16 ounces, and the news that diggers at the Buller had unearthed a very large amount of gold soon spread. The "Gypsy" sailed for the Buller full of passengers, and the schooner "Necromancer" had applications for passages sufficient to fill her. On the 25 February the Gypsy brought back further news from the Buller to Nelson, reporting that the miners wanted an escort for their gold because its quantity was too great to be carried through difficult country without protection.
22

By April 1863, the population on the banks of the Lyell and its tributary creeks had doubled to nearly two hundred. The prospectors spread inland along the Upper Buller River to the other rivers in the area, and found gold in quantity. In July 1863 the Nelson Provincial Council was told that within the Buller District was the richest gold deposit yet worked in the Province.23 The diggers who had come from Australian goldfields made it clear that the amount of gold obtained in the Buller area by November 1863 would have been considered a good yield from a thousand men on the Victorian fields. The average earnings on the whole river were at least half an ounce per man per day, equal to 37 shillings and sixpence. Working six days a week the men were averaging 11 per week at the time when the Nelson Provincial Engineer, who was also the Provincial Surveyor, was receiving a salary of 8 per week.24 Then on 23 November 1863, the story was confirmed of the discovery of a huge nugget in a small tributary of the Lyell Creek. On a plateau above the Lyell, three Irishmen had discovered more than 1000 ounces of gold and a nugget weighing 108 ounces.25 The custom in Australia and New Zealand was to name a place by the country of origin of its most numerous inhabitants, so this location had become Irishmans Creek and it was here that Peter Gramatica, with his family, was to live and, for a time, prosper. The agent for the Bank of New Zealand on the coast, Mr George Ogilvy Preshaw, wrote in his book "Banking Under Difficulties: or Life on the Gold Fields" :
Gold having been discovered in payable quantities on the West Coast of the
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Middle Island [South Island] I was ordered to take a run down by the steamer "Nelson" to have a look at the place and report on it. I arrived at the Buller on the afternoon of Sunday 23 October (1864) and a miserable looking place it was.
26

By January 1865 nearly 1500 ounces of gold had come into Nelson from the Grey and Hokitika district. The two small steamers sailing regularly from Nelson to the West Coast, the "Nelson" and the "Wallaby" could not provide passages for all in Nelson who wanted to get to the goldfields. By the end of May 1865 there were nearly 10,000 men on the rapidly expanding field. From Hokitika the miners began to work their way north .27 On the 4 March 1866 the Nelson Evening Mail editorialised:
"The annals of colonisation contain no record more remarkable than the progress of events on the West Coast of this Island. Fifteen months ago the whole of the country between the great range and the sea, from Cape Foulwind to Cape Providence, a distance of nearly 500 miles, was as unknown as the interior of

Africa.... now a population of 25,000 souls has settled in the desert, producing and exporting gold to the value of 200,000 every month".
28

On 13 August 1866, the West Coast Times surveyed the workings over the district as a whole and reported:
The coast line between the rivers Buller and Grey has become, comparatively speaking, familiar ground, so often has the beach been trudged over by the prospector and rush seekers who have pretty well tried the most likely looking `spots' it contains.
29

The Nelson Almanac had recalled that 1865 was ever memorable for the wonderful discoveries of gold made on the West coast of this island, and the enormous influx of people in consequence, and that every week more and more reports were received of finds of the most extraordinary richness. Early in March it was estimated that there were 5000 people in the neighbourhood of Hokitika, and a few weeks later the population was variously stated at from 8000 to 10,000. 3 0 There was as yet no roadway built across the Southern Alps through to Hokitika and Lyell from Christchurch, although a foot track existed from Nelson which was progressively upgraded for horse traffic. Most went by sea, and the port of Nelson became the hub into
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which the prospectors were drawn and from which the gold was transported back to the mother country, and by 1865 a fleet of small steamers was running back and forth around the northwest tip of the island from Westport to Nelson. The lack of roads to the new fields made access to them very difficult, and rendered travel almost totally dependent on the navigability of the Buller River. This could transform itself from shallows and pools of still water to a raging torrent from day to day. Even the Superintendent of the Province, Mr. Robinson had succumbed to the waters of this area while crossing the Buller River bar, on 28th January 1864 when they were attempting to land on the shore at Westport from a ship at sea.
31

Access to the Lyell field depended upon a foot track along the south bank of the Buller River, which was dangerous in many places where ledges broke away and men carrying heavy swags were at risk. Boats and canoes were the main means of replenishing supplies, and before long the Lyell was being well supplied with provisions via the boats of mostly Greek and Italian men very skilled in the handling of their vessels and negotiating the treacherous Buller, usually carrying between five and seven tons of cargo at a time. the river bed or banks.
In favorable weather the boatmen could make two trips a week to either the Lyell or Inangahua Landing. With the help of two horses per boat the more difficult stretches of rapids and shallows were slowly negotiated. A boat had a crew of four men -- a steersman, two hands to attend to the bow and trippling line (when drawn by the horses) as well as a driver. Where possible, tow paths were formed on the riverbanks and the horses worked from there as well as on the shingle riverbed stretches. When a narrow part of the gorge was encountered the horses were taken on board and the boats were rowed or pushed with sturdy iron-clad manuka poles until clearer going was reached. At the shallow rapids some of the crew would disembark and put a belt across their shoulders; with a line hooked into the
32

In the shallower sections, the boatmen actually left the vessel and hauled it along from

gunwale of the vessel they would strain to assist the poling from the stern. Despite the best efforts of man or beast the boats would often be held up for days, unable to move because of one of two extremes -- either a lack of water or a flood. 33

If the weather was good and with the help of two horses and four crew, Captain Peter
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Mangos carried supplies up the Buller River to the landing at Inangahua and continued on to the Lyell. One traveller in 1872 wrote of his journey that:
nothing marred our pleasure but the wet, and nothing of any consequence occurred till arriving at the Falls and then, and not till then, did I see the difficulties to be met with, and the necessity an advantage of having horses. I never in my life saw men doing horses work, and I dont wish to see it again. I never thought they were going to pass over the difficult falls. The pace was almost killing, it was so slow; at any rate by perseverance and the help of

passengers, and the exertions of the crew and their noble captain, we did not get wrecked. 3 4

The new goldfield lay in an area forty miles inland from Westport and at a height from four to sixteen hundred feet above sea level, over an area seven miles long and a mile wide. 35 As it was then impossible to reach Lyell in one day (a journey of about 66 kilometers by road which now takes only forty minutes or so) overnight stops on shore were required.
At the end of each days travel the passengers stayed overnight at one or other of the bush taverns located along the way. On this occasion an establishment had just changed hands and the new proprietor was found to be completely out of provisions. However, our gallant captain had both victuals and drinks for our worthy host aboard; so at once, one of our passengers being a baker, set to and made some bread, another fried the ham and another acted as waiter, so that with so many cooks our evening meal was disposed of most joyously. 3

All of the passengers, which included four women, were soaked to the skin after the journey;
some were unpacking to find something dry to put on, others were taking off some of their garments and drying themselves as they could and the chimney corner was dressed up in gorgeous array from every kind of wearing apparel from a gentlemans hat to a ladys drawers and stockings. The appearance of that place was very novel to one in that quarter of the globe.3 7

Resuming the journey up the Buller, they took breakfast at the Blackwater tributary (between Hawks Crag and Berlins) then:
again we were on our way, more horse work, more pulling, more getting out and
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walking on boulders, some remarking how beautiful the scenery was; that which had no charms for me, for I was getting disgusted with the travelling. Eventually they reached the Inangahua, where a change of boat was required, the final leg of the journey to The Landing being made in good time, with the vessel pulled by a horse for most of the distance. 38

On arriving at Lyell, a few miles further beyond Inangahua, Mary Gramaticas expectations of finding a town rich and resplendent with the products of the gold already discovered must have been disappointed with the reality of the village and the living conditions she found there. Before the major goldrush which occurred in Lyell the township apparently was singularly unimpressive, and had even been described as slightly eerie... As one of the oldest alluvial goldfields in New Zealand, the Lyell had by then grown into:
a respectable, if slightly eerie, mining township with twenty places of business, including six hotels, three stores, three butchers and two bootmakers shops, and a drapery. There was already a school, and... a brewery, a short distance above Sloans Hotel
39

It was, however:
an isolated place with three or four tumbledown-looking buildings perched on the top of a cliff scattered about in higgledy-piggledy fashion, the few buildings clung to the hillside where they could, for no township had been surveyed up to that time, and no one wanted to incur needless expense by erecting a substantial place of habitation before it was known where the road would go through. 4 0

In August 1872 the place consisted of:

an hotel, a butchers shop, two or three stores, and a few shanties huddled together on the side of a terrace at an elevation of about a hundred feet above the Buller. 41

Even in 1883, eleven years later, it was still being described thus:
The Lyell is one of those difficult places to reach which are a standing trial to all who have to deal with them from a moral point of view... The climate at the Lyell has to answer for a great deal, the sun only shines for a few hours on the township, and on a part of the township in the winter not at all, the hills or gorges
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are very steep, there is no flat land, everything must be brought up by drays most expensively. The public houses are some of them open all day and all night. I have never preached to a greater variety of nationalities than I have done at the Lyell, ...I feel very much for the Lyell people, especially for the inclemency of their climate. I am, myself, only just now recovering from severe influenza caught there, while paying them a missionary visit and holding services with them; but matters are mending. 4 2

All these deficiencies and difficulties became as nothing for a short time at least, when new arrivals eventually looked around them and saw, as they might have done, paddocks glistening with gold. 43 Even in December 1872, amount of gold in the ore awaiting crushing was so bountiful that visitors wrote that:
surprise is expressed that it should be permitted to be exposed in the paddock by night, as any person dishonestly disposed could take away stone carrying 20 or 30 oz. of gold in the course of an hour.
44

So rich was the ore that after a slight shower of rain the paddock was fairly
glistening with the precious metal, which was quite observable at a few paces distant.
45

It must have seemed that the streets paved with gold mythologised in the Old Country had at last materialised in the New World. Prior to this latest strike, Lyell had fallen into a slump of inactivity for several years and the transition to stir and excitement was welcomed, particularly by the storekeepers and publicans. In October 1872, the rush brought two hundred new arrivals to the little township, which was mainly the supply and business headquarters for the mining properties up Irishmans Creek and beyond in the mountainous ranges to the north. The prospecting population of the west coast was constantly on the move and fluctuated according to the latest rumours of profitable finds. The population was estimated in 1873 to be 150 to 250 as well as 100 others , by
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which was meant Chinese. By 1883, it had risen to 1060 Europeans, (and eleven Chinese). In 1874, the Inangahua Herald printed the census figures of March 1, 1874 for the entire Inangahua district as being : 1032 males, 307 females, and 19 Chinese. A ratio of one female to every three males placed female company at a premium, a situation which perhaps contributed to the difficult position in which Mary was to find herself in later years. The number of births registered in the neighbouring Westland province for that year was forty; deaths twenty and marriage certificates issued, seven. 46
only twenty per cent of the Westland population were females, compared with forty per cent for New Zealand ... more striking was Westlands share of the countrys young adult males. It had twenty-two per cent of the adult European males and twenty-six per cent of the males aged between twenty-one and forty. Thus no less than one quarter of the most vigorous male age group in the young New Zealand colony was to be found on the Westland goldfields. 4 7

Of these, there was a higher than average distribution of Irish immigrants living in the west coast areas.
The strong Irish contingent formed almost one third of the Westland population compared with barely thirteen per cent in the colony as a whole. The Irish had made up a large element on the Victorian goldfields in the 1850s, and Westland was the end point of a long journey which had led by stages from south-west Ireland to the English ports, thence to Victoria or perhaps California, and later to Otago before some of them settled in Westland 48

The Lyell was a more culturally diverse diggings than most other goldfields in New Zealand, with a preponderance of continental Europeans, mainly Greeks, Italians and Swiss. So-called foreign names abound in newspaper reports and mining applications. Warden Broad suggested with reference to the Lyell that someone should be permanently stationed there to act as clerk and constable and he recommended a Mr. Neville as the most suitable, being a
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good linguist and there being such a large number of foreigners resident there. 49 By 1869 Warden Joseph Giles had endeavoured to ease the lot of the traveller up the Buller by granting free publicans licences to those who were willing to keep ferry-boats available at all times. Giles did not favour the proliferation of licensed houses, which he regarded as little more than open bars for the consumption of spirituous drinks but despite his disapproval sly grogging continued for many years on the Goldfield and was, in many cases, resorted to in order to make a living until something better turned up.
50

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The township of Lyell was finally reached from the river after scrambling up the banks of the Buller River near the tributary Lyell Creek. Some of the soil was shale and slatey in places, making climbing difficult except in the furrows of the paths up to the terrace cut into the hillside, especially for women wearing skirts and petticoats to the ankles. The valley faces north and the hillsides along the creek form a deep V shape. There is no flat land at all except along the short terraced area on which the village stood. Even in the dry months, running water in the creek can be heard from the terrace above, now that the continual noise of the crushing machines in the mines up in the hills beyond has ceased. In 1872, a visitor to the town reported effects of a fresh; the tendency of the creek to rise suddenly as the result of a storm in the area:
At 5 a.m. inhabitants of the township as well as dwellers in tents were rudely aroused from their slumbers by the roar of the coming storm; everyone sprang to their feet, the sterner sex forgetting those garments yclept trousers, while the ladies for once rose superior to any thoughts of chignons or balmorals. Each and all stood anxiously awaiting the coming shock; on it came bearing with it trees and branches, and in spite strenuous exertions of the aforementioned dwellers in tents, who hung on manfully to
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51

tent and ridgepole .. in a few seconds not a tent was left standing.

When the sun set over the hills to the west at an early hour in the day, even in summer, the steep slopes looked like silhouettes, cardboard cut-outs or the flat scenery in a stage setting. Thick cream clouds poured over the hills from the northwest and folded themselves down the slopes. The buildings lined the narrow shelf of land along which had been carved the main street, aptly named Cliff street; those on the high side burrowed their backsides into the hill, and those on the lower side perched up on stilts. So closely together did the timber buildings stand on the street front that they formed retaining walls for pedestrians and the street provided the only flat surface for walking. The enfolding arms of the hills around the village surrounded the prospector and traveller alike and in the early days escape would have been unusual. Once arrived at Lyell, most residents were there for the remaining years of their lives and beyond. The original cemetery was up a narrow track past the Catholic Church, and graves had to be dug into the sides of the hills, so that the dead lay almost in layers. Some insight into the character of the women who lived in Lyell can be gained from the incident which occurred at the blessing of the new church of St. Joseph:
Directly the boats arrived with timber for a new church, Father Cummins and Messrs Mackay and ODay of Reefton, wishing to have the honour of carrying the first timber, repaired to the river and getting large pieces of wood on their shoulders, carried them up the steep land to the site. Not wishing Reefton men to have all the glory, Mrs Ryan, Mrs McCoy and Mrs Cullen sallied forth and, amidst laughter and applause, carried a large piece of timber to the site.5 2

When the road was eventually cut through the densely forested mountains, a coach ventured up from Nelson or Westport once or twice a week only, and horsedrawn transport was the only alternative to the river. A journey out of the valley, once reached, would have been an
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infrequent occurrence, and undertaken only for serious reasons, such as total disillusionment with the prospect of making a fortune, a serious illness or an imminent death, which might be averted by a stay in hospital at Westport if one could survive the journey. It was a small community, with traders and hoteliers living in their premises along the main street and a few others in cottages strung along beside them. The rest of the population were dispersed far up into the hills, camped out beside their claims and near the mines, returning to the village only on Sundays, coming down to drink away their woes or celebrate their finds, and for a change of clothes. Some of them were reputed to be notoriously bad characters but nonetheless it was a place where could be found:
forty or fifty inhabitants enjoying themselves in a primitive fashion, sitting on doorsteps or empty barrels yarning; while a friendly little donkey slept the happy hours away in the middle of the street.
53

Sound carried long distances in the natural amphitheatre and no-one could go about unnoticed. Every activity was observed, and voices raised carried far on the thin air and were easily overheard. Washed linen was there drying on the line to be seen by all. The smells of cooking and burning fires drifted down the valley, and noted. Investors with financial interests in the area generally did not care to reside there, but stayed in Nelson, Wellington, Melbourne or London. Neither did they live there nor intend to spend the proceeds of those who laboured on their behalf on grandiose buildings which might have been more permanent than the timber buildings which had been hastily put up overnight. Religious elders spent only a Sunday or two there each quarter, for their jurisdictions were extensive if not populous, and the lack of suitable accommodation might require boarders to stay in a rowdy hotel. Here, merchants, bankers and lawyers were at the peak of the social scale. Medical doctors were scarce and visiting barbers and quack medicine men advertised treatments which
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were free; only the potions which were supposedly to cure all ailments were charged for. Alcohol was the remedy of choice for many ills, and perhaps was more effective than the patent mixtures available. As in all mining towns, hotels and other outlets for spirituous liquors were numerous. The town had bakers to produce fresh bread, butchers, cobblers to make and mend boots, and its own newspaper, the Lyell Argus. Each hotel was required toprovide a good lamp, (in the form of a lantern hung by the front door) so the street would be lit at night, and a constant water supply was obtained from the creeks in the hills and piped down to most of the cottages in the township area. Diet was determined by availability of supplies of flour, for bread and puddings, sugar for jam, animals to be slaughtered for meat, and therefore mainly mutton, and such fruit and vegetables as could be grown in the cold climate. The local fauna too would have provided supplementary items and miners from northern Europe were skilled in the hunting of small birds and animals with traps and snares. A small herd of cows would be sufficient to provide for the needs of the town in milk, butter and cheese. Disease of an infectious nature would have been not so much of a problem as death by accident, or industrial disease, such as miners phthisis. An isolated community in a cold climate with fresh running water and good supplies of basic food would be almost free from contagion until an outsider brought in coughs and colds which could turn to pneumonia, whooping cough, scarlatina or diphtheria. On 4th November, 1872 the first child Mary was to bear in Lyell arrived, although no record of a registration of this birth has been found to date. The child named Theresa may have been born while they were living in the remote hills beyond the Buller River, and the registration of her birth overlooked and forgotten. 54 In 1873 Peter Gramatica was issued with a publicans licence at Irishmans Creek,
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three steep kilometres north up the Lyell Creek from the Buller River. In return for this, he was required to maintain a footbridge over the Creek, and keep a good lamp. In 1873 and 1874 Peter Gramatica is listed in the New Zealand Government Gazette as having taken out a gold mining claim. 55 These sources of income, together with whatever gold they found

themselves, proved sufficient for Peter and Mary to survive and prosper well enough to buy land to set up a dairy herd and begin farming along the river flats around the corner from the Lyell valley. Irishmans Creek was the location closest to the mines in the mountains, and the first stop downhill en route to the village at Lyell. As the place to have a licence to sell alcohol, there could have been no better location. But as a place to raise children, there being no flat land at all, merely the unpredictable creek at the base of the steep slopes of the hillsides, it was no doubt the source of much anxiety and the parents of Lyell would have been anxious to establish a school to occupy the numerous children running freely around the diggings. In order to ensure his right to a permanent stake in the country, and to make clear his loyalties in case of an outbreak of hostilities amongst European countries, Peter Gramatica took out naturalisation as a citizen of New Zealand in 1874 . Mary, already a British subject by dint of her birth in Dublin, Ireland, did not need to do the same. In Lyell in March, 1874, seven others were naturalised in the same ceremony and Peter Gramatica swore on the Bible: I do sincerely promise and swear that I will be faithful, and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, as lawful Sovereign of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. So help me God. 56 One of his fellow aliens, Mr. J. Goldstucker, was later to prove an inappropriate subject of Queen Victoria, despite his declared intentions, and Mr. Broad, the Justice of the Peace, four years later was to become the sponsor in the religious confirmation of Peter
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Gramaticas eldest daughter, Ada, when she was confirmed in Nelson on 13th October, 1878, despite his being the son of a Baptist pastor and she a Roman Catholic. 57 By 1875, Peter, with his newly acquired citizenship, and Mary together bought land on the river flat around the bend in the river and were dairy farming, supplying the village with milk and cream. Peter was shown in the Greymouth and West Coast Times, in a list of businessmen, as a dairyman rather than a miner, having made the transition to producer of primary products.58 He and Mary were well on the way to becoming substantial citizens of the province with a family which could grow to be an asset to the colony.

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1875 to 1879 I told him my mother wanted me to do some work at home.

On the farm however the relationship between Mary and Peter Gramatica deteriorated, and the reasons for this can only be guessed. Most likely Peter continued to work the claim up at Irishmans Creek while Mary necessarily was left alone with the infant children at the farm. When their son Frank had been born in Westport in 1871, Peter was no doubt happy to have a son and heir at last. He had named him after his own father, despite Marys wishes. Peter gave all the children with Swiss~Italian family names, but Mary subsequently referred to them byIrish names instead. By 1875, Peter and Mary had moved from the camp at Irishmans Creek and around the corner of the Lyell Creek to the river flats in a loop of the Buller River, where the soil was rich enough to provide pasture for dairy cattle. The farm was approximately one and a half miles out of Lyell, along the road to the west coast, where cattle could wander to the creek to drink, and shelter under the young willow trees planted along the banks. The farm was far enough away from the town to make it unlikely that visitors would be frequent, and Mary was much more isolated there than at Irishmans Creek, where passersby were constantly crossing the creek and stopping for a drink on the way to the mines in the mountains above. On a farm the work was necessarily constant and repetitive, with early morning and evening milking of the cows required daily regardless of the weather, as well as the usual household chores. Early explorer Von Haast complained that at night he was often unable to
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write notes on his days findings because of the ink freezing on his pen and the Indian ink on his brush. 1 Milking cows on a freezing morning is not a chore relished by many, and to be left at the farm and required to do this work alone would be enough to sour the most passionate relationship. Everything had to be done manually or with the most rudimentary of equipment. The labour of children and women was a valuable and vital contribution to the economic unit of a farm, and there would have been little time left for social activities. Only the ritual visits of the pious to church on Sundays, and the trip to the village for grocery items provided an opportunity for social interaction. Families in farming areas were isolated social units allowing little contact for either recreation or support. It would be possible to go for a week or more without seeing another person who was not a family member, and such restricted activity could lead to the magnification of hostilities, resentments and introspection. Marys own childhood had been spent in a close community in Ireland with relatives to provide support and supervision of the young by the elderly. In Switzerland, Peters country of origin, the immediate family and the village was always nearby. Both now were isolated in a remote place, but here Peter at least had the companionship of his compatriots when working on his claim up in the hills. The oldest daughter, Ada, was then at school in Lyell during the day, leaving Mary with the two youngest children at the farm, and Peter away five miles or so up in the hills. If the weather became bad, he would sleep away from the farm at night, leaving Mary alone with the children, in this very remote and isolated area. All of which could be borne, provided the relationships between the parents were strong, and the good health of all prevailed. But without that bond, the isolation, the hard physical labour which was required for survival and the bad weather of the area would have been enough to depress the strongest-minded of
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settlers. Homesickness for their families left behind on the other side of the globe would have played a part. For women, whose health and mental strength fluctuates, and with a need for contact with other women, life must have been extremely difficult. In comparison, life for Peter would not have been such a great hardship, as he was in close and constant contact with other miners, many of them compatriots with whom he could speak his own language and reminisce about the times before migration, and plan for a prosperous future in which he would play an active part. He had been born in Brusico, in the Swiss Cantone Grigeoni, as had Antonio Zala, one of the founders of what ultimately became the most successful mine in Lyell. From the border of Switzerland nearest Italy and one of the two Italian-speaking cantons in Switzerland, they and many others in Lyell spoke Italian.2 The year 1875 was not a financially good one for the Lyell and the records of the little Lyell primary school provide an insight to the problems placed upon teachers and school committees in the management of education in remote areas. These factors led to unsavoury incidents at the Lyell School in which Ada Gramatica became involved, which concerned Julius Goldstucker, the master and only teacher. Ada at that stage was ten, and enrolled at the school in one of the higher years. Her sister Mandra Ellen was seven and probably in the first grade. Frank had not started at school, being only five, and Theresa at four would still have been at home with their mother. The two-roomed school was located outside the village some distance away beside the road heading east to Nelson, and perched above the Buller River. On a good day there could be as many as 21 children in attendance. In 1874 W. J. Goldstucker had been one of the half dozen aliens who chose to take up New Zealand nationality in the ceremony in which Swiss Pietro Bartolomeo Gramatica became Peter and a fellow citizen. He was also one who
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would succumb to the isolation and the strange circumstances in which they found themselves. Taking over from T. J. Metcalfe, the previous teacher, on June 15, Julius Goldstucker wrote from Lyell on the day he re-opened the school that he had: ...got the attendance of most children eligible. Winter season not good for attendance this quarter but expect nine more aged between six and ten years. The Chairman of the committee however doubted his ability to run the school: Mr. Goldstucker being a foreigner, could (he) teach English properly? On 23 August the new teacher wrote that: there are not more than 31 school ripe children in the district By September 1875 he gave a scathing report on the attitude of the local parents: number of scholars now twentytwo all eager to attend if their parents would let them. The marked progress made by the children in so short a space of time in reading, writing and arithmetic, I cannot justly trace to my endeavours alone seeing that it was Mr. Metcalfe who had been doing all the grubbing, cleaning and sowing and that I just came in to foster the prepared process of growth, a circumstance which is ungratefully overlooked by the inhabitants here who heap all the credit on me and allow none to my predecessor. This honour should scarcely be a subject of complaint on my part were it not in keeping with the many wrongs flourishing in this small community, some of which wrongs happening to be the direct cause of keeping the children away from school. One child cannot come because her mother is drunk, another nurses the baby of a debauched neighbour who was at a public house ball the previous night. A third one is kept home screaming while the father is
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busy smashing the few things he had left unsmashed a fortnight ago, and so on. It is unlikely that the drunken mother (or the debauched neighbour) he referred to was Mary, as evidence was later given by no less a person than Justice Richmond that at this stage of her life, Mary was a decent hardworking wife, taking care of the children and the farm. Ada then was ten, Mandra Ellen was seven, Frank, only five, and Theresa four years old. In June, the Chairman of the School Committee, J. K. Sloan wrote three pages on Goldstuckers conduct to W. C. Hodgson, Secretary to Colonial Board of Education, reporting incidents which explain the dwindling attendances and in which Ada Gramatica was unwilling involved: Sir, I deeply regret that my position as Chairman of Committee devolves upon me the painfull duty of becoming the medium of acquainting you with the nature and particulars of Mr. Goldstuckers ignominious dismissal from the duties of Teacher at the Lyell School. An inquiry was held by the Lyell School Committee into the conduct of Mr. Goldstucker and in reply to the Chairmans questions, Ada Gramatica said: I am eleven years of age. I was at Mr. Goldstuckers School. He did not take liberties with me. I did not see him take any liberties with Fanny McDowell. She Fanny McDowell told Sam Beck, Lizzie Beswick and myself that Mr. Goldstucker did wrong to her every day she was at the school, that he lifted her clothes when the other children had left the school. I know he frequently kept Fanny McDowell inside the school and ordered the others to go home. He asked me on one or two occasions to stop in the school after the others had gone home but I would not. I told him my mother wanted me to do some work at home. These are the only words on official record from Ada Gramatica, admittedly
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transcribed for her as a statement to the School Committee, but she did not disappear from history entirely until a few years later when she was involved in the tragic accident which occurred in the Buller River. As she described herself, she was eleven years old in 1876 (born 12 July, 1865) and this places her date of birth as two years prior to that of the marriage in Hokitika of Mary and Peter Gramatica on 23 October, 1867. Her English language skills, as far as can be judged from this example, were good when compared with the other ten year old witness. She did not exaggerate or make claims that she herself had been interfered with, and simply relates what she had heard other children say, and stated the facts that she knew. She sounds like a girl with a developed sense of appropriate behaviour and belonging to a family in which she was expected to return home from school on time and carry out chores to help her mother. She does not seem like a child from a house of ill-repute, with a mother who is later referred to as a perjured prostitute, or a drunkard given to violent behaviour. At eleven, she is strong enough in character to rebuff the interference of her schoolteacher, despite his being a significant figure of authority in her life and that of the village. Miss Lizzie Beswick also gave evidence against her teacher: I have been at school a good while with Mr. Goldstucker. I am ten years of age. I have seen Mr. Goldstucker put his hand up Fanny McDowells clothes, his trowsers was unbuttoned, I seen him unbutton F. McDowells drawers. Seen him lay her on the floor, and jump up and down on her. I was then outside the school looking through the window. Fanny told me he used to do it every day to her. He tried to do the same to me. He tried to put his hand up my clothes but I would not allow him. I told him to get away. I also saw him put his hand under Edith Fallings clothes. Edith Fallon told us after we came out from school that he hurted her.
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A young Louis Carmine gave evidence also, as he did years later in the trial of Adas mother:

I am going on for nine years of age. I have been a long time at Mr.
Goldstuckers school. I have seen Mr. Goldstucker put his hand up Fanny McDowells clothes. She was there in the bedroom end of the school by herself, there are two rooms in the house, one is used for the boys and the other for the girls. The teacher, not having been successful with the older girls, turned his attention to the younger more vulnerable and biddable girl. Fanny McDowell said: I am six years old past, I have been going to Mr. Goldstuckers school a long while. He used to keep me in the school after the others had gone home. He many times put his hands up my clothes. He opened his trowsers and took something out and put it between my legs. He used to do it always. He done it sometimes when I was sitting on the chair. He has got two rooms in the school. He used to take me into the other room when he did that. He did not hurt me. The Committee responded to these accounts of untoward behaviour:

After hearing the foregoing testimony of the pupils we deemed it our duty to send him the
following note of dismissal viz. Mr. Goldstucker, Sir, I have been directed by the Lyell School Committee to inform you, that after a most painful investigation into the particulars of your recent conduct with reference to the indecent liberties you have taken with a portion of the female pupils placed under your charge for tuition, The Committee have unanimously adopted the following resolution viz.That owing to the disgraceful and unprecedented nature of the
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evidence taken by the Committee at the enquiry held today for that purpose, your services as teacher for this District cannot be further tolerated, and that you be dismissed forthwith from a charge you have so shamefully violated. Signed on behalf of the Committee, J. K.. Sloan, Chairman. On 14th June, 1876, there was a telegram from T. F. Metcalfe, Lyell, stating that Goldstucker was committed to trial for indecent assault upon a child. Mrs. Goldstucker was still residing at the Lyell, but it seems her husband had left the area. On the dwindling level of attendance, J. K. Sloan estimated at the time: The average daily attendance would be nine. I think it hardly possible that any person will attempt to open school here again on account of the few children now remaining in this place. After these events, the village existed without a school of any kind for at least a year, when eventually Mr. Sloan wrote to the education authorities in Nelson, that Mrs. Catherine McMahon was available to teach. Unfortunately for the children of the Lyell, Catherine McMahon reluctantly felt compelled to resign shortly after, as her husband had been transferred to Charleston, and she dissolved the school at Lyell in December 1877. In 1882 the Committee made another unfortunate appointment of a male teacher, F. G. Rotton, whose teaching and punishment practices were also very much less than satisfactory. He stayed at the school for seven and a half years, until the school committee finally drew the line at his several eccentricities. These included ill-treatment of the children complained of by several parents, and at the October 1889 meeting the Committee warned him: to put away his knotted rope (which was of the true Maryatt type) as on November 14th, the teacher in administering punishment caused one of
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his pupils to faint where upon a good number of the children ran home telling their parents that Nellie Carroll was dead. He had also refused to train a student, Edward Dollimore, as a teacher, because as Dollimore wrote: My mother was not in the position to let me, and Mr. Rotton refused to instruct me because I would not live with him, and instead of encouraging me he tried to obstruct me in every possible way and if I should remain I shall instruct myself.3 The staffing problems at the school go a long way to explaining why in future years the Gramaticas and other parents felt the need to send their children to Nelson for a more orthodox and morally sound education. After this episode, in order to further her education Ada was sent to board at the imposing four storey St. Marys Convent School for Girls in Nelson, and on 13 October, 1878, she was baptised at St. Marys Church by Bishop Francis Redwood, and was sponsored in this event by Judge and Mrs. Broad.4

~~~~~~~~~

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CHAPTER 7
1879

At the Lyell ~

a daughter given and a daughter taken away.

As their children grew older, the differences between Peter and Mary in their philosophy of child rearing practices intensified. The eldest girl, Ada, was intelligent enough to warrant continuing at school and had gone away to Nelson to further her education, perhaps at Marys insistence and in spite of Peters protestations. Peter, being a man of his time, may have believed that women should not have a life outside the home and farm, and they should have no rights, either to vote or own property. He was not alone in his beliefs on these issues, as even the highest in the land shared similar attitudes, but his being Swiss (a country with a reputation for conservatism) may have meant that he was even less liberal in his ideas on the status and role of women than the English.1 A journalist writing in the Westport Times some years later said of Mary: Mrs. Gramatica, in whom much public interest is just now centered, is a tall masculine woman, of the character known as strong minded. Her present serious difficulty is the climax to a life of trouble ... She and her husband ..... lived a cat and dog life for a long time, mainly owing, it is said, to the womans drinking habits. 2 The reasons why Mary over-indulged in alcohol can only be guessed. It is not known whether this habit became a problem before or after her daughter died. The use of alcohol as a palliative and an anaesthetic was common, as hotels and grog-shops were numerous in any settlement or mining town. For Mary, it was even more readily available since Peter had been
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given a free license to sell liquor, and presumably she would have participated in this. In Victorian times, the consumption of alcohol, and in particular, gin, which had become cheap and readily available to all, was common. Peter Ackroyd in London: The Biography wrote:
There were other forms of escape (than to the asylum for the mad). The women of what the Victorians called the lower classes were reported to drink to excess more than men. They take to it largely to carry them through their work... the women are worse than the men, but their drinking is largely due to their slavery at the wash tub. Alcohol was also the curse of working women precisely because they were consigned to a life of unremitting labour
3

Mary was at this stage just three months pregnant again, and on 26th June, 1879, a fourth daughter, named Menga Mary, was born at Lyell, so the antagonism between husband and wife could not have been so serious as to prevent them sharing a bed. The Gramatica family had moved down from the claim in the hills at Irishmans Creek to their farm and had established themselves as dairy farmers, and were providing the village at Lyell with milk, cream and cheese. The farm was located across the Buller River from Lyell, and thus it was necessary to cross the river each time to reach the village or school. The means of crossing the Buller river was a primitive contraption made up of pulley, steel wire and a wooden box or metal crate in which those wishing to cross the water must entrust themselves. A personal description of an experience in using this type of mechanism was given in Mr Explorer Douglas, edited by John Pascoe:
... a wire rope along which an iron cage runs backwards and forwards. The trip is decidedly interesting, especially to strangers to such primitive appliances. Getting into the cage requires some skill, as it has a nasty habit of starting off when only half the passenger is aboard. Once in he sits down on a sort of gridiron suggestive of roast missionary, and lets go the hook and away he sails along the rope. At this part of the
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journey a stranger generally breaks out in pleased smiles but the inhabitant knows better. The gridiron gets slower and finally stops about halfway. Then comes trouble, the wheels refuse to revolve, the ropes cut the hands while hauling on it and the traveller wonders where he would be if the hauling rope broke and left him hanging like a guy over the middle of the river. I have crossed on these wire cages scores of times and with all sorts of people, and in no single instance did the men who put them up --and all government officials in general -- escape without vigorous expressions being hurled at their names and memories. However primitive those bridges are they are decidedly useful.
4

Another with experience of this means of river crossing was a boy who went with his father to collect mail bags across the flooded Buller River in the 1800s and recounted his experience thus:
if it was in flood we used to go further up the river and cross it in a chair. This was a box on wheels running on wire rope stretched from bank to bank and made fast to a tree or posts sunk into the ground. You pulled yourself back and forth by hauling ropes running through blocks. I remember one time Father putting me in this box, sitting me on top of the mail bags, the river roaring beneath me, pitch dark and raining hard. Father was pulling tightly on the rope from the bank; when the chair was halfway across the wind caused the rope to get tangled. Those few minutes that I spent there, the chair not moving until the ropes became clear again, seemed a lifetime, and the fright I got was stamped on my memory for years. When I had carried the bag of mail to the Post Office and got back with the other, and was safely across the river to the old dog-cart and Father, I was a happy boy indeed. 5

Unfortunately the hazardous river crossings did not always end so happily. In the last days of December 1878, Marys eldest child, Ada, was killed falling from the flying fox stretched across the flooded river to Lyell, never found and presumed to have drowned. There are some discrepancies about precisely where the accident happened, and even as to how many people were involved. Today it is difficult to find the exact site of any dwellings and locations, due to changes in the line of the road, the excavation of large rock outcrops and
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promontories along the roadside and subsequent shifts in land due to serious earthquakes. Ada Johana then was 14 years of age, and after completing the primary years of schooling in Lyell, she had been attending secondary school in Nelson. She was a student at the Nelson Convent School, a Catholic school attached to St. Marys Parish in Nelson, many miles over the mountain ranges to the east. Only two and a half months before she drowned, Ada had been confirmed in the Catholic religion on 13 October, 1878. The accident occurred when she was returning from school after the Christmas celebrations held in Nelson over the holiday period and the delay had been due to unseasonably bad weather. On Monday, December 30th, 1878, the local paper reported that over the weekend the weather had not deterred the residents of Nelson from venturing out to be entertained by Mademoiselle Alice Charbonnet, who played in concert Beethovens Moonlight Sonata, but over the ranges towards the West Coast the weather was more ominous. The Nelson Evening Mail reported that in Greymouth:
It has rained almost incessantly since yesterday at two oclock, and the rivers are now in full flood, the Grey being near its highest. The races had to be postponed as the course is now under water.

A gale had been blowing in Hokitika, further south down the coast, on Saturday night;
it has been raining heavily and blowing like midwinter weather every day since the holidays commenced, and there is as yet no sign of improvement. The river is flooded again and a great deal of damage has been done. 6

The weather rendered the journey to Lyell unpleasant enough, whether Ada had returned by coach along the track from Nelson, or on one of the small ships ferrying passengers and cargo from Nelson to Westport. The rivers were in flood, the roads dangerous and the seas heavy. One newspaper report places the accident happening while crossing the river opposite Lyell, whereas the local constable, William Williams, states that it occurred at
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Gramaticas ... (on the ) .. Buller River. The report from The Westport Times of 1st March, 1883 (written some five years after the event) reads:
...Mr. and Mrs. Gramatica lost a daughter, a fine girl of 14 or 15, Ada by name, who was drowned before their eyes. She was returning home from the Nelson Convent School, and with another person, while crossing the river opposite Lyell, in a chair the rope broke precipitating them into the boiling stream beneath. Both were drowned.

The Kumara Times of 6th January, 1879 printed an item which read:
A few days ago a man named Giovanni Tuena and a girl named Grammatica were crossing the Buller on the wire rope about a mile below

Lyell, when the cage in the center of the rope parted, precipitating them into the river. The father, mother and others witnessed the accident, but could render no assistance. The bodies are not yet recovered. Tuena is aged about 50, Miss Gramatica about 14.
7

The telegraph message written in large and careless handwriting by the constable stationed at Lyell to the Coroner, Charles Broad, places the date of the accident as 29th December, 1879. There are however some inaccuracies in the year shown in the dates in the following documents as, for example, the date should read 30 12 78.
NEW ZEALAND TELEGRAPH., No. 214 Lyell 25-9 11.5 am. A/g WP 30 12 79 (sic)) Charles Broad R.M. Coroner Westport. John Tuena and Ada Gramatica while crossing the wire rope at Gramaticas yesterday got drowned Buller River through the wire rope breaking bodies not found. William Williams, Constable. 11.36.

The Lyell Creek was described in a 1870s Westport Times article quoted by Margaret
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Brown:
The Lyell is not a river. It is a creek - a little creek. By the miner it would be estimated, during ordinary circumstances, as containing just a few Government heads of water. By your correspondent it was estimated as just being big enough, in one or two places near the township, to afford a comfortable, if somewhat cold, bath of a morning. But when the rain falls, as it can fall sometimes in these parts, the peculiarities of the country through which the Lyell runs assist the rain in converting it into a roaring mountain torrent compared with which even the rush of water in the Buller seems subdued. Running in a narrow course by the foot of high hills, and stemmed by the Buller, it often rises 40 ft., and roars in proportion. Its outlet is narrowed by a steep rocky spur, which is most precipitous on the side next the Buller. On the creek side of the spur there is some slightly sloping ground, and upon this slope is built the small township of the Lyell.
8

The evidence at the Coroners inquiry puts paid to the local belief that two of the Gramatica girls died in the accident while crossing the river. In the official telegraphed report from the Constable stationed at Lyell at the time only one girl is referred to as having fallen into the river, and both victims of the accident are identified by name. The Coroners Report relates to the discovery of a male body only, that of John Tuena, of the age of forty or fifty, some days after the accident at Lyell. It was sworn at the inquest that on the fourteenth of January, 1879, at twelve thirty, the body of John Tuena was found floating down the Buller River by the Harbour Master at Westport. He alerted John Marshall, the Mounted Constable stationed there, who had heard of the drowning of a man and a girl, and was watching out for the bodies to arrive at the mouth of the Buller River where it flows out to the sea. Seven years later, discussions were still being held at government level regarding the necessity for a bridge over the Buller at Lyell. From the Lyell Times of 7th February, 1885:
The Prime Minister, Hon. Robt Stout and the Minister of Mines, the
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Hon. W.J.M. Larnach called at Lyell. On the need for a bridge at Larsens ferry, the Prime Minister said Costly works of this kind could not possibly be undertaken at present. Where ferries are

operating satisfactorily the need for bridges does not present itself. 9

Five months later, in July 1885, the Lyell Times reported Mr. OConnor asking a further question in the House: When would the Government provide for a bridge over the Buller at Lyell? The answer was that it would be expensive but an estimate would be prepared. In November of the next year, the Minister for Mines announced that tenders would be called shortly for the bridge at Larsens Ferry. It was not until the thirteenth of October, 1888 that the sinking of the first cylinder of the bridge at Lyell took place. The bridge, or want of one, was to play a significant part in the lives and deaths of two members of the Gramatica family. ~~~~~~~~~

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CHAPTER 8
1879. After the Accident. Buller River -The Earthquake rapids. The 1968 Inangahua earthquake brought down a huge slip 8 km above the Lyell Bridge, damming the river for some time. When the river finally broke free it scattered boulders down the river bed almost to Lyell. Today the river is still washing material from the slip area, leaving the boulders more and more exposed and altering the rapids. With very high flows this grade III run on the Buller provides a constant grade IV run of hugh cresting waves and holes.... At high flows the waves can be very large. .. This large vortex is created by a ledge of rock that lies parallel to the rivers flow beneath the surface and is situated just above Lyell Creek on the right bank. .. In high flows Lyell Creek is impassable. There are two rapids between Lyell Creek and the Iron bridge. The first, immediately below Lyell Creek, can sometimes offer good surfing. However, the undercut bluffs on the river right, which help form this rapid, should be avoided. 1

Mary, when three months pregnant, witnessed the accident with her husband from the opposite bank of the river, both of them helpless to prevent the disaster. An ability to swim was a skill rarely possessed at that time by either male or female Europeans, and a woman fully dressed in ankle-length petticoats and skirt would have been foolish to attempt to jump into the water even if able to swim. It is not recorded whether Peter or anyone else tried to rescue the fallen. The banks of the river were hazardous, rocky and steep and probably any rescuer would have ended up in the water drowning himself. By the time ropes were thrown and a rescue attempted the bodies would be out of sight, swept around the corner of the river. Horses saddled and galloped around the bends in the track would have reached the water level of the river too late, as the river was in flood, flowing fast and the bodies taken far ahead. The Gramaticas lost their eldest daughter, Ada, in the very last days of December in 1878. When the new baby girl was born six months later, on 26th June, 1879, at Lyell, she was given the names Menga Mary, but came to be known by the same name as the first girl,
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Ada. She was baptised four days after her birth as Ada Mary Amanda. According to the record of Catholic Baptisms, the baby was baptised on June 30, 1879 with the names Ada Mary Amanda Grammatica, daughter of Peter Gramatica and Mary Gramatica, the sponsor Charles Jacobs, and the presiding priest D. P. Carew. 2 The bereaved parents might have felt that in naming her thus the spirit of the first-born Ada would be transferred to the new child. It could be seen as Gods way of compensating for the loss by providing a reincarnation of the lost girl. 3 After the accident, Peter and Mary were devastated and each reacted in different ways. Mary turned to alcohol. The temperance movement actively preaching in Nelson had not had any apparent effect on the village of Lyell, and the ailing looked to alcohol as a common palliative for many ills, physical and psychological. Brandy particularly was used to relieve toothache and other ailments, as was opium, then openly advertised in the local papers for sale at one pound per pound weight. Peter wasted away after the accident, according to local legend, pining for the eldest daughter, Ada. Although of course Peter knew that Ada had been born prior to their marriage, it was most unlikely that her parents would have made it known in the village that Ada had been born in Australia and that Mary her mother had been married to another man at the time. 4. The Gramaticas had arrived in Lyell as a family, and presented the children to the community as all their own. As far as can be told, Adas previous arrival does not seem to have prevented her step-father from desperately missing her after she had drowned. Recriminations were directed at Mary by Peter for her attitudes towards education for females and for having ideas above her station. If the daughter had stayed home to help on the farm, as girls in Switzerland did, where they were apparently quite happy to be dairymaids or goatgirls, the accident would never have happened.
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If Peter was suffering great sorrow and grief brought about by the loss of Ada, he may also have worried about Marys state of mind after the baby was born, and perhaps she had taken too long to recover from the loss of her eldest child. After all, deaths of children were not unusual in those times, and many babies did not survive the infantile ailments and injuries to which they were prone. Replacements were readily forthcoming in the days before effective contraception. It is possible that Peter discussed Marys condition with his compatriots, among them Florian Adank, while working on his mining claim up in the hills. It was apparent to the community that the relationship between Peter and Mary had deteriorated to the extent that it was common knowledge that they had fought like cat and dog for some time. An Irish woman who drank constantly did not meet the high moral standards of the Swiss maids those men had left behind and comparisons between the old and the new would be drawn. This particular woman was renowned as being strong-minded, not a characteristic common among Swiss girls, and therefore unacceptable in a wife. Mary perhaps became excessively anxious about the safety of the other children and her anxieties exacerbated rather than relieved by her drinking, whenever they were out of her sight for more than a minute. When Mary expressed her wish that Frank should also go away to school, Peter refused to allow this, as the boy had no need of education if he was to run the farm as intended. Peter had not spent all these years labouring hard for any reason other than to buy land and build up his farm for his son to inherit. But before this point of contention could be settled, Peter became ill and grew progressively weaker. By early November 1881, his health failed to the extent that it was necessary for him to leave the village for medical attention in Westport hospital. According to the medical certificate completed by the doctor attending, he had had the
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terminal illness for about 3 weeks prior to his unanticipated death; he was only 45 years old. He died on 7th December, 1881 and was buried near Westport town, in the Orawaiti Cemetery. The consensus in Lyell was that he had died of a broken heart. It was not unusual to read in the newspapers of the time of this ailment as a commonly attributed cause of death. Mary was left with four children; Mandra Ellen was twelve years and eight months, and possibly away in Nelson at school, Frank was ten years and ten months, Theresa was nine years and one month old, and toddler Menga Mary (called by Adas name) was only two years and five months. Peter had prepared his will the day before he died, and according to local legend he left everything to their son, ceding all his and thereby Marys property to Angelo Bartholomew Francis Gramatica, even though he was not yet eleven years old. The details recorded on the death certificate show that Peter Gramatica was 45 years old, had been living in the colony for twenty-nine years, and that he had been a Dairyman, and his father, Bartolomeu Grammattica (sic) had been a farmer in Canton Grigeoni, Brusico, Switzerland. His wifes name is shown as Maria Gibbelan on certificate number 353, registered at Buller. The Reverend Thomas Walsh, a Roman Catholic clergyman, was present. 5 The Inangahua Times of Monday 12 December, 1881 reported: Mr. Peter Gramatica died in the hospital on Wednesday afternoon. The deceased was an old resident of the Lyell district, and his death in the prime of life (aged 44) will be much regretted. The funeral took place at 4 oclock this afternoon .
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He did not die alone, as Florian Adank was with Peter on the day before he died and had probably accompanied him down from the Lyell on his last departure from the valley. Although it was widely believed later in the village that Peter died of a broken heart, the death certificate suggests the cause may have been miners pthsis. The doctor could find no cause other than empyema, a disease of the lungs related to mining. The West Coast Times wrote on 1st March, 1883: When Gramatica died he willed his property at Lyell to his son, afraid that his wife would dissipate it. The farm and dairy were carried on a while, and then leased to Mr. John Reid. Since that time Mrs. Gramatica has been gaining a living by washing but has not borned a very good reputation. .. When the actual legal document is read, however, it is found that the distribution of Peter Gramaticas estate outlined above had not been accurately described. 7 Why the townspeople in the area should have had the impression that it was so raises an interesting series of questions. The Lyell accountant, Florian Adank, who had previously been a local storekeeper, was made the sole executor of the will on the day before Peters death. All the Gramatica property was handed over to Adank to administer, and it is spelt out clearly in the will that Mary was entitled to enjoy the proceeds of the estate until, and if, she remarried. This is a significant factor in trying to account for Marys behaviour in the following years. As the property was valued initially at over five hundred pounds (then a considerable sum ) Mary should have had no financial concerns for the rest of her life. The question remains why Mary then resorted to working as a laundress, an unskilled and arduous occupation. Probate was not finalised until two years had passed, and by that
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stage other more pressing events had overshadowed these legal procedures. Under the restrictions of the distribution of assets proscribed by probate legislation in New Zealand at that time, it seems the estate was frozen until probate had been cleared, and that household possessions had been sold to pay outstanding debts. While most of her husbands assets were meant to benefit Mary and the children, a significant part of Peters estate (and perhaps the most valuable) was specifically excluded from Marys access. This was a parcel of shares in mines or mining companies which were handed over, without any conditions attached or explanation or restrictions as to their usage, to Adank. The matter of the shares was entered as a final item in the will, made out and signed only the day before Peter died, when Adank was present. (It is not known whether Mary had gone down to Westport hospital with him.) The wording of the document suggests that Peter owned quite a worthwhile number of such shares, and that Adank was aware of this. Someone was unwilling to allow Mary to have access to the benefits from them, which is surprising considering that all the other property was to be used for the good of the entire family. If Peter was provident enough to leave sufficient resources to the family, the question is raised as to why the mining shares, which could have become worth more that all the other property, were excluded. This suggests that they were considered to be valuable, if not immediately, then certainly potentially.8 Who eventually did benefit from the sale of these shares, and from the residual property in later years when the entire family had died? There is no record of Mary herself leaving a will, nor of the eventual distribution of her property. It is not known whether Mary ever saw her husbands will, or knew the details. It is possible that Peter owed money to Adank, and the shares handed over to him as the repayment of a loan. Adank is a name of Swiss origin; Zala was also Swiss, and Peters own claim was in the vicinity of the Zala-owned Alpine Mine, one of the most profitable
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mines in the Lyell. It would follow that Peter Gramatica would keep his legal business and financial affairs with his compatriots, and that his shares were in Zalas mine. Mary apparently received only sufficient money to eke out her existence on a daily basis, probably under the provisions relating to the distribution of an estate. Adank or Zanetti may have mislead her about her entitlements under the will, or told her that the money was all left to the children, so that she would not fritter it away or spend it on drink. The farming property from which an income and resources could be derived, sufficient to support the family without additional input from any returns from gold mining was not sold immediately, but leased out and managed by John Reid, freeing Mary from managing a dairy farm but apparently not providing a lavish income. If Peter Gramatica owned a significant number of valuable mining shares in profitable mine, it is not known who eventually benefitted from their sale. Who among his beneficiaries remained to receive the proceeds? Frank, the only male heir, was a minor, and only Mary and one daughter were certainly still alive. No inventory is attached to the will documents and appears never to have been provided to the court as required, but this did not need to be done if the value was below a certain amount. The only adult member of the family in a position to ask questions about the estate was Mary, and she may have been so distraught or demoralised that this was something she never followed through. Mary was no doubt demoralised by the fact that the farm had been taken out of her control, while still grieving for her eldest daughter and now her husband. She continued to run the dairy farm herself but after a few months, leased it out. It is possible that she believed that she would never obtain the benefits of her husbands estate. Whether she ever saw or could read the will is doubtful, the only interpretation she had of it was via Adank, while she was preoccupied with the loss of her husband and children.
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She was adrift, now that her responsibilities and capacity to function in her own right had been removed from her. She must to apply to the trustee of the will for any money she might need. Perhaps afraid to live alone with only her young children at the isolated farm, Mary moved to a cottage closer to the township. Peter Gramatica also had title to some land in Lyell township. It was only a small block of land within the town boundaries, being only 278 metric squares, on a public road and backing on to Crown land. It was perhaps intended to be the site of a shop or other business, or may have been the location of the cottage in which Mary lived. He had purchased the land in April 1880. As the land boundaries of the township have been altered by road realignments, it is not possible today to determine precisely where it was located. The ownership of the land was transmitted to Florian Adank, as executor of the will, on the day before Christmas, 1884, and a mortgage produced at the same time by Adank to Charles Yates Fell of Nelson, which suggests that Adank bought the property using borrowed money. Ownership then was transferred in 1887 to John Fennell of Lyell, merchant, and a month later from Fennell to Walter Atkin, journalist, of Lyell. At the time of Peters death, according to his death certificate, he had only one male and one female child still living. This seems to be incorrect as there are no deaths recorded for either Theresa or Mandra Ellen up to this time, but it is possible that they may have died and their deaths not notified to the authorities, although the penalties for omitting to do this were publicly notified in commonly available publications such as the Nelson Almanac. ~~~~~

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CHAPTER 9
1882 All My Pretty Chickens....

When a wash day came the women would carry water from a spring if there was one close by, or from a river, or if there was a dug well the water was hauled by bucket tied onto a rope; then the water was heated in a large iron, or copper kettle over an open fire where the kettle was hung on a bar placed on forked sticks which were driven in the ground to make them sturdy and strong. The clothes were sometimes soaked overnight in a large galvanised tub, homemade soap would be shaved (cut-fine) into the iron kettle of water; then the clothes would be put in it to boil . . . after boiling for a short while perhaps 15 to 20 minutes, they would be taken out with a long, clean strong stick and put into a large tub about three-fourths full of cold clear water, then rubbed either by hand or on a scrub board; wrung out by hand, and rinsed in another tub of clean, clear water, wrung again by hand and hung on bushes, fence, or line if there were any. 1

While struggling to maintain their existence on the isolated farm with only the children to help her after Peters death, a further blow fell on Marys shoulders. On 16th May, Frank, their only son and putated inheritor of the property, also became ill, with a remittent fever (one which abates at intervals) and after an illness lasting only six days he died, on May 22nd, 1882. Dr. Bruen of Westport completed the death certificate and the six spaces below where Marys signature was to be appended are slashed through with a large cross. On the certificate it shows Frank Angelo Bortolo Gramatica as having been resident in New Zealand for all of his twelve years. He had been registered at birth as Angelo Bartholomew Francis, son of Bartholomew Grammattica and Mary Grammattica formerly Giblin. His birth date was 29th January, 1871.2
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Again, Florian Adank was called upon as one of the witnesses cited on the death certificate, together with Frank Holman. Mr. Adank appears to have remained in contact with the family and had completely taken over Marys affairs after Peters death, and was available to witness the death with Mary. The boy Frank was buried in the Lyell cemetery but the brief notes on the death certificate do not state whether this cemetery was the one located further up the valley of Lyell Creek behind the Catholic church, or the other on the road side near the Buller River, not far from where Mary lived. Again, the certificate gives no information as to where in Lyell the death occurred, but presumably it was at his home at the farm. In June, 1882, one month later, possibly on Adanks advice, Mary had leased the farm and was living with her little daughter, Ada Menga Mary, who turned three on June 26, 1882. Of necessity she must have begun to reconcile herself to the change in status from wife and happy motherhood to widowhood, and now grieving mother for two children dead. In October 1882, she was listed on the Returns of Freeholders of New Zealand as Laundress of Lyell, County of Buller, holding an area of twentytwo acres, with a value of one hundred and thirty pounds.3 She let it be known that she was willing to take in laundry for the miners, and her circumstances were much reduced in terms of household comfort. In Marys own words, (transcribed by a police officer) she described the sparsely furnished timber cottage into which she had moved as consisting of only two rooms; a bedroom in which she and her daughter slept, and another room with a table and a sofa on which visitors sometimes slept.
The front or sitting-room is not lined, has a board floor and contains a fireplace. There is a partition covered with scrim between that room and the bedroom. The bedroom is only partly lined with scrim. In the sitting room on the right hand side of the fireplace, and
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between that and the back door, there is a sofa and a table under the window. I take in washing and have the necessary pans for boiling water. In the bedroom, there is a large box and a table. On the sofa there were pillows and blankets and a mattress stuffed with hay. The blankets were large blue ones, there were two pillows and a holland cover which I used to throw over the sofa in order to give the whole a tidy appearance. There was also an antimacassar. 4

In the sitting room there was also a clock, and in the bedroom a looking-glass. She seemed to possess little in the way of other household goods, as when a guest later asked for a glass to use for a drink of brandy, she had none, and could only give the visitor a small mug instead. A woman married for sixteen years would usually be expected to have gathered together a considerable collection of household items over that time. She was glad of any company, and hardly cared what she did, except for the child. She became friendly with Rose Boyle, who lived close by on the way into the village, and Mary became increasingly involved in the rowdy drunken behaviour common in the town. Emerging from her protected existence as a respectable married woman in the community, she encountered some disreputable characters whose friendship she would have been better without. Mary met a man known in Lyell as Quinlan in July 1882, who had been an acquaintance of Marys brother in Westport. Quinlan was an unruly individual , and despite his tendencies towards violent and disruptive behaviour when drunk, seemed to have had a chivalrous attitude towards women, and even when he lost control over his behaviour in other respects, he did not attempt to interfere with the women in his vicinity. In November or

December of 1882, she met another miner who was known in the mining districts of New Zealand as Jack Davidson.
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~~~~~~~ A poster pasted on the wall of a hotel in Cliff Street, Lyell, advertised:
"A night of Superior Entertainment, a Grand Concert. Special Performance of the Famous Shakespearean Troupe straight from the Season in London performing excerpts from many of the Bard's Most Renowned Works. Native choirs and local artistes."

That night in the dance hall, the large bareboarded room of the ground floor of the Welcome Inn, Mary, Jack Davidson, Dennis Quinlan, Rosie Boyle, and almost all of the other residents of the village were there. Maori men and women were present, dressed magnificently in brightly coloured and patterned costumes. Various members performed items; The Rose of Tralea being followed by The Skye Boat Song and a local Italian miner with a fine tenor voice who sang an aria from an opera by Mozart. The audience became increasingly restless with the static entertainment, and a cheer erupts when the band (some female musicians) takes its place on the stage, and the commencement of dancing is announced. The chairs are thrown aside. Wives dance with their husbands, but around Mary a queue of hopeful partners wait for her to choose one of them for a dance. This differentiates Mary from the other women, and her status of widow renders her 'available' to the many single men, who outnumber women three to one. Mary dances the first round with her new acquaintance John Davidson, and the following two with Quinlan. After one demure waltz and a very boisterous exercise charging up and down the hall, the crowd sits on the floor or begins to leave the hall for drinks, as from the stage the Shakespearean troupe is announced, lights are dowsed then re-lit to show a scene from Macbeth. Mary listens with one ear to the performance on stage as she surveys the crowd around her in the flickering candlelight, the room quite stuffy and filled with the fumes from the mens clay pipes, the beer now spilling in dark patches on the bare wooden floorboards. Having never heard anything of a
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Shakespearean play before, the strange cadences and rhythms catch her attention, the words enunciated with great emphasis and dramatisation by the heavily powdered actors. ROSS: Would I could answer this comfort with the like! But I have words that would be howl'd out in the desert air, Where hearing should not latch them. MACDUFF: What concern they? The general cause? Or is it a fee-grief due to some single breast? ROSS: No mind that's honest but in it shares some woe, though the main part pertains to you alone. MACDUFF: If it be mine keep it not from me; quickly let me have it. ROSS: Let not your ears despise my tongue forever, which shall possess them with the heaviest sound that ever yet they heard. MACDUFF: Hum! I guess at it. ROSS: (pulling his hat down over his eyes) Your castle is surprised; your wife and babes savagely slaughtered; to relate the manner were, on the quarry of these murder'd deer, to add the death of you. MALCOLM:
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Merciful heaven! What! Man; ne'er pull your hat upon your brows; give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break. MACDUFF: ROSS: Wife, children, servants, all that could be found. MACDUFF: And I must be from thence! My wife killed too? ROSS: I have said. MALCOLM: Be comforted; let's make us medicines of our great revenge, to cure this deadly grief. MACDUFF: He has no children. All my pretty ones? Did you say all? O hell-kite! All? What! All my pretty chickens and their dam at one fell swoop? MALCOLM: Dispute it like a man. On stage the troupe continues with the play. Mary stands aside and listens. Most of those present have found this too much for them and gradually get up and dust themselves off and slowly leave the hall, saying goodnight in loud whispers as they go, whilst on stage,... DOCTOR: What is it she does now? Look, how she rubs her hands. GENT: It is an accustomed action with her, to seem thus washing her hands. I have known her continue in this
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My children too?

a quarter of an hour. LADY MACBETH: Yet here's a spot. DOCTOR:

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Hark! She speaks. I will set down what comes from her, to satisfy my remembrance the more strongly. LADY MACBETH: (who projected the words in an overly loud voice, so that everyone stops and turns to listen) Out, damned spot! Out I say; One; two; why, then't is time to do't. Hell is murky! Fie, my lord, fie! A soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him? DOCTOR: Do you mark that? LADY MACBETH: The Thane of Fife had a wife; where is she now? What, will these hands ne'er be clean? No more o'that, my lord, you mar all with this starting. DOCTOR AND GENT: ..I am sure that heaven knows what she has known. LADY MACBETH: Here's the smell of the blood still; all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh, oh, oh! 5 Mary feels a shudder trickle down her spine and she turns and leaves as quickly as she can, pushing through the crowd.
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Outdoors in the chill white luminous air, she is surprised to find it is early morning and the sounds of music from a church organ can be heard and voices singing hymns, as if in defiant opposition and in contrast to the sounds of music from the concert, echoes of which can still be heard coming from the hall. The last stragglers leave Rosie's place as Mary walks out of the door, and she is followed by two or three of the men; one grabs a bottle from another and gives it to Mary. She swigs a mouthful from it. Her little girl is asleep on a bundle of bedding in a corner under the stairs, and it seems a shame to wake her. Mary decides to come back for her later in the morning and links arms and marches down the street with the men, starting to laugh a little hysterically, as her heart is aching and her head reeling. Todays date was the twenty-eighth of January, 1883 and the next day would have been Franks twelfth birthday. Three of the churchgoing ladies of the town walking in the opposite direction deliberately cross the street to avoid them as they make their way up the hill. Lifting aside their skirts, they pass two drunken men, half-carrying Mary between them. The bank managers wife, who can remember when Mary was a young married matron attempting to deal with financial matters with her husbands guiding hand on her shoulder, could not stop herself from remarking as she passed: Really, Mary, what have you come to! ~~~~~~~

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CHAPTER 10

Mary meets Quinlan and Davidson.

A good recipe for home-made soap:1 6~/4 pints tallow fat, melted,1 (13 oz.) can lye, 5 cups cold soft water, 2 large tablespoons borax. Melt fat in large iron kettle (do not use an aluminium kettle). And set aside to cool. Combine lye and water in an enamel pan (be careful not to get too close to eyes or hands, use a long handled wooden spoon) and stir slowly until lye is dissolved. Cool , then add it gradually to the fat mixture, stirring with the wooden paddle, or spoon. Continue stirring until smooth and creamy,. then add borax, mix very well and pour into clean heavycardboard boxes, smoothing evenly. Let stand 24 hours then cut into bars with string, stack where air can circulate through to dry; dry two weeks before using.

After Mary moved back to the Lyell to live in the small cottage, her opportunities for making social contacts increased, which was no doubt part of the reason for her choosing to leave the farm. A woman living in an isolated area, alone except for small children, was vulnerable to the predations of disreputable men. The physical labour required to run a dairy herd and at the same time maintain a family of young children was onerous, and all these factors would have contributed to the decision to leave the farm. Mary may have been reluctant to continue living in the place which necessitated frequent crossing of the river which had already claimed the life of one of her children. There were few socially acceptable occupations for her other than that of laundress. A working-class housewife and mother necessarily carried out basic household chores of cleaning, cooking, washing and ironing, and it was to these services she must now look for an income. Miners worked in wet, dirty conditions and would be reluctant to take the time away
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from the search for gold to wash their own clothes if a woman was available to do it for them. The miners worked six days a week on their claims or at the mines, and came down into the village on Saturday evenings for entertainment, female company and to change their gold for cash. Part of the weekend activities was to obtain a change of clothes; wet and dirty claysoaked serge or woollen trousers for clean and dry. In the damp atmosphere of the Lyell valley they may have had to wait while their clothes dried before the fire, if the weather had been poor during the intervening week. A good drying day, one with sunshine and a brisk breeze to flap garments around on the wire lines, in Lyell was rare. Marys reputation in the village as a widow, a woman on her own, has over time been clouded, but there is no evidence that she was a prostitute, as asserted in later years. If she had been working as such, at the Welcome Inn with Helen Williams, or with her friend Rosie Boyle, also a laundress, there would have been no need to take in laundry. It is easy to imagine how neighbours would talk, and how easily circumstances could arise which would lead to false assumptions, when a man needed to change or discard his clothes in the main room, the only one with a fireplace, in the small two-roomed cottage. Heavy wet work clothes can take a long time to dry in cold damp air. The rules of behaviour for Mary had suddenly changed with the death of her husband, and any mourning she did for him would have been overshadowed by the need to survive herself and support the children. After 16 years of marriage, and living in a isolated area with no other company than her children for much of the time, the move to the village would have provided many occasions for social interaction, with both men and women. Dances were frequently organised at the hotels, including the Welcome Inn, and travelling theatrical troupes toured the goldfields in New Zealand and Australia. Not surprisingly, both of the men Mary was to meet and who were significant in her
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life were miners, and both of them Irish. One, Quinlan, an Irishman from Tipperary, said that he had known her brother before he met Mary herself, possibly in Westport. The other, Jack Davidson, was described in one newspaper account as a Liverpool Irishman. 2 Both Quinlan and Davidson had been in New Zealand for at least a decade and spent their working lives moving around mining sites in the South Island, with varying degrees of success in gold prospecting. Neither could be said to have been gentlemen, and both were used to using violent means to achieve their ends and to settle differences. Mary met Dennis Quinlan first, in July 1882. He was about 38 years old, and then employed in the United Victory Company mine at New Creek. The character of her new friend can be judged from this account of events at Canvastown, near Havelock on the Wakamarina River a decade earlier. He had also been involved in a shooting in Westport, and for six or seven months had been an inmate of the hospital there.
The Siege of Firths Accommodation House. Firths Accommodation House or hotel was a two-storied wooden structure ... On 12 September 1871 Denny Quinlan, George Brown and other miners left their claim on Quayle's Terrace, some 3 km upriver from Canvastown for a binge at Firths. Two days later they were still there and much the worse for liquor. Quinlan on his own admission could not recollect having anything to eat during that time. He hailed originally from Tipperary and was a big man with immense physical strength and a reputation as a bit of a bully, particularly when intoxicated. On the afternoon of 14 September Quinlan was annoying Mrs Firth, although there was no suggestion of sexual harassment. As the afternoon progressed Katherine Firth became so concerned at Quinlans behaviour that she prudently removed the knives from her kitchen. She then retreated to her bedroom and climbed out a window, seeking refuge at a neighbours. Back in the hotel her husband ... refused Quinlan any more alcohol. This move sufficiently enraged the miner that Firth ... gave Quinlan
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another drink in the hope that this would pacify him. The result was the opposite for Quinlan who grabbed a bottle and helped himself to its contents. After Quinlan had randomly thrown a set of heavy scales into an adjoining room and had armed himself with an empty port bottle from the kitchen, Firth concluded that the situation was rapidly getting out of control ... Susan Murdoch and her two children took the opportunity of getting out of the hotel. They sought safety in the store of Henry Moller. On his arrival at the hotel Murdoch ...offered the miner a drink but the latter responded by breaking the port bottle on the store counter. This action must have released some of the tension for the now unwelcome guest quietly sat down by the kitchen fire. Susan Murdoch and her children returned and the crisis appeared over. However, Quinlan could not settle and began moving around, eventually knocking over a kettle. Some remark by Murdoch so upset Quinlan that he rushed outside and the remaining occupants of the hotel promptly barricaded the door by rolling a beer cask against it, leaving the miner out in the dark and cold. A short while later Quinlan returned, claiming he now wanted to go to bed. Considering he had been at the hotel two days without sleeping, this was not an entirely unreasonable request. On being refused readmission he flew into a rage and tried to batter the door down with his bare hands. An offer of blankets so that he could make up a bed in the hotels stables only further maddened him. Despite his immense strength the door withstood the onslaught, so Quinlan began pounding it with boulders. With the noise of splintering wood, the Murdoch children screaming and Warner cowering in the kitchen, Firth retrieved two loaded firearms that he had closeted in his bedroom during Quinlans earlier outburst. With the door showing signs of collapsing a shotgun was discharged downwards through the door, apparently in an attempt to discourage Quinlan rather than with any intent of harming him.

Unfortunately Quinlan was bending down at the time, probably to pick up one of the boulders, for some of the shot entered the side of his body.... Quinlan was only slightly injured and decided to respond in a like manner,
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going along the street to the Maori Edwin Wilsons house for a firearm so ... he could shoot Firth. The old Maori refused Quinlans request and was It was only the intervention of others that

promptly knocked down.

prevented the miner seizing any weapons. Undeterred he returned to Firths and, watched from a safe distance by Wilson and the other residents of Canvastown, renewed the attack by throwing boulders at and, as holes appeared in it, through the door. As the holes got bigger Murdoch retaliated by jabbing Quinlan on the nose with the barrel of one of the guns. The gun proved incapable of withstanding this treatment and broke, the stock providing Murdoch with a cudgel with which he dealt Quinlan a severe blow to the head. With this Quinlan gave up the attack and spent what remained of the night, for it was now two oclock in the morning, in a dazed state wandering around Canvastown. An offer by Brown of water and

blankets was refused. The next day Brown and his mates took the concussed miner to Havelock where Drs Weld and Edward's treated him for his wounds. He later went to Picton Hospital where the shotgun pellets were removed. ...on 19th September in a crowded Havelock court Quinlan charged Firth and Murdoch with shooting and assaulting him. To add to the drama of the situation Quinlan was brought into the courthouse on a couch and showed ample evidence of the treatment he had received from Firth and Murdoch. As a counter Firth charged Quinlan with damaging his hotel. William Nelson of Blenheim prosecuted and Nelson solicitor Charles Fell3 defended Firth and Murdoch. On the evidence available to him magistrate Whitehorn dismissed the charge against Murdoch but, with great reluctance, ruled that Firth had a case to answer. Firth was remanded on bail to the Nelson Supreme Court. Quinlan was not entirely satisfied with the outcome for he issued another summons which resulted in Murdochs re-arrest and committal on the same charge as his father-in-law. At the Supreme Court trial on 20 and 21 November 1871 ... the jury had no trouble deciding that the assault was justifiable on the grounds of self defence. ... the judge remarked that the whole incident had
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arisen because of Quinlan being allowed to drink almost continuously for two days at Firths. For Quinlan the matter was not over for he faced a charge of escaping from custody on the West Coast in 1869. However, Charles Fell, who was now Quinlans lawyer, showed that in fact the custody had not been lawful for he escaped towards the end of a three months sentence for a crime that carried a maximum of only two months imprisonment... and Quinlan was discharged.
4

Quinlan returned to his claim at the Wakamarina but later moved to Lyell to work at the United Victory quartz mine which lead to his involvement in the life of Mary Gramatica. Some months later, in November of 1882, Mary met Jack Davidson, the other miner who played a crucial role in her life. Mary was no doubt flattered by the attention of the men in the village after her years as a married woman, and accordingly and appropriately, ignored. Since the deaths of her husband and son, events seemed to be proceeding at a faster pace than in previous years, and suddenly running out of control. Although only a matter of a few months had passed since they met, Davidson began to stay in her house at weekends, whenever he left the claim he was working up the Lyell Creek. He talked about marrying her, but never settled on a date. He may have intended that they marry at Easter; he stated later in January, 1883, he planned to do so in six or eight weeks time. He had discussed her with his mining partner, describing her as the old lady, and telling him that he thinks he might marry her. By January 1883 he had assumed the right to arrive at Marys place unannounced, and stay overnight. Although he was described in newspaper reports as a Liverpool Irishman, he eventually told Mary that Jack Davidson was not his real name, and that he was of French Canadian parentage.
5

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outpost of the British realm was not significant, but presumably the lure of gold was the incentive. By assuming so common a name as the one he used in New Zealand, Marys
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friend very effectively prevented any discovery of his true origins. Whatever the attitude of the British Colonial powers to the arrival of settlers from another of Queen Victorias dominions, Quebecs reaction to the emigration of French Canadians was resentful, and French-Canadian emigrants were presented as:
unhappy, exploited people who would lose their faith and language ... The clerical elite frequently misidentified the reasons for emigration laying the blame on the laziness of the emigrant or the extravagant desire for luxury of his wife. They were portrayed as weak people, incapable of effort or sacrifice, self-centred and inconsiderate of others. ... GeorgeEtienne Cartier, the father of Confederation, is reported to have said: "Laissez-les partir, cest la racaille qui sen va" [let them go, its the riff-raff that are leaving]. 6

In 1864 in the rush to the new goldfields, a Davidson is mentioned in the historical accounts of that time. It is not known whether the person in the following passage is the same Jack Davidson who was later at the Lyell, but it is quite possible judging by the impetuous nature of the actions of the person described below. If it is one and the same, he would have been 19 years old in this episode, as the person Mary knew by that name was 43 in 1883.
Boatmen plying the waters between Havelock and Quinlan Point or Mahakipawa were infamous for their surliness and exorbitant prices... Mostly the miners and other travellers were powerless to do anything but in one instance during May a miner by the name of Davidson got the upper hand. Davidson and his mate engaged two boatmen to take them to the head of the Mahakipawa Arm. Instead of going to the jetty the boatmen intimated they were going to put their passengers ashore before then, no doubt expecting to exhort more money from them. The response was that Davidson undid his swag, produced a revolver and asked the boatmen if they could swim. The boatmen replied that they could not but were not unduly alarmed until Davidson remarked that the boat, apparently incapable of reaching its destination, was of little use. He then fired a bullet through the bottom of the boat. The response was immediate, the hole was plugged and the boatmen promptly proceeded to the jetty. 7

Later in the same book there is a mention of Davidson doing well on the diggings:
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On 1 March 1865 845 ounces was entrusted to the escort and subsequently each trip averaged several hundred ounces. Amongst those making better than average returns were the Ahern, Connor, Davidson, Douslin, Mathews and Williams parties. 8

A diggers wealth, however, was known to be lost as easily as it was found. Davidson had worked at Matakitaki and Mariua, and was in the habit of toiling away for months at a time then coming down to the accommodation houses and knocking down his earnings. In terms of physical size and strength, aggressiveness and willingness to resort to violence, there was little to choose between the two men. When drunk, either one was just as likely to assault someone as the other. Mary had made a disastrously bad choice if she intended to team up legally with either Davidson or Quinlan. ......... In the Lyell valley on the Sunday evening of January 28, 1883, it was growing dark and there was a light drizzle of rain falling. After an evening at Helen Williams Welcome Inn, Mary was accompanied from the village by Dennis Quinlan and a couple of other stragglers who followed them home, each taking it in turns to carry Ada, asleep on his shoulder. Two weeks previously, on January 7th, Mary had known that it was already four years since Ada the first had been lost in the river. Her depression may not have lifted at all since then without the use of alcohol. She had been drinking during the afternoon, and if she drank much more than was wise the reason was that this night was the twelfth anniversary of the birth of her only son, Frank. This was the first birthday since he had died, eight months ago. The loss of her children, and Peter himself two years earlier, left Mary without her husband, her longest known companion in the colony, to share the burden of grief. With no other adult family members close by, she needed a shoulder to lean on, particularly on this weekend. Events had moved quickly since Peter Gramatica had died, after a decade during which
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little had changed in the lives of the family members apart from the gradual and imperceptible alterations which age and time bring. The death of her husband was followed by the death of their son, then the relocation from the farm across the river to the small cottage outside the township. In January of 1883, Mary had known Davidson for only a month or two, and yet marriage was planned by at least one of the pair. Much of this time, he was away in the mountains working his claim, and had come down to Lyell perhaps half a dozen times at the most, which did not allow them to become familiar with the character of the other. Marys world had changed significantly, and events may have seemed to be out of her control entirely. From being totally dependent on her husband as the provider of her material wants she had moved to being solely responsible for the well-being and survival of the remaining members of the family but without control of the financial means to ensure this. Davidson was little more than a stranger at this stage, despite the occasional night spent the night at her cottage. On this evening, there were others returning from the hotel behind Mary and Dennis Quinlan as they made their way home, and Mary had brightened up enough to tease one man known as Little Ben, saying that he must eat up his greens and grow a lot more if he wanted to be her fancy-man. When the entourage draggled its way from the town along the dark road and across the bridge to her cottage, Mary was surprised and embarrassed to find the lamp already lit in the cottage, the fire well alight in the sitting room and Jack Davidson standing there, making himself very much at home. Quinlan came inside with her, holding the child, and Marys embarrassment arose from the knowledge that Quinlan would assume that Davidson was living with her, and that he might tell her brother. The others accompanying them to the cottage quickly realised the situation and left without entering.
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Nothing which took place in Lyell went unobserved, even at night. It was a small settlement of dwellings and businesses huddled together in a confined area; sounds carried in the thin air of the valley, and privacy was a luxury not afforded to any who lived there. During the events which followed, neighbours listened and wondered whose were the voices shouting, what caused the crashes and thuds; they slipped outdoors around the corners of their houses to see if they could find out what was going on and the next day wondered at the lack of smoke from the chimney and noted the odd burning smells. One person even went to the door of the cottage, knocked on the broken window and tried to peer into the room, offering a bottle of brandy to those inside. The neighbours were all horribly thrilled to be involved in the dramatic events in their quiet little area where nothing much ever happened and any new incident seized was upon and shredded for any scrap of gossip to chew over. They knew all the participants and took sides as to who was to blame, and had their own strong opinions as to the reasons why things had turned out as they had. One even invented his own participation in order to share the fame and limelight.

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CHAPTER 11
1883 The Murder

For a man to be murdered in my house ~

January 28 , 1883, the 12th anniversary of Mary and Peter Gramaticas son Angelo s birthday.
Weekend revelry The usual accompaniments of a rush, drinking and fighting, were conspicuous by their absence during the week, for all hands were away working. This is not to say that everything was peaceful at the Lyell. A rather different state of affairs was shown one October weekend -- this being the only time the diggers from the reefs and alluvial workings came into the township. After a ball on Saturday evening, at the hotel on the south side of the Buller, opposite the Lyell, the spree wound up next morning with a free fight, black eyes and broken noses being only too common. Father Walsh, who was visiting from Westport, found it necessary to administer reproof to his flock and admonish them to observe the Sabbath. 1.

I am sure I will be taken up and tried with my child.

In the white timber Catholic Church, perched up on the hill at the end of the valley so that it could see and be seen along the length of the entire village, only three or four people sat in the pews. From the pulpit, Father Walsh told them: Today I'm here to speak to remind you that the Sabbath is the Lord's Day. It is a Holy day, not a holiday, and I'm sorely disappointed to find so few of this parish chose to be here when I myself have had to travel so far... Before he could gauge the response to this reprimand he was interrupted by noises from the street of fighting and cursing just outside the church, as three or four men punched and swung wildly at each other with broken bottles. May the Lord forgive them for fighting on the Sabbath, because I cannot. He gave up. ~~~
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In The Welcome Inn, Mary and Rosie sat huddled near the kitchen door. Ada was asleep on a palliase in the corner. He's not coming back down for a day or so, so I don't need to hurry, Mary said. It's time you had some fun; you work so hard all day, look at your poor old hands. Rosie took Mary's hands and turned them over. The palms were white lined with pink, but in between the fingers deep cuts and weeping skin revealed an allergy to the ingredients in soap. Mary moved her hands down into her lap, twisting her narrow wedding ring fashioned from a gold nugget Peter had found in the creek. At least the washing water keeps them clean. A small group of men stood around the fireplace, laughing and talking, and when Rosie got up to fetch another drink, Dennis Quinlan moved over to sit next to Mary. He lifted her hand. Are you going home soon at all? Yes, I will be going very soon, it's getting dark, and the rain seems to be stopping at last. Is anyone going to see you safely home? No, no-one is seeing me home. I can see my own way, I know it well enough by now. If you have no objections, I would consider it an honour to see you and the child home safe in the dark. Putting down her hackles, Mary replied, Why, thank you kind sir. I have no objection to that. Ada is still asleep, but when she wakes up I'll leave directly. Two drinks then, Rosie. Mary and Quinlan left the tavern, Ada still half asleep over Quinlan's shoulder as he carried her down the street. She was no longer a toddler, and too heavy for Mary to carry far. They looked the picture of a happy family group, as they passed Little Bens place and laughed at his infatuation with Mary. They walked along the roadway and around the corner until the cottage came into view, a light showing in the window, and smoke furling from the chimney. When Mary saw the light, she stopped, concerned that her being in company with Quinlan might be misinterpreted by another.
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It must be Jack. I thought he wasn't coming down yet. You're not to worry, girl. I'll keep him sweet. Let me carry Ada, she's getting so heavy.

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No, shes too much for you, in your present state, my dear. Mary opened the door and entered the cottage ahead of Quinlan, to find Davidson standing in front of the fireplace, arms akimbo, naked, his damp clothes draped around the fireplace. You are making yourself very comfortable, arent you! And why should I not? Davidsons welcoming gesture to Mary changed as Quinlans footsteps sounded on the verandah. Quinlan followed her in, still carrying the girl, who began to wake up as they entered the lighted room. Davidson grabbed some clothes from the sofa and put them on. Quinlan sank down with Ada on the sofa, and Mary lowered herself beside him. Quinlan pretended not to mind Davidson and pulled a flat bottle of brandy from his back pocket. Can I have a glass or three, Mary, and we'll all have a drink before I go. Mary got up and went into the kitchen, returning with a small tin mug. I have no glasses left, this will have to do. Quinlan poured some brandy into the mug and passed it to Mary. Ladies first, me dearie. Mary drank in one gulp and handed the mug back to Quinlan, who refilled it and passed it to Davidson. He placed the bottle on the table heavily. When did you come down from your claim? Quinlan asked Davidson. Just now. The water is rising and we had to shift the gear up out of the way. It's starting to rain again now. There's a lot more on the way, I reckon. Mary turned away and told Ada to stop crying and go to bed, while she poured Quinlan another drink. She took the stout stick which stood beside the fireplace and poked at the clothes soaking in the large cast iron pots hanging over the fire on a tripod. I'm off to bed then, little Adas tired. Close the door after you go, both of you. Mary left the room with Ada, and drew the curtain on its brass rail across the doorway.
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Davidson glared at Quinlan, and threw back another drink. He stood. I'm off to bed too. I've had a hard day. You'll be straight off out of here , Quinlan. Unbuttoning his clothes, he moved towards the bedroom, and through the curtain. Quinlan sat alone for a minute staring into the roaring fire, water bubbling in the black pots like witches cauldrons. He took another mouthful from the bottle, then rose to stand in front of the curtain, shouting loudly: You are imposing on this woman. I know her brother well, hes my mate. I ve got a great respect for her brother and for her, and I dont want to see it go on any longer. Davidson was already in bed with Mary, Ada on the far side nearest the wall. At Quinlans words, he finally lost his temper, which had been barely under control all evening, and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Mary tried to pull him down by his shirt. You're a liar if you say that, Quinlan. I say again, any man that comes between me and this woman, I'll have their heart's blood, damned if I won't. I wont be answerable for what I will do to him. Quinlan sat back on the sofa again. After reflecting for a moment or two he started up again: She's a good woman, a good mother, and has lost her husband and two children already. You really should treat her better . Ada stirred on hearing her mothers cry, and cried louder herself. Quinlan threw off his coat and pulled aside the curtain, shocked to see Davidson in bed with Mary. Davidson lunged out of the bed and at him. Davidson grabbed his chisel from the dressing-table on the way out of the room and ran at Quinlan, stabbing him in the wrist and when he tried to resist, the chest. Quinlan staggered back from the blows and slumped onto the sofa. Ada screeched at the sight of the blood she could see spurting from Quinlan's wrist. Mama, mama, he's bleeding. she whispered. In the other room Quinlan said to Davidson, There was no need for that. See what you have done. Pulling a shawl over her nightdress, Mary ducked under the curtain and took Quinlan's arm. She gasped and turned to Davidson.
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Orrh, you bastard, see what you have done to poor Quinlan. He's never done nothing to hurt you. She left the room and ran back with a sheet of fabric which she tore into strips, and wrapped Quinlan's wrist, but the blood seeped through immediately. Ada, an angel in her long petticoat and pale hair fanning across her shoulders, stood rigid in the doorway, watching everything, her hands over her mouth. Give me the brandy, Mary, Davidson ordered, and took a long drink. The best thing you can do is to take the bloody girl and go to bed, just get her out of here. Mary ignored Davidson and tore more strips of the fabric into bandages. Is it very painful? No, but give me some more brandy. Mary filled the mug again and handed it to Quinlan, who gulped it all, handing the mug back to her. She refilled it and drank from it herself. She moved to hug Quinlan and kissed him on the cheek, increasing Davidson's ill temper. Ada ran into the room to do the same. Mary grabbed Ada by the wrist and pulled her back through the doorway to the bedroom. There was no light and the two climbed into the bed, dragging the covers over their heads, Adas sobs eventually becoming quiet. Go to sleep, go to sleep, it's just a bad dream. It'll all be over in the morning, Mary tried to convince them both. After a few minutes of silence from the main room there were thumping sounds, a wild grunting and a cry of agony from Quinlan. Mary had fallen into a drunken doze, her head still spinning from the quantity of alcohol she had drunk during the course of the day and evening. At around three in the morning, it was so suddenly quiet in the other room that she woke. She slipped from the bed and pulled the curtain aside to peer into the other room, still lit by the embers in the fireplace. Davidson sat on the floor, sweating, naked. The firelight flickered flames over his chest. Quinlan lay dead on the sofa, his shirt open and bloody and his head on an angle. There was blood on the sofa and the floor. The fire blazed in the grate and the black pots of water were boiling over the coals. She bent
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over Davidson who was heavily asleep and woke him with her cries. What have you done to him? Oh God, a murder in my own house. I will surely be hanged and my daughter lost. Oh Jesus, Jack, you didn't need to do this. I do what I like in this house. I warned them all I'd take their heart's blood and I have. Those men will not come here again. What men? You make me sick. What are we to going do? Get dressed, will you. Oh, the clean clothes are all bloody. They come here to have their clothes washed, you crazy fool. There's blood everywhere .. the smell. I'm sick, I'm going to be sick. I'll tell you what to do; clean it up, woman. Wash the sodding floor. Poor Quinlan. He never hurt a fly. Mary wiped at Quinlans chest with a cloth and moved to tidy his shirt and saw the ends of his ribs protruding from his chest. Jack Davidson, you bastard, look what you have done. She lifted Quinlan's head up in her hands and kissed him on the forehead. Don't you touch him anymore. Oh, I'll touch him. I'll touch him alright. I'll clean him up and make him better. She wiped his face with her skirt and became increasingly more hysterical, scrubbing harder at his face. She was enraged at the situation she was in, the direction her life had taken and the deaths of so many that she had loved. Abruptly, Davidson lurched to his feet and grabbed the body underneath the arms to drag him away from Mary over to the fireplace. With one great heave backwards, he lifted him up and the head of Quinlan struck the side of one of the pans. The water flooded over his head and chest, his long dark hair and beard flattening and sticking to his skull. They both stared at the sodden figure, and Mary began to sob, and tugged at the feet to pull the body away. Its done it now, leave him there. Just leave him, Ill take him on. You get back to bed. Davidson took a bucket of cold water and threw it on the timber boards, and began to swipe at the oily pool of blood with his booted foot, and they watched the pink stain spread across the raw floorboards of the room.
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Later the early grey morning after a few hours of heavy sleep Mary woke, startled to see the dark form of Davidson sitting on the box in the corner of her bedroom. In the first moments of consciousness she knew something was wrong, and in the next second, Mary physically felt the memory of the events of the previous night hit her in the stomach like a blow from a fist. The weight of the implications of their actions pressed her to the bed and she burrowed deeper into the stolid mattress. The sick feeling remained. Her life was nothing but a series of disasters and there was no promising end to it. What are you doing there? Nothing, but you had better have a drink. All right, I will. My head aches so much. I cant remember getting home last night, the bad dreams I had were enough to give me a heart attack. Davidson left the room and returned with the mug, and handed it to her. I'd better be getting up soon, Mary said. You wont set a foot out of this room before twelve oclock tonight. Mary dragged her head from the pillow to look at him, thinking he had gone mad. What do you mean, you crazy fool? She saw the table propped up against the doorway and was more alarmed. What in Heaven's name did you put that there for? So as to keep you and your child in this room. You stir from here today, or let the child out, and I wont say what the consequences will be. Now Mary was aware that the nightmare was not only in her imagination. Davidson left the room. She became cold with fright, and her head cleared. Ada began to stir, and Mary turned back to her child saying: You cant go out into that room today, and we are stopping in bed all day for a change. She did not know what Davidson was doing about the house as she was afraid to go over to the door to look, the sight screened by the heavy scrim curtain and the table blocking the way. Davidson returned to the bedroom, now wearing a jacket and hat. The jacket is the one Quinlan
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I'm off to the Lyell. Stay right there, and if you or the child gets up and opens the door to anyone that knocks while Im gone, you will suffer for it. For Gods sake, just move the table from the door; and if you do I won't go out. If youll promise me that, then I will. I promise, just move it. Davidson then dragged the table a foot away from the opening to the other room and drew the curtain across behind him. As soon as he left the house Mary leapt out of bed and ran to the doorway. What is the matter, that you have us closed up like this? Davidson burst into the room and pushed her back onto the bed violently, hitting her on the head with his hand. She scrambled back under the covers. Is that the way to keep your oath? Now stay there. I'm going to the Lyell. Do you want anything? I want a bottle of vinegar and a bottle of salad oil, Mary said, trying to think of items that would take him the longest time to obtain. I will not be more than half-an-hour away and you are to remember what I told you. He hauled the table back across the doorway and left, slamming the outside door behind him. The house was still. The click of the latch sounded loud as the door closed behind him. He had gone. The cottage went quiet as his footsteps faded, and the reverberations of the noises of the previous night ceased and the furnishings and fabric of the two rooms settled into stillness. No clock ticked, no fire crackled or smouldered in the fireplace. The only sound was the water moving in the rising river below. The threats and orders were quiet, but still ran around in her head repeating themselves until they lost all meaning. But the stench of burnt woollen cloth remained on the cilia high up in her nostrils. The other room may have been empty for all the noise and movement that came from it, but she knew it wasnt. Dont go in there, hed said, dont even look in there, when he pushed the table up on its edge in the doorway and pulled the curtain across it, as if that would stop her.
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Of course shed look, of course she had to look. Lots wife, the virtuous woman, was told not to look back, and of course she did. Mary wished she hadnt. My beautiful blue blanket. She wished she hadnt seen her sofa with its blue cover and the pair of boots sticking out from beneath it at the other end of the sofa. The boots were visible, but the face of the owner of the boots was not. The blue cover was stretched across the far end of the sofa, away from her, not in the way of a blanket covering a person sleeping deeply who might have pulled the bedding over his face to avoid facing the morning light, but as though a second person had lifted the cover, looked beneath, and seeing the worst had replaced it to obliterate the sight. To herself she said, Quinlans still there and drew back from the room. He might only be sleeping but he is in a queer position for one who is just asleep. Dont go out, Jack said. Dont look. Dont leave the room, dont answer the door. Ive nothing to drink, nor to eat, the child will want something as soon as she opens her eyes. What will I do, what can I do now? Theyll take my daughter from me and Ill be hanged for sure. Oh my babies, all my children will be lost now, all my pretty chickens gone from me and no-one to help. Peter, you bastard dying and leaving me alone. Its too much for one person to bear. Even my own mother didnt have to go through this. Mother, mother what shall I do? Jesus Mary and all the saints, save me for my little girls sake, dont take me from her. Mary sat on the edge of the bed and lifted the girls soft hand onto her own large one. The childs pink and unlined, the fingers curled like fern fronds around her own. The nails small and curved reminded her of sea shells in a necklace. Marys own nails were short and ragged, kept soft by the washing water, and the skin over the knuckles swollen and creased. The fingertips had vertical creases along them from being immersed in water and the skin between the fingers red and rough with excema which never healed. Washerwomans hands, what else can

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you expect. Certainly not the hands of a lady who never did a stroke of work in her life, never chopped a stick of wood for the fire, never carried buckets of water up from the river, never milked cows on mornings so cold the milk nearly froze, nor ever scrubbed at clothes for hours at a time until her fingers bled at the knuckles.
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Maybe youll be a lady, my baby, and never have to work. You might grow up to be clever like your sisters and you might marry well, if you can find someone who will take you back to a civilised place and out of this wilderness which is nothing but a hell on earth. She looked around the room, at the unlined walls of rough timber the marks of the sawteeth still showing, a chair in one corner, a trunk, a candle on a chest in the corner near the window, her clothes hanging from hooks on a rack; an apron, a cloak, a skirt and petticoat and a chemise. She began to sing to herself a lullaby which sounded like a lament, until the girl lifted her eyes and smiled at her mother. The smile opened Marys heart and brought tears to her eyes, as her daughter asked Have the bad men gone, Mama? Wheres the blood? Theres no blood, theres no-one, it was just a dream, you goose. Mary was shaking as she slowly dressed, her fingers unable to do up the buttons on her blouse. She drew back the curtain to see if there was any movement from the heap on the sofa. She looked out again to see if she could see Quinlan move; but he did not. For an entire day, they stayed inside the bedroom, despite the girl pleading to go outdoors to play with the neighbours children as she always did once it became light. Outside Ada felt she could escape the shouts and heart-thumping terror she felt in here today. But she

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had her mother to herself and once she realised this, began to bloom in the attention directed unusually to herself. She turned the rag doll over and over while Mary talked to her, trying to determine whether the child could or would remember anything of the night before. It could all be dismissed as a nightmare, with a lot of sweet talking. From outdoors, the cottage appeared deserted, with the door and windows shut and the blinds down. The chimney was cold and no smoke plumed from the chimneytop. All this was unusual enough to draw comment from the neighbours. Nothing went unnoticed in the small settlement. There were no other diversions apart from those the townspeople created themselves, and simply the lack of apparent activity in the Gramatica house was enough to cause comment in itself. Before she was finished dressing Davidson returned. Footsteps thudded on the verandah floor, and Davidson spoke to her from the other room.
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I'm back and I've brought the oil and brandy for you.

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I don't care what you've got. What have you done out there? Davidson heaved a deep sigh and his dark mood of the night before returned. I've taken Quinlans hearts blood, that's what I've done, and there he lies. You go back to your bed and stay there if you know what's good for you and the girl. On Monday, Mary and the child remained in the bedroom the entire day and night, Mary dragging Ada back from the doorway more than once. Davidson pulled the curtain back long enough to pass slices of bread with butter and jam to Ada. Through the night he sat on the chair smoking his clay pipe, and before it became light on Tuesday, Davidson hauled the body off the sofa by the ankles and out the back door of the cottage and down the road rolled it into the scrub over the riverbank. In the morning, Davidson dragged the table away from the doorway and stood it back in its place beneath the window, and lit the fire. He stepped outside looking over the steep slopes of the ravine at the back of Marys cottage, then hurled the chisel over the terrace into the bushes, and went back indoors. You can get out now. It's about time. What have you done out there? Davidson did not reply but stuffed some clothes and the sofa cover into a bag. He took off his trousers, put them in the bag and changed into another pair. Mary came out of the bedroom, saying, Those are Christy's, you can't have those. She started tugging at them. Get away with you. I'm wearing them. He buttoned up the trousers and returned to the front door, surveying the room for any evidence of the murder, and noticing blood on his shirt, took it and the flannel he was wearing beneath it off and lit a series of matches and began burning holes in both garments. At the front of the cottage, Thomas Hubbard knocked at the front door and waited for a response. He stepped down from the verandah, walked around behind the house, and few moments later returned to the front door, and knocked again. Inside, Mary had the clothing in her hands and Davidson was lighting matches beneath the outstretched cloth. The knocking
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continued at the door, first the front then the back and the front again. Ada was watching. Davidson put out the last match and bundled the clothes away under the sofa. Mary pulled Ada to sit with her on the couch. Davidson moved across the room and stood beside the window, which was covered by a blind. Who's there? It's Tommy, it's me. What the hell do you want? I've something for the missus. I heard she needed a drink, urgent. Just put it through the windowpane, then. Well, no, let me in and I'll give it to her myself. Davidson moved the blind aside and put his head to the broken window pane beside the door, then pulled back. I can't be letting you in right now. Just give it here. Mary stood and moved to the door. No, you let me in. I'm damned if I will. Well, I'll be taking this with me then, if you don't need it that bad. Davidson drew the blind aside and watched, as Hubbard walked away. Mary slumped against the wall. Hubbard strode away from the cottage, bottle in hand. At the corner of the road he turned around and looked back. Nothing moved and he walked off. Davidson hoisted the bag over his shoulder and opened the front door. I'll be back soon, Im going up the Creek for a bit, Ive got something to do up there. He picked up a long strip of sheeting from the floor and looped it over Marys head and around her throat and pulled her face to his, and kissed her. We are bound together for ever now, Mary. I'll be back by eleven.

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The

CHAPTER 12

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The

day

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murder and Davidsons suicide attempt

Jack Davidson climbed the hills beyond the village, striding across Irishmans Creek where Peter Gramatica had pegged out his original claim in the Lyell. He had not known Marys husband or where they had once lived, and passed their old hut without a glance. Jack had told ORourke the previous night: I want to go down to the town. If the river comes up, I don't think I'll be back tomorrow, but if it goes down, I will. ORourke stayed the night alone in the hut, listening to the light rain on the tin roof. He was a placid man who tended to plough ahead with his digging regardless of what was going on around him, like the burrowing wombats on the goldfields in Australia. At about eleven, Davidson broke through the scrub, looking agitated. The billy was boiling on the iron tripod straddled over the campfire. Is there anything the matter? ORourke asked once he looked up and saw his friends face. No. You havent been in any bother or anything? No, I have not, I have not at all. Would you like something to eat? I've had mine already, but I'll do some for you if you like. Davidsons face was white, his eyes and hair wild and his mind elsewhere, but he said: I won't have any. I'm not hungry. I don't care for food, but some tea would go down well .... O'Rourke threw a handful of dried black tea leaves onto the water in the tin billy, stirred it with a stick and tipped the black liquid into a mug, handing it carefully to Davidson who said : Youre a good man, ORourke. I want you to come down to the Lyell with me. What for? I want to transfer the high claim to you. Oh. I wouldnt think it's worth anything much. Why would you want to do that, anyway?
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It's a good claim, it'll pay three or four pound a week, you'll see. I don't want anything for it -its yours free. I'd rather you have it than anyone else. If you don't take it, it'll only be jumped. Well, if its so good why don't you work it yourself? I'll never put a pick into this freezing ground again. What are you going to do with yourself, then? Are you going back home? I don't know. It all depends. Arent you going to work this claim with me anymore then? I don't know that either. Are you going to get married to that woman? I think I will. I think I might end up having to marry her, yes. It's the best thing you could do. You've been single long enough, and wasted all youve earnt. She owns that farm and you two could work it. Davidson grinned, and they stood up and left the camp together, swags slung over their shoulders. They stepped down the steep track to the river. On the way to the creek, Davidson reached into the bushes and picked up an axe hidden there. They continued downhill, crossed the creek, and walked to the township. They strode down Cliff Street, Davidson swinging the axe, and O'Rourke beside him down the hill and along the street as far as Sloan's. I'll see you back here at eleven or twelve. I'll have to cut the old woman some firewood. Shell have gone through it all by now. Five minutes before reaching Marys cottage, Davidson threw the axe into the bushes, straightened himself up, took off his hat and stepped up to the verandah. Inside, Mary peered around the blind over the broken window pane, and when she saw it was Davidson, she angrily wrenched the door open, Ada clinging to her skirts. Davidson loomed in the doorway, agitated and apprehensive. What do you want? Leaving me alone with this mess, you damned devil. I've just come to see if you wanted anything. Huh!
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She tried to shut the door in his face but his boot was wedged between the door and the frame. Listen, I've given me claim away and I'm leaving this place. Pack up the girl and come with me. I'll marry you, Mary, believe me, I will and wed best be out of here quick. Oh no, you won't. Do you think I'd marry you after what you've done, you confounded lunatic? Look at what you did to poor Quinlan, and left me with all this mess, and in my own house. He deserved it. He came between you and me. I warned him what I'd do to anyone who did that. It was on his own head. Never. He never did a thing to me and only sought to care for me, which is more than you ever did. I'll care for you right enough. Just marry me, Mary, and we'll have money enough to make a fresh start. Ill take you back to Ireland if you like. Ireland! I'd never go back to that miserable place, it's even worse than here. And I'll never marry you. Jack, get away before they come looking for you, and leave us alone. I only pray that I'll not be charged for a murder in my own house, and find my little girl lost to me. If you won't marry me my life is over. I don't care about the gold at all, I've given it away. Mary, you said you loved me once. I never. How could I ever love the beast that did that to Quinlan? I'll kill myself right away if you say that. Do it then. It'd be the best thing for all of us. You dont mean that, Mary. Yes I do. Davidson fell silent at this and turning away said over his shoulder: You'll have to do something about the body down the bank then, it'll start to smell soon. Mary went inside and slammed the door behind her. Davidson stepped back off the verandah, pulled his knife from under his belt, and waved it about. I'll do it, I'm damned if I won't. Ill cut my throat for the love of you, he shouted back at the cottage. He waited for a response but there was none. Arh, you bitch.
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He reached down to the path and picked up a rock and threw it at the door. It remained closed, and he heard the sound of the sofa being dragged across the floor and jammed up against the door. He waited for a minute, then turned and walked down the track to the creek, to the short cut where he was to meet ORourke. It's all your fault, you false-hearted bitch, he muttered to himself and hit his head with his hat, then flung it away. Marry me, Mary! He waited again for an answer, but there was none. The blind at the window moved a little. In a fury, he pulled down his collar and slashed wildly at his throat. He leapt into the air, and ran a few steps, looked back and waved, then cut again. Blood spurted and he ran on cutting again then stood still watching the blood falling. He slowly sank onto the bank on the side of the road, and fell sideways. O'Rourke was waiting at the beginning of the track, on the other side of the creek, becoming increasingly impatient. He walked along the track, waited, turned away to return moments later. He took his watch out: It's well after eleven. He slipped the watch back into his pocket and headed in the direction of the bridge. O'Rourke approached the bridge, but hesitated on seeing Mary standing there, reluctant to talk to her without Davidson being present. He walked towards her, taking off his hat. Mary was standing in the middle of the bridge anxiously looking over at the railing along the banks and down towards the river. Goodday to you, Mrs. Gramatica. I was to meet Jack a while ago, but he's not turned up. Do you know where he might be? He said he'd go by the short cut to meet you. It's that way. He's been looking for you. Ill go and see if I can find him. O'Rourke headed down along the track and across the creek, which still had only a foot or two of water in it, and was only about twelve feet across. After rain the depth would quickly increase
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to forty feet. He scrambled up the shaley bank on the other side, to the road, finding it very difficult to negotiate. When he reached road level he saw Davidson slumped face down on the ground. He's drunk already, the fool. Wake up, Jack, come on, Marys waiting to see you. He turned him over and saw Davidson's throat cut, his eyes open looking at him, glad to see him, but speaking with difficulty. Not her, she made me do it... She ..... At a distance, another man stands watching. When O'Rourke arrives, he comes over: I've already gone for the police. He'll be here directly. I tried to help him, but he went for me. Help me get him in to town. We can't leave him here like this, he'll bleed to death. They broke down two saplings, the other man took off his jacket and threaded the saplings through to make a sled and hoisted Davidson over it. Together they dragged him along the track, relieved when a horse and cart appeared around the bend. The driver helped them to lift Davidson onto the tray, where he lay gazing at the sky, his rescuers walking beside. ~~~~~ Davidson was found on the side of the road by his friend, ORourke, and was attended by Dr. Campbell. He was charged with the crime of attempted suicide and while he was in custody, Mary gave information to the police on the events leading to his attempt to take his life. A few days later, the body of Quinlan was discovered not far from the cottage, where it had fallen down the river bank. Once the body of Quinlan had been discovered, Mary was under pressure to change her first statement, which had tried to protect Davidson from blame for his murder. Mary and Davidson were both taken into custody, and later sent to Westport for trial. Marys daughter Ada Menga Mary was cared for by Mrs. Helen Williams. ~~~~~

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CHAPTER 13
January 1883

That which was secret between them

becomes public knowledge.

A young girl found the head of the unfortunate man about a dozen yards from where the body was discovered. The first reports of the incidents at Lyell appeared in the pages of the local and regional newspapers some days later, via the newly installed telegraph system, varying in detail and accuracy, but graphically describing all the injuries suffered by the victims. The series of telegrams gradually linked the murder of Quinlan with the suicide attempt by Davidson, the connection being their meeting at the home of Mary Gramatica a few evenings previously. A telegram sent by Constable Keating to Inspector Emerson dated January 30, 1883 under the heading Suspected Murder Near Lyell read:
A miner named John Davidson attempted suicide by cutting his throat with a razor, about a half mile from the Lyell, on the Buller road. Cause not known. The offender is in the lock-up attended by Dr. Campbell, and is expected to recover.1

The West Coast Times reported that Constable Keating in Lyell believed that a body found nearby was that of Denis Quinlan. The next telegram, dated February 6th, disclosed that:
At four p.m. yesterday (Feb. 5) a miner named Denis Quinlan, was found dead about 80 feet below the Buller road down a siding next to the river, within 100 yards of Mrs. Grammaticas house, and a half mile from the Lyell. He was last seen alive in company with Mrs. Grammatica, going in the direction of her house about ten p.m. on Sunday, 28th January last. The hat and coat are missing.
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cause of death is not known, but it is rumored here that there has been foul play.

An inquest had been held at Lyell, and the body identified as that of Denis Quinlan. Davidson had been brought before W. H. Revell, ex-Resident Magistrate, committed for trial and sent to Westport before the inquest was held, to be tried at the next sitting of the District Court. The inquiry was adjourned until the next Friday to give sufficient time for evidence to be collected. The West Coast Times report continued:
The man Davidson stopped at Mrs. Grammaticas on the night of the 28th ult., and two days afterwards he attempted suicide near the spot where the body was found. Constable Keating searched Mrs. Grammaticas house and found an axe, a flannel, a hat and some socks, which the woman said had been left at her house by Davidson, to be washed. Detective Quinn has been despatched to the scene of the supposed murder, and Mr. Emerson leaves for the Lyell at once, when a full investigation will be made into this mysterious and suspicious death.2

It stated that more than one person was involved in the attack on Quinlan, and from past accounts of his aggressive behaviour and powerful physical stature, he was unlikely to have been overcome by one person alone. The inference in the Inangahua Herald was that Mary had been an active participant in the assault, but the Lyell Times made no similar assertion. On February 8th the Inangahua Herald under the heading MURDER AT LYELL reads:
What up to the present time has every appearance of a shocking murder took place at Lyell on the last Sunday or Monday in January. The body of a man named Denis Quinlan was found under circumstances of very grave suspicion on Monday last, or about a week after the supposed murder, and the condition of the remains, their being in an advanced stage of decomposition further points to the
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likelihood of deceased having met with his death very shortly after his having been seen with Mrs. Grammatica about 10 p.m. on Sunday, January 28th. We have no information as to the appearance of the body when found, excepting that the head was much injured, and almost denuded of hair. Rumors had spread, which are unfounded, as to the head having severed from the trunk, and the body otherwise mutilated. It appears that on Sunday or Monday night a resident in the neighbourhood of Mrs. Grammaticas dwelling heard what he describes as a repetition of terrible cries of anguish, and assuming that these proceeded from the unfortunate deceased it certainly strengthens the suspicion of his having been murdered, and points very conclusively to there having been two or more parties concerned in the murder. ... Mr. Revell, R.M., left for Lyell yesterday at noon, and will hold an inquest today... The day after the supposed murder, and within 50 yards of where the body of Quinlan probably then lay, was the scene of another tragedy, which, if connected with the murder, was indeed a fitting sequel to such an atrocity. On Tuesday, January 30th, about a mile from Lyell on the Westport Road, a man named John Davidson was found lying insensible across the highway. The Lyell Times says:- Examination showed that the unfortunate man had cut his throat with a razor, there being an incised wound in the neck about five inches long, with rough ill-defined edges, severing the front portion of the throat and penetrating the windpipe, showing that the stroke had been made rapidly, and that the flesh had doubled in folds before the instrument. From the appearance of the locality where the deed was perpetrated it would appear that the man had struggled considerable after inflicting the wound, as quantities of blood were found some yards was lying and the razor was about 10 yards away. The sufferer was at once brought into town and lodged in the
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lock-up, where he was attended by Dr. Campbell, and made as comfortable as circumstances would permit. ... Our contemporary is silent as to the antecedents of the man Davidson, and from the fact of the Resident Magistrate having remanded him for medical examination in order to ascertain the soundness of his mind, it may be assumed that there existed no doubt in the mind of his Worship upon the matter. The coincidence is

certainly remarkable that this man Davidson should have attempted suicide in view of Quinlans body, and so soon after the murder had been committed; and there is a wide-spread feeling that Davidson probably knows more about the tragedy of which Quinlan was the victim than has been made public. (8 February 1883)

It was not subsequently clarified whether the razor Davidson turned against himself was the weapon which had earlier been used on Quinlan. On February 10, the Inangahua Herald reported that the inquest into Quinlans death had been adjourned to February 19. Only four of the large number of witnesses had so far been examined and rumours were quashed of decapitation. The head had separated from the body in the process of decomposition, but the fleshy part of the skull was remarkably clean, and not a vestige of hair could be
traced. An examination of the body showed that several ribs were broken, and the chest appeared to be smashed in.

On Saturday 10th February, 1883, the Nelson Evening Mail clarified matters by reporting:
Considerable consternation was caused the other day at the Lyell when the decapitated body of Denis Quinlan was found a short distance from the township and not far from the main road leading to Westport. It is difficult to obtain very reliable information respecting the matter, but it appears that the man was last seen alive on the 28th ult. together with one John Davidson and a woman living near the place where the body was found. A most singular circumstance in connection with the affair is that Davidson was found insensible on
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the road near the spot in question with his throat cut with a razor found close by. On being taken to the township and attended to it was found that the wound was not fatal, and the man was subsequently taken before Mr. Revell R.M.,., who committed him for trial for attempted suicide. This took place about three days before the body of Quinlan was found, the man in the meantime having been sent to Westport gaol.

The Westport Times of Friday February 12, 1883 said that:

The body was very much decomposed, so much so that the remains had to be placed on planks for removal. Close examination proved

that the head had been severed from the trunk; both were lying in close proximity to each other. The skull and face were entirely

devoid of hair, presenting the appearance of having been scalded. There were other marks of violence about the chest and ribs. The spot were the body was found is beneath an embankment 8 feet in height, with the Buller river running close by. Some scrub had

evidently prevented the body from reaching the river, that is assuming it was thrown from the top of the embankment. It is

hardly possible that an accidental fall would have resulted in decapitation and the other appearances mentioned above. We

understand it is the opinion of Dr. Campbell, of Lyell, that even death would not likely be caused by such a fall, much less the injuries which are shown. ... He [Quinlan] was last seen alive on the night of Sunday, January 28th in company with Mrs. Grammatica, who, we are informed, lives near the place where the body was found. As deceased worked at such a distance from the township (8 miles) it is not surprising that he was not missed -- his mates would doubtless think he was at Lyell, while his friends in town would fancy he was away at work, and thus there was no suspicion of his fate until the body was discovered by Patrick Carroll about 4 p.m. on the 3rd instant, about
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50 yards from the scene of the late attempt at suicide. Mr. Carrolls attention was attracted by the unbearable stench arising from the body. It was a noticeable fact that horses showed disinclination to pass the place....

The Lyell Times said that a young girl [rather than Patrick Carroll], found the head, about a dozen yards from where the body was discovered. Marys daughter Ada probably was the child who made the gruesome discovery after she was released from confinement in the cottage by Davidson following the assault on Quinlan, as she was most likely to have been in that area. The report continued:
The body was without a coat, and the hat was also missing... it is the impression of many that the deceased and others had been carousing together, and that there had been a desperate fight in which Quinlan had received one or more blows from a heavy weapon and had been thus overpowered, as under ordinary circumstances he was a man who would fight desperately, and who would never succumb so long as he retained his senses. If this supposition is correct, it is likely that the man was further maltreated after being overcome, and that he had then been carried to the side of the road with the intention of throwing him over the precipice. It would appear that the distance from where the crime is supposed to have been committed to where it was intended to dispose of the body had been miscalculated and that instead of it rolling down towards the waters of the Buller, it had been intercepted by thick scrub and undergrowth being, however, hidden from the view of passers-by. It is hard to say when the remains

would have been discovered had not the stench attracted attention.3

By 20th February 1883, the informations had been laid before the police, and confessions made by John Davidson and then Mary, after she realised the need to have her own version of events made known and that her friend may have intended using his statement to put himself in the best light possible and portray herself as the main instigator and executor of the assault
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on Quinlan. As a result of Davidsons statement, Mary also had been arrested and locked up. It was reported in the Lyell Times that John Davidson had confessed to the police his involvement in, but not responsibility for, the murder.
John Davidson at 8 oclock last night fully confessed to the police his knowledge of and complicity in the murder of Denis Quinlan. Mrs. Gramatica is now in prison. The inquiry was adjourned at 9 oclock last night to 9.00 oclock this morning. The Court has now further adjourned for half-an-hour, awaiting the presence of the Inspector, who is taking down the confession of Mary Gramatica, which is closer to the truth than that of Davidson. Great sensation prevails, and the Court is densely packed. There are no further particulars to hand at present. John Davidson and Mary Grammatica have just been committed on the Coroners warrant for the murder of Quinlan. He will be brought before the magistrates on Friday.4

The prisoners were then committed for trial at the next criminal sittings of the Supreme Court at Nelson, to be held on 15th June, and Mary and Davidson were sent to Westport Gaol. The official statement made by Davidson, and Marys confession, had been printed in full in the press in Wellington on February 21. Davidsons statement was an attempt to exonerate himself and blame Mary for the murder of Quinlan. He claimed that he was asleep throughout the night of the murder, that Mary had knocked Quinlan down as he attempted to attack Davidson as he slept, and that she had thrown water over Quinlan to stop him from having a fit. The statement read: I, John Davidson, say as follows: I was going to be married to Mrs Gramatica in six or seven weeks from the time this affair happened. I came down here on the Sunday night, 28th January. I was all wet,
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and I took off my clothes and made a fire in Mrs. Gramaticas house; hung up my clothes to dry, and before I turned in on the sofa, I nearly drank half a bottle of brandy. Then I unlocked the door and left a candle alight on the table, and never woke until the next morning. I then got the bottle and emptied what was in it. I then lit my pipe and had a smoke. Then I heard Mrs. Gramatica, singing out that she was dying for a drink. I said nothing, but looked round the place, but could find nothing. I then proceeded to town. I went to Mrs. Williams first, but she would not get up. I then went to Sloans and got half a bottle of brandy. Then I came back. In going home I picked up a bottle of brandy before I got to the fowl-house, and when I went in Mrs. Gramatica started to tell me about leaving the door open. She was getting up at the time. We had three or four drinks, and a talk at the same time. I went to look for some matches to light my pipe, and the first thing I saw was my own shirt, and blood on the sleeve of it. I asked Mrs. Gramatica what brought that there or how it came. She told me that she had saved my life last night, for my brains would have been knocked out on the sofa. She said she was coming from town, and there was a gent who was coming with her, but that she did not want his company. I asked her if anyone had come home with her, and she said not, but that a man came after her with a billet of wood in his hand, and his hand was all blood. He saw my shirt hanging up to dry and wiped his hands upon it and the next thing he heard was me snoring hard. He wanted to know who was that? He then rose the billet of wood to hit me with it, and Mrs. Gramatica saw him in the act
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and knocked him down. He then went into a fit on the floor. She then ran and locked the doors, and threw some water on him. She pulled me, but could not waken me. She then put him out the back door, and followed him down the road and saw him and another man rolling off the road. I asked her why she did not lay an information against him for killing for the man. I said he must be dead, else he would never roll him off the road. I told her that I would lay an information. She then brought a bottle of brandy, put two good drinks in a mug or teacup and told me not to be a fool, and not to interfere with what did not meddle with me. She next brought a prayerbook or Bible, and put it on a chair and went outside and brought in an axe in her hand and made me swear that I would never mention it to a man, woman, or child, living or dead till I would see myself in danger, or she would knock my brains out with the axe which she held in her hand. I got the book and took the oath. I asked her then if any person saw this man coming with her. She said yes; he left Rosy Boyles with her, and that it was Denis Quinlan . I then said you will be hanged as sure as hell. She said No, by God. I never put my hands on him, but wanted him to go back I then asked her what it was that killed him. She replied she was coming along by Little Bens, and he tried to take liberties with her; that Little Ben came with her to get Quinlan away. I asked how she got in tow with Ben. She said she saw him with watercress and

humbugged him about his greens. She said he was getting sweet on
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her, she could see it; and he thought that if he could get Quinlan back he would sleep with her that night, which was the Saturday night before accident occurred to me. The two men came along the road after her, and she was trying to get away from them, and she looked behind and saw Little Ben knocked down and Quinlan pulling off his coat. She stood for a minute on the road a few yards away from them, and observed Quinlan fall, and said Oh, my God! She then ran as

fast as she could until she got home, and when she came she fainted on the floor. She had just come to a little before Little Ben came in. I again advised her to go and lay an information to the police, and she took up the same book that I had sworn on, and she swore by the heavens and earth that she would never divulge a word; that she would suffer to be hanged, drawn and quartered before becoming an informer, and then she kissed the book and told me to be a man and not a coward. I said to her that I wished to heaven I was dead before she told me about it. I said I would be tried for this as well as her, as I was in the house and would never deny being there. I told her that

everyone about the place knew that I used to go and stop there. She said, be a man and not a d----- lunatic. I have (asked) for you, Inspector Emerson to give this evidence of my own free will, and have requested the presence of Mr. Detective Quinn, as to the proof of my statement -John Davidson.

INSPECTOR EMERSON -- The signature on the back is also in the prisoners handwriting. I arrested Mary Gramatica on the evening after the statement was made. She sent for me the following

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morning, and made a statement to me.

In consequence of that

statement I went to her house with Constable Keating. The ex-Resident Magistrate William Horton Revell, who had been presiding over court proceedings at Reefton, left the larger town some miles away to act as coroner at the inquest into Quinlans death at Lyell. The inquest was held in the Court House in Cliff street between the Post Office and the policemans residence. It had three windows on the south side and two narrow tin chimneys to the fireplaces inside, which in February would not have been required. The Post Office was the only telegraph station in the town, and from here news was sent to the outside world of the scandalous events in this precipitous township. The inquest was adjourned for ten days, and at the completion of the inquiry Mary Gramatica was kept imprisoned there, before being taken to Westport to await her trial. The lock-up was a small shed to the side and rear of the Post Office and Court House area and policemans residence, surrounded by a fence with a pathway leading down the banks of the hill to the creek. Further down the slopes towards the Lyell Creek was the outhouse, beyond the picket fence strewn with the policemans washing, and from the rear of these buildings Mary was able to look across the cleared banks towards the Welcome Inn, where her little daughter was being cared for by Helen Williams. Her imprisonment was in consequence of her statement to the police, which although considered to be more accurate than Davidsons as an account of events, was still enough to have her committed for trial. Marys version of events had been given to the police a week or so after the body of Quinlan had been found. Mary offered to lay an information, the term used then to describe making an official sworn statement to the police, no doubt after realising that Davidsons story was likely to change and to be constructed in such a way as to implicate her to her detriment. Her statement read:
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I, Mary Gramatica, on the 28th of January last, was going home. I met Denis Quinlan at Rosy Boyles. He asked me if I was going home soon. I said yes, I will be going very soon. He asked me if anyone was going to see me home, I told him no. He said if I did not object he would see me and the child home. I thanked him and said I had no objection. The child was sleeping at Boyles, and I said when she woke up, I would go immediately. She did awaken, and I went directly. He came with me home. There was a light in the house and a good fire on. I opened the door, which was not locked. I found John Davidson standing on the floor when I went in. I said, you are making yourself very

comfortable. He said why not. Quinlan came in after me sat on the sofa. I also sat down beside him. He had a bottle of brandy with him and asked for an empty glass. I said I had no glass, and give him a small mug. He poured out some brandy for me, and I drank it. He helped Davidson to some and then himself and then he put the bottle and mug on the table. He asked Davidson when he came down. Davidson said not long ago. They were conversing together, but I did not pay much attention to what they were saying. Quinlan asked me to let him have another drink, which I did. They then began to talk rather crossly to one another. Quinlan said you are imposing on this woman. I have a respect for her brother and her, and I dont want to see it. Davidson called him a liar and said anyone that goes between that woman and me I will do something to them. Davidson called Quinlan a son of a b----- and Quinlan threw
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his coat off and stood up to hit Davidson, but he could not get up in time to hit him. Quinlan came back again and sat on the sofa and showed me his hand, saying, look here. I screamed and said to

Davidson, oh you, b --------, see what you have done. Quinlan was stabbed in the wrist, which bled very freely. He seemed not to say much then, and my little girl was screaming when she saw the blood. I got a bandage and bound his wrist up. He again asked me for brandy and I gave it to him. Davidson said the best thing I could do was to take my child and go to bed. I asked Quinlan if his wrist was painful, and he replied no, but to give him more brandy, which I did and had some myself. I then went to bed, the child being cross. I left Davidson and Quinlan together, they had ... words in my presence. I went to sleep and did not wake till morning. I woke pretty early. Davidson was sitting on my box, beside my bed. I asked him what he was doing there. He said nothing, but you had better have a drink. I said all right. He gave it to me and I said I must be getting up soon. He said you wont stir out of this room before twelve oclock tonight. I looked at him and thought he was mad, and asked him what he meant. I saw the table up against my bedroom door, and I asked him what he meant by putting it there. He said, so as to keep you and your child in your room. He also said, if you stir from this room today, or let the child out, I wont say what the consequences may be. I then got very frightened of him, seeing what he had done to Quinlans wrist. I turned round to my child and said (to come but) stopped in bed. I dont know what he
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was doing about the house as I could not get out to look, the door being barricaded He then came into my bedroom and said he was going to the Lyell and said if I or the child got up and opened the door to anyone that knocked, I would suffer for it. I asked him for Gods sake to remove the table from the door; and if he did I would not get up or go out. He said If you promise me that I will. He then removed the table. I got out of bed immediately to see what was the matter that he had me closed up like that. When he saw me get out he pushed me back, and I got into bed as quickly as possible. He asked me if that was the way to keep my promise. He said he was going to Lyell, and asked me if I wanted anything. I told him I wanted a bottle of vinegar and a bottle of salad oil. He went to the Lyell, and he said he would not be half-an-hour away and to remember what he had told me. As soon as he went away I got up to see what was the matter. I saw something like a heap of blankets half on the sofa and half on the floor. I saw two boots under the blanket partly covered over. I said My god, that must be

Quinlan and went back to my room then, and thought he might only be sleeping but thought he was in a queer position, and used to look out to see if I could see him move; but I did not. Then I began to dress myself, which took me a good while feeling so frightened. Before I finished dressing, Davidson came back and

brought vinegar, oil and brandy with him. I asked him what he had done. He said he took Quinlans hearts blood and said Yes, there he lies. He told me to go back to my bed again, which I did and stopped
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there with my child all day, and never got up till Tuesday morning, but I could not sleep on the Monday night. I heard Davidson drag something out of the house from the back door, but could not tell the direction he dragged it in, or what he did with it. He came back in about a quarter of an hour. He called me after daylight on Tuesday morning, and said I could get up. He got a bag and put some blankets in it, with my sofa cover, and changed his trousers. He wore a pair belonging to Christy, a foreigner, and put them on, and put his own in a bag with the blankets. He took the bag with him, and said he would be back by 11 oclock, which he was. He had a dagger, and threw it over the terrace in the morning, just at the back of my house. He then changed his shirt and flannel, which he took off and burned with a match. This is all I know about Quinlan and Davidson. The following are her words in answer to questions put to her (Mrs. Grammatica) by me:This statement has been made of my own free will, and without any questions being put to me. I requested Constable Keating to fetch in Inspector Emerson to take this statement, which is true. Gramatica (22 February, 1883) The West Coast Times of 27 February, 1883, used the report from the Lyell Times to give details of the testimony of the many witnesses to the events leading up to the murder. THE LYELL MURDER (after confession by Mrs. Gramatica) ... we extract the following additional evidence to the confession of the woman Gramatica and that of Davidson:118

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Louis Carmine identified the boots worn by deceased. John Whelan identified the body by the cast of the head and a broken nose, which deceased had received during his lifetime. John Snodgrass produced a plan showing the distance from Mrs. Gramaticas house to where the body was found is 232 ft. There were only two rooms in the house, a cotton screen serving for a door between the two. Patrick Carroll deposed that he lives 150 ft. away from Mrs. Gramaticas. On the 5th inst. he was proceeding up the road,when he saw a human body below the embankment and reported the matter to the police. Subsequently he had from the clothes identified the body as that of Denis Quinlan, whom he had last seen alive on Sunday, January 28 about 5 or 6 pm. ...William Wallace, who was in witnesss employ...had on the morning of January 29, asked witness whether he had heard any row in Mrs. Gramaticas during the previous night. Witness said No when Wallace described it as the most awful row he had ever heard, and that he thought everything in the house was smashed. He said it occurred about 2 or 3 am., that there was a great fall, and then everything was still. Witness was in town on the night of Sunday, 28th January, and returned home about 11 pm. When passing Mrs. Gramaticas , the house was lit up. Heard voices inside as though five or six persons were conversing together, but could not recognise any of the voices; there did not appear to be any anger in them; heard nothing more during the night... William Wallace, carpenter, ... deposed:- I was sleeping at Mr. P. Carrolls on the night of 28th January last. I know Mrs. Gramatica; Carrolls house is about 60
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paces from her house; I was awakened from my sleep between the hours of two and three oclock on Monday morning, 28th January, by a great row in Mrs. Gramaticas house; I lay in bed listening for some time, and then got up and went to the back door of Carrolls house; I remained at the door facing Gramaticas house five or ten minutes listening; I heard the row and a great scuffle all the time I remained there; I heard a heavy fall and then everything was still; I then returned to bed, as I thought the row was over... ... Inspector Emerson stated that Mrs. Gramatica had informed him that Davidson had told her he stabbed Quinlan to the heart. When asked by his Worship if they had anything to say in answer to the charge Davidson said -I have nothing to say. I reserve my defence. Mrs. Gramatica said-I have to say I am perfectly innocent of the charge; I know nothing whatever about the murder except what Davidson told me, and seeing the body lying there; I only saw the boots; neither hand, act, nor part in it. I saw Davidson stab him in the wrist on Sunday night about twelve oclock. I have nothing more to state. I have taken

At the conclusion of the inquest, the jury found that Denis Quinlan was wilfully murdered by John Davidson and Mary Gramatica on the morning of 29th January, 1883. The prisoners were then committed to be tried at the next criminal sittings of the Supreme Court at Nelson, to the held on June 15, 1883. The Westport Times gave these descriptive historiettes: The prisoner, Davidson, now in Westport Gaol, is, we are informed by one who has known him since 1873, about 43 years of age, and as to nationality, is
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described as a Liverpool Irishman - born in Liverpool of Irish parents, we presume. He was working as a miner for many years at Matakitaki and Mariua, and was in the habit of toiling away for months at a spell when he would come down to the accommodation house and knock down his earnings. Upper Buller district. Mrs. Gramatica, in whom much public interest is just now centered, is a tall masculine woman, of the character known as strong minded. Her present serious difficulty is the climax to a life of trouble. She and her husband (who died in the Westport Hospital some two years ago) lived a cat-and-dog life for a long time, mainly owing, it is said, to the womans drinking habits. When Gramatica died, he willed his property at Lyell to his son, afraid that his wife would dissipate it. The farm and dairy were carried on a while, and then leased to Mr. John Reid. Since that time Mrs. Gramatica has been gaining a living by washing, but has not borne a very good reputation. The son Frank died six or eight months ago, and the only surviving child, a little girl, has been kindly taken care of by Mrs. Williams, of Lyell. Almost five years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Gramatica lost a daughter, a fine girl of 14 or 15, Ada by name, who was drowned before their eyes. She was returning home from the Nelson Convent School, and, with another person, while crossing the river opposite Lyell, in a chair, the rope broke, precipitating them into the boiling stream beneath. Both were drowned. Westport Times. 2/3/83 ~~~~~~ He is well-known throughout the

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CHAPTER 14
THE INQUEST. Monday 19th February, 1883

The Shipping Intelligence in the Nelson Evening Mail of Friday March 2, 1883, shows an interesting coincidence in the passengers arriving aboard the steamer Hawea from Picton, Wellington and South, listing Mesdames Giblin (Marys maiden name) and Davidson. It is possible they were family members arriving in the South Island to lend support to Mary and Jack Davidson. The newspaper reports of the murder-suicide attempt had aroused great interest in the country, and the West Coast citizens were sufficiently excited by the newspaper accounts of the court hearings to leave their daily activities in order to witness the arrival of the accused at the Gaol. The arrival of the coach from Lyell was greeted by a large crowd in Westport. Mary and Davidson had been escorted by Constable Palamontaine down the track which ran beside the Buller River on their long coach ride together, following the course of the river in which Marys daughter had been lost. Mary had dressed in black, and covered her face with a veil to avoid being scrutinised too closely by the crowd. She was not yet out of the traditional twelve month mourning period for her husband and her son, but for whom was Mary in mourning ? For her daughter Ada, who had been lost in the river, for her husband who had died broken-hearted, for her son Frank, for her friend Daniel, the victim in this murder; for all of them, or for herself? How long she had been wearing the costume appropriate for mourning, the black dress, a hat with a veil and gloves -- had it been since Peter died, and had she intended to wear it for the customary year after death of a husband, or was this a disguise donned specifically to avoid the public gaze?
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Her wrists were left free of handcuffs, but not so those of Davidson, who still had his throat bandaged from ear to ear, after his rough attempt to sever it, as he was considered still dangerous both to himself and others. He was described as looking very miserable and despondent. On Friday March 2nd, 1883, the Nelson Evening Mail reproduced a report of their arrival in Westport from the Westport Times of the previous Tuesday:
The arrival in town, on Saturday evening, of John Davidson and Mrs. Gramatica was witnessed by a large number of persons, who crowded around the coach when it stopped at the corner of Wakefieldstreet, near the Gaol, to put down the prisoners and their guardian, Constable Palamontaine. Mrs. Gramatica (being a widow) was dressed in deep mourning, and was thickly veiled. Her appearance was much more reliant than Davidson who looked very miserable indeed. The fact of his attempting to commit suicide is an index to his despondent character, showing that he had not much faith in his ability to free himself from trouble. The male prisoner only was handcuffed during the journey. The general impression is that neither of the statements made by the prisoners is true except in slight degree. Both are considered guilty, and their confessions are taken as mere attempts to implicate each one the while concealing the actual circumstances of each ones connection with the crime.1

The detailed report of the inquest in the Inangahua Times of Thursday February 8, 1883, was not printed in the paper until March 7. Its many columns were headed LYELL
MURDER,

and began with a report of the testimony of Ellen Williams, (later referred to as

Helen), an hotel keeper at Lyell, who said she knew the deceased Denis Quinlan. She said that:
he came to her house in company with Mrs. Gramatica between 8 and 9 pm. on Sunday 28th January. The two left together, but Quinlan returned shortly afterwards and obtained a bottle of brandy. Witness recollected Monday, 29th January. She saw John Davidson on that date when he came to her house between 4 and 5 oclock a.m. He knocked at
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her bedroom window and asked for a bottle of brandy. Witness refused to give it him. He said, For God sake give it to him, as he had a friend near dying, and he would give her 15s for it. When he was refused, Davidson went away growling.

Next to appear was Rosanna Boyle; washerwoman, neighbour and close friend of Marys but the newspaper report said:
she did not appear to remember anything, except that she had seen Quinlan and Mrs Gramatica crossing the bridge on the evening of Saturday the 27th January. Mrs. Gramatica was at her house on Sunday evening, 28th. Did not know when she left. In fact her

memory failed her altogether when she got a nip or two extra. 2

Apparently this lack of memory of the events of that weekend rendered Rosanna Boyle inappropriate to give evidence and she was not called to appear at the trial later held in Nelson. Yet Mary had stayed the night with her after the murder, and must have shared with her the details of the assault on Quinlan. It may not have been only the alcohol which rendered her unable to recollect any more details; it may also have been the result of a brief visit which Davidson had paid her on his way back to the cottage after his futile attempts to obtain more brandy on the morning after the murder. That he felt great animosity towards her was documented in one of his letters to Mary when he wrote: Rosy Boyle is the cause of all this. Shes a devil. 3 That he called in to see her after the murder was witnessed by the baker, Frederick Bulmer, MQuilkin and Bernardo Sciarone. Bulmer said:
We waited until we saw Davidson going along the road on the other side of the street, five or ten minutes after leaving. He must have

stopped a few minutes at Rosy Boyles. Anyone to look at him would take him to be a madman.4

Davidson had probably threatened Rosanna Boyle with violence or even death if she testified
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against himself or Mary, and as she was aware of what he had already done it is not surprising that she wished to remain silent. After Rosanna Boyle gave her fragmented recollection of that weekend, Owen Rush was called to give evidence, but he too had been on the spree and could not recollect anything that occurred on the twentyeighth. The next witness was more helpful in providing an insight into Jack Davidsons mental state at that time. Thomas Croncher, a miner, who resided at Alpine Hill, said he:
was in the lockup seeing Davidson, who asked him to go up the Buller for his swag. Witness said he would go on Monday. Asked Davidson what made him cut his throat. Davidson said he had bad luck for over four years, he was heavy in debt, and had been thinking about cutting his throat for 12 months.

This could indicate that Davidson had been simply suffering from depression after a lengthy run of bad luck, and as a result of economic circumstances had long contemplated suicide, or that he was attempting to use this excuse to explain his actions, rather than linking it with the fear of being found responsible for the murder of Quinlan.
He asked witness to take a letter for him (on the day Quinlans body had been found) to Mrs. Gramatica. Read part of the letter in her own house ... She asked witness to read it. It stated she was to let Tommy (meaning witness) have the watch when he paid her the sum of 11 pounds5

Marys ability to read is later called into question, and it seems she often used to ask others to read her letters to her, which suggests that she was not sufficiently literate enough to read them herself, although she denied this in court later. Being unable to read and write was not unusual in those days. 6 The next witness called was John ORourke, whose evidence was credible enough to
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be repeated at the subsequent trial in Nelson, with a few omissions from the details he provided at the inquest. He stated:
I know John Davidson, he was a mate of mine up to the 28th January last. We have been mates since a fortnight before

Christmas to the 28th of January. We worked all Sunday as the river was rising and we were cleaning up the boxes. He said he had business. He came back on Tuesday morning about half past six or seven. He was quite sober but had a peculiar look and seemed

excited. I asked if there was anything the matter, and he said no. I asked him had he been in a row; he said no. He asked me to

accompany him to the Lyell as he wanted to transfer his mining interests to me. I asked him the reason; he said that hed never go back any more. I asked him was he going to marry that woman (meaning Mrs. Gramatica) and he said I think so. I often heard him talking about the woman before this. We then left for the Lyell. We crossed the Buller. On our way here Davidson was behind me and when we came out on the road Davidson had an axe on his shoulder, I never saw the axe before. I did not see him stoop. I did not see him pick it up. I asked him where he got the axe, he said it was his own, and he was going to take it to chop some wood for the old woman. He left me at Sloans and went across the Lyell creek in the direction of Mrs. Gramaticas. He was to meet me at Carrolls about 10 a.m. The next time I saw him he had his throat cut. Davidson never mentioned Quinlan to me; he was a man who generally kept his own secrets well. I believe I passed within a few yards of Quinlan that morning as I went over by that track to see Davis (Davidson). I have chaffed Davis (Davidson) about Mrs. Gramatica. He got angry one day when I was running her down. Davis (Davidson) was in the habit of carrying a dagger about with him. He looked excited that morning and very pale, his clothes were not disarranged,
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but he had a very bad look. Davidson told me that Mrs Gramatica once threw a billy of boiling water over a man named Michael MGaughin to get rid of him.

It would have been useful to know when Davidson made this last statement to his mate, whether it was before or after the murder, in view of the condition of body of the murdered Quinlan. If it was after, it could be that here Davidson was trying to explain how it appeared to have been affected by hot water; if prior, perhaps throwing hot water was a deterrent Mary had used before on unwanted visitors. The next witness was a labourer, an Italian labourer by the name of Bernardo Sciarone, who gave evidence that he had been in Quinlans company on the evening of Sunday 28th January. He also testified that Davidson had come to him for a bottle of brandy early on the morning of Monday 29th January. His requests for an interpreter were not complied with, which led to a significant misunderstanding and a prolonging of the inquiry due to his statements that he had been the last to have seen Quinlan alive, and therefore was the murderer. He denied having been at Mrs. Gramaticas house on the Sunday night, but admitted being there two or three times since. A more informative witness was Alexander Chase, a cook at Famers Hotel. He stated:
I was at Mrs Williams Hotel on 28th January. I went there just after tea and stayed till 10 or 11. Quinlan and Sciarone came as far as the back bar door. I was talking to Mrs. Williams. Sciarone came in and wanted a game of cards but nobody would play. I took Sciarone away leaving Quinlan in the bar. I never saw Quinlan alive after this time. On the following morning Davidson came to the kitchen door about 5 oclock and wanted me to call Fama. T. Buddle who was with me asked why he did not go to Nellies [presumably Helen Williams] and Davidson then asked for Sciarone. I
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had seen Sciarone that morning cleaning boots before Davidson came down in the wash house. Sciarone was up early this morning. Saw Davidson and Sciarone both return to the kitchen. Davidson asked for the brandy, and Sciarone said I can get you the brandy, they both left. Sciarone returned in about three-quarters of an hour. Davidson appeared very excited; he had a black wideawake hat on, with a high crown, he was all over mud and dirt. He had on dark trousers, open in front. The same trousers he has now on in court, but not the same coat. He had a brandy bottle in the left pocket of the coat. His shirt bosom was open, all his clothes seemed much disarranged. He also had a singlet on. He looked very wild and was constantly looking behind him; he

appeared just the same as if he was drunk all night. I said that fellow looked like a white-washed Yankee. Buddle then told me his name; he said Look at Davidson, he looks like a murderer; his eyes are staring right out of his head. After Quinlans body was found, I accused Sciarone of not being in bed on that Sunday night. Mr. Fama told me that he went into his room but Sciarone was not there, it was about eleven o'clock when I took Sciarone home. I had a conversation with Sciarone in the kitchen about two days after Quinlans body was found. We were talking about the shameful way in which Quinlan was murdered... He said that I knew nothing about it as he was the last man that saw Denis Quinlan. I asked him how he could be the last man to see Quinlan as I brought him (Sciarone) home, leaving Quinlan. ... I then explained to Sciarone what took place the night before but he still insisted that he was the last man that saw Quinlan alive.

In response to questioning from a member of the jury, Chase said:

I am quite sure that Sciarone was up in the morning that Davidson came for the brandy. I went to get a drop of kerosine to start my fire, and I saw Sciarone cleaning the boots. The coat and hat that Davidson
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was wearing were covered with mud; it was fresh but dry. Davidson came in through the right-of-way between the Bank and the Hotel. He never went near the side door of the billiard room. I saw Davidson go into the wash-house. I looked particularly because I saw the man look so strange. He and Sciarone passed back by the kitchen; Sciarone then said he would get the brandy for him. I do not think that the coat that Davidson was wearing was Quinlans. I did not notice any marks

about Davidson as if he had been fighting. Sciarone had on the same clothes in the morning as he had on when I took him home the night before.

Following Alexander Chase, Vincent Famer gave evidence that he had noticed that Sciarone was not in his bed on that Sunday night when he visited the room. Where Sciarone was during this night is unknown. The next witness was Katherine Carroll, near neighbour of Mary Gramatica. She said:
I am the wife of Patrick Carroll. I reside on the Westport road in the house next to Mrs. Gramatica. I recollect the day Davidson cut his throat. I also recollect Monday, 29th January. I did not see Mrs. Gramatica or any person about her house during the whole of that day. I took particular notice, as I was surprised seeing no smoke and no one moving about. Wallace had told me when he got up in the morning about a great row there the night before. I was surprised that I did not see the little girl about or hear her voice. On the Tuesday evening I notice a smell of burning, and I called Mr. Wallace and said that I thought there was something about the place burning; he told me not to be frightened as the smell as coming from Mrs.Gramaticas. This was about dusk. The smell was as if something woollen was burning. I did not see any smoke or fire in the house on Monday. I went out about 10 on Monday night for a bucket of water and heard someone strike a match at Gramaticas place. It looked to be the figure of a man. I returned into the house and told Wallace that they were not all dead yet as I saw a man strike a match.
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For all her apparently clear recollections of the events, Katherine Carroll was another neighbour and friend who was not called upon to attend and testify at the subsequent trial. The next witness was John Reid, the tenant of Marys who had been leasing the Gramatica farmland and dairy herd. He said:
I am a dairyman residing opposite Lyell across the Buller on the ferry reserve. I knew Denis Quinlan by sight. I recollect the day on which Davidson cut his throat, I was at Mrs. Gramaticas in the evening. I had given her notice about giving up her farm and cows ...4

Mary received this letter from John Reids son the day after the murder, and said that her hands were shaking so much she could not read it. In relinquishing the lease Reid had caused a significant change in financial circumstances for Mary, as she would lose the income it provided. The rent received had not been sufficient for her to live on, or she would not have needed to take in laundry. Reid had spoken to Mary about Davidsons suicide attempt:
I asked her whether drink was the cause of him cutting his throat, or what was the real reason. She said she did not know.

If Davidson had not been the guilty party, why would he have cut his throat? If he knew that it was Mary who had done the deed, surely he would have stayed around to help her stay out of jail, rather than trying to get out of the situation by killing himself. The suicide attempt was an admission of guilt; he knew he was the murderer and would be punished by hanging, and cut his throat as a way out of facing up to the consequences. When this was unsuccessful, he tried to lay the blame on to Mary, again to avoid punishment.
I then asked whether there was anything peculiar about him when she left him at the house on that day. She said she saw nothing strange except that he was drinking plenty of water and sighing deeply. She told me that Davidson was a fictitious name; she said he would not tell her his proper name. She said he was of French parents and born in Canada.
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She then began speaking of Davidsons watch.

She said when she

came into the house, and not seeing the watch, He is not so mad as I thought, as he has taken the watch with him, but when she went into the bedroom she saw it hanging up in that room. I asked her if

Davidson had slept in her house on the Monday night, January 29. She said he had not slept there on that night. She said he came there than morning from his own place with an axe to chop her some firewood. She handed me a watch which she said belonged to Davidson. She told me to untie it from a rosary to which it was tied, as she could not unfasten it. She said she had the best right to it. She told me to keep it for her. I kept it three or four days. I then went home to my own place. I afterwards came over to the Lyell the same night and saw Davidson in the police cell, I had the watch then on me. I said nothing to him that night. I was told he was likely to recover. I went back and returned the watch to Mrs.

Gramatica at her house three or four days after that. This was two or three days before Quinlans body was found. She then showed me a letter. I read a good portion of it. She said it was from Davidson. She said she had found it in her bedroom in the bottom of her box and that Davidson had written it the same day as that upon which he had cut his throat, but that she did not find it until the day upon which I went to her house. So far as I could make out the contents were as follows: My hand trembles in writing this. I blame no one for it. I am the only one to blame for it. It must be done, theres no get out of it. Rosy Boyle is the cause of all this. Shes a devil. I left you my watch; dont part with it until you die. Youll think of me .. Kiss me before I am buried

There were parts between the above

sentences which I could not decipher. I believe there was some mention in the letter that she would find the watch in the bedroom. I cannot say whether the letter was signed or not. Since Quinlan was found I have been to her twice and advised her if she knew anything about the
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matter, that she had better speak out and tell the truth about it. She said she knew nothing at all about it. I saw her at Rose Boyles on the night of the 7th February, and I told her that Quinlan had been foully murdered about her place; that suspicion was strong against her; and that she had better tell the truth at the inquest on the morrow if she knew anything, but she made no statement of any importance.

In response to questioning by the jury, Reid stated :

In reading the portion of letter concerning him blaming no one, I should imagine there was a third person concerned in what it referred to.

In response to being shown a watch on a gold chain, he said:

(they)... are the same I received from Mrs. Gramatica.

Following John Reid, Frederick Bulmer, the baker in Lyell, stated:

... I heard Bernardo Sciarones evidence today. I remember the

morning of Monday, 29th January, I was up very early, baking. About five oclock I heard somebody talking in the street, I was curious to know who it was. On coming into the street I saw Scioroni, a man named MQuilkin, and John Davidson. They were standing near the junction of the Lyell street and the main road. I went towards them to see what was up. As soon as I approached, Davidson walked off down the road towards the bridge as fast as he could go. I went up to

Sciaroni and MQuilkin and said, Who is that madman going down the road swinging his hat like that? Sciaroni said it was Davidson. He said He has half a bottle of brandy in his pocket, and he wants more. I said to Sciaroni, He can get no brandy at this hour. Sciaroni said no that Davidson had been to Famers trying to get a bottle and that he (Sciaroni) had brought him up the street. We waited until we saw

Davidson going along the road on the other side of the street, five or ten minutes after leaving. He must have stopped a few minutes at Rosy Boyles. Anyone to look at him would take him to be a madman.

The Court adjourned till 6 a.m. the next day.

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CHAPTER 15 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20th, 1883

The second day of the Inquest held in Lyell THE INQUEST.

The report of the inquest into the murder of Denis Quinlan continued in The Colonist, Nelson, Thursday, March 1, 1883 which gave comprehensive details of the statements by the witnesses. Police Inspector Emerson read the statements given separately by the accused, and details were provided of the evidence gathered by Constable Keating. Acting as Coroner, Mr. Revell said that as Inspector Emerson had stated that as Mary Gramatica had confessed to knowledge of the murder, it being committed in her house by John Davidson, he therefore charged both with the murder. Emerson made a sworn statement saying :
I am an Inspector of Constabulary commanding the Westland District. Yesterday evening, the 19th inst., John Davidson, the prisoner in the lock-up sent for me. I went to the lock-up where he was. He said he wished to

make a confession, which I took down in writing. ...... during the time I was taking this statement down the prisoner was never in any way prompted as to what he should say and I never checked him in any, but took it down as it came from his own lips. I never held out any inducement to the prisoner to make his confession. I told him to tell me nothing but the truth. I was in the street in the Lyell when the prisoner sent for me. Detective Quinn informed me that the prisoner wanted to make a statement, and I went without delay to the lock-up. I arrested Mary Gramaticca (sic) and charged her with the murder of Dennis Quinlan. When I told her the charge she said, Very well, all right, and nothing more. This morning Mrs Mary Gramaticca sent for me. She said,
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yes, she wanted to make a statement, and of her own free will and accord she made the following statement, which I took down in writing.

Marys statement had been published in full in earlier editions of the newspaper. Following Inspector Emerson, Constable Keating gave his account of events:
... I have known Dennis Quinlan the last 15 or 16 years. From information I received, on Monday the 5th instant, I immediately proceeded down the Westport road in company with Patrick Carroll about half a mile. After a slight search, descending down the sidling about 27 feet, between the Westport Road and the Buller River, I saw the body of a man with his feet pointing to the Buller River, the trunk of the body facing the Westport Road. He was in a half sitting posture, his body was exposed to the air and was decomposed, the head had fallen off, and was lying on the left side about 8 or 12 inches from the shoulder. The body had a pair of elastic-side boots and a pair of woollen socks on the feet, a paid of grey tweed trousers, a white shirt, and an undershirt. The shirt, flannel, and trousers have holes in them. I produce the clothes. I saw Dennis Quinlan on Tuesday, 28th January, at about 11 a.m. and the trousers produced correspond with the trousers he then had on. I also produce the boots and socks that were taken off the deceased in my presence. He had a small foot for a big man. The boots now produced correspond with the boots that Quinlan used to wear; they are a similar size. He, I should say, would be about 5 feet 11 inches. Since examining the skull, I believe it to be that of the deceased, Quinlan, particularly by the dent in his nose. Quinlans nose was broken and showed the hollow when alive distinctly in his nose. To the best of my knowledge Quinlan had lost two or three of his front teeth. In examining the skull several teeth were missing in front. I have not the slightest doubt but that the body found was the body of Quinlan. In going to where the body was discovered I found a passage through the brushwood and fern. This was the first thing that attracted my attention. It just appeared as if a man had rolled down or was dragged
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down to where the body was. I saw no marks about where the body lay from the road to it, except about five yards from the road, a place a good bit broader. There might have been marks above where the body was found. There is only about a drop of a foot, and then a slanting sidling; it is about 6 feet in width. There is another flat about four or five feet between where the body was found a gradual slope, with the exception of where the body was found, and about 4 feet above. I think if the dead body had been thrown down there it would have rested on the second bench. It might be possible for the body to go the whole way through the force of the fall. I know the prisoner Mary Gramatica. She lives near where the body was found. I found the body about 32 feet from the road. It is 76 yards to Mrs Gramaticcas house from the trail of the track to where I found the body, and 50 yards from Mrs. Gramaticas to Pat Carrolls house. They live on the same side of the road. The space between Carrolls and Gramaticcas is quite clear, except for one bush paling fence. I think it quite possible to hear people talking from one house to the other. I assisted to take the body of deceased to Lyell. There was a post mortem examination held by Dr. Campbell on the 8th inst. The doctor

pointed out to me that some of the ribs were broken. The body was very much decomposed, and eaten away by worms, the skull was quite bare, and the jaw bone had dropped away. On the 12th, after the body was removed, I found hair on the fern; some was on the top of the fern, and more was on the bottom. After finding the body I at once reported the same to Mr

Revell, the Coroner. Mary Gramatica made a statement to me in the station this morning. She said she would like to see the man that was in the lock-up, meaning Davidson. She said she wanted to make a statement of what did occur. I told her that if she wished I would send for the Inspector. She said she would make a statement, and asked me to go for the Inspector. I heard her statement read in Court, and she made a similar statement to me this morning. I was present when she made her statement, taken down in
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writing by the Inspector, and she was in no way interfered with while making her statement. It is possible for the body to have rested in the position that it was found in, but not very probable. The weather was very close and warm from 25th January to 5th February. I think we had two days rain, one day heavy rain. I believe the rain might and would obliterate all the

footmarks if there were any there. I dont believe there ever were any footmarks where the body lay. The fern about the body did not appear to be disarranged or broken down.

Next to appear before the jury was Dr. J. Campbell, medical practitioner, and he gave evidence that he:
... made post mortem examination on the 7th instant of the body shown to the jury. When I first saw the body the upper third from below the breast upwards was decomposed, the head was detached and no trace of flesh. Found an old fracture of the nasal bone, a contusion over the right eye, and another under the left eye. These were old

contusions of some years standing. The upper portion of the spine was denuded of flesh, and upwards from the 6th rib on either side. The upper portion of the breast bone was broken inwards, of recent occurrence. The second and third ribs on the right side, and the second, third, fourth, and fifth ribs on the left were broken. They were all recent breaks, either shortly before or after death, it was impossible to tell which. I found several buckshot embedded in the right side, in a

gunshot wound of old standing. The lungs and heart too much decomposed to form any opinion upon. The liver only was complete, in a normal condition. From the fifth rib downwards the body was in a state of good preservation. I missed the bones of the neck and the left hand; they were afterwards found and brought to me. If there was any stab in the body below the breast I would have detected it, but above that it would be impossible to detect a wound, as the flesh was all gone.
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I did not, with the exception of the broken chest and fractured limbs discover any marks of violence about the body. Owing to the condition of the body it was impossible to detect a wound, as the flesh was all gone. Owing to the condition of the body, it was impossible for me to detect whether deceased had been stabbed in the heart. I can form no opinion as to the cause of death. It was not from any injury to the head or to the lower portion of the body. From the condition of the body it was impossible to state the cause of death. 1

At the conclusion of the hearing, the Coroner then provided the court with a summary of the evidence of the witnesses called to this hearing. The jury decided that there was sufficient evidence for a charge of wilful murder to be made against John Davidson and Mary Gramatica. The trial was to be heard later in the year, at a sitting of the Supreme Court in Nelson, in June, 1883. ~~~~~~~~~~

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CHAPTER 16
March 1883

THE TRIAL

Whats death to you and me

--

nothing!

During the months of March, April and May of 1883, while Mary Gramatica and Jack Davidson awaited their trial, several events took place in the world outside the walls of Nelson gaol. Matters arising from the death of her husband two years earlier were being processed and on March 23rd, 1883, in Westport Florian Adank filed the documents relating to the probate on Peter Gramaticas estate, and on April 20th probate was cleared. 1 Such details although fundamentally important to her standard of living, would have been the fartherest thing from Marys mind, with the trial for murder pending. The first day of April 1883 was the fourteenth anniversary of the birth of Mary and Peters child Mandra Ellen in Hokitika. In May there fell yet another anniversary, that of the death of her son Frank, which had happened only one year ago, on the twentysecond of May, 1882. The time between the preliminary hearing in Westport and the ultimate trial in Nelson was almost three months, during which Mary and Davidson were held in prison. This time did not pass in idleness, as Davidson was not kept in close confinement but allowed to work within the prison and used his limited freedom to contact Mary, often several times a day. The prisoners were located in timber buildings in which separated the male and female prisoners only with a single wooden wall, and Davidson was able to throw notes over whenever he thought Mary would be in the yard nearby. It was even possible for the prisoners to hear conversations from the opposite side of the walls. On the subject of
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security in the prison, one he was later to regret he did not take more seriously, the Superintendent of the Nelson Gaol, Robert Shallcrass was reported in The Colonist of June 20, 1883, as stating:
Since February last he had Davidson and Mrs. Gramatica in gaol as prisoners awaiting their trial. There is only a partition wall between the female and male prisoners yards. The Gaol being a wooden building, men could hear what the women said when everything was quiet. Prisoners awaiting trial have free access to the yards. The

partition wall between the yards is of concrete, and about 17 feet high. A person could throw anything, if sufficiently heavy, over from one side of the wall to the other. Paper like that produced was accessible to the prisoners. Being tired of idleness, Davidson requested for something to do, and for two months he was employed as cook and after that in doing inside work, such as cleaning boots. A warder was always present with the prisoners, but he could not have a prisoner in his sight every minute. To fetch the boots and return them Davidson would have to come close to the main door of the Gaol. The female wards door is near the main one, and is a wooden one, about 2 and a half inches thick. It is possible for a prisoner speaking near this door to be heard in the female ward.

The gist of these messages, as can be seen from those which survived and were read in Court2 , was to persuade Mary to alter her evidence so as to lift the blame for the murder from himself. These letters were submitted as evidence, all of them from Davidson and none were produced in reply from Mary. He wrote on death, which was then the potential outcome of the trial for murder, with the punishment of death by hanging. He began by trying to persuade Mary to take back her statement denying her own involvement in the murder, by frightening her with the likelihood that she will be hanged as well as himself, and suggesting that they should be united in their versions of events. By the time the end of the note is reached, it was a thinly veiled death threat. If you like death, dont die for me. I dont give a d------139

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which, you choose to deny your statement and live; stick to your statement and die; my body and soul burn in hell for everlasting if I am telling a lie, for if you dont go back on that statement you must die, at all risks and perils thats the long and short of it. Stick to me and I will to you. Find out at the cost of your life, and claim your own stubbornness for it. Whats death to you or me -- nothing. Hoping you are in good cheer to give me the final decision of life and death, I remain yours to death, ever the same to alter I never will thats me, as you must (know) before today that what I say I will do at all risk. Dont be a fool. The line whats death to you and me -- nothing can have a variety of meanings; it could mean that in Marys life there already had been so many deaths, she would by now be inured to it, impervious to the prospect of yet another, even if it is her own. He was pleading for her to remain in partnership with him, even to death. ~~~ Mary paced up and down as she read and finally sat down, and before she had finished another folded slip of paper appeared under the door. She picked it up and mouthed the words, trying decipher the scribbles on the scraps of paper. Davidson began by trying to be charming but had been unable to restrain his sarcasm and bitterness. He wrote that he forgave her, apparently for taking Quinlans side against him during the argument which led to the murder, and again asked her to do as you are told: My dear Gramatica, the supposed Mrs. Davidson, ... I forgive you for the past if you change your mind now, although it is hard for me to do it after you taking part with
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that Irish bitchs son thats dead and damned I hope, thats all the harm I wish him; and for the last time I request you to do as you are told. This was the tenth note she had received so far. Locked in the small room kept aside for female prisoners, in a narrow bed on the floor by bright moonlight Mary tried to read yet another message. By now the notes have lost their tone of civility, and Davidson was blackening Marys character. It is hard to say whether this was a ruse to protect himself, or if he was referring to factual incidents; firstly that she had pretended to love him, and secondly that she had slept with Quinlan on the night before the murder. Even now he showed no sign of remorse and merely wants Quinlan alive so that he can fight with him again. You are a false hearted woman, if I may call you a woman, to pretend to love to me, and to allow that dirty, low, Irish pig of a blaguard to sleep with you the night before that happened. I only wish I had the chance of defending with the son of a bitch, but he is in hell now. In the prison exercise yard, a bare earthen area kept smooth by the shuffling feet of the prisoners, a thumping noise came from the adjoining wall. Davidson whispered in a loud rasp, his throat still not entirely healed: Is that you, Mary? Yes, its me. Another paper slid beneath the door. Davidson growled: Theres a statement for you to look at. Youll copy that out and send to the police straight away, if you know what's good for you. Get your lawyer to write it out properly. Mary snatched up the paper and read aloud: I, Mary Gramatica, am sorry for taking the
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advice of another to bring John Davidson for the murder of Quinlan, which is false, but not of my composing. I did it at the advice of a pretended friend, and knowing the same to be false. I know nothing of the murder. Signed Mary Gramatica. -- Have it properly drawn by Bunny and send it to me, and I will take his advice. Send him to me, and you will be free in three weeks. If you dont, you will never be free, take my word for that. Mary shook her head and put the paper in her pocket and walked away as far as she could in the confined space. Davidson in the strange gruff voice strained to say: Mary? Mary, did you get it? Are you still there? Mary looked at the wall and did not answer. Bloody woman! Sodding bitch! Davidson tried to yell. ~~~~~ Later, in the crowded court room, Mary sat in the court listening intently, as did Davidson. She avoided his eyes, as he glared at her, while the Clerk of Court read the eighth of their private communications to the enthralled Nelson community: You doubted my word before, and you are doing the same now, but you will see the end of it. Had you believed me, you and me would not be here today. Think that over well. A lie I never told in my life, and I will not now. I will not wait for the grand jury to sit. Though I am innocent of the crime I was charged with I will say that I was helping you to do it, and then you will say as you did before; you remember you said
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once that you did not think I was so fond of you, and this will be the same as that. Mary looked away, and Davidson put his head in his tied hands. In this missive, he appealed to her emotional regard for him, apparently referring to an occasion where she had been surprised to find that he was so fond of her, and promising that this will be the same as that. He referred to her previous doubting of his word, which could reasonably be supposed to be his declared intention to marry her. He threatened suicide again by saying that he would not wait for the grand jury to sit. He offered to say that he assisted her in the murder, which again might have been written with a wider audience in mind, or again, could have been the truth. His anger increased as the Clerk of Court read: Mary, I am very sorry indeed that you are that hardened in crime that you doubt my love for you. Yes I do, and forgive all the past and will stick to my word and you will see then that I tell no lies, all for the love of you. You cant turn me against you, do as you will, and you will never live with another man only me, if I can manage it. If I die, by Heaven you will do the same, if I live you will do the same. I am too fond of you for that though you have tried to hang me all you could, but to no purpose. He again protested his undying love for her, despite the fact that she still maintained her doubts. He threatened that he would not allow another man to have her, and he would make sure that if he is to die, so will she. He expands on this theme further in this next letter: "Do as you like. My life is nothing to me since you
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try to take it from me, and to live without you I will not, and to die without you I will not, by all the good angels that ever travelled the heavens. May I be damned forever if I do, for I am innocent of the crime you tried to have me hanged for with your lies. If you want to live you must let me live as well and deny your statement. If you dont do that to my satisfaction you will hang with me, and I will not try to do that. Choose for yourself. I thank you for your offer of doing my hat but I cant be so cruel as to disgrace you. People might think that you cared something for me, and that would lower your dignity in the eyes of the ladies. He again accused her of lying and attempting to blame him for the crime. His regard for his own life was obviously not high and he still maintained his innocence. Mary had offered to restore his hat, which had been dirtied and battered during his running around the streets, and he belittled her for wanting to maintain her dignity in the eyes of the ladies. As these words of threat and twisted assertions of Davidsons fondness for her were read aloud Mary endured the gaze of hundreds of eyes focussed upon her, waiting for her reaction to give an indication of her affection for the prisoner. She showed none. ~~~~~ The trial was heard in Nelson in June, 1883, and the arrival of the prisoners prior to the commencement of the trial had caused an even greater stir amongst the local population than had occurred at the inquest in Westport in March. An unnamed journalist writing of the trial in the Nelson Evening Mail on Saturday, June 23rd, 1883 drew attention to the number of women attending the trial proceedings in Nelson.
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The whole of the surroundings of this horrible murder were well known, and all must have been aware that it arose out of a quarrel between two drunken men in the house of a woman of ill fame, and there had been a pretty clear indication in the newspapers of the disgusting nature of some of the language that had been used. Then, what meant that crowd of women which thronged the gallery of the Court house? Not by two or three, not by a dozen, not by a score, but by hundreds was the womanhood of Nelson represented on the closing night of the trial. Prompted by an unhealthy craving for excitement, there they were -girls of a tender age, young women, and grey-haired matrons --

listening up to midnight to the revolting details of the tragedy, and the filthy expressions used by the actors in it. Instinctively the Judge lowered his voice when it became necessary to repeat some of these, and under any circumstances it would have been painful to him - as indeed it would to any man possessing any sense of refinement -- to soil his lips by giving utterance to the disgusting language. How much more painful it must have been when he saw that one-third of the audience consisted of women -- women who were not there compulsorily or accidently, but voluntarily. It was a sad sight, a humiliating spectacle, and one of which we earnestly hope, for the sake of its good name, that this fair town of ours will never witness a repetition.

He made no comment on the fact that two-thirds of the audience were men, neither questioning their motives nor the effect the proceedings might have on their characters. The opening of the trial on June 18, 1883 had attracted so much attention that the venue was transferred and the hearing was continued at the Provincial Hall, the body of which has been filled all day with men, and the gallery with women and one very noisy baby who had to be ordered out by the Judge. 3 Surrounded by a picket fence, the Provincial Buildings in Nelson then were an imposing timber structure of an unusual, almost gothic style
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with Moorish influences, in that the gable ends of its several wings were faced with curved and pointed finials. One tower was topped with a foursided dome and a weathervane and the central tower was crowned with a dome and a spire. The eaves were underlined with decorative fretwork, most of the windows had three long panels and the central front door was sheltered by an arched portico. Inside the central room, used as a ballroom on other occasions, was transformed into a court room for the purposes of this popular trial. There was a fireplace, but even in June a fire would not have been necessary as the packed crowd of spectators provided warmth enough. The Criminal Sitting of the Supreme Court arraigned John Davidson on a charge of wilfully murdering Denis Quinlan at Lyell. The jurors were sworn in under the foreman, W. Rout.4 All the jurors were male, as women did not yet have the right to vote, and neither were they considered appropriate to sit on the panel of a jury in a court of law. This state of affairs would have had the approval of the Judge appointed to hear this trial. He was Christopher William Richmond, a lawyer, and an eminent politician who at an earlier stage in his career had been offered the position of Premier of New Zealand and chosen to refuse it, and was now a Judge of the Supreme Court. Mr. Justice Richmond was 62 years old at this time, and it was said that in his later life he had become very conservative, regarding universal suffrage as absurd, votes for women a subject for satire...
5

This was despite being surrounded by intelligent women in his own family. Certainly the lives of the women he knew could not have been more different from the life and circumstances of Mary Gramatica and most of the women who appeared before him in Court. His mother and sisters, and sisters-in-law were artistic and literate, great readers of the classics, whereas Mary was unlikely to have read more than Lucas Nelson Almanac and her childrens schoolbooks.
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It is not difficult to imagine that he would have had some sympathy with Marys position in life, as a widow with children to raise alone and having recently suffered the loss of her only son. He knew first hand the difficulties a family experienced when a father died prematurely as his own father had died when he was ten, (almost the same age as Frank when Peter Gramatica died) leaving himself, the eldest male child in the family and his mother Maria sharing responsibility for the remainder of the family.
6

He had been a delicate asthmatic youth, and suffered from that disability throughout his life, and the search for a climate beneficial to his health was a factor which led to their settlement in the colony. As a young man, after being called to the Bar in London in 1847, and yet feeling depressed about the future for himself in England, he married and with other members of his family migrated to New Zealand, one of the few if not the only British colony with neither convicts or slaves to provide an underclass of cheap labour. On venturing out to the colonies they found, as did many other English middleclass folk who migrated at that time, they were able to reach a much high level of success than they would have been achieved at home. Their skills and qualities were in great demand at a time of the formulation of public policy and administrative systems. Deriving from the middle range in the class system in the old country, they found themselves at the highest strata of social class in New Zealand and Australia, and their contributions to the development of public and cultural life in the fledgling colony were considerable. The Richmond and the Atkinson families emigrated en masse, and were remarkable in that they were a highly erudite, artistic and intellectual group who intermarried, were mutually supportive and cohesive, and instantly became influential members of the young colony. They arrived prior to the discovery of gold in either Australia or New Zealand, and the main attractant was the ability to obtain sufficient cheap land to enable the production of
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sheep for meat and wool. Australia at the time was still a penal settlement and primarily the destination for transported convicts from England, and therefore not a suitable place for the establishment of a family dynasty of moral and enlightened citizens. Maria Richmond in a letter written in Wimbledon on March 11, 1851 described her son before he left England thus:
William was as usual very earnest, and had an immense deal to say... I feel that his unquiet mind is wearing him out, and that his position here is unnatural, unsuited both to his bodily and mental constitution; he sees, and cannot see calmly, great and crying evils of which he seems utterly powerless to attempt the remedy. Whether he would find his place in a new country is a problem only to be solved by experiment... William is now very much interested in Christian Socialism... It is a system in direct opposition to trade principles, and numbers amongst its advocates earnest and good men, intelligent and clever also, clergymen, lawyers and working men.
7

Christopher William Richmond was elected to the House of Representatives and became Treasurer in 1856 and Minister of Native Affairs. He was centrally involved in Maori policy development and legal challenges at a time when key decisions were being formulated, but he did not thrive on political life. He thought the times too strong for the men - at least too strong for me, and after a change of government, resigned and after practising law in Dunedin had been appointed to the Supreme Court in 1861. He was said to regard his judgeship as a harbour of refuge. He wrote from Dunedin on 7th April 1862:
I have resigned my seat in the House and am out of New Zealand politics, I believe for ever. I have been praised and censured beyond my deserts. Latterly I have received really quite a nauseating amount of laudation. One cannot say so in public either to friends or enemies, but I freely own in private that I feel neither capacity nor disposition for public affairs, and have never justified to myself talking part in them on any ground but that of keeping out persons even more unfit.8

Although he was essentially a strong judge; probably no stronger judge has occupied the bench of this colony9 his attitude to the Irish in response to the demonstrations
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on the West Coast in protests raised after the executions of three Fenians in Manchester, and the attempted assassination of the Duke of Edinburgh whilst touring Australia by an Irishman, was lenient. He was Judge in the trial of Father William Larkin and six other West Coast Irishmen who had been charged with seditious libel and unlawful assembly, and in summing up he said that Love of Ireland must not result in hatred of Britain, which was treason and the leaders of the rebellion were sentenced with only a months imprisonment.10 His attitude towards Maori culture was that it was necessary to civilise the Maori, that is, to lead them to adopt British habits and practices. He had no sympathy for Maori society; 11 and in distinct contradiction to his earlier youthful ideals, Richmond wanted to destroy what he called the beastly communism of Maori society by introducing private property in land. He was quoted as saying: Chastity, decency and thrift cannot exist amidst the waste, filth, and moral contamination of the Pahs. He was praised as without equal in Australasia as a jurist, a gentleman and a scholar, and ... probably as eminent as any British colonial judge. He was a studious man, an intellectual of a type rare in the colony. People were impressed with his earnestness, his great industry and intelligence and with the powerful mind enshrined in a frail body. 12 Photographs taken by his friend and fellow lawyer, Charles Fell, show him to have a piercing direct gaze and an appearance not unlike Abraham Lincoln. Mary was very fortunate to have him sitting in judgement on her affairs. Of all Judges in authority in the southern hemisphere at the time, he was possibly the most sympathetic to the position of women in society. Marys Counsel for her appearance in court was a Mr. Bunny, and the Queens representative Charles Fell as Crown Prosecutor, amateur photographer, a member of the Atkinson set and a friend of the Judge. Albert Pitt was the Prosecutor. ~~~~~~~~
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CHAPTER 17
THE TRIAL

Frederick Carroll, speculator, gives his evidence.

After the swearing-in of the Grand Jury and appealing for silence in the Court, the case for the Crown was opened by Mr.Fell. John Davidson was charged with the wilful murder of Denis Quinlan at Lyell, and the Grand Jury returned a true bill against Mary Gramatica for being an accessory after the fact in the murder. Mr. Pitt appeared in defence of Davidson. The Crown Prosecutor indicated that he wanted Mary to give evidence in the case, and although she was to be committed for trial, the Crown would immediately enter a nolle prosequi against her. In setting out the case to the court, he described the characters involved and the scene of the incident: Quinlan was a man beyond middle age of powerful build, and he and the prisoner were both acquainted with Mrs. Gramatica, who lived in a hut of her own a little way from the Lyell. Davidson first made her acquaintance in November last, and became so intimate that he frequently slept at her house. She was the widow of an Italian, apparently a decent man, and her house, or hut, was situate on the right bank of the river a little below Lyell on the Westport Road. The house was accessible from that road, and by a track through the river. It stood a few yards from the house of Mr. Carroll, both houses being on the left of the road to Westport, and between the road and the river. From the road the land falls very precipitously towards the river. The house was situate the other side of the Lyell Creek, which was
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crossed by a bridge, on the town side of which was the small cottage of Rose Boyle, a woman of indifferent character. 1 The first witness to appear before the Court, Frederick Carroll, was a near neighbour of Marys. His wife Catherine had earlier given evidence at the inquest in Westport, but she was not listed for appearance at the trial.2 On returning home from the village for lunch on Monday 29th January, Carroll had seen the body of Quinlan (although he did not immediately recognise it as such) lying in the bushes on the banks of the river. Nonetheless, he continued on his way home and ate his lunch before returning to town to let the police know of his discovery. Carroll testified that he thought there were from four to six people in Marys house on the night of the murder. This was not considered unusual. He was reluctant to be derogatory about Marys reputation and believed that Quinlan was very reputable, and was loathe to say that there was any intimacy between Mary and Quinlan. He did not wish to say that Marys house had a bad reputation, apart from being a place where people met and drank. Again, this would not have been unusual in Lyell. Carroll gave evidence:
I live on the Westport road near the Lyell township, and about half a mile from the township round by the bridge. I am a speculator, and was a publican. My house is close by Mrs. Gramaticas, and between the road and the Buller River. My house is 50 paces from hers, and my garden fence comes up to her house. Mrs. Gramatica lives in her house with her little girl, about 4 years old. The child plays about, and has done with my children. I remember Monday morning, 29th January. I left my house about half past nine on that morning. On passing Mrs. Gramaticas I noticed the blinds down, there was no smoke, and no-one about. I had been about before, but I had not noticed anyone about at Mrs. Gramaticas. I noticed these things as something peculiar, for I was in the habit of seeing them about. I was away nearly all day, and returned between 5 and 6 oclock. On passing the house
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then it was in the same condition as in the morning, blinds down, no smoke, no one about. I had passed the house about 11 oclock on the previous night, I then heard voices in the house, as though five or six persons wee conversing together but there did not appear to be any anger in them, I heard nothing more during the night. It was dark, and there was a misty rain. I knew Dennis Quinlan and I knew the prisoner whom I had seen at Gramaticas on the Wednesday and Thursday previous to the murder, and on other occasions frequently. On this Monday I was in my garden, about 25 feet from Mrs. Gramaticas house, at between 6 and 7 oclock in the evening. I saw a man come out at the back of Mrs. Gramaticas. He went to the further corner and returned. I cannot say who it was; I only noticed the hat, which was a large Yankey hat.

In his account of events leading to the discovery of the body, he stated:

On Monday the 5th February, I was returning home from the Lyell about one oclock. I came over the bridge -- you can ford the river and go up the sideling - I always go by the bridge. I smelt a very bad smell close to Gramaticas place. I stopped when I got the smell very strong. I looked round and could see nothing for a bit. I went back and lost the smell, when I returned and got the smell again. I said whatever it is, it is here. I moved a pace or two, and saw the scrub broken down the sideling. I looked down and saw something grey below. There was a bench or terrace about 8 feet down on which two people might stand. I got on it, but could not see what the grey object was. I reckoned the object was about 80 feet below. I could have scrambled down, but did not. I went home and had something to eat and spoke to my wife. I went back to Lyell and told the constable: that was just after two oclock. I returned with the constable. He went down to look, and told me it was a body, and he went back to the Lyell for the doctor. I afterwards saw the body lying on the road; it was Dennis Quinlans.

Mr. Albert Pitt as Prosecutor began his questioning of the witness by asking when he had last seen Quinlan alive, and Carroll replied:
I last saw Quinlan on Sunday, the twentyeighth January, coming out of Gramaticas house, and at the Commercial Hotel. He had a black coat and vest, tweed trousers, straw hat, and white shirt with pleated front. ... I noticed the skull; it was not attached to the body, and they
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brought it up after the body. There was neither flesh nor hair on the skull, but I recognised it by the broken nose as Quinlans skull.

Mr. Pitt: Carroll: Mr. Pitt: Carroll:

Would you say that Mr. Quinlan had a reputation as being an aggressive character?
Quinlan was a very powerful man. From what I know of him he was very respectable.

Did you see him on Sunday the twentyeighth of January?

I saw him coming out of Mrs. Gramaticas about half past nine on the morning of Sunday

twentyeighth of January. I did not speak to him. He went towards the Lyell Creek bridge.

Mr. Pitt:

On the evening of Sunday the twentyeighth, how many people would you estimate were at Mrs. Gramaticas house?

Carroll:
I reckon there were from four to six people at Mrs. Gramaticas on Sunday night. I heard mens voices and Mrs. Gramaticas among them. From my house I have often heard voices in Mrs. Gramaticas.

Mr. Pitt: Please describe for the court the place in which you found the body. Carroll:
When I noticed the opening in the scrub it was a very narrow one, just as if a man or something small had slipped down the passage. There was a tree across this opening about half way down. It was lying across this track, and was about 10 inches through. There was about two feet under the tree; it was sufficient for a person to get under. The little platform I spoke of is like a step from the road, about three feet down.

Mr. Pitt: Carroll: Mr. Pitt: Carroll:

When had you last seen Quinlan prior to this day?

I saw Quinlan in the Lyell on the twentyseventh of January.

When did you leave and return to your own home on Monday the twenty-ninth?

On Monday the twenty-ninth I left between nine and ten oclock in the morning, and returned between five and six in the evening. Whilst I was at home there was no smoke coming from Gramaticas.
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(Such an event would have been notable, as smoke from the chimney of a house meant that the occupants were at home as a fire was essential for all heating and cooking purposes.)

Mr. Pitt: Carroll: Mr. Pitt:

For how long had you known the prisoner?

I first saw Davidson about four months before this happened.

Would you know whether the deceased and the prisoner were acquainted; were they friends?

Carroll: Mr. Pitt: Carroll:

I do not know that there was any intimacy between the prisoner and Quinlan.

What reputation did the house of Mrs. Gramatica possess?

I could not say what reputation Mrs. Gramaticas house had. People used to meet there and drink, and she used to drink herself.

Mr.Pitt: Mr. Fell: Carroll:

No further questions. Your witness, Mr. Fell. Did you further investigate the spot where the body was found?

After the body was removed, I went down to the spot; there were two trees across the track. I believe the lower one was about five inches through.

Fell had no further questions for the witness at that stage. ~~~~ Charles Yates Fell, the Crown Prosecutor, was one of the partners in the law firm Fell and Atkinson, established in Nelson in 1870, with Arthur Atkinson. In 1883, he was 39 years old, about the same age as Mary. He was part of the circle of lawyers and intellectuals, who had intermarried, and provided considerable artistic stimuli to the community in Nelson of that era, and a friend of Judge Richmond. In the background of one of his family portraits a photograph of him is mounted on the wall. ~~~~~~~~~~

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CHAPTER 18
THE TRIAL Second witness, John Snodgrass, Surveyor.

In his capacity as a surveyor and with the professional instruments necessary to fulfill the task, the second witness, John Snodgrass, had meticulously measured the area in Lyell where the body of Quinlan was found. He believed that if a person had accidentally fallen, rather than being pushed or thrown over the ledge, he would not have fallen as far as the point where the body had come to rest. John Snodgrass:
The plan produced was prepared by me, and is correct. On it are shown the several places mentioned. Mr. Carrolls house is 140 feet 6 inches from Mrs. Gramaticas. Quinlans body was found 232 feet from Mrs. Gramaticas house. The body was found 165 feet from where Davidson attempted suicide. It is 63 chains from Famers hotel to where the body was found. Near where the body was found it is very precipitous between the road and the river. The little plan of Mrs. Gramaticas house is correct; there are two rooms with a doorway between, but no door. The point shown me as where Quinlans body was found was on a little ledge 26 feet 9 inches below the road in perpendicular height. A small tree about 8 inches thick lay across the track, and about 2 feet 6 inches above it. The body was 18 feet 4 inches below the road. The river was 124 feet below the road. The river was not at the foot of the precipice. Had the body not lodged on the ledge, it would have gone on to a beach beside the river, which was about five or six feet above the water.

Mr. Fell:

Would the body have been visible from any traffic using the river, or from the track, from its final resting place?

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John Snodgrass:
There is no traffic on the river, or very rarely. Had the body gone on to the beach, I should say it would have been seen from the track. If a man fell off the road near that tree, there was room for him to slide underneath the tree. I think if a man had fallen off the road, he would have remained on the small ledge underneath the road, but if he had passed that, he would have gone on to where the body was found. 1

Snodgrass had undertaken his survey of the banks of the Lyell Creek where it joins the Buller River on February 12th, 1883.

~~~~~~~~~

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CHAPTER 19.
THE TRIAL Third witness, Dr. James Campbell, M.D.

The third witness was an elderly Scot, Dr. James Campbell, M.D., a veteran of the Franco-Prussian War of some ten years prior. He was deaf and a tad forgetful. Halfway through his testimony, he was questioned about neglecting to bring his notes with him to the earlier inquest and omitting to mention key factors. He said that he merely answered the questions which had been put to him. In his testimony he gave his opinion on the reason for the extent of deterioration of the body, and he was also led back to describe the suicide attempt by Davidson, whom he had also treated at the time, some six months earlier.1 Dr. James Campbell:
I am a Doctor of Medicine, and am a duly qualified medical practitioner practising at the Lyell. I am deaf through having received a wound in the Franco-Prussian War. I was attached to the Geneva Convention, the Red Cross Society.

Judge Richmond:

You have particularly extensive experience in the examination and treatment of wounds, I believe?

Dr. Campbell:
I was in the hospital three months before Saarbruck, and in the field at Gravelotte, and have had much experience with wounds. I was sent to Paris after being wounded, and was shut up there. I have had a large experience with wounds.

Judge Richmond: Please describe for the court the circumstances under which you examined the body of Mr. Quinlan.
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Dr. Campbell:
I saw the body of Dennis Quinlan on the fifth of February last. It was lying about thirty feet below the road, and I went down within a few yards of it. The body was in a half reclining position leaning to the left. It was a headless trunk, and I did not see the head at that time. A volunteer went down and put a rope around the feet of the body, which was completely dragged up under the log. I made a casual examination when the body was brought on to the road, and it was then carried to the Lyell. The head was brought up immediately after the body. One hand and the larger bone of the lower arm, as well as some of the vertebrae were missing. I afterwards made a post mortem examination of the skull, it being detached. It was perfectly clean, bare and destitute of hair, flesh or animal attachment, and no brain, the inside being equally clean. Nine front teeth were missing, but I attached little importance to that, as they might have fallen out with exposure. There was an old contusion over the right eye, and one under the left. There also had been a very severe fracture of the nasal bone. The head was, in fact, completely covered with old wounds. The lower jaw was entirely detached. As to the trunk, no flesh and no organs were to be distinguished above the sixth rib. For seven inches down from where the head had been severed the vertebrae were perfectly clean. Within the ribs was a mass of living corruption, but on scraping that I found a mass of coagulated blood. Every organ in the lower portion of the trunk was in a normal condition except the liver which was slightly congested. They were in a wonderful state of preservation. The heart was gone, but the stomach was perfect. The legs were perfectly sound.

Mr. Fell:

Please tell the court whether you saw clothes upon the body, and describe the condition of any clothing.

Dr. Campbell:
I saw the clothes on the body. On the left breast there was a cut in the shirt apparently made by a sharp instrument and which was about half or three quarters of an inch wide. It was between the second and third ribs. The wound might have been made by an instrument half an inch wide. In the flannel was a cut corresponding with that in the white
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shirt. In the sleeve of the right wristband there were cuts or holes. There were not the slightest signs of blood on the shirt.

Mr. Fell: Dr. Campbell:

Did you not find this surprising? How would you account for that?

I was not surprised, for frequently where a weapon is thrust into a cavity and the heart that it happens with the elasticity of the flesh that the wound closes when the weapon is quickly withdrawn, and internal bleeding takes place. From the position of the cuts, the instrument might have pierced the base of the heart.

Mr. Fell: Dr. Campbell:

To what would you attribute the cause of death in this case?

The cause of death must have been haemorrhage, and would have been sufficient to cause death.

Mr. Fell:

And yet there were other injuries, were there not? Could not these have been the cause of death?

Dr. Campbell:
The upper portion of the breast bone was broken inward and downward; a downward blow with any instrument might have done this . The ribs were also fractured. The second, third, fourth and fifth ribs were fractured on the left side. They were clean fractures, and might have been caused by the same blow. The second and third were also broken on the right side. The fracture of the breast bone would have been sufficient to cause death by the rupture of the heart.

Mr. Fell: Dr. Campbell:

Did you find it surprising that so much of the body should be missing?

It did surprise me that part of the body should be consumed to such a considerable extent, yes.

Mr. Fell: Dr. Campbell:

How would you account for such circumstances to have occurred?

I cannot account for this except on the supposition that there had been some wounds in the upper part of the body, when decomposition would have set in at once. The muggy
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weather would account for the condition of the body, but not of the skull.

Mr. Fell: Dr. Campbell:

How do you account for the condition of the skull?

I cannot account for the condition of the skull. It would not have been in that condition unless some corrosive liquid had been used, or it had been boiled in water.

Mr. Fell:

Would the tipping of, say, a large pan full of hot water over the skull have had the same effect?

Dr. Campbell:
It is possible, but highly improbable, that boiling water applied to it would have rendered it in this condition. It must have been subjected to heat for some time.

Mr. Fell: Dr. Campbell: Mr. Fell: Dr. Campbell:

When did you first see the prisoner?

I was called to see the prisoner after he cut his throat.

Describe for the court, if you would, the situation in which you found him?

I saw him lying on the road. He was bleeding from a considerable wound, and had he been let alone he would have died. There was blood on the road where he lay, and also about 10 or 20 yards still nearer Mrs. Gramaticas was another pool of blood. This last pool would be about 10 yards from where Quinlans body was. A razor was shown me, and the wound in the throat would have been inflicted by it.

Mr. Fell: Dr. Campbell:

Did the prisoner accuse anyone of having inflicted the wound upon him?

He told me he did the thing himself. He could not speak till I stitched his throat. I asked him why he did it. He said Oh, dont ask me.

Mr. Fell: Dr. Campbell:

Did the prisoner object to your attempts to revive him and dress his wound?

He did not at that time object to have his wound dressed. He did object to have it dressed before he was removed to Westport; it was merely stubbornness.
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Mr. Fell: Judge Richmond: Mr. Pitt:

No further questions, Your Honour. Counsel for the Defence, do you have any questions for the witness? I do, Your Honour. Dr. Campbell, which way was the body of Quinlan facing when you first saw it?

Dr. Campbell:
Supposing there had been a head on the body, it would have been facing the river. On the left arm there was some flesh, and the hand was attached. The body was reclining towards the left, and the flesh had adhered to the parts near the bank.

Mr. Pitt:

And as to the condition of the clothing the prisoner was wearing: when did you examine the clothing?

Dr. Campbell:
I made the examination of the clothing when I made the post mortem. My first attention was drawn to the tears or incisions in the shirt when the body was brought on the road, but I first saw the cuts in the breast at the post mortem examination two days after. Someone called attention to the marks on the sleeve of the right arm when the body was on the road. The left hand was then attached. The upper portion of the body was clad with white shirt and flannel, buttoned up to the neck. There was no collar or necktie. The legs had only a pair of trousers on them besides the boots and socks.

Mr. Pitt:

Insofar as your report on the body of Mr. Quinlan is concerned, is it not

possible that the lack of flesh on the upper part of his body when you examined him could be the result solely of the attention of animals or birds to it? Dr. Campbell:
I cannot say that the absence of flesh might not be attributed to the action of animals or birds, but were it so I should expect some marks of teeth. The proof would be on the bones. An animal to have reached the interior of the body would have taken away the broken ribs. I should expect to find traces of rats. It would be possible that rats might remove the flesh, but I should expect to find traces.
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Mr. Pitt:

Going back; you said that the skull appeared to have had some form of heat applied to it to render it into the condition in which it was found days later. What length of time would you calculate this to have taken?

Dr. Campbell:
I should imagine that the state of the skull would necessitate the application of heat for from 3 to 4 hours, but an hours heat would have accelerated decomposition, and so would wounds.

Mr. Pitt:

At the inquest you did not mention the condition of the shirt the deceased was wearing.

Dr. Campbell:
At the inquest I said nothing about the incisions in the shirt; I merely answered questions. I said nothing about the coagulated blood either. I had not my notes with me.

Mr. Pitt: Dr. Campbell:

Would this not have been a very important detail to have mentioned?

It was a very important point. The haemorrhage from such a wound as that described would have caused death. I think that that is a main point, but I did not mention it at the inquest for the reasons I have stated.

Mr. Pitt:

No mention was made of the heart having been stabbed, nor of the origins of the coagulated blood. Would not a stab wound to the heart be a likely cause of death?

Dr. Campbell:
I said at the inquest that if the heart had been stabbed I could not tell. The coagulated blood might have been caused by a fall or a blow. I did say at the inquest that from the advanced state of decomposition I could not say what was the actual cause of death.

Mr. Pitt: Dr. Campbell:

Dr. Campbell, to what would you now attribute the cause of death?

I cannot say so positively, but it was caused by the effusion of blood, though what caused that effusion I cannot say positively. The breastbone might have been broken by falling forward
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on a stump or stone, but its resistance would be great. The fracture of the ribs might be caused by a blow or fall, I should think one blow or fall would break the breastbone and the ribs too.

Mr. Pitt: Dr. Campbell:

Would the fracture of the bones increase the rate of decomposition?

The fact of the fracture to the breastbone and the ribs would not accelerate decomposition, or only to a very slight extent.

Mr. Pitt: Dr. Campbell:

Can you say how you believe the head to have been severed from the trunk?

From the state of the body when I saw it, it was impossible to say how the head had been severed.

Mr. Pitt: Dr. Campbell:

Did you notice a wound on the wrist in your examination of the body?

It was impossible to notice any wound on the wrist; it was too much decomposed.

Mr. Pitt:

Thank you, Dr. Campbell. No further questions. Your witness, Mr. Fell.

Crown Prosecutor Fell: Dr. Campbell, would you say that Quinlan had been alive or dead when his head was removed? Dr. Campbell:
It is impossible to say whether Quinlans head was severed during life. There were no traces of injury to any of the vertebrae.

Mr. Fell : Dr. Campbell:

Could not the broken bones in the chest be the result of a heavy fall?

If on falling the breastbone was the first point of contact, it might be broken, but ordinarily in falling the head would be struck first.

Mr. Fell:

Could the broken breastbone have been the result of a blow to the chest?

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Dr. Campbell:
The breastbone might be broken by a blow from a billet of wood, provided the head was thrown back. The body was lying feet forward, and falling in that way it would indeed be difficult to break the breastbone.

Mr. Fell:

Were a human skull to be boiled, what length of time would be required for that process to aid decomposition to the extent to which it was found ?

Dr. Campbell:
Half an hours boiling of the skull would be sufficient to account for the state of the skull after a weeks exposure, and even throwing boiling water over the body would have accelerated decomposition.

Mr. Fell:

Do the incisions in the clothing on the upper body help in accounting for the coagulated blood you found?

Dr. Campbell:
The fact that both shirt and undershirt were pierced does not assist me in accounting for the coagulated blood. It might have been caused by rupture of the heart or by a wound.

Here the Judge interposed his own question, asking the witness:
Would scalding a head with boiling water be sufficient to render it free of the scalp ?

Dr. Campbell :
The effect of the application of boiling water would be to loosen the hair, but a slight friction would be necessary to remove it altogether.

Mr. Fell: Dr. Campbell:

How long would you say the body had been lying dead before it was found?

From the state of the lower portion of the body, I should say death had occurred about a week.

Mr. Fell:

No further questions.

Judge Richmond: Thank you, Dr. Campbell, you may step down. ~~~~~~
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CHAPTER 20
THE TRIAL

Helen Williams, Hotel Keeper

Helen Williams, hotelkeeper and a friend of Mary Gramatica, states that she had known Quinlan quite well but had seen Davidson only three or four times. She later took over the task of caring for Ada while Mary was in prison, and the child remained with her from February 1883 until the end of June, and after the conclusion of the trial. Helen Williams :
I am an hotel keeper, residing at the Lyell, and my house is known as The Welcome Inn. It is on the side of the town next to the Lyell Creek bridge. I have been there nine years.1

Mr. Fell:

Please tell the Court whether you knew Mr. Quinlan, and the occasion upon which you last saw him.

Helen Williams:
I knew Dennis Quinlan quite well, by his coming into the house. I last saw him alive on the twentyeighth of January, about a quarter to nine in the evening. He came into my house alone. Mary Gramatica was there, and he asked her to have a drink. They each had a small glass of beer. They were not in the house five minutes. He went out first, and she went away after. He came back afterwards and got a bottle of brandy, and went towards Cliff Street. That is the way to the Lyell Creek bridge.

Mr. Fell:

Have you ever seen the prisoner before?

I have seen the prisoner three or four times.

Helen Williams: Mr. Fell:

Please give us the details of the last occasion upon which you saw him.

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Helen Williams:
I saw him on the 29th January, early in the morning about half past four or twenty minutes to five. I was in bed. He knocked at the window and wanted a bottle of brandy, and I said No. He said, For Gods sake, give me a bottle of brandy, for Ive got a friend near dying and Ill give you fifteen shillings for it.

Mr. Fell:

Where did he go after you turned him away?

He left and went towards the town; he seemed to be in a hurry.

Helen Williams: Mr. Fell:

And how was he dressed on this occasion?

Helen Williams:
He had on a black coat and hat and a dirty pair of trousers. I could not see his face. It was not his ordinary dress, that was a brown suit and a light brown Yankee felt hat.

Mr. Fell:

Did you see the body of the deceased, that is, Mr. Quinlan?

Helen Williams:
I saw Quinlans body after it was found.

Mr. Fell:

What did you do when the prisoner knocked on your window?

Helen Williams:
I got out of bed after he had asked for the brandy and looked out, because he went away growling and I wanted to see who he was talking to, but he was alone.

Mr. Fell:

Mrs Williams, are you able to identify the owner of this hat? (Helen Williams was shown a hat by the Clerk of Court)

Mrs Williams:
The hat produced is the one Davidson generally wore, but it is not the one he had on that morning.

Justice Richmond: Mr. Pitt:

Mr. Pitt, do you have any questions?

I do, Your Honour. Mrs Williams, you stated you saw the body of Mr.
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I saw the body on the road, and identified it by the trousers, and I saw the head which I knew by a dent in the nose.

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Mr. Pitt:

Did you see a Mr. Sciarone on that Sunday evening?

Helen Williams:
A man named Sciarone was in my house about half past 8 on Sunday evening. Sciarone only stayed two or three minutes, and I dont remember him coming again that day.

Mr. Pitt:

Do you recall a Mr. Owen Bush and was he at your place on that night?

Helen Williams:
I have seen a man named Owen Bush; I dont think he was at my place that night.

Mr. Pitt:

And what do you remember of the weather on Sunday night and the next morning when the prisoner came knocking on your window? Had it been raining at all during the weekend?

Helen Williams:
It was a fine morning when Davidson called. I cannot recollect whether it was wet on Sunday night.

Mr. Pitt:

You say you got up after the prisoner left: what did you say to him?

Helen Williams:
Davidson might have been forty or fifty yards away when I looked out of the window and saw him. I answered him, and told him I should not get up to get any brandy. I did not see Davidson on the twentyeighth, the Sunday.

Mr. Pitt:

When did you see Mrs Gramatica after that Sunday?

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Helen Williams:
Mary Gramatica next came to my house after that Sunday, on Court day.

Mr. Pitt: Exactly where was the prisoner when you saw him that morning and how was he dressed? Helen Williams:
Davidson was on the road when I saw him on the Monday morning. He was too far off for me to tell the colour of his trousers, but they looked of a dirty light colour. I watched him till he got to Mr. Ingles.

Judge Richmond: Mr. Fell, do you have any further questions you wish to put? Mr. Fell: Yes, Your Honour. Mrs Williams, how would you describe his behaviour as he went along the road? Helen Williams:
He went tearing and swinging along, walking very fast.

Mr. Fell:

Thank you. That is all. You may step down now. ~~~~~~~~~~

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CHAPTER 21
THE TRIAL

John Whelan, goldminer.

Goldminer John Whelan was an old acquaintance of Quinlan and states that the Gramatica cottage was known to be, according to him, a house of bad repute. John Whelan :
I am a miner and reside at the Lyell. I had known Dennis Quinlan for 16 or 17 years. I last saw him alive on Sunday, the 28th of January, at 3 or 4 oclock at Famers Hotel. He wore a black vest and jacket, tweed trousers with black stripe, and straw hat with black band. He was quite sober. On the 6th of January I saw the body, which was Quinlan. I knew it by wounds on the nose and the left temple, while the clothes corresponded with what he used to wear.

Mr. Fell proceeded with the cross examination: How well did you know Mr. Quinlan; would you say he was a dangerous man when drunk? John Whelan :
I had seen a good deal of Quinlan. He was a little rowdy when drunk. He would take his own part. I was never frightened of him. I dont think he was a dangerous man. I knew he got in a row at the Wakamarina, and I heard that he was shot at.

Mr. Fell: Do you know where he had been on the 27th and 28th of January? John Whelan :
I saw Quinlan about 9 or 10 oclock in the morning at Famers on the 28th of January. He did not say where he was the night before, but I heard afterwards that he slept at Gramaticas on the Saturday night.
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Mr. Fell: When you saw the body of the deceased Quinlan, was he wearing a shirt or jacket? John Whelan :
When the body was in the coffin it had the trousers and socks on, but I cant say whether there was a shirt on; the upper part was eaten away. I did not see for maggots.

Mr. Fell: You stated that you knew where he was on the night of Saturday the 27th. Are you sure of this? John Whelan :
I am certain that on the Saturday he spoke of going to Gramaticas and I advised him not to, as it was a house of bad repute.

Mr. Fell: That however does not mean that he actually did stay at Mrs. Gramaticas: he may have ignored your advice and in fact spent the night at an hotel instead, or on the street. John Whelan :
He was quite sober on the Sunday morning. He did not appear as though he had been out on the loose all night.

Mr. Fell:

No further questions. ~~~~~~~~~~~~

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CHAPTER 22
THE TRIAL Louis Carmine, bootmaker

Young Louis Carmine had attended the school at Lyell with Ada Gramatica in 1876, when he was nine years old, and although only sixteen years of age he now was a proficient bootmaker, and had made the boots Quinlan had been wearing when he died. Louis Carmine:
I am a bootmaker, and live at the Lyell. I knew Dennis Quinlan when he was alive, and I made a pair of light boots for him. I last saw Quinlan alive on the 28th of January. He seemed sober then, both in the morning and about tea time. He had on the boots I made and the boots produced are the ones.

Mr. Fell: When precisely did you see him, and what happened? Louis Carmine:
I saw him on the Sunday morning and I passed him just before tea time. I spoke to him, merely giving him the time of day.

Mr. Fell: No further questions, thank you. ~~~~~~~~~

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CHAPTER 23
THE TRIAL

John ORourke, partner of Jack Davidson.

The next witness was a partner of Jack Davidson in working his claim up in the mountains behind the Lyell township, where they had a hut in which they kept their tools and stayed overnight during the week. On the morning after the murder, John ORourke advised Davidson that he should marryMary, and was unaware of what taken place the previous night in the valleybelow. John ORourke:
I live about two miles up the Buller from the Lyell, and I am a miner. I know the prisoner Davidson, and have done so for about three years. We were working together for about six weeks as mates on a claim. I remember the 28th of last January. We were working a little that day. We were working a river claim, and we were shifting our boxes to save them. We knocked off work about five oclock. We had a hut there. Davidson after leaving off work washed himself, and said he wanted to go down to the Lyell. He said he did not think he would be back tomorrow if the river was up, but if it went down he thought he would. He did not come back till about seven oclock on Tuesday morning. He was then a little excited in looks, but I did not notice anything more. He seemed to be put out a good bit, by the way he spoke and looked. I asked him if there was anything the matter with him, and he said, no. I asked him if he had been in any bother or anything, and he said, no, he had not. I had had some breakfast, and I asked him to have some, but he would not. He said he was not hungry and did not care to, but he would have some tea. He wanted me to go down to the Lyell, and said he would transfer to me a claim he had higher up. I said I did not think it was worth anything. He said it was a good claim, and would pay three or four pounds a week. He did not want anything from me. He
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said he would rather me have it than anyone else, and if I did not take it, it would only be jumped. I asked him why he would not work it himself, and he said he would never put a pick into the ground again. I asked him what he was going to do, and he said he did not know. ... I asked him if he was going to get married to that woman (meaning Mrs. Gramatica). He said he thought he would. He had mentioned her name several times before. I am sure he knew her. He had praised her up and one thing and another. He said he thought he might marry her. I told him it was the best thing he could do, he had been single long enough, and had never bettered himself. I went down with him to the Lyell to get the share transferred. We crossed the river together in a boat. He was then dressed in a light Crimean shirt, dark trousers, and brown hat. On the way down he took an axe out of the bush. I think he had planted it before. It was two miles from the Lyell where the axe was picked up. We parted near Sloans, and we were to meet between 11 and 12 oclock. He took the short cut across the foot of the Lyell Creek to Gramaticas place. I went to keep the appointment, and went several times, but he did not come. I thought it strange, and I went to look for him, and went towards the bridge. I saw Mrs. Gramatica there, and went back to Carrolls. I then went by the short cut to Gramaticas. There were about eight or ten inches of water in the creek, and it was only about twelve feet wide. I scrambled up the bank to the road. It took a pretty tough time. It was a very difficult place. When I got on the road I saw this man, Davidson, with his throat cut. Another man had seen him before me, and he had gone for a policeman. I did not know what was the matter at first; I thought he might be drunk. We helped take him into the Lyell on a timber sled. Davidson was in the habit of carrying a small dagger about 6 or 7 inches long in the blade, with a guard protecting the handle. It was a pretty narrow blade with a sharp point, but the blade was not very sharp. He used to cut tobacco with it, and he used to have it on the claim. He always cut his tobacco with it. I never saw him carry the dagger on his person. He used to stick it in a log beside him.

Mr. Fell:

Where did he get this dagger? Have you looked for it at your claim?

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ORourke:
He never told me where he got this dagger. I never looked for the dagger since. ... He used to take it back to the hut at night. On Sunday the 28th, when we were washing up, the river was rising.

Mr. Fell:

In all the time that you worked together with the prisoner, did he ever mention Mr. Quinlan?

ORourke:
I never heard Davidson speak of Quinlan. Davidson and I were mates for about six weeks, and we got on very well together. He seemed to be a quiet man.

Mr. Fell:

How was it that you were on that particularly difficult track that morning? Why would you have taken that path instead of using the road?

ORourke:
It was in consequence of what Mrs. Gramatica told me that I went to the Lyell to look for Davidson. She told me he had gone the short cut to try and find me. I had never been by that track before. I came out right at the place where Davidson was lying. I dont think anyone could travel by that track at night without endangering his life.

Mr. Fell:

Have you ever seen the prisoner sharpen the blade of his knife? Was one edge beaten down to blunt it?

ORourke:
The outside edges of the dagger were not very sharp. I never saw Davidson whet the edge after using. I could not say whether one edge was beaten down to blunt it. We used to cut out tobacco with that part near the point.

Mr. Fell: ORourke:

Did the prisoner tell you why he wanted to take the axe?
He told me he was going to cut wood for the old woman with the axe. He might have told me he was going to give it her.

Mr. Fell:

How long had Davidson been away from the camp before that Saturday?
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ORourke: Mr. Fell: ORourke: Mr. Fell:

Davidson had been absent before that week from Wednesday until Saturday.

Did it seem to you that he had been drinking?

He did not appear to have been drinking.

Were you familiar enough with the deceased to be able to describe him for the Court?

ORourke: Mr. Fell:

I only saw Quinlan once in my life. He was about my size. I weigh between 13 and 14 stone.

No further questions. ~~~~~~~~~~~~

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CHAPTER 24
THE TRIAL

Charles Morgante, Miner

Morgante was another passer-by who had been going home past the cottage from Lyell on the night of the murder. He thought there were two or three men inside the cottage and he overheard them engaging in an angry discussion, but did not hear the voice of a woman.

Charles Morgante:
I am a miner living near the Lyell, lower down the river than Gramaticas. I was in the Lyell on Sunday the 28th January. I left to go home between 10 and 11 at night. It was a showery night. There was a light in Gramaticas house when I passed. I heard two or three men talking loud inside as though they were disputing. I did not hear a womans voice.

Mr. Fell: From the distance of the road, would it be possible that you merely heard a few people having a pleasant discussion at the end of the evening? Charles Morgante:
The house was close to the road. There were more than one in the house. It sounded like two or three people talking altogether. It was more angry than pleasant. There might have been more than two people there.

Mr. Fell: No further questions. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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CHAPTER 25
THE TRIAL

William Wallis, Carpenter

William Wallis (or Wallace) was another neighbour who had been disturbed by the noises coming from Gramaticas house. He stated however this was between two and three in the morning, not just after eleven as Morgante had sworn. He listened from outdoors and should have been close enough to hear what was being said, but said that he could not. He stated that the fire was not lit at Gramaticas until Tuesday, where for an hour he smelled rags burning. The lighting of a fire in a household was an event which broadcast to all in the village that the house was occupied, and the residents were going about the usual daily business of lighting a fire to cook meals, make tea, keep warm or boil water for the washing of clothes. If there was no sign of smoke coming from a dwellings chimney, this in itself was something remarkable for it indicated that the routine was disrupted significantly, that the tenants were ill, or had departed the house. In this case, it was a mistake for Davidson not to have allowed the fire to be lit, because of the suspicion or alarm the lack of one would arouse in an inquisitive or observant community. He did not explain why he did not wish the fire to be lit. William Wallis:
I am a carpenter, living at Carrolls. I was there on the night of Sunday the 28th January. The house was 50 yards from Gramaticas. Between 2 and 3 in the morning I heard a great row at her house, which awoke me from my sleep. I got up and went to the bank and listened for five or ten minutes. I heard a great stamping and a noise as if wrestling was going on, and a sound of loud voices in anger though I could not tell what was said. Then I heard a
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great fall on the floor and then everything was quiet. On the following day I was working at Carrolls. I did not see a soul about Gramaticas. The house was shut up all day. There was no smoke. I did not see Mrs. Gramaticas little girl about all day. She is generally out playing with the Carrolls children. It struck me as remarkable that she was not out that day. I saw Quinlans body pulled up from the bank. The grass and scrub was bruised about there as though something had been slidden down. It did not look as though anyone had gone down carrying the body and then came back again.

Mr. Fell: Did you see the Gramatica child on the Sunday? William Wallis:
I did not see the little girl on the Sunday.

Mr. Fell: Why are you of the opinion that the body had not been carried downhill? William Wallis:
I think the scrub would have been more bruised if the body had been carried down.

Mr. Fell: How many people were involved in the commotion, would you say? William Wallis:
I could not say how many were taking part in the row at Gramaticas. I should think there must have been three or four persons. I have heard rows there before, but not so much as on this occasion.

Mr. Fell: Could you tell whether Mrs. Gramatica or any other women were involved in the argument?
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William Wallis:
I could not distinguish any womans voice.

Mr. Fell: Did you hear anything else after the sound of a fall inside the house? William Wallis:
I heard no sound at all after the fall.

Mr. Fell: And there were no signs of a fire or smoke coming from the house until a day or so later? William Wallis:
I saw no fire in Grammaticas house until the Tuesday evening, and then I smelt rags burning there, which lasted for an hour.

Mr. Fell: No further questions.

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CHAPTER 26
THE TRIAL

Catherine Carroll, neighbour.

Catherine Carroll was the wife of the first witness, and had cooked such a lunch that her husband must eat it before trying to rescue the body. She was unsure whether the figure she had seen outdoors striking a match on the night after the murder was male or female, despite the fact that it would have been easier to distinguish between the shapes of men and women in an age when women wore full length skirts. Catherine Carroll:
I live near Gramaticas . On Monday the 29th January, I noticed her place which seemed as though it was deserted. She or her child were generally about, but neither were on that day. I noticed a smell of rags burning on Tuesday evening. It seemed to come from Gramaticas. I saw a man who was passing on Monday knock at the door, but he seemed to get no answer and he went on. About 10.30 on Monday night I was outside and I heard a match struck near Gramaticas. I looked round and saw the figure of a man.

Mr. Fell: Mrs. Carroll, are you quite certain the person you saw was a man? Catherine Carroll:
I believe it was a man I saw, but it might have been a woman.

Mr. Fell: When was it exactly that you first smelt the unpleasant smells coming from the house nearby?

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Catherine Carroll:
It was after Davidson was taken to the lock-up for cutting his throat that I smelt the rags burning.

~~~ This last statement about the smell of rags burning implicates Mary in the burning of evidence and thus makes her an accomplice after the fact. The unpleasant smells of something being burned, however, were deemed to be that of burning rags, rather than anything more horrible, such as flesh being boiled. There were a number of callers at the cottage during this time. Mr. Thomas Hubbard visited the house on Monday morning to take Mary a bottle of brandy. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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CHAPTER 27

THE TRIAL Robert Shallcrass, Superintendent of Nelson Gaol and Thomas Short, Clerk of Court.

When the Supreme Court resumed at 10.00 a.m. the next day, the first witness was Robert Shallcrass, Superintendent of the Nelson Gaol. He stated that since February last he had kept Davidson and Mary Gramatica in prison awaiting trial. His statement revealed that conditions in the gaol allowed Davidson considerable freedom of movement, which should have alerted prison authorities to the need for stricter control over inmates. Shallcrass was followed by Thomas Short, who had acted as clerk at the inquest at Lyell in January. Pitt claimed that Davidson had not been cautioned when he gave his statement because at that time there was no suspicion of foul play with regard to Quinlans death. Thomas Short:
I was the Clerk of Court when the charge of cutting his throat was heard. The statement produced was signed by Davidson. He was cautioned in the usual way, and he said he had nothing to say. The notes produced are those that I took on that occasion. The initials and the signature are in the prisoners handwriting.

Mr. Pitt: How would you describe the state of health of the prisoner at the time? Thomas Short:
The prisoner was in a delicate state of health, under the treatment of the doctor, who was frequently giving him brandy and eggs. Davidson seemed to be taking an interest in the proceedings. He was in a weak state owing to loss of blood.

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Mr.Fell wished to submit as evidence the notes taken then by Short. Mr. Pitt objected on the grounds that Davidsons statement had not been voluntary, he being in custody at the time.1

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CHAPTER 28
THE TRIAL Henry Staton, neighbour.

On Thursday 21st June, 1883, the Nelson Colonist 1 published their account of the proceedings of the trial on the previous day under the heading WILFUL MURDER. Henry Staton, another neighbour of Gramaticas, was next to be called on the second day of the hearing. Staton spoke from personal experience of having been attacked by Davidson when he had lost control in a jealous rage. This had occurred only the day before the murder.

Judge Richmond: Henry Staton:

Please read the Court your deposition, Mr. Staton.

My name is Henry Staton. I live near Mrs. Gramaticas. I saw her and Davidson at Rose Boyles the day before the murder. Davidson was very quarrelsome. He came at me like a bull at a gate and knocked me down and threatened to gouge my eye out. He said if I came between him and that woman, he would take my hearts blood. I saw him the following Monday morning at the Lyell and then I noticed he had a black coat on. I never saw him with a black coat on before. He had a black hat on, and his boots were not laced, or only one was. He was walking down the street as fast as he could.

Mr. Fell opened his questioning with: Mr. Staton, how long have you known the people involved in this trial? Henry Staton:
I have known Mrs. Gramatica for about twelve years. I am an Englishman; Gramaticas husband was a Swiss. I have known Davidson for ten years.

Mr. Fell:

When and where had you met him in recent times?

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Henry Staton:
I have met him at Gramaticas. I met him on this occasion, and about a week or ten days previously. We had four or five drinks on the 25th of January. Davidson drank with us at Gramaticas. We might have drunk a bottle of brandy between us.

Mr. Fell:

Please tell the Court your whereabouts and your recollection of the events of the evening of the twentyninth of January this year.

Henry Staton:
I stayed at Rosy Boyles about an hour; I went there between half past 10 and 11 oclock, and left at 12 or after; I dont remember more. I stayed at Carrolls hotel on the 29th January, it is in the centre of Cliff Street. I was not in the street at the time I saw Davidson; I was by the side of the building. He was going towards the Buller River. I had to go round the corner into the street to get into the front door. I swear it was Davidson I saw; I might have been 25 feet away; I was by the side of the building, and about half or three parts of the length of the building from the front. Although he was walking fast I recognised him, and saw that one of his bootlaces was undone.

Mr. Fell: Were you present in the Court during the inquest and did anyone question you? Henry Staton:
I was in the Court when the inquest was going on. I did not speak to Keating or Mr. Emerson. Before the inquest Keating asked me what Davidson and I had quarrelled about. I laid no complaint for the assault committed by Davidson. After the row I went home. I went with them to see them safe across the bridge with the child, for Gramatica was in a state of liquor and Davidson was in a state of liquor.

Mr. Fell: But yourself, you of course were sober?

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Mr. Staton:
I had had a glass of beer or porter before I went to Mrs.Gramaticas that day. I did consider myself sober when I went home, yes...

Mr. Fell: Your witness, Mr. Pitt. Mr. Pitt: I suggest that you, Mr. Staton, in fact were also intoxicated on this occasion. Henry Staton:
I was sober enough to carry the child. I was not drunk; I knew what I was about.

There being no further questions from either Mr. Pitt or Mr. Fell, the witness was dismissed. Before Alexander Chase was asked to take the witness stand, Mr. Justice Richmond intervened with a question for Bernardo Sciarone, who was asked for more information on Quinlans sleeping arrangements over the weekend of the murder. Sciarone replied:
Quinlan did not put out any boots on the Sunday morning after I met him in the township; on Sunday night I saw him at Williamss. I dont know where Quinlan slept on Saturday night; I dont know whether he slept at Famers. I could not find his boots.

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CHAPTER 29
THE TRIAL

Little Ben and Thomas Hubbard, draper.

One of the troup of stragglers making their way along the narrow road that night in Lyell was a man known as Little Ben, who was said to have been sweet on Mary. In his deposition to the court he said that he was a miner and a mining carpenter. He denied any knowledge of or involvement in the events in the cottage. William Benjamin Thompson:
I am commonly known as Little Ben. I have seen Mrs Gramatica and Rose Boyle. I remember Sunday evening, the 28th of January last. I did not see Mrs. Gramatica that night. I did not see her with Quinlan. 1

Mr. Fell: Mr. Thompson, is it true that you did have an altercation with Quinlan on the evening of 28th January and that he did knock you to the ground? William Thompson:
I saw Quinlan about 12 oclock in the morning, but not in the evening. I saw him in the barbers. He did not knock me down.

Mr. Fell: Did you have occasion to go to the Gramatica house on the Tuesday night? William Thompson:
I did not go to Gramaticas house on Tuesday night. I was only in her place once, and I have a letter to show what I went there for. It was on the 3rd or 4th of January.

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Mr. Pitt: Are you saying that you did not know what went on in Mrs. Gramaticas house? William Thompson:
I know Mrs Gramatica was a washerwoman.

Mr. Pitt: How close do you live to her house? William Thompson:
I live about 20 chains on the Lyell side of the house.

Mr. Pitt: After you left the village on that night, what did you do? William Thompson:
I went home between seven and eight that night because it was wet, and went to bed straight.

The letter Little Ben referred to was not produced in Court, so the reason why he visited Mary Gramaticas house remains unknown. Thomas Hubbard, a friend of Rose Boyle and Mary, ran to the cottage after hearing news of the murder from Rose. On the way, he thoughtfully took a bottle of brandy which was lying beside an anonymous unconscious figure beside the road (not involved in this affair) to offer to Mary. After having it rejected by Davidson, he returned it to the rightful owner on his way back. By this time, Rose Boyle was also keen to learn what was happening, and had walked down to the Lyell Creek bridge to see for herself. The questioning of witnesses continued with Thomas Hubbard. Mr. Fell: Please state your name and occupation, and tell the court what you remember of the events of Monday 29th January last. Thomas Hubbard:
I am a draper residing at the Lyell. I remember Monday 29th January last. I saw
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Rose Boyle that morning on the Lyell Creek Bridge, and in consequence of what she told me, I went to Mrs. Gramaticas house with about two-thirds of a bottle of brandy.

Mr. Fell:

Where did you get the bottle of brandy from?

Thomas Hubbard:
I found the brandy on the roadside, and I took it to Mrs. Gramaticas house about half past eight in the morning. I knocked at the door but got no answer at first. A voice then asked who was there. I said Tommy. The voice said what do you want. I said Ive something for the missus. The person who spoke came to the window. It was the gentleman in the dock. The blind was down, and he moved it to one side. There was a broken pane of glass, and he said, put it through the window. I said I would not because he would not let me in. He said he could not let me in then. He gave no reason. I walked away and put the brandy where I found it. There was a man lying drunk beside it, and he was there when I went back. I left the brandy and the man, and went to my shop. Davidson appeared to know what he was about when he spoke to me.

Mr. Pitt:

What time would it have been when you saw Miss Rosana Boyle?

Thomas Hubbard:
It was between eight and nine when I was at Rose Boyles, and there was a fine rain falling.

Mr. Pitt:

How was it you were able to identify the person inside the house if he would not allow you entry?

Thomas Hubbard:
I have known Davidson 5 or 6 years, and I am sure it was he whom I saw. He moved the blind on one side and I saw his head and shoulders.

There being no further questions, Mr. Hubbard was allowed to step down from the witness box. ~~~~~~~~~~~
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CHAPTER 30
THE TRIAL Bernardo Sciarone, Stableman and Bootshiner

The testimony of this witness was later dismissed by the Judge as being valueless, because of Sciarones imperfect understanding of some of the subtle nuances of the English language. It had been considered potentially important because of his claim to have been the last person to see Quinlan alive. Bernardo Sciarone1 was one of the men in the village for whom Mary did laundry, and had been foolish enough to tell his friend Alexander Chase that he had been the last to see Davidson alive. Sciarone swears he slept in his own bed all that night, but Alexander Chase said he had not been there at all. Sciarone was an Italian who had difficulty making himself clearly understood in English. He was a jocular character who even in Court could not resist making a joke to lighten up proceedings. He was concerned to help save Mary by asking people to go light on her. He advised Mary to tell the truth about what had happened and not to go along with Davidsons version but to save herself. At the inquest, he had been drunk when he gave evidence. Although he had asked for an interpreter, this had not been made available to him. He stated that Quinlan was in the habit of staying at Famers, where Sciarone worked, when he was in town, rather than at Marys cottage. Bernardo Sciarone described himself as
a little of all sorts: stableman, boot-shiner, woodchopper, and chimneysweep.

He had seen Quinlan on

January 28th, and had been with him at Helen Williams house, where Quinlan shouted drinks for him. He had known Davidson for a very short time, but remembered seeing him on the Monday morning: ... I saw the prisoner that morning about half past four. He knocked at the door of the
billiard room at the side. I heard knocking, and I jumped out of bed. I saw Davidson, who
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was wanting a bottle of brandy. I said you have got some there: what do you want? He said he wanted a bottle of brandy for a friend across the way who was sick. I said he had plenty for anyone, and if his friend wanted more he must be a glutton. He said he wanted more, and I went up the street to get rid of him. I went up the street as far as Peter Mayes Post Office Hotel, but I didnt ask for brandy for him. He had plenty in his pocket.

Mr. Pitt: Did the prisoner appear to be drunk? Bernardo Sciarone:

The prisoner did not appear to be drunk. There was nothing peculiar about his manner. He had a black coat on. He afterwards went on towards the bridge.

Mr. Pitt: On which days did you go to Mrs. Gramaticas house? Bernardo Sciarone:
I was not at Gramaticas house on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. On Tuesday, I passed by and called in. I think it was in the afternoon. I rapped at the door, and Mrs. Gramatica opened it. Davidson was sitting in a rocking chair. I went to ask for my watch. I saw a clock there, but it was like me, it wouldnt go . It was not much good....

Mr. Pitt: Do you recollect Mr. Quinlans body being found? Bernardo Sciarone:
I remember Quinlans body being found.

Mr. Pitt: How well do you know Mrs. Gramatica? Bernardo Sciarone:
Mrs. Gramatica used to wash for me, and I used to go there 17 years ago. Her
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husband was a Swiss.

Mr. Pitt:

Who told you the body of Mr. Quinlan had been found?

Bernardo Sciarone:
They told me in the town, they had found the body, and I said I could tell whose body it was by the boots. ...

Mr. Pitt:

Where did you last see Mr. Quinlan?

I last saw Quinlan at Williams; I wanted some chaps to play cards...

Bernardo Sciarone: Mr. Pitt:

Do you remember talking to Mr. Chase after the body was found? Did you tell him you were the last person to see Mr. Quinlan alive? Bernardo Sciarone :
I remember having a conversation with Chase after the body was found. I said the last I saw of Dennis Quinlan was at Mrs. Williams bar. I did not say I was the last man who saw him alive . Tom Bodle was present when I spoke to Chase. If they understood me to say I was the last man to see him alive, they misunderstood me.

Mr. Pitt: How long have you known Mrs. Gramatica? Bernardo Sciarone:
I have known Mrs. Gramatica for sixteen or seventeen years.

Mr. Pitt: Why did you tell Mr. Chase that he must not be too harsh in his judgement of Mrs. Gramatica? Bernardo Sciarone:
I do not remember saying to Chase he must not be too hard on Mrs. Gramatica -what was it to me whether he was hard or soft? I might have said a lot for a lark: I am
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generally having some fun.

Mr. Pitt: Mr. Sciarone, have you had any discussions with Mrs. Gramatica since the body was found? Bernardo Sciarone:
I have spoken to Mrs. Gramatica about Quinlan since the body was found. I said if you know anything about it you tell it, and you will be better off.

Mr. Pitt: Do you remember the day of the inquest? Did Mrs. Gramatica make any reference to Quinlan that day? Bernardo Sciarone:
I remember the day of the inquest. I was pretty well on. She never mentioned anything about Quinlan as far as I know.

Mr. Pitt: When did you go to see Mrs. Gramatica? Bernardo Sciarone:
I went to Mrs. Gramaticas the day Jack Davidson tried to cut his throat, and I went after that. On getting two messages from Mrs. Gramatica, I went to see her when I had time.

Mr. Pitt: Did you state at the inquest that you had seen the prisoner wearing a black coat prior to the morning of 29th of January? Bernardo Sciarone:
I might have said at the inquest that I had seen Davidson with a black coat before that morning. I might have said so, but I am not sure.

Mr. Pitt: No further questions.

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Mr. Fell resumed the interrogation by asking: Mr. Sciarone, did you find it difficult to give evidence in English at the inquest, and did you not ask for assistance? Bernardo Sciarone:
I said at the inquest that if they gave me an interpreter I would give them better information.

Mr. Fell: I regret that they did not do so. Did you speak to Mrs. Gramatica after Quinlan had died, and if so, what did you talk about? Bernardo Sciarone:
I spoke to Mrs. Gramatica more than once after the death of Quinlan about it. I asked her if she knew anything about it. She only said something about Davidsons watch, which he said J. Reid was to have.

Mr. Fell: Thank you, Mr. Sciarone. I have no further questions, Your Honour.

~~~

Reid not only leased the Gramatica farm, but was also so friendly with Davidson that Jack wanted to him to have his watch when he believed he was about to die. Reid was obviously still in contact with Davidson at this stage, and Davidson or Mary were passing messages between people in the town. Davidson was trying to shore up support for his version of events in order to save himself. ~~~~~~~~~~

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CHAPTER 31
THE TRIAL.

Frederick Bulmer, Baker

The bakery was located in Cliff Street, the main street of Lyell, and on stepping outside his kitchen, Fred Bulmer the baker had a clear view down towards the bridge across the Lyell Creek. A commotion so early in the morning when it was barely light was unusual enough to distract him from his chores and cause him go outdoors to investigate. Frederick Bulmer stated:
I am a baker and storekeeper living at the Lyell. I remember the 29th of January. About 5 minutes to 5 oclock on that day I heard a row in the street, and was anxious to know who was there so early. I saw three men standing in the street fifteen or twenty yards away. The prisoner Davidson was one of them, and he went away. He was swinging his hat in his right hand. Anyone would take him to be a mad man. He went down the Buller River towards the Lyell Creek bridge towards Mrs. Gramaticas house. I watched him as far as I could, and he went towards her place on the opposite side of the creek still swinging his hat.

Mr. Pitt:

Would you say that, in your opinion, he had been drinking?

Frederick Bulmer:
I cant say whether he had been drinking. He was very much excited, and looked like a madman. He might have been drinking. I did not hear him speaking.

Judge Richmond adjourned the court until 10 oclock the next morning, June 20, 1883. ~~~~~
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CHAPTER 32
THE TRIAL Alexander Chase, Cook

On the resumption of the sitting of the Court at 10.00 am. the next day, the first witness to be called was the cook at Famers Hotel, who was accustomed to being up very early in the mornings to light the coal range in the hotel to begin preparing for breakfast. On 29th January, 1883, he had been confronted by a distressed Davidson in his frantic search for brandy for someone he says is dying for a drink. This may not have been for Mary, but for Quinlan, whom he might still have been hopeful of reviving.1 Alexander Chase read his deposition which stated:
In January last I was cooking at Famers Hotel. ... I knew Quinlan and Sciarone, but not Davidson, but I knew him after. I was at Mrs. Williams hotel on Sunday, the 28th of January, from about seven till past eleven. I saw Sciarone and Quinlan there that evening, and that was the last time I saw Quinlan alive. I saw Mrs. Gramatica outside when I was taking Sciarone away. It was nearly eleven then, and I left Quinlan asking for a bottle of brandy. On Monday morning I got up at four to light my fire. I opened the door of the kitchen at Famers Hotel about half-past four to let a man in, and Davidson came in after. He rushed into the kitchen, and hearing him come in with a jump made me slew round. He said Can you get me a bottle of brandy? I said, No, I cannot; its too early to wake anyone yet. A man named Thomas Bodle was there, but he said nothing. Davidson said, For Gods sake, get a bottle of brandy; theres a friend dying for a drink. I would not get it for him. He asked for Sciarone. When he turned, I saw a brandy bottle in his pocket; more than half the bottle was showing and I could see no brandy in the bottle. I told him Sciarone was in the washhouse cleaning boots, and he rushed out of the cottage to the washhouse, and instead of going round by the walk he jumped down a step. Sciarone came and asked me if I could get the brandy, and I said no. Sciarone asked
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Davidson if he had been to Nellys, meaning Mrs. Williams. He said, Yes but the black bitch would not get up to serve me. They went away together, and about half an hour later I saw him on the main road across the creek, walking towards Mrs. Gramaticas. He was swinging his hat on his hand then. I asked Bodle who the man was, and he said Mrs. Gramaticas fancy man. The man looked very wild indeed. In fact, I did not do anything while he was there -- I kept looking at him. He looked wild, and his eyes looked coming out of his head -- he frightened me. His trousers were unbuttoned, and his shirt was all open. He had on a black jacket and a Yankey hat, which was much worn and all over mud. He had on dark corded tweed trousers, but no waistcoat.

The witness was then cross-examined by Mr. Pitt: Do you know where Mr. Sciarone slept on the night of Sunday the 28th? Alexander Chase:
I dont know where Sciarone slept on the Sunday night. I heard he did not sleep in his room, and I accused him. This was after Quinlans body was found. We were talking about the death of Quinlan, and he said he was the last man who saw him alive. He was winking at me. I said, How is it you say you are the last man who saw him alive, when I took you out of the Welcome (Inn) away from him? I said Your being the last man to see him accounts for your not being in bed all night. In the morning, Sciarone was cleaning boots in the washhouse. I saw Davidson go to him, and they were not together five minutes when they came out. Davidson looked frightful; he was all of a shake, and looked as though he had been drinking for a month; he looked as though he was getting over the horrors. On the Sunday night I took Sciarone away from Mrs. Williams, and I took him to the billiard room door, and he had to go through the billiard room to get to his bed room.

Mr. Pitt: Do you remember having a conversation with Sciarone before the inquest and the manner in which he was dressed on the Sunday night?

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Alexander Chase:
I had a conversation with Sciarone at Mrs. Williams before I gave my evidence. He came to me, and wanted to get into conversation with me about Gramatica and the affair. I told him I was summoned on the inquest and could not talk about it. He said he had known Mrs. Gramatica and her husband a long time, and said they must not be too hard on her. I cant tell how Sciarone was dressed on the Sunday night. I dont think I can say whether he wore the same clothes on the following morning.

Mr. Pitt: Your Honour, I have here depositions by Mr. Chase wherein he states that Sciarone had worn the same clothes on the Monday morning that he wore on the Sunday night. Alexander Chase:
Well then, I must have said so, as it appears on the deposition.

Mr. Pitt: Was Mr. Sciarone in the habit of wearing the same clothes day and night? Alexander Chase:
Sciarone did not wear the same clothes when working as he did after work was done.

Mr. Pitt: Let me ask you again: was Mr. Sciarone wearing the same clothes on the Monday morning as he had been wearing on the Sunday night? Alexander Chase:
My attention was taken up with Davidson and not Sciarone on the Monday morning. Most likely he had not the same clothes on.

At this point Mr. Justice Richmond intervened: Mr. Chase, was Mr. Sciarone so drunk that you had to take him home?

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Alexander Chase:
Sciarone was not very drunk on the Sunday night. I took him home because I was going home and wanted company.

Here Mr. Fell took up the questioning. Mr. Fell: Alexander Chase: Justice Richmond: Alexander Chase:
I did not go into his bedroom that morning. These was nothing to lead me to suspect that he did not go to bed, except that he said he was the last man to see Quinlan alive. He never said I had misunderstood him. He did not seem to know anything about it then. Did you accompany Mr. Sciarone to his bedroom? I left Sciarone at the billiard room. Did you go into his bedroom in the morning?

Pitt tried to continue the same line of questioning but was prevented by the Judge:
This is merely heresay, though there are reasons for allowing such questions as that. If you want Mr. Famers evidence, you must produce him, Mr. Pitt.

At this point, Fell asked that Sciarone be recalled and this was done. Mr. Fell:
Mr. Sciarone, Mr. Alexander Chase said he took you home as far as the billiard room door and left you there on the Sunday night. Is this correct?

Bernardo Sciarone:
I heard Chase say he took me home on the Sunday night and left me at the billiard room door. I went to my bedroom, and then I went to the closet, and after going to the stable I went to my bedroom and slept. There was another man sleeping in the room.

Judge Richmond allowed the witness to stand down, and the next and more credible witness took the floor. Sciarone seems to have been the only other suspect in the murder and to have become so either because of his wish to grandstand by being involved in the events or as the result of a misunderstood remark. ~~~~~~~~
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CHAPTER 33
THE TRIAL

John Emerson, Police Inspector

The sixteenth witness was the Police Inspector from Hokitika, John Emerson, who gave evidence on June 21, 1883. He said Jack Davidson had claimed that Mary gave him a drugged drink at her cottage and then cut his throat. Attempted suicide was also considered to be a crime in those days, although presumably not as serious an offence as murder, but Davidson tried to shift the blame to Mary even for his severely lacerated throat. John Emerson:
I am an Inspector of Police, stationed at Hokitika, in charge of the Westland district, which includes the Lyell. I was present during part of the enquiry before Mr. Revell on the body of Dennis Quinlan. I remember seeing the prisoner on the evening of the 19th of February in the lock-up at the Lyell. When I went in, he said he wished to make a statement regarding the murder. He said he had sent for me for that purpose. I said, Very well: I will be obliged to take down whatever you say in writing, and it may be used for or against you at the trial.

Mr. Pitt: Did you have any previous discussion with Davidson to the effect that Mrs. Gramatica was being arrested and that she would soon tell all about it? Inspector Emerson:
I had had no conversation with Davidson prior to this as to his making a statement or his knowledge. I did not tell him that Mrs. Gramatica was being arrested and would soon tell all about it: no one made such a statement in my presence. I did see him in the lock-up in
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the presence of Constable Keating and Detective Quinn on the night of Sunday the 18th. It was late in the evening, and I merely went to visit the cell in which Davidson was. I did not on that occasion tell him he had better tell all he knew about it.

Mr. Pitt: Did either Detective Quinn or Constable Keating tell Davidson that if Mrs. Gramatica was arrested she would tell all she knew about it? Inspector Emerson:
Neither Detective Quinn nor Constable Keating said so to my knowledge. Neither of those officers said in my presence If Mrs. Gramatica is arrested she will tell all about it. I believe I only went once to his cell. I might have gone more often, as I was anxious about the injury to his throat, and I had a doctor in constant attendance. The prisoner was not brought into my presence. Nothing was said to him in my presence to the effect that it would be better for him to tell.

Mr. Pitt: No further questions. Your witness, Mr. Fell. Mr. Fell: To your knowledge, was any threat or inducement made to the prisoner to persuade him to tell what he knew? Inspector Emerson:
As far as I know, no inducement was held out to the prisoner to make a statement, and there was no threat. After telling him that this statement might be used against him at his trial, I took down what he said. I never asked a question, and merely said Go on, or Yes.

Mr. Fell asked the Clerk of the Court to hand papers to Inspector Emerson, which was done. Mr. Fell: Is this the statement which you took down on that occasion?

Inspector Emerson:
The statement produced is one written by me. Every page is initialled by me, and the prisoner
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signed the statement at the end, and which I read over to him before he signed it.

Mr. Pitt: (to the Judge, objecting ) I dont know that this statement is admissible evidence. Justice Richmond:
It is original evidence, like any other statement. The Inspector might use it as a memorandum to refresh his memory as to what the prisoner said, but the prisoner has accepted the statement by his signature. I think the less cumbersome way is to put the statement in.

Mr. Fell handed the statement to Justice Richmond, and it was then read to the Court. It was the statement signed by Davidson which had been published in full in the Wellington newspapers on February 21, 1883.1 Mr. Fell: The signature on the back, whose is this? Inspector Emerson:
The signature on the back is also in the prisoners handwriting.

Mr. Fell: Inspector, when did you arrest Mary Gramatica and for what reason ? Inspector Emerson:
I arrested Mary Gramatica on the evening after the statement was made. She sent for me on the following morning, and made a statement to me. In consequence of that statement I went to her house with Constable Keating. I made a search for a bundle of clothing the prisoner was supposed to have carried away, and a dagger.

Mr. Fell: But nothing was found, in spite of your searching the premises? Inspector Emerson:
The terrace at the back is very steep, covered with growing trees and fallen ones,
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some of them rotten and thick undergrowth, and a great many bottles have been thrown there. There is only a very small yard at the back of the house, and the steep bank is covered with growth. The bank was shingly in places.

Mr. Fell: Did you have any further discussions with the prisoner after his statement was taken? Inspector Emerson:
On the 23rd February, I went in to see that Davidson was all right, I asked how his throat was getting on. He said he was very sorry if ever he got better. He then said that he had nothing to fear if he had died, that he never injured anyone, and had nothing to do with murder. He got a glass of drugged drink at Mrs Gramaticas and he knew nothing more until he saw Mrs Gramatica standing over him, and blood streaming from his throat; that it was Mrs. Gramatica who cut his throat.

Mr. Fell: Were you in Court yesterday, Inspector Emerson, and did you see the piece of shirt produced to the Court in evidence? Inspector Emerson:
I was in Court yesterday. The piece of shirt produced was produced before the Resident Magistrate. When this piece was produced the prisoner said where did you get that, it is a piece of my shirt.

Mr. Fell: Nothing further, Your Honour. Mr. Pitt took over the cross examination at this point: When you first visited the prisoner, what did he say to you exactly? Inspector Emerson:
The prisoner said when I entered the lockup. I want to make a statement. I said
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what about? He said about this affair or the murder; I am nor sure which.

Mr. Pitt: Despite your presumably thorough searching, the dagger was not found. Can you explain why not? Is it possible the dagger had not been thrown away at all? Inspector Emerson:
There is a slight fence at the back of Mrs Gramaticas house: it is four or five feet from the back of the house. When Mrs. Gramatica threw a stone to show us where the prisoner threw the dagger, it fell about twelve yards away. At the spot where it fell there was water from the road, rotten trees, grass, stones, and undergrowth. I think the dagger would have stopped where it fell. I was searching about the spot for two or three hours; Constable Keating was also searching, and Detective Quinn after. We searched within a radius of fifty feet of the spot indicated but we did not find it. If the dagger had not been thrown at all it is obvious I could not have found it. The spot where we searched is very steep. The ground is not so steep where the body was found as at the back of Mrs Gramaticas.

Mr. Pitt: Were any further searches carried out, and if so, what were you looking for? Inspector Emerson:
We searched about Mrs. Gramaticas place for the blankets, and I sent the detective down towards the river, but found no trace of them. Davidson told me, before the Magistrates Court, that on the 28th of January he hung up all his clothes to dry, and that he put on the trousers of a foreigner.

Mr. Pitt: Did the prisoner ever indicate that he had sent to Mrs. Gramaticas for his clothing? Inspector Emerson:
I dont believe he ever stated to me that he had sent to Mrs Gramaticas for his shirt and trousers; he did say if Mrs. Gramaticas place was searched his trousers would be found.
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Mr. Pitt: When did you make this search of Mrs. Gramaticas house? Inspector Emerson:
It was on the 23rd of February we searched Mrs. Gramaticas. The spot where Davidson was said to have cut his throat was pointed out to me; I saw blood there, and only at that spot. When Mrs. Gramatica was arrested I told her what he was arrested for. She might have said Very well; all right. I believe she said so.

Mr. Pitt. Thank you, no further questions. Thomas Short, who had also been the Clerk of the Court when the original charge against Davidson was heard was recalled to elaborate on his earlier testimony and stated that:
The statement produced was signed by Davidson. He was cautioned in the usual way, and he said he had nothing to say.

In answer to further questions, he stated that the Inquiry had been adjourned till the arrival of Mr. Revell, R.M. He was only present at the preliminary inquiry before Mr. Fennell, J.P., acting Coroner. Mr. Fell wished to submit as evidence the notes taken by Short, but Pitt objected on the ground that Davidsons statement was not voluntary, he being in custody at the time and had not been cautioned. Justice Richmond considered that despite this, Davidsons statement was admissible.

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CHAPTER 34
THE TRIAL

The Trial of Mary Gramatica, Laundress of Lyell

On June 20th, 1883, in the Supreme Court at Nelson, Mary Gramatica appeared at the trial for the murder of Dennis Quinlan as an accessory after the fact, together with John (Jack) Davidson. The Crown did not intend to prosecute her for the crime, in return for her admitting that her original statement had been false and agreeing to now give evidence against Davidson. Mr. Justice Richmond presided over the hearings and at the commencement of proceedings, Mr. Pitt asked for clarification on a legal point:
Before Mrs. Gramatica is brought in, I wish it to be distinctly stated whether the witness is to be committed for trial by the Coroner for the murder of Denis Quinlan.

The Crown Prosecutor Mr. Fell in reply said:

That is so, but the Crown will be immediately be entering a nolle prosequi against her.

This meant that the Crown had relinquished its intention to prosecute Mary Gramatica. Judge Richmond instructed the Clerk of Courts to call her. She entered the court with an attendant and swore to tell the truth on the Bible held up before her. The registrar then read aloud her deposition, which differed from the statement she had made at the previous inquest. I am a widow, living near the Lyell. My late husband was Peter Gramatica, a miner,
but for the last few years he had been farming. He left me some property in trust. My trustees are George Zannetti and Florian Adank. I have known Davidson since last October or November. At Christmas he stopped a week at my place and slept there pretty often on other occasions. He had not proposed marriage to me, but had told me that he thought it would be better for me if I was married , for then I should have someone to look after me. I fancy Davidson desired to marry me.
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I had a conversation with him about Mr. Zanetti. I told Davidson that a gentleman had spoken about a man being about my place, and the gentleman had said I should not allow the man to come about, as people were beginning to talk about it. Davidson asked if the man was in business, and I replied he used to be. Davidson guessed it was Zanetti, and he said if Zanetti put me up to anything, or said anything against him he would make it warm for Zanetti. I told him he would have to stay somewhere else, as I had no accommodation for him. He did not reply particularly to that. [This would have been taken as a serious and insulting rebuff by Davidson, who had been accustomed to staying with Mary whenever he came down to the Lyell, and had assumed that Mary would be amenable to him marrying her. His rage later on that weekend seems to have stemmed from this point of rejection.] I knew Dennis Quinlan since last July. Quinlan was not a frequent visitor to my house, but I knew him quite well, and he was in my house before January twentyseventh. I saw him that evening in the Lyell. He was in my house then from half an hour to an hour. I next saw him on the Sunday night. I met him when I was going into the Lyell between eight and nine oclock. I met him between Rosy Boyles and Williamss hotel. I left my child on that occasion at the house near the bridge. I do not know whether I went into Williams hotel that evening. I went back to Rosy Boyles, and did not go into the township, and Quinlan came after me into Rosy Boyles, where were two other men. I stayed there some time. Quinlan was there the whole time. We had something to drink there. We left about eleven oclock, as near as I can guess. Quinlan carried my child. I had had a good drop to drink. Quinlan had had three or four drinks. I have a clear recollection of what happened: we went towards my house. Reaching there, I saw a light in the front or sitting room. We went in and found Davidson there, but no one else. Davidson was standing in the middle of the room. The front room or sitting room is not lined, has a board floor , and contains a fireplace. There is a partition covered with scrim between that room and the bedroom. The bedroom is only partly lined with scrim. In the sitting room on the righthand side of the fireplace, and between that and the back door, there is a sofa, and a table under the window.
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I take in washing, and have the necessary pans for boiling water. In the bedroom there is a large box and a table. On the sofa there were pillows and blankets and a mattress stuffed with hay. The blankets were large blue ones, there were two pillows, and a holland cover, which I used to throw over the sofa, when it was not being used as a bed, in order to give the whole a tidy appearance. There was also an antimacassar. [the sofa may have been used as a bed when Marys eldest daughter came home on holidays from school. ] Quinlan on the Sunday night went into the house with me.When I saw Davidson I said : hallo! you are making yourself very comfortable, arent you! Davidson replied why should I not? I sat down and Quinlan sat on the sofa. I cannot say whether they said good evening to each other. The two men had met at my house before that evening. Quinlan asked me for a glass, and I gave him a cup, as I had no glass. He had a drink. Quinlan had brought a bottle of brandy with him. Quinlan asked Davidson when he came down to my place, and Davidson replied a little while ago. The men then began conversing and speaking cross to each other. Quinlan said to Davidson, you are taking advantage of this woman. I know her brother well, and on his account, I respect her, and I do not want to see you doing this. Davidson called him a liar and a son of a bitch, and swore repeatedly at him. Davidson also said if any man goes between me and that woman I wont be answerable for what I will do to him. Quinlan took off his coat, threw it on the sofa, and went to hit Davidson. I do not know whether Quinlan did so or not, but do not think there was time; then Quinlan came and showed me his wrist, where it was stabbed. I was sitting on the sofa at the time. I think it was on the right wrist Quinlan was stabbed. I saw the stab before the blood began to gush from it. The wound bled a great deal. I went to my bedroom and got a piece of calico and bandaged and bound up Quinlans wrist. I said to Quinlan [she means Davidson] see what you have done to Dennis. He did not reply. The child was crying at the time, she saw the struggle and screamed at the sight of the blood. I was nursing the child on the sofa and was trying to keep it quiet. Quinlan asked me to give him some brandy and I did. Davidson and Quinlan were talking. They were talking, but they did not appear to be arguing any more.
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Davidson ordered me to take the child and go to bed. I took no notice of him. I asked Dennis if his wrist was paining and he replied it was not. He asked for another drink. I also had a drink each time, and Davidson helped himself. Davidson said it was best to put the child to bed, as she was very cross. I did so. I took the child into the bedroom and undressed her. I went to bed myself, partly undressed and got under the blankets with the child. I afterwards went to sleep. After I went into the bedroom I heard the men talking but they were not speaking angrily and I did not hear any more angry words pass between them. Next morning I awoke about daylight - the sun was up. Davidson was in my bedroom. He was sitting on the box beside my bed. He was dressed. I could not tell whether he had on his own clothes. It was between six and seven oclock I think, but my clock is not going. I asked Davidson what he was doing there. He replied nothing: you had better have a drink. Davidson seemed sober, but looked wild. I said I must soon be getting up and asked why the table was up against the bedroom entrance. The table was reared up endways. There was no door to my bedroom, but curtains, and between the joins of the curtains, I noticed the table being so placed. I again asked what the table was doing there. Davidson said it was there to keep me and the child in the bedroom all day. I asked what in the name of God he meant. Davidson replied; I was not to stir out, neither me nor the child until twelve oclock at night. I asked him why he would not allow me to stir out of my own bedroom, and he said he would tell me another time. I asked him to remove the table for God Almightys sake. Davidson said he would do so if I would not stir out of the bedroom, or allow the child to do so. I said I would promise anything if he would only remove the table. He wanted me to swear, but I said No, I would keep my word without swearing. He did partly remove the table and I got out of bed directly when I heard him move it. He came and pushed me back, and asked me if that was keeping my promise. I went back to bed quick, for I was frightened of him after seeing what he had done to Quinlan the night before, and he was so wild looking. He said he was going to the Lyell. He said he had been there before I awoke, and he was going again, as the stores were not open. He asked me if I wanted anything, and I said Yes; some oil and vinegar. He said he would be gone
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half an hour. He told me I was not to go outside my room, or to answer the door if anybody knocked, or allow the child to go, and if I did I should suffer for it. He then went away. The table had been partly moved from the doorway. I told Davidson if he left it like that I would not get up, but I certainly would if he put it back. I got up directly he had gone, and looked into the other room . I saw the blankets in a heap, partly on the floor and partly on the sofa. I saw two boots sticking out about half of them from under the blankets. They were light mens boots, Quinlan wore elastic side boots. I could not see the sides of these.

Judge Richmond:

(to the Clerk of the Court)

Show Mrs. Gramatica item one. Mary, are these the same boots as the ones you saw beneath the blanket? Mary Gramatica:
The boots are like those I saw. There appeared to be something like a human shape under the blankets leaning against the sofa, and partly reclining on the sofa. There was no movement in the figure . I did not leave my room. I did not know who it was, but I knew there was somebody there. I thought, My God! That must be Quinlan. I dressed myself and waited to see if it would move. I was sober by then. Davidson came back while I was dressing. He brought the oil and vinegar, and some brandy. I said whats the matter: whos on the floor: did Quinlan go home last night? He asked me if that was keeping my promise not to get up. I again asked him what that was outside. He said Its Quinlan. and then he said also I took his hearts blood. I said My God, whats to become of me? A murder committed in my own house. He said You only hold your tongue. Youve seen nothing. I said I had seen quite enough before I went to bed, what he had done to poor Quinlans wrist. I went on a great deal, but I dont know what I said. He told me to hold my tongue and nothing could be done to me. I said For a man to be murdered in my house, I am sure, me, I will be taken up. He told me the best thing I could do would be to go to bed and keep quiet, so that no one
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would come to the house. I went back to bed. He told me I was not to attempt to get up or let the child, but I was to keep quiet until night, when he would remove Quinlans body. I went back to bed with my child and sat there talking and trying to please her and keep her quiet. She wanted to get up, but he would not let her. He was backwards and forwards between the two rooms all day. I had nothing to eat all day. The child had bread and butter and jam and milk. Davidson brought it to her. He gave me some brandy now and again. I asked for some tea. He said there was no fire to be lit today. I never left the room all day. Davidson told me Mr. Reids boy came to the house, with a letter for me, and he gave me the letter. He said he had taken it in through a broken pane of glass in the window, so as not to open the door. I did not notice whether the blinds were down or up in the sitting room. I stayed like that, in my bedroom, all day long. When he gave me the letter, I was so excited, I could not read it, and asked him to read for me, and he did so. When night came, I had a light in my room. Davidson sat there with me. I dont think he had any meals that day. In the night after dark, I heard him pulling something out of the front room. He did not speak to me before doing it. It sounded like dragging something, and I knew what he was doing. It must have been poor Quinlans body, he dragged it out the back door and round the house behind my bedroom. Then I dont know which way he went. There is a fence round the house. He went out of my hearing and way away about a quarter of an hour. When he came back, I heard him doing something in the front room. There was no fire, but shortly after he lighted one. All this time I was on the bed with the child, and I could see and hear him moving about. I did not get up until daylight, when he said I could get up if I liked. I saw him after I got up, in the front room. I asked him what he did with poor Quinlans body. He said he had put it away all right. I asked what I was to do now. He said If Quinlans missed, you say you didnt see him, that he didnt come to your house . I said I was sure to be taken up and tried with my child. He said nothing of the sort, if I would only hold my tongue. He wanted me to swear on the Prayer Book, but I would not and said I promise to him to
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hold my tongue so long as I was not interfered with. When I went out, the floor where the body had been lying was wet. The fire was lighted, and the kettle was on. This was on Tuesday morning. The floor looked as though it had been washed on one part. The blankets were in a heap on top of the sofa. There was a bag on top of the blankets. A number of similar bags I kept under the sofa. I saw no signs of blood. All this time Davidson had on a pair of trousers different from his own. I know whose they were. They belonged to a young man named Christy.

Judge Richmond asked the attendant to show exhibit B to Mary, and asked: Are these the trousers Davidson was wearing that morning? Mary Gramatica:
Those trousers are those he had on. They had been left with me to mend. Davidsons own trousers were on the sofa, and I saw him put them in the bags afterwards. I noticed no marks on them. He put the blankets in the bag too. He also put my sofa cover in the bag. He had a striped shepherds plaid flannel shirt on that morning. He had a darkish Crimean shirt on the night before. On the Tuesday morning I saw the shirt he wore the previous night; it was lying on the sofa. When he came back later in the day he removed the shirt and flannel. I have seen a little dagger in his possession; I could not tell whether he usually carried it. I found it under the sofa one morning when I was making the sofa. I saw him with it on the Tuesday morning. He had it in his hand when he was standing outside at the end of the house, at the back, and he threw the dagger over the terrace in the direction of the Buller River. He did not throw it with all his force and it fell among the bushes on the side of the bank. When he threw it I said What did you throw over the bank? He said A dagger. He then went inside the house and said he was going up to the Buller to his mate. I made him some tea for breakfast, and I had a cup of tea. I dont know whether he had any. He took the bag with the blankets and things away with him, and said he was going to destroy them. He never told me what he had done with them. He went away early, and said he would be back about eleven. He came back and it seemed about that time.
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In the meantime, I was dressing my child, and tidying the bedroom. When he returned at eleven, he examined the sofa and took the pillows and everything off. He put the pillows back and looked at his flannel shirt. I saw he was looking at a small spot of blood on the shoulder of the undershirt. He lit a match, and holding the shirt over it, burned a little bit out.

Judge Richmond: Show the witness exhibit C. Is this the kind of shirt Mr. Davidson had been wearing? Mary Gramatica:
Yes, it is that kind of shirt, and the burnt hole here is like the one I speak of. I am sure it is the shirt because I washed it. The outer, the Crimean shirt, he took off at the same time and examined it. He found there was blood on the sleeves and on the front. He torn the front out. He said Ill destroy this and he threw the tail and back part on the sofa and said these may come in handy.

Judge Richmond: Show the witness exhibit D. Do you recognise these pieces of material produced before you? Mary Gramatica:
The pieces produced are parts of the shirt he threw down. I made an iron holder of a piece. The parts with blood on he threw in the fire and they burnt. He looked at the antimacassar on the sofa, and he burned two holes in it, because there were marks of blood there. I saw him burn the stain out with some matches, and he said he was burning the stains out. On the Tuesday, I saw a man named Sciarone.1 He came to my house before I went to town, at about two oclock, I think. Davidson and I had been in the house with the child all the time from eleven to two. I think the pieces were on the fire smouldering away when Sciarone came. He came in and did not stay long. He came for some clothes, and I told him they were not ready. He saw the clock was not going and he set it right. I went to go to the Lyell, leaving Sciarone fixing the clock. I forgot my letter, and returned to get it. I asked Davidson if he was going, for I wanted to shut the door; he said no, not yet. I told him if he left before I returned
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to lock the door and put the key through the broken pane of the window. I went out, then came back again, and as I was coming in, Sciarone went away up the road. I went down the road towards the Lyell. After Sciarone left, I think it was, that Davidson told me if I saw his mate to tell him he would go into town by the short cut. I left then, leaving Davidson behind. He said there is some money in the store, you had better have it, call and get it. I told him I should not call, excepting he gave me an order. He gave me an order, which I gave to Mr. Fennell s nephew, and I got the money, one pound two and sixpence. The next I saw of Davidson, he was in a dray, being brought into the Lyell. That was after he had cut his throat. Before I went he asked me if I would do him a favor. I asked him to let me hear the question, and I would tell him. He told me to bring some arsenic. I told him he had better do that himself. He was laughing. I cannot say whether he was in earnest. I took him to be joking. I afterwards saw him in the Lock-up, on the next Sunday, I think. He sent three notes to me that he wanted to see me, and I went there. I asked him what he wanted, and he said nothing in particular. Mrs. Williams and the Constable were there, and they went out and left us alone. He said there would be a great to-do when Quinlans body was found. That I would have to go to Westport with him for his trial about cutting his throat, and said I had better bring my child with me, and not bring her back to the Lyell. I said I would do nothing of the kind. I said: where shall I leave her, and what for? He said: she saw me stab Quinlan in the wrist, and people might question her. He said: leave her with your brother, or someone at Westport. I did not know where Quinlans body was then. I had noticed a bad smell on the road. I came to Nelson in February, and I have been in the Gaol here ever since. I have had verbal communication with the prisoner in the Gaol. He spoke through the door leading from the passage into the room in which we sit. He knocked, and I said, Who is that? He said: Jack Davidson. He said: is that you? I said, yes, what is it? He said: If you dont go back from your statement, youre a bloody fool, and youll get hung. He told me to go out into the yard, and he would throw something over into the yard. I went into the yard at once, and some papers with a stone tied to them came over the wall. I have had no other
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communication with him, except by notes on scraps of paper, but on three different mornings I spoke to him through the door. All he said was: Well, how are you? If you go into the yard, you will get something. I always got papers. I got a good many papers, and sometimes I got papers twice a day. All these papers were written in Davidsons handwriting. 2

This account was read to the court from the deposition given earlier by Mary Gramatica. Pitt interjected at this stage to ask a question, prior to beginning his cross examination. Mr. Pitt:
I should like Your Honour to ask the witness whether she can read.

Judge Richmond: Mrs. Gramatica, would you kindly inform the court whether you are able to read? Mary Gramatica:
Yes.

Mr. Pitt:
The question was prompted by a reply in the depositions.

Mr. Fell: (showing her the letters from Davidson) How well can you read these letters, Mary? Mary Gramatica:
Im not a great scholar, but I can read plain writing.

Mr. Fell: How do you know these are from the prisoner? Mary Gramatica:
I received letters from Davidson at the Lyell. I am sure all these letters here came over the wall at the Gaol.

Mr. Fell: (handing Mary the letters)

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All these letters are in the prisoners handwriting.

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Mr. Fell: Your witness, Mr. Pitt. Mr. Pitt: Going back to the night before the accident; did Mr. Quinlan stay at your house on Saturday, the twentyseventh? Mary Gramatica:
He was at my place on that day, but he did not stay all night. He left at twelve oclock or a little after. He next came to my place on the Sunday night.

Mr. Pitt: What else do you remember about that time? Mary Gramatica:
I remember Davidson being had up before the Magistrate for attempted suicide. I was examined as a witness.

Mr. Pitt: Did you state then that you had known Davidson for many years? Mary Gramatica:
I did not state I had known Davidson for many years.

Mr. Pitt: Did you state that the prisoner had not been in your house for three weeks prior to the twentyninth of January? Mary Gramatica:
I said Davidson had not been in my house for three days before the 29th January;
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I did not say three weeks.

Mr. Pitt: (showing Mary a document) Is the handwriting in this document produced before you, your handwriting? Mary Gramatica:
The handwriting produced is not my handwriting. I could not write so well. Perhaps the signature is mine, but I dont think so. I can write better than that.

Mr. Pitt: This is a statement of evidence given by you before Mr. Revell. Did you not give evidence before him to this effect? Mary Gramatica:
I gave my evidence before Mr. Revell, yes. I might have written that, but I must have been drunk if I wrote it like that.

Mr. Pitt: Were you in fact drunk when you gave evidence, madam? Mary Gramatica:
When I gave evidence I was not drunk, but I had had some drink. I did say that Davidson had not been in my house for three days before the twentyninth of January. He was in my house on Wednesday for the last time, before the twentyninth.

Mr. Pitt: Monday was the twentyninth. Judge Richmond: I do not wish to check you, Mr. Pitt, but I would suggest that in order to save time it must be admitted that the witnessess previous depositions were inconsistent with the evidence she has given on this present occasion. However, Mr. Pitt, you are right to make the greatest impression on the jury that you can, but I would ask that you desist from the line you have been following.
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Mr.Pitt: I would ask the Registrar to read the previous depositions by Mrs. Gramatica, to show these discrepancies. Judge Richmond nodded his assent, and the Registrar read from handwritten sheets which had been produced at the inquest. After he had finished, Pitt resumed his line of questioning. Mr. Pitt: Have you heard the statements just read to you? Were they given by you, on oath? And are you saying now that they not true? Mary Gramatica:
I have heard the statements read. They were given by me on oath, but they are not true. A part of them is true. About Quinlan being at my house and about Davidson is not true.

Mr. Pitt: And what else is not true? Mary Gramatica:

It is true I had an axe of my own before Davidson brought one: it used to be kept at the front corner of the house.

Mr. Pitt: Do you know a man named Owen Rush? Mary Gramatica:
I know a man named Owen Rush, yes. I saw him on Sunday evening at Rose Boyles when I was there with Quinlan. I could not remember his name a while ago. He is Ryans man.

Mr. Pitt: And who else did you see on Sunday night, do you remember seeing Mr. Bernard Sciarone1 or have you forgotten him too? Mary Gramatica:
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I did not see Sciarone on Sunday night, to my knowledge. I will not swear he was not at Williams Hotel on Sunday evening.

Mr. Pitt: And was Mr. Sciarone also at your place on Sunday evening? Mary Gramatica:
Sciarone was not at my place on Sunday evening. I swear he was not, on the 28th. He came on the following Tuesday, only for his clothes.

Mr. Pitt: Was Mr. Rush at your place on the Sunday night also? Mary Gramatica:
Owen Rush was not at my place on the Sunday night. Besides Quinlan and Davidson, no one else was there but I and the child; I saw no-one else.

Mr. Pitt: What time did you retire for the night? Mary Gramatica:
I dont know what time I went to bed. I left Rose Boyles about eleven. It would have taken me about a quarter of a hour to get home. I stayed up a good while, about an hour. I dont think I stayed up much longer than an hour, and then I went to bed with my child. I was soon asleep and I did not wake again till after daylight in the morning. The sun was up, and it was about six, I fancy, when I woke. I never woke from the time I went to sleep until then. I heard no noise. People may have been in the house that I know nothing of. When Quinlan and Davidson were there, they were drinking Quinlans brandy.

Mr. Pitt: Describe for the jury what happened after the argument. Mary Gramatica:
The wound in Quinlans wrist bled much. The blood streamed down his hand. I went to bind it up directly I saw it. Just before that Quinlan had endeavoured to strike Davidson. When I
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returned Quinlan was on the sofa and Davidson was over by the window. I heard no more remarks about it then. I helped Quinlan to some brandy, and Davidson helped himself to some of Quinlans brandy.

Mr. Pitt:

Would you describe for the Jury the table which you said blocked your view of the room?

Mary Gramatica:
The table was not a very large or a very heavy one. It was made of rough timber and it blocked up the whole doorway in width and more. In order to get out Davidson shifted it to one side.

Mr. Pitt: Do you know what the prisoner had been doing while you were asleep? Mary Gramatica:
When I woke, Davidson told me he had been to the Lyell and back before I woke. He went back to the Lyell a few minutes after I woke.

Mr. Pitt: How long was he absent from the house? Mary Gramatica:
He was not away more than half an hour when he went for the oil and vinegar. Mr. Fennells store is in Cliff Street.

Mr. Pitt: It must have been a very busy night, with all this activity going on. Im surprised that you managed to sleep through it all. Mary Gramatica:
When I awoke, I had had four or five hours sleep perhaps.

Mr. Pitt: Were there any other callers that day? Mary Gramatica:
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The boy came from Reeds in the afternoon.

Mr. Pitt: What happened to the dagger that you say was used to kill Quinlan? Mary Gramatica:
I have said Davidson threw away the dagger the next morning.

Mr. Pitt: Where was he exactly, when he did this? Mary Gramatica:
He stood at the corner of the house furtherest from Mr. Carrolls, at the corner of the bedroom.

Mr. Pitt: What would have been the time when he did this? Mary Gramatica:
I cant remember the time. It would be about 6 oclock I should think from the look of the morning, when he took the blankets and other things away in the bag.

Mr. Pitt: Which way did he go when he left the house? Mary Gramatica:
He went out of the back door and round out of the front gate. The front door was open, and I saw him go out of the gate the Lyell way.

Mr. Pitt: What did he take with him when he left? Mary Gramatica:
The bag he carried on his shoulder; it was about half full; it contained two pairs of blankets, a sofa cover and his trousers. The bag was an oats or chaff bag.

Mr. Pitt:
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He took it away a few minutes after he threw the dagger away. He was back about eleven, bringing an axe with him. He took the Crimean shirt and saw blood on the sleeve and front. I thought the blood had come from poor Quinlans body.

Mr. Pitt:

Did anyone else come to the house that day?

Mary Gramatica:
Sciarone came to my place about his clothes; he got them a day or two after.

Mr. Pitt: Do your remember when Quinlans body was found? Did you send for Sciarone saying you wanted to see him? Mary Gramatica:
I remember the time when Quinlans body was found. I did not send a message to Sciarone directly after the body was found to say I wanted to see him. I might have sent him a message about his clothes.

Mr. Pitt: How did you get in touch with Sciarone? Did you send a letter? Mary Gramatica:
I think it was by Mr. Read I sent the message. I did not send him a letter.

Mr. Pitt: Was this before or after the body was found? Mary Gramatica:
I cannot say whether the message was sent before or after the finding of the body.

Mr. Pitt: Where were you on the night of Wednesday, February the seventh? Mary Gramatica:
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I was at Rose Boyles on the night of Wednesday, February the seventh.

Mr. Pitt: Did you see a Mr. Reid there, and did he warn you that suspicion against of you being involved was very strong? Mary Gramatica:
I saw Mr. Reid there. I think he told me Quinlan had been murdered somewhere about my place. I dont think he said suspicion was very strong against me.

Mr. Pitt: What did he tell you then? Mary Gramatica:

He told me I had better tell all I knew about it at the inquest to be held the next day. When he was leaving I told him to tell Sciarone I wanted to see him very particularly.

Mr. Pitt: Was it before or after Reid told you about Quinlan being found that you said you wanted to see Sciarone urgently? Mary Gramatica:
It was before he spoke to me that I asked him to tell Sciarone; I am nearly confident sure about it; I will swear I told Mr. Reid that before he spoke about Quinlan. Mr. Read said he was going to my place, and I said I was going to the Lyell. I said he could save me going.

Mr. Pitt: Why did not the prisoner take away the bloody shirts with the other items he removed from the house? Mary Gramatica:
I cant say why Davidson did not take away the shirts when he took the other things.

Mr. Pitt: Did you try to remove the blood stains by burning them out?
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Mary Gramatica:
I swear I saw him burn the blood out; I did not do it myself.

Mr. Pitt: How long had you known Mr. Quinlan and how intimate were you? Mary Gramatica:
I had know Quinlan for twelve months. There was no great intimacy between us; he was a friend of my brother.

Mr. Pitt: What was your reaction to the sight that met your eyes when you came into the main room of the house that morning? Mary Gramatica:
I was shocked when I saw the feet on the sofa.

Mr. Pitt: Did you keep any of the clothing after things were burned? Mary Gramatica:
I did make an iron holder of part of the shirt afterwards.

From this point on, Mr. Pitt attempted to blacken Marys character even more than it had already been, and make her appear to the jury to be a violent woman in the habit of taking physical recourse to settling differences in disputes with people, one capable of having attacked Quinlan with her axe. Every household would possess an axe, in order that wood could be chopped for the fire. This was a constant chore, wood being the main fuel available for heating, cooking and boiling water for washing, although coal may have been brought up from Westport. Mr. Pitt:
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It has been said that people are in the habit of making a lot of noise and drinking in your house from time to time. Mary Gramatica:
People are not in the habit of drinking and making a noise in my house.

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Mr. Pitt: Are you acquainted with a person known as Billy the Chief? Mary Gramatica:
I know Billy the Chief; his name is Rowbotham.

Mr. Pitt: Did you ever go to his house and break his leg during a row? Mary Gramatica:
I had a row with him when I first went to the house. I went to the house about four months before the accident [it is not clear which accident she is referring to here]. He did not get his leg broken during the words. I threw a stone after him, but it did not hit him.

Mr. Pitt: Did you have a violent quarrel with a Mr. McGurthy? Mary Gramatica:
I know a man named McGurthy; I had some words with him, because he wanted to come in and I wouldnt let him.

Mr. Pitt: Do you agree that it could be said that you are known in the Lyell have the character of a violent woman? Mary Gramatica:
I dont think I bear the character of a violent woman, at the Lyell. I have been there fifteen years, and I dont deserve it.

Mr. Pitt:
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I did not hit Rowbotham with a poker; a man present hit him. I did not; I put him out of the house. People who have known me fifteen years dont give me the character of being violent.

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Mr. Pitt: Did you not break a Mrs. Hokers head with a mug at your house? Mary Gramatica:
I remember having a row with Mrs. Hoker at the old place across the river. I had to protect myself; I did not strike her with a mug; I pushed her and she went away; her head was not broken.

Mr. Pitt: Did you not take up your axe in your hand and use it against Quinlan that night? Mary Gramatica:
I am sure my axe was outside the house on the Sunday. I never had it in my hand that night.

Mr. Pitt: Do you know a Mr. McKenzie? and do you remember asking him to remove that horrible axe? Mary Gramatica:
I know Mr. McKenzie; I remember his coming to my house: it might have been on Wednesday; I swear I never told him to more that horrible axe. He saw an axe under the sofa, and he said, is that yours? I said no, it is Davidsons. He said it was a good one, and he should like to have it in the bush.

Mr. Pitt: Mrs. Gramatica, have you ever been charged with raising an axe against anyone? Mary Gramatica:
I was never charged with raising an axe against a man -- nothing of the kind.
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Mr. Pitt:

Did you see Mr. Davidson leave the house on Tuesday the thirtieth?

Mary Gramatica:
I did not see Davidson leave my place on Tuesday afternoon.

Mr. Pitt: When did you last see the body of Mr. Quinlan? Mary Gramatica:
When the body was found, I went to see it. It was lying on the road. A man had first come to me for a rope. He said there was a mans body down the terrace, and he wanted to get it up. I saw it about an hour later. They were a long time getting it up. I could see the people and all from my front door.

Mr. Pitt: Did Mr. Davidson appear to be drunk on the night of Sunday the twentyeighth? Mary Gramatica:
He did not seem to me to be drunk on Sunday night.

Mr. Pitt: And what did you do that day? How many drinks did you have? Mary Gramatica:
I went to the Lyell that day after tea. I could not tell you how many drinks I had. I am sure I had half a dozen, I might have had more. After getting home I had three drinks of brandy before I went to bed.

Mr. Pitt: Did you tell Mr. Davidson on the Monday morning that you had saved his life, saved him from having his brains knocked out on the sofa the night before? Mary Gramatica:
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It is not true that on the Monday morning I told Davidson that I had saved his life the night before. I said nothing about his brains being knocked out on the sofa.

Mr. Pitt: Had he asked who accompanied you home that night? Mary Gramatica:
He did not ask me if anyone had come home with me; he saw who came home with me.

Mr. Pitt: Were you at home on the morning of Wednesday the thirtyfirst? Mary Gramatica:
I cant say whether I was at home on the Wednesday morning. After Sunday the twenteighth I slept one night at Rose Boyles. If I slept at Rose Boyles on Tuesday night, I slept at home the next night. I went home early in the morning.

Mr. Pitt: Do you remember seeing Mr. Davidson on the morning of the thirtieth? Mary Gramatica:
I remember Davidson being taken to the Lyell with his throat cut.

Mr. Pitt: Have you heard that he has claimed that you in fact cut his throat? Can you swear before this court that you did not cut his throat? Mary Gramatica:
I have not heard him say I cut his throat. I can certainly swear I never cut his throat, and he never said I did.

Mr. Pitt:

Did you see him after his throat had been cut? Did he not accuse you of cutting his throat for him?

Mary Gramatica:
I remember Davidson going by on the dray about three or four oclock in the afternoon .
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Yes, Mr. Emerson did tell me something about it; I just remembered. Mr. Emerson said: Why, he seems to accuse you of cutting his throat.

Mr. Pitt: What were you burning on the Wednesday that caused such horrible smells to come from your house? Mary Gramatica:
I was burning nothing but wood that I know of. I should have known if anything else had been burnt.

Mr. Pitt: Where was Mr. Quinlan when the prisoner attacked him? Mary Gramatica:
When Davidson struck Quinlan in the wrist, the latter was standing in the middle of the room. He came and showed it to me; it seemed a pretty big wound, not quite an inch long, I should say. It was up the wrist. Quinlan said nothing but asked me for a drink.

Mr. Pitt: Mr. Fell:

No further questions. Your witness, Mr. Fell.

Mrs. Gramatica, please tell the Court who exactly else was in your house on the night of Sunday the twentyeighth. Mary Gramatica:
There was no-one in my house on the Sunday night, except Quinlan and Davidson, the child, and myself. No other person than Quinlan came home with me that night.

Mr. Fell: Do you know a person commonly known as Little Ben? Mary Gramatica:
I know Little Ben; he did not come home with me that night and I did not see him.

Mr. Fell:
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Is it true that you told Davidson you saved his life, after Quinlan had threatened him with a piece of wood? Mary Gramatica:
It is not true that I said I saved Davidsons life. No-one threatened him with a billet of wood. I never told Davidson anything of the kind.

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Judge Richmond: You swore at the inquest that you left Quinlan at the bridge after being at Rose Boyles, did you not? And saw nobody else. Precisely who else did you see? Mary Gramatica:
I saw Rose Boyle that night, she had plenty of drink in her. I was sober enough to see that I saw Rush, and he was very drunk too; and I saw a man named Bill, who used to drive a wagon. What I swore at the inquest about parting with Quinlan on the bridge that night was false.

Mr. Fell: Why did you make such statements if they were false? Mary Gramatica:
I made those statements because I was frightened of getting into danger on account of the murder being committed at my house. I promised Davidson that so long as I was let alone I would not mention it.

At this point Mary was finally allowed to step down from the witness stand. Mr.Fell said to Judge Richmond:
I wish to advise that the woman I had intended to bring from Gaol to give evidence as to the communications from the prisoner had turned rebellious, and refused to give evidence.

It is not known who this rebellious woman was, or what her evidence may have been. It is possible it was Rosanna Boyle, suffering a change of mind after her visit from Davidson. Judge Richmond replied that: She could be brought into the court, but it may not be possible to
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Mr. Fell: As there is no chance of finishing the case today, perhaps it would be as well to let it stand over. Judge Richmond: Referring to the matter of the acceptance of the statement of Mr. Davidson as evidence, I have determined that it is admissible. The matter is deferred until tomorrow. This Court is now adjourned. ~~~~~~~~~~~

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CHAPTER 35
THE TRIAL

John Keating, Police Inspector.

Another Irishman, John Keating, was the Constable at Lyell. He stepped into the witness box and read aloud from his handwritten pages of notes. Constable Keating:
I am a Constable stationed at the Lyell. I remember the fifth of February last. On that day I saw Patrick Carroll, and in consequence of what he told me I proceeded about half a mile on the Westport road. He showed me a passage through the fern on the left side of the road near Mrs. Gramaticas. The passage looked as though a man or something had rolled or fallen down. I proceeded down twentyseven feet and then it was almost perpendicular and I could get no further. When I got there I saw the body of a man. We got the body up. I went to within about three feet of where the body was. I could not quite get to where the body was. I was in fear of falling into the Buller River. Afterwards we put a rope round a mans body and caught hold of hands and let the man down this drop. I was the first man to go down to the body. It was resting on a steep terrace. Had the body gone beyond this spot it would have fallen into the basin of the Buller river. The body was drawn up on to the road as carefully as possible upon its back. The body was clothed with socks, elastic side boots, tweed trousers, white shirt with small pleats, and underflannel. There was a black waistcoat left with the body. There is a cut in the undershirt on the side of the left shoulder and a small hole or cut on the left side. In the white shirt there is a corresponding cut on the left shoulder. I did not notice the cuts till after the clothes were taken off the body. The shirts have been drawn through cold water several times. There was no hat or coat with the body. On the right sleeve of the white shirt are three cuts. I have handled the clothes fifty times I should say.
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I knew Quinlan and was familiar with his appearance for about sixteen years. I believe that the body we pulled up the hillside was that of Quinlan.

This completed his statement and the Judge put a question as soon as he had finished reading. Justice Richmond: What is it that makes your identification of the body so positive? Constable Keating:
I am sure of my own knowledge that the body was that of Dennis Quinlan.

Mr. Fell: What manner of dress did the deceased normally adopt? Constable Keating:
Quinlan ordinarily wore a black coat.

Mr. Fell: Did you examine the clothing worn by the prisoner for bloodstains? Constable Keating:
I have the trousers Davidson wore at the time his throat was cut. Davidson told me in the lockup that these trousers belonged to Christi Cantini. When I found the body I found no blood stains on the shirt. If there had been such stains it would have been impossible to distinguish them for they were a regular mass of corruption and worms. I washed the shirt to preserve it.

Mr. Fell: What are your recollections of the prisoners condition when you saw him after he had cut his throat? Constable Keating:
I know the prisoner Davidson; I remember his being brought into the Lyell in a cart with his throat cut. I noticed no marks of violence about him except his throat; he had not the slightest scratch upon him except that his throat was cut. After he was in custody I went to
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Mrs. Gramaticas house with a subpoena, and I afterwards made a search.

Mr. Fell: On which day did you carry out that search? Constable Keating:
The first time I searched her house was on the morning after Quinlans body was found, the sixth of February. Mrs. Gramatica pointed out a flannel to me, which I produce. (holding a flannel shirt aloft) There is a hole like a burnt hole in the shoulder. It must have been there when I got the flannel. I found the hole on the twentieth in consequence of a statement made to me by Mary Gramatica; I also found a shirt and pair of socks, a brown hat, a piece of Crimean shirt, and an antimacassar.

Justice Richmond: At which stage in these events was Mrs Gramatica arrested? Constable Keating:
Mary Gramatica was taken into custody on the nineteenth; Inspector Emerson arrested her.

Mr. Fell: When did you obtain those items of clothing you referred to? Constable Keating:
I got the antimacassar from Mrs. Gramaticas house on the twentysecond of February; it was then in its present state. The vest I produced I also got there, it is of the same pattern as the trousers which Davidson wore when his throat was cut. I have, too, the shirt which the prisoner wore when he attempted suicide. I have a small black coat which I found in Mrs. Gramaticas house; I searched the house thoroughly the morning after Quinlans remains were found, and I searched for blood stains. I searched for the dagger between Mrs. Gramaticas house and the Buller; it was very dense bush, and I did not find it; I am not surprised at that for it might be there still; to search that bush thoroughly I believe it would take four men two months; it might be there. I
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did my best to find it, but could not. I saw no blankets or sofa cover on the sofa in Mrs. Gramaticas house, and there is not a blue blanket there. I looked about for a sack containing such things, but could not find it.

Mr. Pitt: You have been in the police force for some time in this area, I believe. Constable Keating:
I have been a police constable in New Zealand about 18 years, and I was a constable for four or five years before that in Ireland. I have been stationed at the West Coast and Christchurch.

Mr. Pitt: And of that time, how long had you the acquaintance of Mr. Quinlan? How would you describe him? Constable Keating:
I had known Quinlan sixteen or seventeen years. He was a hard working man; but when drunk he was a little inclined to be quarrelsome. He was not particularly strong; he was not quite so big as me. He stood five feet eleven inches.

Mr. Pitt: Are you aware that the surveyor, Mr. Snodgrass, has stated that he believes that the body would have gone down into the river if it had not been caught up as it was in the scrub? Would you agree with that? Constable Keating:
I fully believe that if the body had gone beyond the place where it was found it would have gone down into the Buller river. I know Mr. Snodgrass, the surveyor. If he said that the body would go on to a beach six feet above the river if it had gone down further, I agree with him. That beach is what I call the basin of the Buller; a fresh would come over the beach.

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Mr. Pitt: What caused you to direct your attention to Mrs. Gramaticas house? Constable Keating:
On the day after the body was found, I searched at Gramaticas because I began to think of foul play. My suspicion was directed against that house. I heard Quinlan was seen coming out of it on Sunday morning.

Mr. Pitt: Did you know of Mrs. Gramatica before this? Constable Keating:
I have known Mrs. Gramatica about twelve months. On the sixth of February, when I went to search, she pointed out an axe.

Mr. Pitt: Why would she have done this? Constable Keating:
I had asked if there was anything there belonging to Davidson, and she pointed out the clothes and the axe. Inspector Emerson, Detective Quinn, and two or three volunteers assisted to search for the dagger, and we searched about an acre of ground. I searched for the blankets and things through the bush to the Buller river, and down the river. but we found no trace. I took the shirts off Quinlans body on the seventh, the day the post mortem was held. The same day I put them in a bucket of cold water, and afterwards drew them through water. I held them in the Lyell Creek. I did that on four occasions. I did not put them in cold water until after the post mortem. Dr. Campbell saw them before they were taken off the body. They were put in cold water several times before the inquest.

Justice Richmond: When did you first observe the cuts in the clothing?
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Constable Keating:
I am not quite clear when I first observed the sharp cut in the shirt and singlet, but I think it was on the day before the adjourned inquest.

Mr. Pitt: Did you discover the cuts before or after you gave evidence? Constable Keating:
I discovered them before I gave my evidence.

Mr. Pitt: What do you recall of the day when Davidson was discovered? Constable Keating:
I remember Davidson being found with his throat cut. I went to him about half past twq in the afternoon. He was lying about a hundred and thirty yards from Mrs. Gramaticas house and there was blood under him. He was in a sitting position, and a man was holding him. Ten yards nearer Mrs. Gramaticas house I saw another pool of blood, and still another ten yards nearer to Mrs. Gramaticas. I did not see Mrs. Gramatica that afternoon. I saw a razor where the second pool of blood had congregated.

Mr. Pitt: Can you recall whether after Davidson was arrested the two had any contact that day? Constable Keating:
I remember when Davidson was in the lock-up; I never told him the Inspector wanted to see him; I never told him Mrs. Gramatica was arrested; Quinn may have done so, but he did not in my presence. The weather at that time, about the fifth of February, was very close and warm. Davidson was in my charge during a portion of the time. Mrs. Gramatica came to the lock-up the second night he was in the lock-up. I did not let her see him then; I said she must come in the daytime. When Mrs. Gramatica was arrested she was kept in the kitchen.
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Mr. Fell: Why do you think that particular spot was chosen to dispose of the body? Constable Keating:
Supposing that the body was thrown over, had it been thrown over ten feet further on than where it was, the body would have gone straight down to the river beach; but there it would have been within view of the road.

Mr. Fell: Your Honour, I would ask that you allow the depositions of the prisoner taken at the inquest of Quinlan to be read. Justice Richmond:
I think it right to leave such statements to the Jury for them to attach whatever weight they think they deserve.

The depositions were then read to the Court.1 Mr. Fell: I would also request that one or two of the letters written by the prisoner to Mrs. Gramatica be read to the Court, and if my learned friend desired he could have them all read. Mr. Pitt: It appears to me that they are not all complete. Justice Richmond:
There are no dates and no signatures; if any are incomplete we can call Mrs.Gramatica to give explanation.

Mr. Fell: They are not all perfect; some were handed to me by Mrs. Gramaticas solicitor, and others by herself.

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Justice Richmond:
If any appear incomplete they would have to be considered, for it is not right to read part of a statement.

The following letters were then read aloud to the Court by Mr. Fell: If you like death, dont die for me. I dont give a damn which you choose to do. Deny your statement and live; stick to your statement and die; my body and soul burn in hell for everlasting if I am telling a lie, for if you dont go back on that statement you must die, at all risk and peril thats the long and short of it. Stick to me and I will to you. Find out at the cost of your life, and blame your own stubbornness for it. Whats death to you or me -- nothing. Hoping you are in good cheer to give me the final decision of life and death, I remain yours to death, ever the same, to alter I never will -- thats me, as you must be aware of before today, that what I say I will do at all risk. Dont be a fool. No. 10. My dear Gramatica, the supposed Mrs. Davidson, ... I forgive you for the past if you change your mind now, although it is hard for me to do it after you taking part with that Irish bitchs son thats dead and damned I hope, thats all the harm I wish him; and for the last time I request you to do as you are told. No. 16 You are a false hearted woman, if I may call you a woman, to
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pretend to love to me, and to allow that dirty, low, Irish pig of a blaguard to sleep with you the night before that happened. I only wish I had the chance of defending with the son of a bitch, but he is in hell now. No. 22 I, Mary Gramatica, am sorry for taking the advice of another to bring John Davidson for the murder of Quinlan, which is false, but not of my composing. I did it at the advice of a pretended friend, and knowing the same to be false. I know nothing of the murder. Signed Mary Gramatica. -- Have it properly drawn by Bunny and send it to me, and I will take his advice. Send him to me, and you will be free in three weeks. If you dont, you will never be free, take my word for that. No.~ You doubted my word before, and you are doing the same now, but you will see the end of it. Had you believed me, you and me would not be here today. Think that over well. A lie I never told in my life, and I will not now. I will not wait for the grand jury to sit. Though I am innocent of the crime I was charged with I will say that I was helping you to do it, and then you will say as you did before; you remember you said once that you did not think I was so fond of you, and this will be the same as that No.~ Mary, I am very sorry indeed that you are that hardened in
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crime that you doubt my love for you. Yes I do, and forgive all the past and will stick to my word and you will see then that I tell no lies, all for the love of you. You cant turn me against you, do as you will, and you will never live with another man only me, if I can manage it. If I die, by Heaven you will do the same, if I live you will do the same. I am too fond of you for that though you have tried to hang me all you could, but to no purpose. No. ~ Do as you like. My life is nothing to me since you try to take it from me, and to live without you I will not, and to die without you I will not, by all the good angels that ever travelled the heavens. May I be damned forever if I do, for I am innocent of the crime you tried to have me hanged for with your lies. If you want to live you must let me live as well and deny your statement. If you dont do that to my satisfaction you will hang with me, and I will not try to do that. Choose for yourself. I thank you for your offer of doing my hat but I cant be so cruel as to disgrace you. People might think that you cared something for me, and that would lower your dignity in the eyes of the ladies. 2

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CHAPTER 36
The Trial:

Conclusion of the trial held at Nelson Supreme Court.

A large amount of interest is evidently being taken in the Lyell Murder case, which is now being heard at the Provincial Hall, the body of which has been filled all day with men, and the gallery with women and one very noisy baby who had to be ordered out by the Judge. During Mr. Fells opening address to the jury, which occupied an hour and a half, the prisoner never once took his eyes off him, and appeared to be listening with a deep and painful interest to the string of facts which had been brought together, and so tellingly placed in the form of a connected narrative by the counsel for the prosecution.1

At four oclock, after a long day hearing evidence from sixteen witnesses, Crown Prosecutor Fell addressed the jury. Surprisingly, two witnesses who had not been called were the accused himself and Marys friend, Rosana Boyle. Mr. Pitt may have decided that it was better that the jury was not exposed to Jack Davidsons demeanour and bad language, having deemed him to be uncontrollable in the witness stand. From Davidsons outburst at the conclusion of the hearing before sentence was passed, Mr. Pitt was wise to have kept him quiet. Rose Boyle, however, could surely have provided some pertinent information as to Marys character, her actions and state of mind on the weekend of the murder and her whereabouts. She could have told the jury that the weekend was the anniversary of the birthday of the only son of Mary and Peter Gramatica, recently dead, and thus given some insight to circumstances which may have been considered by the jury to be extenuating. The other deficiency in the line of questioning was in relation to Bernardo Sciarones involvement the events of the weekend. Sciarone may not have been the last person to have
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seen Quinlan alive, but he was the only person allowed to enter the cottage on the day after the murder. He was there while Davidson was still present, and he was there long enough to make an attempt to fix the clock which had stopped. Mary left him and Davidson alone together in the house while she went to see Rose and no doubt told her of the events of the last days and nights. His observation of anything unusual in the cottage might have provided vital information as to the state of the room, the condition and positioning of the furnishings, whether a fire had been lit recently, whether the floor was wet or bloodstained, even the smell of the room, and Davidsons demeanour. No attempt was made by the legal team to investigate anything beyond Sciarones whereabouts on the night of the murder, and they dismissed his evidence as being unworthy of consideration due to his drunken state. In his concluding remarks Mr. Fell drew the attention of the jury to the gravity of the occasion:
I believe the jury would consider that I have fulfilled my promise in making out a strong case for the prosecution. Mrs. Gramatica has given her evidence in the most straightforward manner, and it has, in all the main points, been corroborated by the testimony of independent witnesses, and in addition to this, the prisoner himself has done and said even more to prove his guilt than any other person. Gentlemen of the Jury, it must be remembered that Mrs. Gramatica is not now charged with the murder, but only as an accessory and with having endeavored to shield the actual murderer. She has no doubt made false statements, but these were given in the hope of freeing her friend. Her evidence shows that she is on terms of great intimacy with the prisoner, who is thoroughly infatuated with her. No doubt she is a woman of dissolute habits, but from the beginning he had a strong passion for her, and that infatuation was to be traced throughout the whole case, and this, together with the curse of drink, which has fallen on the district, had brought him into his present position.
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He was at her house on the Sunday evening waiting for her, and when she arrived, with another man, was seized with a paroxysm of jealousy. It has been suggested that more than the three were present, but if so, why were they not produced, for Davidson must know who they are? Their non-appearance is a strong corroboration of Mrs Gramatica's evidence, as is also the fact that Wallis, who was aroused by the disturbance at night, heard no womans voice in the row. 2

Mr. Fell then alluded to the doctors evidence and to the extraordinary demeanour of Davidson at the township.
The impression conveyed by this was that he found he had desperately wounded Quinlan, and then rushed off to get brandy, the medicine apparently so commonly in use at the Lyell, in the hopes of reviving him, but it was of no use; he came back, found he had to face the worst, and the next time they heard of him he was sitting by the womans bedside. Then he removed the body, and tried to get rid of it by throwing it over the bank, but it lodged part way down, and the next day he looked over, saw the awful object there, and in his despair attempted suicide, afterwards expressing regret that he had failed in doing so

Mr Fell then referred to Davidsons own statements, pointing out the discrepancies, the proven falsehoods they contained, and their utter improbability.
It might be urged that he had killed Quinlan in self-defence, or that it merely amounted to manslaughter, while the third conclusion open to you, gentlemen of the jury, is that it was wilful murder. Now, I cannot help pointing out the malice betrayed by his conduct to the man Staton, when as he presumed, he attempted to come between him and Mrs. Gramatica. Take this in conjunction with the letters written by him in gaol, and it was easy to conceive what his feelings would be when he found Quinlan returning home with her. Mad with jealousy and inflamed by drink, he slew the man he hated; the man he did hate, and does still hate, as shown by the awful hope expressed in his letter to Mrs. Gramatica that his soul was now burning in hell.
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It is my duty to ask justice from you, gentlemen of the jury, not to seek for a conviction and it is with this view that I have laid before you all the evidence at my disposal.

Mr. Fell concluded his summation and sat down at 5.40 p.m., after speaking for an hour and forty minutes. The Court was adjourned until 7.15 p.m., when the Hall was densely crowded in every part. 3 It was reported in the newspaper of the day:
THE LYELL MURDER. NELSON. JUNE 19. At the Supreme Court, the murder case is still progressing. Mrs.

Gramatica was examined at great length. She stated that her evidence at the inquest on the body of Dennis Quinlan, was incorrect; she alleges she was afraid to tell the whole facts but claims to have made a clean breast, now. She says that the prisoner Davidson stabbed Quinlan in the breast; that she bandaged it; and went to bed in a state of intoxication, sleeping through after all occurrences; next morning she saw a heap in the sitting room, covered with blankets, from which boots projected. On her asking the prisoner for Quinlan, he said he had taken his hearts blood, and that she was forced to remain in her bedroom all next day, and at night she heard Davidson drop Quinlans body out of the house.4

.............. On the resumption of the proceedings of the Court at 7.15 p.m., Mr Pitt opened for the defence, and at once proclaimed Davidson to be innocent.
Davidsons whole conduct throughout the case is quite consistent with his innocence, and that woman, known to be of dissolute habits, and the one on whom suspicion first rested when Quinlans death became known, came into the box and at once admitted herself to be a perjurer. She was also an accomplice, and although it was said by the Crown that she was not running any risk of her neck, it must be remembered that the Crown had had to pledge itself not to proceed against her in order to get her evidence. In
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this she had made false statements on vital points and generally was not to be believed, while her evidence was uncorroborated on many important points and altogether contradicted on others. Now, while assuming Quinlan to have been killed at Gramaticas house by violence, there was no evidence whatever that the prisoner did the deed.

He then spoke of:

the extreme improbability of Gramaticas story with regard to the quarrel, the stabbing, the sitting down quietly afterwards together, and Davidson helping himself to the brandy of the man he had stabbed.

Mr. Pitt continued:

Then when the body was found, where was the bandage? Everything was found on him except this which would have been strongly corroborative of the truth of the womans evidence. Then was it likely that she and her child would quietly sleep through the noise described by Wallis and others, the former of whom heard three or four mens voices as well as that of Mrs. Gramatica?

[This latter point is not supported by any of the witnesses statements.] The newspaper report continues:
At considerable length he referred to the dagger episode, and laid great stress on the fact that it could not be found and that the prosecution had not caused Davidsons hut or claim to be searched for it. Then there was the bag of blankets which was never found, and which Davidson was never seen carrying, although he was said to have started with it in the direction of the Lyell. The prisoner had fully and satisfactorily accounted for his change of clothes.

Mr. Pitt:
He was alleged to have partly destroyed his shirt and to have left the other part in the house. Now was this not a much more likely act for a woman than for a man to perform?

The report continued:

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He then criticised Dr. Campbells evidence at length, and commented very severely on the carelessness with which he had given his testimony at the coroners inquest, where he omitted all mention of several very important matters. Then there were the

incisions in the shirt and flannel which did not correspond with each other, and while neither corresponded with the suggested wound in the body.

Mr. Pitt:
Another theory for the prosecution was the state of the body and skull which, it was suggested, had been boiled, subjected to other kind of heat, or treated with some corrosive substance, but there was not a particle of evidence in support of this, while there was irrefutable evidence that there had been no fire in the house between the time of the alleged murder and the removal of the body, and besides, Gramatica was there all the time and could have told whether or not Davidson had done any such thing. Then much has been made by the Crown Prosecutor of Davidsons two contradictory statements. These had been read at length, but he dared not read to them Gramaticas statements, which were now admitted by her to be false. It was admitted by the Crown that she had committed perjury, and yet they were asked on her uncorroborated evidence to hang the unfortunate prisoner. There was also a striking mistake in her statement as to the time when Davidson visited the Lyell, all of which tended to show her utter unreliability.

The newspaper continued:

Referring to the cause of death which Dr. Campbell had said might have been the smashing of the breastbone, Mr. Pitt referred to a statement that Mrs Gramatica was alleged to have made to one McKenzie regarding an axe, requesting him to remove that horrible axe.

Mr. Pitt:
I suggest to you that in all probability the death blow had been given by her with that
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instrument. If she was innocent, as she pretends to be, nothing was easier for her to do than to inform the neighbors of what had occurred, whilst Davidson was at the Lyell. By her not doing this, she clearly showed that she was not innocent, and if not innocent, then her whole story falls through. Davidsons strange conduct at the Lyell can be accounted for by the fact that he had been drinking heavily, and was suffering from incipient delirium tremens. There is no evidence at all of any murderous weapon having been used and Quinlan might have met his death by a blow, or a fall, or some sudden excitement, nor was there anything to show that he was killed in Gramaticas house. He might have come by his death by accident, by a fight on the way home, or he might, in his evidently drunken state, have walked over the precipice, mistaking it for the road. It is true that the head was found apart from the body, but according to the doctors evidence there was nothing to show that it had been detached by violence. The letters written by the prisoner in the gaol were regarded by the Crown Prosecutor as strong evidence, but for my own part, I do not attach much importance to them. They certainly are extraordinary productions, but quite explicable. The position taken up by Davidson was that he himself was conscious of his own innocence, but that she and others with her were guilty: had she been true to him, he would have been content to suffer for her, but she, knowing him to be innocent, had turned against him and sought to convict him. Hence the opprobrious epithets used by him towards her. The letters at one, exhibit the wildest malice, hatred and revenge, and the next were full of love and affection. Indeed, they seem to point to an unsound state of mind on the part of the writer. The Crown Prosecutor speaks of the animus displayed against Quinlan in the letters and said that after such awful expressions the prisoner is not entitled to any sympathy from the jury. But the prisoner does not ask for your sympathy, all he wants at your hands is justice. I attribute the crime to jealousy, and the letters are put in as proof of the existence of it, but I regard them rather as the productions of one who was suffering from ingratitude and injustice from a woman from whom he had a right to expect different treatment.
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In conclusion, I would say that I have done my best to place before you the whole of the facts of the case so far as they have come to my knowledge. The duties of all who are taking part in this trial are very grave and responsible. I feel deeply my own responsibility in defending the prisoner, but those of the jury are far greater. It would, I feel sure, be far more satisfactory to you to be able to arrive at the conclusion that you can acquit the prisoner, rather than to have to find a verdict of guilty with all its awful consequences. I feel sure that the evidence will receive the fullest attention at your hands, and that the verdict at which you arrive, whatever it might be, will be a just and righteous one.

Mr. Pitt sat down at 10. 15 p.m., after having addressed the unfortunate jury for three hours. Mr. Justice Richmond then summed up the proceedings. Judge Richmond:
I will first go over the evidence quite irrespective of that of Gramatica, and with three ends in view; first to ascertain whether Quinlan was murdered by somebody, secondly, if so, when and where, and thirdly, by whom?

The scribe from the Nelson Evening Mail wrote that :

With masterly skill he brought into strong light all the salient points, and arrived at the conclusion that even without the womans evidence there was at least a case of very strong suspicion against the prisoner, while if they believed her statements they must of course convict without hesitation.

Judge Richmond continued:

The fact of you , the Jury, all being here and having spent so long a time over this trial is a proof of the value which, in our present social condition, is attached to human life. You are here to vindicate it not only in the person of the murdered man, but of the accused. You have a double duty to perform -- to the prisoner, whom you are not to convict unless you have considered the evidence against him perfectly satisfactory; while on the other hand it is your duty to the community not to acquit him if you consider the evidence against him is conclusive.
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After a further hour and a half summing up, the jury was allowed to withdraw at midnight to consider the evidence, only to have the foreman return and ask whether it was open to them to find a verdict of guilty of manslaughter. The Judge recalled the panel and explained the difference between murder and manslaughter, and advised them that it was open to them to find a person guilty of the latter. The Colonist published the following report of this interlude:
At midnight the jury retired to consider their verdict, and at twenty-five minutes past twelve, the Foreman enters the Court and states to His Honor that the Jury wished to know whether they must give a verdict of guilty of murder or not guilty. His Honour summoned the jury, and addressing them, said the law on the question they asked had been accurately stated by Mr. Fell. Murder, he said, was defined to be killing with malice

aforethought, but to the non-legal mind that was a misleading term, because suddenly meditated homicide was in many cases deemed to be committed with malice aforethought. The rule was that all wilful homicide was prima facie deemed to be malicious; that was, in law, it was deemed to be malicious. Provocation in certain cases might reduce murder to manslaughter. The

presumption was that the killing was without excuse. It rested with the defence to show that there had been provocation. The use of a deadly weapon was not justified by any ordinary provocation. Blows alone were not sufficient justification. No amount of

ordinary provocation justified homicide, but where life and limb was in danger it was held to be. The proof of pre-existing malice would be proof of murder. In any case of murder the Jury might find a verdict of manslaughter.

After a further absence of forty minutes from the court room, the jury returned, with a verdict of guilty of manslaughter against the prisoner, John Davidson. The newspaper reported:
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The Jury then again retired, and at twenty minutes to one oclock this morning they returned with a verdict of GUILTY OF MANSLAUGHTER. The prisoner was then asked if he had anything to say as to why sentence should not be passed upon him.

At this point, Davidson at last was permitted to speak in the courtroom, in response to the question of whether he had anything to say as to why sentence should not be passed upon him, and his concluding statement was that he had: been found guilty on the evidence of a perjured prostitute and two perjured constables. There is no indication in the records of Davidsons demeanour when he expressed this opinion, but it must have been delivered in an impassioned manner, and caused great offense to the legal officials present, who did not take the accusation of perjury lightly. Mr. Pitt asked the Judge to consider this outburst as evidence of the fact that Davidson was not altogether responsible for his actions or utterances. The Judge at this point seemed to lose his patience and revealed his own opinion that the verdict of wilful murder rather than manslaughter was warranted in this case. Justice Richmond:
Prisoner at the bar -- I cannot wonder at the apology offered for you by your counsel. At the same time, it is impossible for me to give any weight to it. You are evidently a man of violent passions, and rendered furious by drink, there can be no doubt that you committed the crime. I wonder that you should show so little grace as to make such an observation. The jury have taken the most lenient view of your crime, and the evidence would, in my own opinion, have fully justified a verdict of wilful murder. The grounds on which that verdict are founded are perfectly irrefragable, and your observation can have no other effect than to show how thoroughly you are wanting in grace. But I shall not prolong this scene.
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You have been found guilty of manslaughter, but I consider it of the most aggravated kind, and I shall inflict the severest punishment allowed by the law. The sentence of the Court is that you be imprisoned with hard labor for the remainder of your natural life.
5

Davidsons reaction to this final pronouncement was not recorded in any of the newspaper reports of the trial. After thanking the jury, the Judge assured them that they would not be called again to carry out the duties of a jury. The Court finally adjourned shortly before one in the morning, to resume at ten the same day, to deal with Mary and her part in the murder and continue with the other business of the Court due for attention whilst in that part of the country. ~~~~~~~~

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CHAPTER 37
Conclusion of the Trial of John Davidson

I am as insent of the murder of that man as the man that never seen him

Later that year, on August 4th, 1883, Mr. M. Niel forwarded the following document to the Honorable Secretary for Justice. It is a statement sent to him by Mr. Fell, the Crown Solicitor, from the gaoler at the Nelson Gaol.1 It had been written (or dictated) by Davidson and sets out his reaction to his sentence. !!"#$%!#&!'#()!*!+,*-#)-!-.!./0/).!!&./1!-/)./)"/
[which seems to have been an exact copy of the original, and not in his own handwriting. The spelling and punctuation however appear to be exactly as written. ]

I John Davidson got the sentence of pennel servatude for the term of my natural life on the oath of a woman that I screened from the crime that she did commit by her own hand to my knowledge on the Sunday night of the 28th of January I was an eye wittness to the murder of the man Quinlan and the murder was known to me within 2 minutes of his Death but a hand foot or weapon I never rose to him or put on untill after he was dead and cold the evidence of Walliss is false about the time he was killed for he was kill before 12 oclock at night it wanted 2 minutes of 12 when the fall was on the floor I have no advantage or object for telling a lie now for I am aware the I am not to be tried again he was killed at the bedroom door in trying to come in but not with a knife as is reported it was a chisel that did belong to me which I brought to the place to fix the lock of the door that would not
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admit the key into the lock from the outside before I fixted it . and there is some of my tools there now to be got 3 gimlets of diferant sizes one hand saw one shingling hammer 2 files 1 axe and the chisel that she struck him with, is at the turn of the track where I went down to Rooks claim behind the big stone on the right hand side I had it for making ripples it was made out of a pitsaw file Orooke knows the place well

and can find it if he looks for it I brought it down the same time as the other tools any that I brought it with me on the Tuesday morning to that place for I intended to camp there after I left took the dagger Mary Gramatica did trow a way herself for I was looking for it and she told me she put it in a little box that she called Peters Box I demanded it from her but she

would not let me have it she went and got it out of the box and and went out and trew it away I wanted it from her to leave no trace of it in the visinity of the place that he was killed in there was 2 lights in the house when he was killed there was 3 men in the house at the time. the child was in the bed with me at the time /insertion reads * I had all Christys clos on me at the time for mine was hanging at the fireplace drying/(not missed out in the original) she told (me?)to make a proper search / of everything and see if that no blood spots was left in the house I did that when she was washing the blood of the floor /* the blood on my close I got (not in original) when she and I was carrying him out of the house on Monday morning at 1/2 past 2 oclock she was not ex(i)ted a bit and was wandering at me to be so mutch put about the other men that was there cleared out directly he died the chisel was alongside of the
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looking glass before I lay down on the bed the close with blood on was in the house all day Monday but not the body the coat and hat was all that of his close *that I took away from the house the blankets I did not take away from the house the table never was out of its place from where it stood. I can show you on the map where the coat and hat is now She tore my shirt up the time I was in the lock up and burnt it I had no drink with Quinlan never one in all my life with him I did and do wish he never was born for trough him I am here for life if I did ever hurt him it would serve me right but I never did I had no occasion I was not a quainted with him I seen him four times in my life but not six I had a ill feeling to him since his death but not before for if he had not died I would not be here for life or any other time of sentence I am as insent of the murder of that man as the man that never seen him but I cant establish my inocence let me do or say what I would I did tell a lie in about the place that I slept I have been in the house before that time 2 days and no fire in the house Mary Gramatica never was a fraid of me or of any other man or woman she could clear her house of any man that went into it I send to the Court not that I expect to gain any benefit by it but mearly to show it the Crown prosecutor in hopes that he might think of the injustice he has done me when some other unfortunate inocent man might come to his notice and he might have more conscience with him and not try to paint him as black as he did me on the evidence of the woman gramatica this is all the truth every word of it is as true if it hapended in the court
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house before the Jury and Judge I can get more proof of this than my own by the party that was there as well as me ...... John Davidson

A note in different writing on the bottom right hand side of the page reads:
The Honorable Secretary for Justice. This was sent to me by Mr Fell the Crown Solicitor at Nelson. Possibly there are papers to which it can be attached. This material it appears was sent to Mr. Fell by the Gaoler at Nelson. 4/8/83! M. Niel

To the end, Davidson maintained his innocence and that Mary was the wielder of the chisel which was the weapon used to strike Quinlan. He described the murder as it took place from the point of view of his having been in the bedroom of the cottage, when he says of Quinlan: he was killed at the bedroom door in trying to come in (if Davidson had himself had been in the living room, he would have used instead the words go in). He also said the child was in bed with me at the time. Although in bed he seems to have been fully clothed, as he said I had all Christys clos on at the time for mine was hanging at the fireplace drying. He claimed Mary was responsible for hiding then throwing away his dagger, for washing the blood off the floor and that she helped him carry the body out of the house. His affection for Mary seems to have abated after the trial concluded. He now referred to her as the woman Gramatica and did his best to implicate her in the murder as far as possible, by claiming only that he owned the chisel that she struck him with. ~~~~~~~~~~~~

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CHAPTER 38

THE

TRIAL

The Judges summing up ~ Mary Gramatica: More sinned against than sinning ...

On Friday June 22nd, 1883, the day after the trial concluded, detailed reports of the conclusion of the proceedings against Mary Gramatica were printed in The Colonist, of Nelson, New Zealand. In the Supreme Court, Criminal Sittings, before His Honour Mr. Justice Richmond the court resumed at ten oclock, in the case of Queen Victoria against Gramatica. Fell suggested said it might be as well to get rid of the charge against Mary Gramatica; Mr. Bunny, her Counsel, was present and the woman was still being held in waiting. He asked that a jury might be empanelled and the case disposed of at once. His Honour agreed, and ordered the doors to be closed and from those present in the Hall a jurywas empanelled, of which T. H. Harley was made foreman. Mary Gramatica was then placed in the dock and arraigned on a charge of being an accessory after the fact to the murder of Dennis Quinlan committed by John Davidson. She pleaded Not Guilty. Justice Richmond instructed the jury saying:
You have been empanelled here to go through a necessary formality. The Crown offers no evidence on the indictment of being accessory after the fact to the murder of Dennis Quinlan. It is clear there is no evidence to support the charge of murder in the Coroners inquisition, and regarding the charge of being accessory,
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the Crown has also decided, and rightly so, I think, that they have no evidence. Nothing now remains but for you to return a verdict of Not Guilty. This done, His Honor directed his attention to the prisoner at the bar with the words: Mary Gramatica, I have a few words to say to you before giving you your discharge. That you are innocent of the murder of Denis Quinlan I am absolutely convinced. With regard to the other charge of being an accessory after the fact I have no hesitation in saying that I believe you to be more sinned against than sinning. In screening Davidson and assisting him to conceal his crime I believe that you were acting under compulsion. But in absolving you from legal crime I cannot say that you leave that dock untainted by guilt. You must feel in your own conscience how much you have to answer for, if not before this, before a higher tribunal. You must be fully aware that you are greatly to blame for this terrible occurrence, for you were the cause of exciting the rage and passions of the two men, and it was you who led up to the final crime. I do hope that your presence in this court will lead you to seriously consider your mode of life. I am told that prior to your husbands death you were a respectable woman. I hope that you are not so completely lost to all sense of decency but that you will determine once more to become a respectable member of the community. I hope that when you leave here you will think over the depraved and disgraceful life you have been leading of late, and that you will endeavour to better discharge the duties you owe as a mother to your young and innocent child; that you will give up the shameful life you have been leading, and by your conduct in the future will do the best in your power to blot out the wretched past. You are discharged.1

Marys reactions to this pronouncement were not recorded. Although Justice Richmond caused Mary to be acquitted, he did not allow her to go free without blaming her entirely for the whole incident: she was responsible for exciting the rage and passion of the
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two men and it was she who led up to the final crime. From the evidence it is hard to see what led him to arrive at this conclusion, other than the fact of her being a woman, and a woman living alone without being under the governance of a man. There was also a belief prevalent in the society of the time, and for decades to follow, that a woman was supposed to be in control of situations where passions were concerned, because presumably men were unable to maintain responsibility for their actions and would give way to their natural instincts. There is no perception that the men involved might have exerted more control over their own actions rather than giving way to drunken rage and violence. The prior convictions of the person who had been, on this occasion, the victim, and the violent actions of the other party, Davidson, without any involvement on the part of Mary or any other woman, suggest that their tendency to behave in a destructive manner had little to do with women and more to do with alcohol. The effect on Mary of so strong a condemnation from the Judge in his conclusion could not have been positive or helpful. The community to which she must return to live amongst was entitled to assume from his remarks that it had all been her fault. Mary could read at least a little, and would have followed all the reports of the trial word by word. The opinionated journalistic comments published in the newspapers subsequent to the conclusion of the trial were a final blow to Marys reputation and her prospects of resuming a normal life in the village at the Lyell. There seems to have been little sympathy or understanding shown for the fact that Mary had already faced a series of tragedies before the murder, having lost at least one daughter, a husband and a son in a matter of two or three years, after a lifetime building up a
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family unit and economic independence in some of the most trying environmental conditions on earth. Now she was alone with one young daughter, with no financial security for the future and a reputation as a violent and immoral woman. Her options were limited, 2 as they were for other unmarried women in those days. A few years earlier, the fate of a woman burnt to death in a fire at Invercargill, who had previously been in circumstances similar to Mary was reported in the West Coast Times of January 10, 1880 thus;
The husband of the woman L... died in the hospital some time since, and from that period she has gone from bad to worse. Her moral character was not good, and she was addicted to drink. For weeks past she has been roaming about the town, in a state bordering on starvation, and if inside the building when the fire broke out her condition would probably be such as to prevent her escape. 3

The Supreme Court in Nelson in June 1883 had other matters to consider and after the conclusion of the trial of Mary Gramatica, the court moved on to hearing a charge against Joseph Busch of maliciously wounding a horse, a charge of bigamy against Henry Cook, and matters of bankruptcy and divorce. On the same day, the paper printed a report from the United Press Association from Dunedin, New Zealand, on conditions prevailing in the gaol there, which would have been common in other institutions in the colony. Complaints had been made by prisoners that they:
were made to work when they were sick; that prison goods were taken to private houses by the Gaolers orders; that prisoners died after sickness, which was put down to malingering; that the prison books were falsely kept in order to make out that the Gaol was self-supporting; that prisoners were treated as favourites; that officers had been the worse for drink; that
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male prisoners got in the bath-room with female prisoners; that female prisoners had gone into the chief Gaolers quarters without being attended by a matron.4

Even though Mary had not been sentenced to imprisonment, the laxity of the conditions which prevailed in the gaols of New Zealand at that time were to impinge upon her future and that of her one-time friend, John Davidson.

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CHAPTER 39

A summary of the trial of Gramatica and Davidson and the public responses to it, written by an unnamed journalist, whose sensibilities were offended by the events at Lyell. This editorial appeared in The Nelson Evening Mail on Saturday, June 23, 1883: THE LYELL TRAGEDY.
Deluged as the public have been during the past week with the details of this horrible affair, they will probably be disposed to be disgusted by any further reference being made to it, but we feel it to be a disagreeable duty which we cannot evade to make a few remarks upon the facts brought out at the trial. That such a state of things as was revealed by the evidence should actually exist in a township within a couple of days drive 1 of our own quiet and orderly community seems scarcely conceivable, and yet the testimony is unfortunately too strong and too unanimous to admit of its accuracy being questioned. ..

The Journalists Verdict

A summary of the trial followed for two columns, with some factual errors as to Davidsons whereabouts after the murder. The journalist was obviously taking his side as the wronged suitor in the matter. He described Davidson as having conceived:
a strange affection for this exceedingly unlovable woman who, with a face of brass and a heart of stone, gave her evidence in Court last Tuesday. He was perfectly infatuated with her; his passion amounted almost to

madness, and he had made up his mind to marry her notwithstanding all her manifold imperfections. Evidently he had come to her house with the intention of spending a quiet evening with her. Imagine then his feelings of disappointment, rage, and mad jealousy when she reached home in company with another man... the men quarrelled and fought even as two wild beasts will fight when their
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attentions are fixed upon one and the same female.

Although he concedes that Davidson might have been somewhat at fault, by referring to him as the murderer, he follows the lead of Judge Richmond in allocating the blame to Mary for causing him to be: maddened by the passion with which she has inspired him, and his jealousy
of him who now lies stark and cold in the next room.

He did acknowledge that Marys first awareness of events of the preceding evening was imparted to her by Davidson the next day. He describes the morning after the murder with Davidson:
sitting on a box by the bedside of the woman who had roused all his strongest, all his basest, passions. The unhappy creature, the brandy-sodden condition of whose brain did not prevent her seeing at a glance that something was wrong, asked what was the matter. characteristic - Nothing - youd better have a drink. drink... Davidson on returning from the Lyell was described as being moved by her importunities, he tells his ghastly story - tells how, maddened by the passion with which she had inspired him, and his jealousy of him who now lies stark and cold in the next room, he had taken Quinlans hearts blood. The reply was And she had a

A paragraph later, the journalist wrote:

His motive must for ever remain one of the many unsolved mysteries in connection with this strange tragedy. Surely, it will be said, such an

accumulation of horrors as had crowded in upon Gramatica within the short space of eight and forty hours was enough to turn the brain of even the most hardened woman. But no. Many a time and oft before this had she experienced the respite from harassing thoughts and the freedom from the prickings of conscience to be found in the obliviousness produced by copious draughts of brandy, and doubtless she then sought temporary comfort from the same source whence she had obtained it on numerous previous occasions.
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At the conclusion of the article, the journalist criticises the doctor who had given evidence for neglecting to have brought his notes on the post mortem with him to the inquest. His most scathing remarks had been inspired perhaps by the impending meeting in Nelson of the Brightwater Temperance Society which offered free recitations, readings and music. Also that week, Dr. Anna Potts was to give a lecture on family relationships, and a Lecture on Temperance was advertised at St. Marys Church that very evening, by The Rev. Le Menant de Chesnais, with the editorial comment:
Just at the present time the subject is a peculiarly appropriate one. Gramatica was drunk when she gave her evidence, and so was Chiaroni [Sciarone]-- we have their own word for it. ... There seems to be only too good reason to believe than an actual murder and an attempted suicide proved altogether too much excitement for the people of Lyell, and that the double tragedy was regarded as an excuse for a general debauch... Can the most vivid imagination picture a more depraved and debased condition of society than that which is described as existing in that district, withered and blasted as it is by the curse of drink? Drink,

drink, drink from Sunday morning to Saturday night; drink from the time of getting up to that of going to bed; drink to sharpen the sense of enjoyment; drink to blunt the sense of shame. The very atmosphere is, as it were, reeking with the fumes of brandy, while the ordinary conversation appears to consist of filthy language, disgusting expressions, and oaths and blasphemy sufficient to appal even those who are not particularly sensitive on this point. We send out from our midst missionaries to engage in the praiseworthy task of endeavoring to Christianise the Maoris and the Melanesians -- can nothing be done to humanise our fellow countrymen and countrywomen who are living in such a state of savagery at our very doors? ... Vast is the amount of good that has been done by Good Templars and other temperance societies in civilised communities. Here is a new field for action for them, where drunkenness and debauchery run riot among our
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fellow colonists as openly and shamelessly as in the most barbaric of Maori Pahs. Should the late trial be the means of inducing some of our

philanthropists to turn their attention to this strange little community which is located so near to us, it will not have been without its uses.

The response to this was a letter in the next days paper from the doctor in question, Dr. James Campbell, M.D., of Foxhill. In his letter dated June 24, 1883, he wrote to the editor of the Evening Mail:
Sir; - On behalf of the people of Lyell I must take exception to your remarks in the Mail of last evening, also for my own vindication; in

conclusion of your remarks regarding local doctors post mortem you state the murder has been made the occasion of a general debauch, thus laying a charge of drunkenness against myself and other witnesses in this case. If you are not a total abstainer, I presume you like your glass, and had the duty of performing the post mortem in question devolved on you you would be more charitable. From what I have seen in Nelson the morality and temperance of the Lyell stand favorably in comparison. Trusting you will insert this.-- I am, &c., Jas. CAMPBELL, M.D.

Two days later, another letter appeared in response to the attack on Lyell from the Anglican Bishop of Nelson, Andrew Burn Suter, Bishopdale, who wrote:
Sir, May I say a few words about a locality which has been too sadly before the public of late. The Lyell is one of those difficult places to reach which are a standing trial to all who have to deal with them from a moral point of view. The fluctuations of its conditions as to population have been very great; I have often been on the point of trying a special mission there, when the news came that the men were leaving the place rapidly, and it has retired for some years almost into oblivion. It has then revived again as to numbers, and a few advances have been made. At one time it was to be the great centre of the West coast goldfields, and lawyers and others from Nelson went and bought up
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nearly all the freehold land about it. It has been making progress, as all can see who have known it long. There are some steady well behaved people there who would be glad to see an alteration, but it will require a variety of influences. The administration of justice has improved; for many

years the visiting Magistrate held his Courts in the public house, and the scenes which I have myself witnessed there have been sad in the extreme. This is now being altered, a good Courthouse having been erected. There is now a new school, and after some demur the Education Board is building a schoolmasters residence, but I remember well when in co-operation with Mr. Shephard, and the Inspector, Mr. Hodgson, we got the rather excessive grant for the school. The Board had great misgivings lest it should be erecting a school only to be deserted. Mr. Bakewell, the late master, did good work then there. I shall never forget the feelings with which I found him boarding, as he was obliged to do, at Zanettis, amidst discomfort and drunkenness and at expensive rates. His successor, Mr. Rotton, will have a house built soon, but he has been living in a hut but a few yards from where this tragedy took place. The climate at the Lyell has to answer for a great deal, the sun only shines for a few hours on the township, and on a part of the township in the winter not at all, the hills or gorges are very steep, there is no flat land, everything must be brought up by drays most expensively. The public houses are some of them open all day and all night. I have never preached to a greater variety of nationalities than I have done at the Lyell, and a year before I went to England I purchased a site for a church and commenced a subscription list.

Here he made a plea for contributions to the General Fund but concluded with:
I feel very much for the Lyell people, especially for the inclemency of their climate. I am, myself, only just now recovering from severe influenza caught there, while paying them a missionary visit and holding services with them; but matters are mending. The weekly paper is
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improved and improving, the new bi-weekly coach is taking away some of those outlandish associations of former years, and if Mr. Blackett would also expedite the Inangahua bridge by one month or two he would be conferring on the community not only a physical but a moral benefit. I examined the children in the school when there, and was much pleased with them. Do not dishearten those who, obliged to stay there, after using the help now at length given them.
(Nelson Evening Mail, Wed. June 23rd, 1883)

~~~~~~~~~

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CHAPTER 40
After the Trial.

...blot out the wretched past

Mary returned to the Lyell not alone but in the company of most of the witnesses from her trial, as there were only two coaches each week provided by Newman Brothers to the Lyell from Nelson. She had the choice of waiting in Nelson until the others had all left and taking the next coach later in the week, but she wanted to go back to Lyell as soon as she could. After being released from custody, Mr. Bunny, her counsel for the duration of the trial, said goodbye and left her standing on the steps of the Hall. She lifted her skirts and ran after him. What am I supposed to do now? You can go home now, Mrs. Gramatica. You are free to resume your life; you are not required to go back to the prison. How am I going to get home though? purse. Theyll return it some day, no doubt. Ill give you this for the coach fare, but you must repay it as soon as possible. Send me a postal order when you get back to the Lyell. The coach leaves tomorrow morning at 8.00 a.m., I believe. Having had company constantly in the last few months, it felt strange that suddenly there was no one at her side or behind her back. She left the Provincial Hall precinct, stepping beyond the white painted picket fence surrounding the municipal buildings which had been transformed into the Supreme Court for the purposes of the trial. The next refuge was the Nelson Inn. She noted it to return to, and wandered along the street, looking for the coach booking office, which she eventually found and after buying a ticket with the notes given to her by Mr. Bunny, she walked
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back by the Provincial Buildings. They were surprised to see her, the huddle of men talking about the inhabitants of the Lyell and amusing themselves with the alcoholic antics and the sexual freedom which existed there and not in Nelson. Mary pushed her way through them and they retreated from her as though she was a plague carrier. I want my bag back. she told the clerk behind the counter. Its not released yet, the Inspector will have to sign the authorisation first, and hes having a cup of tea. Well, Im waiting here until you fetch it, so I can take it home with me. After her recent public ordeal and interrogation by better men than this little clerk, Mary was not daunted by his lack of politeness. She waited until her tapestry bag with tortoiseshell handles was brought to her, she signed for it with a scratch of a steel nib on the page of the ledger, and quickly walked back to the Nelson Inn, avoiding the clusters of onlookers still watching to see for themselves what the actors in these events looked like in the light of day. As she was scratching her name in the guest register with the nib on a pen dipped in black ink, she read the date written in red in large sloping letters at the top of the page. The numbers seemed familiar or significant to her, and she realised that it was the twenty-sixth of June. It was the fourth birthday of her daughter Ada Menga Mary. This whole series of catastrophic events had begun on Franks birthday, and ended on the anniversary of Adas birthday. After she had found her room, and put her baggage down, she left the hotel and walked as far as she could to the outskirts of the town, climbing the hills to the ridge, and sat overlooking the harbour. She sat watching the white sun move across the sky behind the grey veil of clouds, and finally drop down behind the hills across the satin sheet of water of Tasman Bay. Beyond the mountains, the doomed village of Lyell was tucked into a narrow wedge of a valley, the valley where most of her life had been spent and so many of her family were buried. She supposed she must return there, for lack of invitation or incentive to go elsewhere. And little Ada was there for her to raise. Four years ago, when this Ada had been born, she was still grieving for the older Ada lost in the river. But she then still had Peter and Frank,
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they were working the farm and were quite happy, no doubt satisfied with the progress they were making in the world, rubbing along side by side not romantically perhaps, but there was always the prospect of a major find in their gold mining claim to hope for, which would enable them to lead more comfortable lives. Now suddenly all the fundamental elements of her life had altered, in six months, such a short span of time. The sky grew dark, and Mary wandered back down, stopping first at the side room of the hotel set aside for ladies where she took a glass of brandy, before she lay back on the narrow bed in her room, tired to the marrow of her bones, and slept till dawn. She woke very early, the events of the day turning over in her mind, and the Judges words repeating themselves. I think he quite fancied me himself, all those things he said about me, exciting the passions of men. But he did say Id been a respectable woman before Peter died. Even after that, I dont think I was leading such a depraved and disgraceful life, or a shameful life; not spending all my time washing everyones muddy clothes. She knew that Jack Davidson was spending the night in the Nelson Gaol, a few streets away, the first night of his life as a convicted prisoner. Marys sympathy for Davidson increased considerably and now that he was permanently locked away her concerns about his violent temper when aroused by jealousy were overcome by feelings of flattery, to know that she could inspire such reactions. He must really care about her. She knew that the letters read out in public had made it clear to the world that they had been intimately involved, and now their relationship, or what it had been, was out in the open. Even though, she thought, the letters were probably written with the possibility in his mind that they would be found by someone other than herself, and would show to them his innocence and regard for her and help obtain his release. Unfortunately he had been unable to maintain the concerned lovers stance through to the end of even a short note, spoiling them as love letters by giving way to the wrath and resentment he felt towards Quinlan. But he did write on the papers that he loved her, and he had intended that they should be married, hed said. He had been good to her on occasions and had even helped her keep up a supply of chopped wood for the fire, even if the axe had been brought up in the trial as a weapon
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of destruction.

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At least they were not to be hanged, that was something to be thankful for, though it may have been a merciful ending to the sorry life she now had to live out alone. Who would want to have anything to do with her from now on? The ladies of the town wouldnt speak to her and the men, well, the men; the cause of all the trouble, they would think she was a prostitute, and some had said as much already, and the Judge hadnt helped at the end. More sinned against than sinning - well, that bit was right enough, God knew. Her husband Peter gone, her daughters and only son buried too, her friend and champion Denny Quinlivan departed this life in such a horrible manner, in her own house. Now Jack, her fancy-man as they said he was, who had spent some nights in her bed and seemed a hardworking man who provided a shoulder to lean on, when he wasnt in a jealous rage; he too was gone out of her life. What was the point of going to see him from now on, when all he did was abuse her after the first few sweet words. She would forget all about him and leave him to his fate in the gaol. She would never again come over the mountains to Nelson, just to see him; it took three days and the fare so expensive and the road so rough and dangerous. Some hours later, Mary waited outside the coach office, stamping her feet to keep the circulation flowing through her toes, walking up and down the streets, and would have broken her ankle on the stones in the roadway except for her buttoned-up boots which extended up to her knees. They were thin in the soles and did nothing to keep out the cold. She still wore her black mourning clothes. Her long thick skirts and red petticoat underneath were a blessing in these conditions, and she wound her shawl over her head and around her neck and across her mouth, more to hide than to keep warm. It was June, midwinter, the mornings still dark and the unusually strong winds pushing at her skirt like a bothersome child were freezing, blowing across the bay from the snow on the alpine range in the distance. It was wet and cold, so much so that the bellringers concert to be given at Richmond that night had been postponed. The other passengers were bunched together inside the booking office around the coal-burning stove, but Mary wanted to avoid them. After what she had been through, this was prospect was nothing. She could deal with anything anyone might say, now
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that she was outside the court room, without the lawyer telling her to hold her tongue, she could say what she liked. The coach was set high off the ground on spindly wheels and rigid elliptical iron springs. It was to be drawn by four horses, who did not look strong enough to carry the coach and all the luggage piled high on the roof and the back of the cabin, as well as passengers inside and out. There were four perched high above the driver, three beside him, and five squashed together inside. The narrow iron step lifted Mary up off the muddy ground and she was enclosed in the cabin which smelled strongly of leather. She hadnt noticed much on the way down, the trial ahead threatening to overwhelm her. The journey was long and the terrain very rough and difficult for the horses to negotiate in many places, but she enjoyed just sitting in silence and gazing at the country side as it slowly moved past. The others in the coach ignored her and for two days and nights did not speak to her. The journey was the pleasant part, she decided, the real trouble only began when you get there. And on the way down Jack Davidson had been with her, riding outside with the police officer, sitting high up at the back of the coach in the drizzling rain, the red bandana still around his throat, an empty chaff bag over his head to keep the rain off. The bandana he still wore, now not so much as a bandage but as an indication to her that he had cut his throat to show the lengths to which he was prepared to go when he was in a corner, and denied his way. The coach made its way along the flat land around the bay, and pushed on throughout the day, passing a range of low hills on the left, determined to reach Kohatu on the west side of the Motueka river before nightfall. Mrs Hopgood kept the hotel dinner waiting for the passengers and expected to serve it at a reasonable hour. The next day they travelled at first beside the Motupiko River, the Pinchback Range on their right. At Kawatira, Jack Raits ran the accommodation house where the coach stopped the second night, and the next day saw them pass the next thirtynine miles to Murchison-Longford, where the Buller River required crossing. George Moonlights hotel, accommodation house and postal agency were the last comforts before the treacherous uphill track from Longford to Lyell. A full day was often required to complete this section, the passengers dismounting and the men pushing the coach along the
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worst stretches. The waters of the Buller River, now on their left, showed between the densely forested slopes of the Matiri forest, running silently but fast below the track. When the coach finally reached the Lyell the wooden brakes were squealing as the coach driver tried to pull back the horses to slow down the carriage in the last run down the hill after the hairpin bend through the rock walls to the main street. ~~~ The village seemed smaller than Mary remembered it, and she felt she had been away for a long time, although it had been only four months. The hills surrounding it were now almost bare of trees, chopped down for fuel during the winter months. All the chimneys of the cottages and hotels were smoking, the plumes drifting down the valley in the fierce wind that was blowing. The timber-faced buildings standing two stories above the bare ground level seem less constricting than they were when she last walked across the street from the lockup to the coach to Nelson some months ago. The bamboo birdcage still hung outside the Carrolls Criterion Hotel, the canary yellow and fat, still warbling. The brass and glass lantern hung over the

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street, and the large old French poodle still sat between the two stools on either side of the doorway. There waited Mrs. Carroll, her flat hat with its flowers and cherries above her face shining with curiosity. There were seventeen men in the street ranged across the narrow roadway, waiting for the coach and to one side was the police officer who had taken Mary to the lock-up. He stood with his hands behind his back, tall helmet on his head, watching and ready to keep order if the crowd should become untoward in their behaviour to the notorious Mary Gramatica, possible murderess, as she returned. A photographer was there with a tripod set up on the footpath, ready to dive beneath the black hood to take her image as she appeared. And on the footpath on a French cafe chair with its double-hooped back framing her sweet head, sat Ada, dressed in tartan and a white pinafore over her dress, tied tightly behind her ribs. Her hair was held back by white ribbon looped a large bow on the top of her head, and her hands folded upsidedown in her lap. Mary had trouble recognising Ada. Her Ada had always been clean, her Ada had always
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been tidy, but never as prim as this little doll. Ada had trouble recognising her mother, this large woman wearing a bonnet and veil covering her face and dressed entirely in black. Mary called Adas name after Mrs. Adank waved to her as she looked past, scanning the onlookers for a friendly face. None of the men in their rough clothes, most of which she had rubbed the skin of her fingers raw washing for them, spoke to her. They stood in silence, as the coach emptied itself of passengers. Ada sat frozen. This woman was not, could not be her mother. Mary took off her bonnet and knelt in front of Ada, and as she took her little hands in her own large ones said dont you recognise you own mother? Adie, its Mamma. Ada stared at the face before her and as she gazed wide-eyed she saw again Mary on the night of the murder, her hands covered in blood, and the sounds of angry male voices, and fear filled her heart and mind all over again. She screamed and fell off the chair and ran back to Mrs. Adank to bury her face in her skirts. Dont let her take me, dont let the men hit me. In the folds of the heavy fabric she remembered when she had found the head of her friend Mr. Quinlan, lying in the grass beside the road, all by himself without his body and the smell which made her sick and running back to Mamma and pulling her along to the monstrous thing on the grass, and her mother screaming and slapping her face in her rage against Ada for being the one who found it. Leave it alone, dont touch it, you bad bad girl. Youll get your hands all dirty. Forget you ever saw it. I didnt do it, I didnt break him, I didnt. Mary was stunned. Only the thought of this moment of return to Lyell had sustained her and kept her sane and serene throughout the trial, this coming back to Ada, and clasping her body to her own, and breathing in the scent of her hair. But Ada would not let her touch her, would not even look at her, and was bent over trying to vomit. Shes been so excited that you were coming back. Shell come around, dont mind. But she never did, really. Ada was the only other witness to the death of Dennis Quinlan apart
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from Mary and Jack, and she was unable to tell anyone what she had seen, and it was now so long ago in her short life since it had happened, that she had forgotten, until now when her mothers return had brought it all back so vividly. ~~~~~ The cottage when they returned there the next day was silent. Mary had stayed the night at Helen Williams, at her insistence, sleeping between clean freezingly cold sheets, and with her arms wrapped around Adas warm chubby body in her cotton nightgown. Ada refused to talk, but they watched the candle flicker and make shadows on the walls until they fell asleep, their breaths puffing out into the dark room. Mary and Ada walked the mile along the Westport Road, around to her old cottage, carrying their bags, and a basket of food by a handle between them. The neighbours dog barked as they passed, as though it had never seen them before. On the way home, they must pass the cemetery where Frank had been buried, something that must be done every time Mary went to and from the village, they must walk past the place where Ada, the eldest girl, fell from the chair into the river, and they stepped as far away as they could from the place where Quinlans body had been dragged along and pushed over the edge, and the place where Davidson had slumped to the ground after slashing his throat. Wherever they went in Lyell there were memories which were still fresh and impossible to avoid. And the cottage to which they were returning had been the stage for the drama acted out some five months ago. The window pane was just as broken as it had been when she left, as who was to fix it, (Jack had said he would, but never did) and the blind down and flapping in the wind. They stood still on the verandah for a minute while Mary tried to get the cold key to work in the rusty lock, then went inside. She pulled the blind up and let the light in to the empty room. Some small animal had been in and left a mess on the bare floor, in its efforts to escape, in the very place where Quinlan had lain. Perhaps it had intended to replace his scent with its own. The only sound came from the wind whistling along the valley below and up the chimney, and the creek water rushing over the rocks beneath, as it always did, and the ticking of the clock on the mantlepiece. So someone had been in, to wind it, and to have fixed it in the first
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place. Sciarone, Mary laughed.

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She put her bags in the bedroom, which had been tidied, the covers spread flat over the bed. Ada came in behind her as she stood looking at herself in the mirror hanging on the wall beside the bed. She pulled off her hat and smoothed back her hair. Over the past six months the new growth had faded from shining black silk to silver and her face had become the face of both her mother and her father, melded into a mask. The beauty that had once been there for all to see was gone, as far as her grey eyes could tell. Her image at last reflected her being. Im cold, mumma. Mary pushed open the back door after sliding back the bolts, and looked outside for the axe in its usual place, but it was not there. Of course not. It had been taken as evidence. Mary sat down on the step and put her face in her hands and cried, unable to stop even for Adas sake. Over the sounds of the valley and the river, she eventually heard a voice, singing in Italian. Come on, Ada she said, scrambling to her feet. Bernardo Sciarone, dark hair parted down the middle of his head and slicked down with oil across his broad forehead, was pushing a wooden wheelbarrow, full of chopped dry firewood, and slipped inside the barrow at the side of the branches, was hidden a full bottle of brandy. ~~~~~~ Mary lived for the next month quietly trying to restitch the fabric of her life. Davidson had sent her one more letter, asking her to keep her promise to visit him in Nelson Gaol. She wrote only one reply, telling him that despite all her earlier resolutions to give him up, she would try to find a way to visit him. When he had been told by the prison officials that he was to be shifted to Wellington, his last hope of seeing her again was removed. She might be able to manage a trip to Nelson now and again, but to go across Cook Strait to Wellington on a regular basis was out of the question. For three weeks, Mary and Ada spent their time in the cottage, avoiding going in to the village, preferring to depend on passing carters to drop off their requirements at the front gate. On the first day that Mary did feel sufficiently brave enough to walk into the village again, to collect her allowance from Mr. Zanetti, she was to be faced with yet another shock, the final
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There had been no letter for her at the post office, but in his office Zanetti passed the notes across his green leather desktop to Mary, and asked whether she had heard the latest news from Nelson. No, I havent heard anything since I left there. I think you should read the paper that came in yesterday. It mentions your friend Mr. Davidson, causing more trouble and finally showing his true colours. What do you mean, what has he done now? Youd better read it for yourself. Come back if you need some more money for the fare down to Nelson, but itll be too late . Mary hurried across the street to the office of the Lyell Times, and left with a copy of the Times and The Colonist, the broadsheets folded under her arm. She sat down on the wooden bench outside the Welcome Inn, unable to delay reading the papers until she left Cliff Street and was home. She scanned the finely printed pages, and finally found the article on the events in Nelson Gaol. Her eyes were having trouble defining the tiny print, but she persisted until she had read the first column. The heading read Shocking Tragedy at the Nelson Gaol. Nelson, Monday, July 30th 1883. 1 The next line ran: DAVIDSON MURDERS HIMSELF. At an early hour on Saturday morning, the news that a dreadful tragedy had taken place at the Nelson Gaol commenced to spread, and that it was the cause of the greatest consternation is not to be wondered at ... It will be observed that the unfortunate warder Samuel Adams liberated Davidson from his cell at ten minutes to 6 in order that this prisoner, who was employed as cook, might light the fires and proceed with his work.
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The warder then entered the small yard approached from the passage to the left of the main corridor, and it seems that immediately afterwards he was attacked by Davidson, who had armed himself with a long butchers knife, to which he, as cook, had access. After stabbing the warder in a frightful manner, Davidson entered the officers room, broke open a cupboard, in which the arms are kept, and, after firing one shot from a revolver he had taken from this cupboard entered the corridor, where he was met by Mr. Shallcrass. It seems almost incredible after the bloody deed he had just enacted that this villain did not by violence remove the sole remaining obstacle to his escape by using his revolver, but probably the courage shown by Mr.Shallcrass, in facing the man who presented a revolver at him, and threatened his life unless he allowed him to escape, had the effect of cowing the cowardly murderer. At all events, the coolness shewn by the Gaoler is highly commendable. For 50 minutes Mr. Shallcrass kept Davidson parleying, but in the meantime a messenger had been despatched for a policeman, and Constable Roscoe was called from the Station at 25 minutes past 6. On his arrival at the Gaol, Mr. Shallcrass and Warder White, who had arrived shortly before, were in the corridor facing the prisoner, and just as the Constable looked through the barred gate Davidson shot himself. ... Mary leaned forward and put her head in her hands, rocking backwards and forwards, sobbing and howling so loudly that Helen Williams came outside to see what the noise was.
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Mrs. Williams drew Mary indoors and told a bewildered Ada to play outside with the other children until her mother felt better. But Mary was undone. She felt as though she was a dress from which someone had pulled a thread until the pieces had come adrift, and now were simply parts of a pattern and not a whole thing. Nothing functioned as it should; her hands dropped the objects she tried to hold, her feet stumbled, her breath stopped and she could not see straight. There was a pain in her midriff which would not stop. Only the burning plunge of brandy down her throat would ever ease the pain. ~~~~~~ On 28th August, 1883, the sky visible from the Lyell valley had turned dark in the middle of the day and for months after the sun shone through blood red clouds in the most colourful sunsets ever seen there. The island of Krakatoa in the distant Indonesian waters to the north west had erupted and the sound had been heard thousands of miles away, as far as Mauritius, South Australia and Diego Garcia. Such unnatural phenomena were not surprising to Mary. It was nothing less than she expected. Her personal world had already fragmented and blown apart and it was only fitting that the terrestrial world should do the same. At that stage, she was beyond caring what happened. Mary had little company in Lyell except the other women who lived there without the legitimate support of a man; namely Helen Williams and Rose Boyle. Rosana Boyle, blamed by Davidson for dragging Mary down into the lowlife of the village, lived close to Marys place and was her only female friend at this stage. Even this companionship was brief, as only a month after Marys lover had taken his life and that of yet another, her friend Rose was found dead in her own cottage. According to the notes in a Lyell police notebook, Rosana Boyle had been found dead one morning in September in her hut at Lyell Creek by
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William Garrange, carpenter of the town. 2 The cause of her death is unknown. On September 10th, 1883, the body of the deceased Rosana Boyle was left in the charge of Patrol officer Zatarton by Constable John Keating. Mr. Inspector Emerson had left Lyell for Reefton at 9.00 am. and at 10.00 pm later that day the body was discovered. Marys problems were not yet over, and after Rosys death, she had only male company. Her near neighbour Katherine Carroll, whose children used to play with Ada, had lost all patience with her after finding Mary in the act of killing one of her ducks. Perhaps she had been frightened by the sight of the woman charged with murder wielding an axe in broad daylight, as well as entertaining a house full of men, and this drove her to complain to the police about her activities. Katherine Carrolls concerns may well have been for the safety of her own children as well as that of their playmate, or perhaps she too had reached the end of her tether. It was recorded in a Lyell police notebook that on Friday 8th: Mrs. Carroll, wife of Patrick Carroll, had reported at 5 pm that she caught Mrs. Gramitica [sic] killing her duck off the road near her house and insisted that Constable Bowden had to come over at once and go and take the names of all persons in Mrs. Gramiticas house, as she wanted them for witnesses. The Constable told Mrs. Carroll he would do no such thing, that her only possibility was to summons Mrs. Gramitica for the value of the duck. Mrs. Carroll was very much excited and told the Constable that he was the cause of all the trouble, that she would get the constable shifted out of Lyell. Further to these uncivilised events in Lyell, on llth November, notes recorded in almost indecipherable handwriting in the police notebook describe a decision to charge Mary Gramatica for the usage of obscene language arising from incidents at her house which was very frequent of late. ~~~~~~~~
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CHAPTER 41
28th July, 1883

The Tragedy in Nelson Gaol.

On 28th July, 1883, six months to the day after Davidson had attacked Quinlan in Lyell, he murdered yet again. An hour or so later, he placed the gun in his mouth, aimed at his own brain, pulled the trigger of the pistol, the first time without a result, and only after the second attempt succeeded in ending his life. The events were recorded in the newspapers of the day thus:
THE NELSON TRAGEDY. MURDER AND SUICIDE (JULY 31) Nelson Gaol, Sunday morning. It appears that the convict Davidson, of Lyell notoriety, who has lately been condemned to imprisonment for life, has been employed as cook in the gaol kitchen, and was let out early in the morning by Warder Adams, for the purpose of lighting the kitchen fire. This he appears to have done, but shortly after seized a tomahawk and smashed in the door of the armory, from where he obtained two revolvers. It was at first supposed that he had shot Adams, but it turned out afterwards that he had despatched his victim with a carving knife, dealing him three stabs one in the scalp, another in the neck, but the fatal and most fearful wound went through the abdomen, from whence the entrails protruded. A struggle seems to have taken place in the yard, where the warder seems to have gone for the purpose of washing himself, for by his side lay a broken water jug and his toothbrush and towel. The
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murderer had evidently killed Adams in order to obtain possession of a certain key, and thus enable him to make his escape. Mr.

Shallcrass, the gaoler, together with his wife, shortly appeared on the scene, and were soon joined by Warder White; but the whole party were kept at bay by Davidson for 50 minutes, during which time he covered them with a revolver, and talked a good deal about the Lyell murder, of which he vowed he was innocent, and stated that it was Mrs. Grammatica who murdered Quinlan. Mr. and Mrs. Shallcrass were doing all they could to pacify Davidson, when he quietly said, Well, good bye , put the muzzle of one of the revolvers into his mouth and pulled the trigger. The cap missing fire, he then took the other and after putting the muzzle of that into his mouth, pulled the trigger and fell dead in an instant. The body of Adams was found lying in the court-yard, and the shot which awakened Shallcrass was supposed to have been fired in the air by Davidson, to see if the revolver was in a serviceable state. Adams had been some time before been sent to Nelson from Wellington He was formerly employed as warder in the Canterbury gaol. He was a married man and leaves a wife and four children, the youngest being but two months old. The event has caused a great sensation here, and the authorities are greatly blamed. ... Chief-warder White corroborated Shallcrasss statements in all important points. The medical evidence was that Adams death resulted from haemorrhage, but that had immediate assistance been available even then his life could not have been saved. Opinions were expressed that firearms should not have been kept where accessible to prisoners, and also commented on a life prisoner of such a character being employed as cook. (July 31, 1883) 1

In his office in Nelson Gaol, in the early evening Mr. Shallcrass, the gaoler, wrote his official statement of the events of that day, reading aloud:
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I am gaoler of the Nelson Gaol. The deceased Samuel Adams was warder of the gaol. His age was thirty-nine years. The body on which Dr. Hudson has just made a post mortem examination was the body of Samuel Adams. The deceased John Davidson was a prisoner in the Nelson Gaol. His age was thirty-eight years. This morning Saturday 28th July at two minutes before six, I heard screams..

and he relived the events in his mind. He had given evidence at the trial of Davidson and Gramatica, and had been responsible for security in the gaol when they were in custody awaiting trial, and he had made it possible for them to continue to communicate with each other and continue their relationship with little difficulty. ~~~ Outside in the prison yard Warden Adams struggles with Davidson, who is brandishing a large kitchen knife, Adams shouting: Leave me be then crying Help me, help... There is a loud thump as he falls to the ground, but it is the shouting which wakes the other warder. Shallcrass rolls out of bed pulling on his trousers, slides his feet into his slippers and goes out into the corridor to an iron gate which he unlocks with large black keys. Half way along the corridor, Davidson appears on the left, brandishing a revolver.
I heard screams which appeared to come from outside the Gaol, and afterwards, almost immediately, a noise like something falling heavily. I got up, putting on only my trousers and slippers, and went immediately into the corridor of the Gaol. I had the key to the iron gate went out and unlocked it. When half way along the corridor, Davidson suddenly appeared from the passage on the left, and stood in the doorway, about eight paces before me: he had a revolver in his right hand..

From the narrow corridor Davidson says:

If you come another step forward I will shoot you. Open that door and let me out.

Shallcrass replies: I will not. You're not allowed out. Now listen man, be sensible. If you escape you will only be hunted down by the police and be worse off: you are better off
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Davidson continued threatening me with the pistol pointed at me.

If you dont let me out, I will shoot you.

I then set him talking on his own grievances, relating to the circumstances for which he was imprisoned. I thought it would quieten him down. I then asked where Warder Adams was: he said Oh, he is all right. I was parleying with him for fifty minutes, up to thirty minutes to seven. I once told him I would shoot him -- saying I had a revolver close at hand.

In the corridor, moments later Shallcrass says: I've got a weapon in there, in the office, and I'll not hesitate to use it if you persist with this foolish idea. Davidson said :
Shoot. I will stand and let myself be shot.

Shallcrass refuses:
No, if your life is to be taken, I would rather you take it yourself than I should ...

Davidson said :
Here goes, then.

He puts the pistol to his head and waits. Shallcrass is still writing.
Mr. White the principal warder came about half past six. It was not his turn to sleep at the Gaol on Friday night. Mrs. Shallcrass let him in through the dwelling house.

At the front door of the warder's house, Mrs. Shallcrass, clad only in her nightdress opens the door and drags White inside, telling him what is happening. Quickly, Mr. White, that horrible lunatic of a man is loose. My husband hasn't got his revolver. Davidson sees White as he enters the lobby and speaks: Mr. White, good morning. I am sorry I cant shake hands with you before I go.
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He brandishes two police revolvers around in the air. White says: Come along, Davidson. Don't be a fool. You're not going anywhere. If you leave here you've got no chance. The police will be after you straight away and there's no place you can go. If you go bush the natives will eat you. Robert Shallcrass moves along the corridor heading back to the bedroom pretending to fetch a revolver, all the while knowing there is not one there, saying as he goes: Warder Adams will be in here any minute. Jack Davidson, untroubled by this prospect, replies: No doubt he will, if he can. From where Davidson is standing, he can see the yard where the body of Adams is lying: he casts his eyes frequently in that direction. From the doorway of the bedroom Mrs. Shallcrass pulls her husband into the room and pleads with him: Don't go back there, you haven't got a weapon here, they're all in the other room. I can't leave him alone with White: he hasn't got a revolver either. Oh, for Gods sake be careful. Don't annoy him. Ask if he'd like a cup of tea. She follows him along the corridor and stands in the doorway. There are three white male prisoners in other cells along the corridor who can hear what is going on, but are unable to see. Davidson walks along to the cells and puts his hand through the grating of the cells in which Rowe, Edge and Hogson are held and shakes hands with each. He says: Goodbye, my fellow prisoners and victims. All the best to you, and mind you keep away from wanton women. Their words are all lies, and they'll do you in if you give them half the chance.
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He comes back to White and Shallcrass, holding the revolver to his forehead. Shallcrass moves back along the corridor, pretending to have a revolver behind his back. Davidson tells him: Open the outside door and let me out of here, now I've said my goodbyes to the only decent men in here. White replies: I can't do that. Come on, don't be a fool. You're to be moved to Wellington soon, anyway, so you'll be away from here, if you don't like this place.
If I go to Wellington, I shall be under a couple of Irish warders.

You have been under an Irish warder ever since you have been here but you have found no fault with him.
No, but my saints tell how it might have been if there were two of them. I won't go to Wellington, you can be very sure of that.

It's already been decided that's where you are to be moved.

If I go, I will jump overboard. I'm

not getting on any ship. I'll say goodbye to all

you bastards here and now. Davidson leans his back against the wall: puts the pistol to his mouth and pulls the trigger. The cap snaps and the chamber discharges, misfiring. He throws that weapon down. Don't, don't do that ... Mrs Shallcrass cries. Davidson directs the second pistol into his mouth, discharges it and falls back dead to the floor. ~~~~~ Late that night, Shallcrass sits still writing his statement: I immediately passed by him turning by the passage to the left to the yard, expecting to find Warder Adams in one of the cells, on the right of the yard, as I had heard a
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bolt drawn before I first went into the corridor. Warder Adams is on the floor of the yard on his back, his arms extended, lifeless. A quantity of fluid blood is under the head and shoulders, a wound shows in the left flank and the intestines protrude. Shallcrass lifts the head and sees a wound on the scalp and at the back of the neck. White follows Shallcrass and watches as he examines the body. Shallcrass wipes his hands on his trousers and runs to the door of one of the cells: Mister Edge, did you hear what happened out here? I heard a scuffle but nothing else. A man is not even safe in jail these days. ~~~~~~ On the Saturday afternoon, an inquest was held in the Gaol before Coroner Broad, and a jury. 2 The jury had already carried out the task of viewing the body of the deceased. Warder Robert Shallcrass stated that:
Davidson was employed as a cook in the Gaol and had been so since 18th May, that is, for a month after he had become a prisoner. I found him always orderly, civil and obliging, and agreed well with his fellow prisoners, which is rare for cooks.

Shallcrass continued: He had never shown any mental aberration nor he had been attended by the Medical Officers
except on his admission, when he had a cut in his throat. Last Wednesday he was seen by a medical officer, who had to give a certificate that his health was fit for him to be removed. When he first came into the gaol he was closely watched. He then seemed very depressed in spirits, probably owing to loss of blood. Even his boots and pocket handkerchief taken from him at night. He picked up, in strength, after a month, and wanted to be employed; -- and he was employed at odd jobs about the Gaol, during the second month.

Foreshadowing questions later raised in the community and the press as to how a prisoner who had been convicted of a crime of considerable violence was allowed access to weapons, Robert Shallcrass stated:
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He appeared trustworthy - he had no quarrel with Adams. It was Adams duty to call Davidson in the morning to go to his duties as a cook; he had access to the knives and forks in the kitchen.

As to how he could explain the fact that Davidson was in possession of the keys to the door, Shallcrass replied:
Mr. White reported to me having found a key in one of the inner doors and which did not fit; it was one which should have been in Adams possession; the key of that gate and the key of the two outer doors are taken charge of by Monday night and were in my possession on the night of Friday.

Coroner Leonard Broad asked how could a prisoner possibly obtain access to two revolvers. Shallcrass replied:
During my conversation with Davidson in the corridor he slipped away for a moment and returned with a second revolver which he held in his left hand during the remainder of the time; these revolvers were kept in the armoury of the Gaol, which is a cupboard in the Officers Rooms; it is kept locked: the rifles in daily use by the warders are also kept here -- the revolvers were kept as of right in this cupboard. I went into the officers rooms as soon as I left Adams body: the right hand panel had been wrenched off. The revolvers found on Davidson were the revolvers which were in this cupboard. I have examined the revolvers; in one, two chambers had been discharged, in the other, one chamber only. I should have stated that on coming down stairs I heard a report as of firearms being discharged; these revolvers are kept loaded at night time. I do not think Davidson could have known they were in the cupboard.

Broad: Was not the prisoner constrained at night behind a locked door? Shallcrass:
Davidson was locked up every night but could have got into the officers room.

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Broad: How could this have occurred? Shallcrass:

It was his duty to light the fire in the officers room in the mornings. ~~~~~~

The Officers room within the prison is sparsely furnished and has two single beds, a fireplace, and in one corner a cupboard which is used to store the firearms. It has a padlock on the door. Davidson enters and begins to set a fire in the hearth. He stops and looks around, and realises that because it is the weekend no officers are present. He tries to open the lock, which resists; he then grabs the poker from the fireplace and prises the door open. He takes two revolvers, loads them and laughing walks to the kitchen and picks up a large cook's knife. As he leaves the kitchen, Samuel Adams appears in the courtyard. Goodday, Jack. Have you lit the fire? There'll be no fire today. Give me the key. I'm off away from here. You won't get it from me. Don't be a bloody fool. Give it here. Its the wrong one. You can't get out with it. Davidson grapples with Adams, yanking the keys from the wardens belt and rushing over to the door from the courtyard, tries the key, which sticks in the lock. With a roar, he picks up the knife from behind a stool, and charges at Adams and stabs him in the stomach. Adams turns to run, Davidson chops at his head, and as he runs, his thigh. Adams falls to the ground. Davidson leaves the knife and picks up the two revolvers, checks to see that they are loaded and steps into the corridor. Shallcrass:
Davidson knew he was to be removed to Wellington; he did not appear to have been disturbed by the thought of going; except from what I gathered from his conversation that morning:

~~~

Broad: Is it common practice for a prisoner to be used as a cook within the prison kitchen?
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Robert Shallcrass:
It is usual sometimes that a prisoner be employed as cook. Davidson was employed because the prison cook had left and I had no one else to employ.

Broad: But to my recollection he was sentenced to hard labour. Why was he not employed thus? Robert Shallcrass:
He was never sent to work with the hard labour gang because I thought he might escape.

~~~~~~ The verdict of the jury was that: John Davidson, a prisoner confined in the Public Gaol at Nelson on the twentyeighth day of July in the year aforesaid, did, with a pistol charged with gunpowder and leaden bullets, and held in his right hand, feloniously and wilfully, discharge the contents of the said pistol into the head of himself, thereby causing one mortal wound, of which he the said John Davidson did there and then instantly die and we the aforesaid Jurors do say that the said John Davidson in the manner and by the means aforesaid, did feloniously, wilfully and of malice aforethought, kill and murder himself.
3

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Davidsons reasons for not wanting to travel to Wellington.

My heart is too full - I cannot be quiet One explanation for Jack Davidsons reluctance to go to Wellington could be his possible links with the Fenian movement, which had spread from Ireland to New Zealand. Although now it seems scarcely credible that in those times an event which had occurred on the other side of the globe, many months earlier, could arouse political agitation to the level of a riot on the West Coast of New Zealand. Yet this had happened. In 1867 and 1868 antiBritish sentiment amongst the Irish in the population of Ireland, Scotland and within England itself, had spread as far as the colonies of Australia and New Zealand. The Fenian movement was alive and thriving in New Zealand, particularly on the West Coast in the late eighties of that century. From Hokitika and its swampy flat lands along the coast to Westport, the terrain becomes increasingly dramatic, and in the 1870s travel would have been very difficult. News however had moved swiftly via telegraphed reports to the numerous newspapers of the time, and the many small ships moving around that part of the worlds oceans carried the English, Scottish and Irish partisans to the shores of New Zealand as well as to Australia. Almost directly across the Tasman Sea was the port of Melbourne, Australia, and its hinterland goldfields of Bendigo, Ballarat and Castlemaine were also the scenes of uprisings against the colonial masters, although not related so much to the question of Scottish or Irish or British rule but more to the imposition of unjust taxes upon the goldminers.
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Hokitika was a major point of entry for emigration both to and from Australia and New Zealand at that time, and the news of an assassination attempt against the then Duke of Edinburgh, on a royal visit to the colonies, flooded across the Tasman like a tidal wave. There ensued a such lively war between rival local newspapers that it ended up with the Roman Catholic priest and the owner of the newspaper The Celt being charged with seditious libel and sentenced by Justice Richmond to be imprisoned for one month in Hokitika.1 It is from within the murky and bitter depths of such a past that the reluctance of a prisoner to be at the mercy of gaolers of a different political persuasion could be explained. Davidson had been described in some newspaper reports as Liverpool Irish and probably Catholic (he referred to his saints, who told him he would not be safe if there were two other Irishmen in charge of him in the gaol or on the ship while crossing Cook Strait). Mary Gramatica was also Irish and Catholic, (she had a rosary which became entangled with Davidsons watchchain after he left it with her for safekeeping after the murder). She was born in County Tyrone, and her origins did not appear to have been a negative factor in his relationship with her. The victim in the murder in Lyell, Dennis Quinlan (or Quinlivan), was also Irish, and Davidsons other victim, the warder Adams, may also have been Irish. Davidson may have felt that his countrymen of the opposite colour would seek to take their revenge on him for murdering one of them. This fear of the Irish was the only explanation ever given by Davidson for his doomed attempt at freedom. It could also be that his reasons for attempting to escape are evidence of a state of
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paranoia which had developed to such an extent that he saw enemies where there were none. Davidsons mental state while he was in prison after the trial for Quinlans murder a month before the Nelson Gaol events had changed, from his initial hostile rejection of the verdict of Judge Richmond, to boredom and the need to be occupied. Possibly he already had in mind that he would try to escape and sought work in the kitchen in order to have access to items which could be used as weapons to facilitate this. Shallcrass had testified that Davidson:
never showed any sign of mental aberration, and never had the medical officer called to him except when he came in, when he had a cut in his throat. Last Wednesday he was seen by the medical officer who had to give a certificate that his health was fit for him to be removed. When he first came into the gaol he was closely watched. He then seemed very depressed, probably owing to a loss of blood. Even his boots and handkerchief were taken from him at night. 2

He had told George Rowe, a fellow prisoner, that he was glad he was going to Wellington, there
would be more company,

but after the ship the Wallace, which was to remove him, was delayed

by bad weather, for some reason his situation became too much for him. The prison warder Shallcrass had stated that Davidson made no objections at the time he first learnt he was going but he later seemed alarmed at the thought of going to Wellington. Davidson, who had already shown serious suicidal tendencies, appears to have become even more despondent after his imprisonment, and acted from a sense of futility: he said,
Whats the use, I have got a sentence for life, but I dont mean to serve it out, and if I go to Wellington I mean to jump over the steamers side.

While the siege was taking place, Shallcrass said he had:set him talking of his grievances, and he
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related a great deal in reference to himself, Mrs. Gramatica and the Lyell murder.

A press report stated that:

he talked a good deal about the Lyell murder, of which he vowed that he was innocent, and stated that it was Mrs. Gramatica who murdered Quinlan. 3

Unfortunately no further details of the revelations which Davidson made in his last hour were recorded. A Fenian motive might be rendered inappropriate, however, by a statement which had been made by Mary at the coroners inquiry into the death of Quinlan, where John Reid stated that Mary disclosed to him that Davidson was not his real name, and that rather than being Irish or English, he was of French Canadian descent.
She told me that Davidson was a fictitious name; she said he would not tell her his proper name. She said he was of French parents and born in Canada. 4

It is possible that English had not been his first language. A comment made by Mr. Shallcrass at the inquest indicated that his command of English was much poorer than his written notes and statements seem to show. Shallcrass said that:
when he was first made cook (in the prison) he was the only man here, except Maoris, who did not understand English.

No mention of any language problems on his part has been found elsewhere. John Davidson was and must remain a man with an unknown early history, either in Ireland or the colonies of Canada and New Zealand. His reasons for assuming a false name and identity can only be guessed, but hint at a past which gave a greater impetus for his
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leaving Canada than a simple wish to find gold. The newspaper report of the inquest proceedings concluded with the information that:
... the murderer and suicide Davidson was interred yesterday morning, just without the cemetery grounds.5

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CHAPTER 43
1883 Give up the shameful life you have been leading..

After returning from Nelson, Mary found that life in Lyell had still to be endured day after day, and she continued to take in laundry, but for a much reduced number of customers, as her reputation, deserved or otherwise, as a dangerous woman had spread. This no doubt was attractive to some of the braver men of the area, but Mary had lost interest in their attentions other than a source of income to supplement her allowance. The family farm remained out of her hands, and from it she derived some limited funds, but not sufficient to enable her to decline to take in laundry. Mary continued to live with her daughter in the cottage, but after some two years and three months passed since the trial, it had become obvious to others, if not herself, that their troubled existence had reached a point where it was impossible for Mary to care for her daughter appropriately. Adas fifth birthday on June 25, 1885 was the last she was ever to spend with her mother. The no doubt well-intentioned citizens of the town decided that Mary was now incapable of looking after Ada, and that for her own good the child should be sent away to Nelson to the Industrial School, just for a short time, until the mother got herself back together and worked out what she was going to do. Mary could only agree to this. After all, the nuns were so insistent that it was the best thing for the girl, and it would onlybe for a short while. On Friday, November 12, at the age of only five years and three months, Ada was enrolled at St. Marys Industrial School in Nelson. In the records of this event, the only details provided with her enrolment are that her father is dead, and mother not responsible. Constable Bowden was the complainant in the matter and Ada was sentenced to live at the
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school until fifteen years of age as the result of being a neglected child. Ada Menga Mary had been born on 26th June, 1879, six months before Ada the eldest daughter was lost in the Buller River. When she was three years and nine months old, she was the only witness to the murder in the cottage at Lyell not to have been questioned about the matter (owing of course to her age at the time). To protect her future interests, her name was never mentioned in newspaper reports of the trial and its proceedings, and she was referred to throughout, even by her mother, as the child or the little girl. Probably she was the only person to have been fully aware of what happened at the time and to know the sober truth of events. It could be that she was too young to retain the memories, or they were quickly forgotten or dismissed as nightmares. Her mother fought a losing battle against alcoholism as the years dragged on, month after month, bringing with them the slow cessation of her periods. She was in her early forties, entering the menopause and enduring its effects in silence and alone. Discussion of the topic was not something which occurred in Victorian times. The shocking events of her recent life possibly may have hastened the onset of the menopause, and the end of her childbearing years no doubt was a relief. It seems Mary lived alone after Ada was taken to Nelson, and it is not known whether they ever saw each other again. The scant records of St. Marys Industrial School show little information about the lives of the children incarcerated there. That the young inhabitants of industrial schools or orphanages anywhere in the European world at that time were little better than slaves has been widely acknowledged, under the guise of training them for employment as servants. Children were expected to work at domestic tasks at the school, which in the case of females included heavy laundry, and they often were not taught to read or write. In similar institutions, in contemporary times in colonial countries, the treatment bestowed upon them
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varied from loving care to sadistic brutality, depending on the philosophy and characters of the religious adults in charge of them. In 1885, on 12th September, Ada (M.M.) had been committed to the care of St. Marys Industrial School in Nelson. Her age at January 1, 1885 was five years and six months. Remarks made in relation to her in the space available on the official form were nil. In 1887, she was listed as being of the Roman Catholic religion, the Standard Last Passed was also nil, as were remarks applicable. The education of the children to fit them for anything other than domestic service does not seem to have taken place, and as soon as she was considered to be old enough, at sixteen Ada Menga Mary was sent to service.2 Where and with whom is not recorded. It is possible that she had been brought up to believe that her parents were both dead, once she had been enrolled there. There may have been no contact between mother and daughter from that time, as her knowledge of details of her family history was incorrect. When Mary died some years later, it was incorrectly recorded on the death certificate that she by then had no living children, as Ada the second was still alive at the time. Whether Mary was aware of Adas progress after she was taken away is not known. It is also possible that Mary had been told that her daughter had died, and believed this to be so. In those times, once children were in institutional care it was commonly deemed best by the authorities to prevent any further communication between children and relinquishing parents, particularly if those parents were seen as a probable bad influence. Again, when Ada Menga Mary died many years later the information shown on her own death certificate indicates that she believed her father to have been a gold-miner, yet the family had been farming and Peter Gramatica was recorded in official records as a dairyman some years before he died, and had by then given up mining.
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Apparently Mary Gramatica had not made amends and improved her life to the extent recommended byJudge Richmond at her trial or sufficiently to prevent Ada Menga Mary being taken to the school in Nelson. However, Mary remained as a resident of Lyell for the rest of her life, which continued for many years longer than would be expected of someone who was reputed to be an alcoholic. She would have been aware of the volcanic eruption of Mount Tarawera in June 1886 in the North Island near Rotarua, which destroyed the village of Te Wairoa and buried over one hundred and fifty people in ash and mud. The Pink and White Terraces, a major attraction for tourists in those days, equally as beautiful as the famed calcareous pools of Pamukkale in Turkey, had been formed by the waters flowing from the geyser on the edge of the living mountain. They were completely obliterated in the explosion and the sounds of the eruption were heard as far south as Christchurch and probably Lyell.

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CHAPTER 44
15th January, 1896

Relief came shortly before her death ...

Mary was alone and when returning from the village in Lyell one evening, perhaps the worse for having drunk too much alcohol, she was run over by a horse and cart while crossing the bridge across the Buller River. She died some weeks later in Westport Hospital and was buried at Orawaiti Cemetery on the 25th anniversary of her son Angelo (Franks) birth. The first and final days of the month of January were never propitious or good in Marys life. The most significant and disastrous events in her life had happened to her on or about the twentyeighth day of the month of January, and the year 1896 proved to be the worst of all. Eighteen years had passed since her eldest daughter Ada had been lost in the river, and it had been early January, 1879 when all hope of finding her had withered away. The unfortunate events in her cottage in Lyell which had culminated in the murder of Dennis Quinlan happened in the latter days of this month, thirteen years previously. Frank Gramatica, her only son, would have been twenty-five in this month had he not died at the age of twelve. He had been born in Westport on 29th January, 1871. The coincidences had happened so often before that a sense of foreboding or trepidation as to what the month of January would bring each successive year to one even slightly superstitious would not be surprising. Perhaps Mary had been drinking to drown the memories of past Januarys or simply to soothe her thirst in the hot hours of the summer heat.
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In the southern hemisphere, both in Australia and the south island of New Zealand it had been an unusually hot dry season; on January 25th, 1896, the Inangahua Times reported under the heading The Heat:
the weather is very hot; in Gisborne the heat is intense today. The thermometer

registered 134 in the sun and 90 in the shade at mid-day. There has been no rain except for a few drops for weeks. At Timaru it was 100 in the shade, but at 2.00 pm. a cool breeze sprang up.

On January 15 in 1896, while Mary was crossing the bridge as she returned to her cottage, walking unsteadily, she was run over by a runaway horse and cart driven by some local youths. She was not the only one injured by the horse, which was out of control and dragging its attached cart behind it, but ultimately the most seriously.There is no record of what had caused the horse to suddenly bolt, but it may have been startled on rounding the rocky cliff on the corner near the bridge, and confronted by the three people on the bridge before it. The Inangahua Times of Wednesday 8th January, 1896, reported the news of the disaster from Westport that day:
By dray accident at Lyell yesterday, a man named Martin Carroll had his right leg broken in two places, arm broken, ribs injured and skull fractured. A boy named Denis Ryan was also hurt by the dray running over him. As the horse bolted with the dray, it collided with a woman named Mrs. Gramatica on the Lyell bridge and injured her. The cases of the three sufferers are serious. Carroll was brought to the Westport Hospital.

The same paper reported on 29th January that:

Martin Carroll one of the sufferers in the Lyell dray incident still in a critical condition but he has a good constitution and is full of hope.

Mary was not so fortunate nor full of hope. Her injuries were considered serious enough to warrant her later being moved from Lyell down to Westport, to the hospital there. The pain caused by the fracture of her pelvis and other internal injuries no doubt made the
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trip very trying, as the road was still little more than an unmade track along the banks of the Buller River. The horsedrawn carriage in which she was brought down to the coast was probably a form of cart in which she was simply lain down in the back to provide sufficient space for her to travel prone, rather than be forced to sit upright throughout the long drive. The pain of a broken pelvis would have made the journey seem extremely long. The memory of the trip she had taken on the way up to the Lyell in 1872, twentyfour years earlier, with her husband and infant children, must have passed through her mind in the long hours during this last journey down from the mountains. The road was cut into hillslopes through the bush via Inangahua, through Berlins, and around the bend in the Buller River at the place known as Hawks Crag, the rock face itself had been gouged out to allow the track to pass beneath the solid rock of the overhanging cliffs. After the lower Buller Gorge the cascades are passed, then join the Buller River until the track meets the road to Greymouth in the south, and thence into Westport. Over twentyfive years the little town had become a major coal exporting port, and extended along the shore. Possibly Mary had never been back to the coast since the inquest into Quinlans death, unless she had followed Peter down to the hospital when he had been fatally ill fifteen years previously, but there is no record of her being with him when he died. When she reached Westport finally, she may have recalled the way it had been when she had been there twenty-five years ago, when Frank was born there after they had moved from Hokitika. For two or more weeks after the accident on the bridge in Lyell, Mary lay in bed in the hospital at Westport. The weather was still unbearably hot and the pain of her broken bones and damaged body may have been relieved by opium or laudanum. She may have refused to see a priest at the end, as none was recorded as having been with her, or witnessing her death.
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Her faith in a merciful God would need to have been extremely strong to be maintained in the face of the deaths and losses Mary had had to bear during her life. If her room faced the sea, the window could have been opened to allow some relief from the heat, and the west wind bring the salt smell of the ocean to her. The memories of the long sea voyage to New Zealand from her homeland may have drifted through her mind, and through half closed eyes she could watch the red circle of the sun slip below the horizon for the last time. Under the heading Local and General news on 27th January, 1896 the Inangahua Times ran the following paragraph:
Mrs Gramatica, who was injured by a dray accident at Lyell on the 7th inst. died at Westport Hospital on Friday morning. She suffered great agony owing to internal injuries, but relief came shortly before her death, and she passed away peacefully. She leaves a daughter who resides at Nelson and a brother at Greymouth. The deceased, who was a native of Ireland, was 46 years of age.

Mary died some twenty days after the accident in Westport Hospital. She was buried at Orawaiti Cemetery, in the Catholic section of the grounds near her husband. Twentyfive years after she gave birth to her son Angelo Bartholomew Francis in Westport, she had come again in this west coast town, this time to lose her life. It was also thirteen years after the murder, within a day or two. The place of burial was Orowaiti cemetery, a few miles out from Westport, and Peter Gramatica had made the same lonely journey himself some fifteen years ago, but he had been accompanied by Florian Adank and a few other men who had known him. It is doubtful that anyone other than the undertaker was present when Marys body was lowered into the ground in the same section of the cemetery. 1

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The Roman Catholic site is on the righthand side of the road which now runs right through the old cemetery as the road heads north out of Westport, and overlooks the river flats and across the bridge to the town of Westport and beyond to the Tasman Sea. It is a

bleak windswept area prone to flooding and there are no headstones remaining to show where either Peter or Mary Gramatica are buried, if ever headstones had been erected to their memory.

~~~~~~~ On Monday June 1, 1896, a fire which started at midnight beneath the Commercial Hotel swept along the main street and completely destroyed more than twenty of the timber buildings in the township of Lyell. The Inangahua Times, under the heading Great Fire in the Lyell: Nearly the whole Township completely destroyed said that
nothing of any value was saved due to the inability to get down the street. There was no wind blowing and this saved the rest of the town, or the Telegraph Office and Government buildings must have gone. In three hours everything was down. The Bank and the Lyell Times safes are standing in the debris.

After this disaster, when many families lost their homes and businesses, the Lyell township that Mary Gramatica had known was never rebuilt. The two churches and the Post Office Hotel and the Welcome Inn were the only remaining buildings still standing in 1951, and the Post Office Hotel was also burnt down in 1963. The area was landscaped by the Nelson Lands and Survey Department in 1973 and transformed into the present picnic ground, and little evidence of the township remains. ~~~~~~~~~~~~

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CHAPTER 45
The will of Ada Gramatica.

It is sad to think of the small girl, Ada, being removed from the isolated village of Lyell, the only environment she had known, where she had been born and lived till the age of five. To be suddenly placed in a large institution with many other children of all ages and be trained to work for the rest of her life, and never see her mother again, to sleep in a dormitory with many other girls after sharing a bed with her mother must have initially been a very great change for a young child, and only the adaptability and resilience of children explains how well she coped with this. At the end of her life, Adas bequests in her will indicate that her experience of such a protected environment had not been unpleasant and her attachments to the other members of the church were strong and enduring, and provided the only close relationships she formed throughout her life. How the child Ada Menga Mary Gramatica lived with the knowledge and memories of the murder in her home and survived beyond those early years is not recorded, and the effects it may have had on her are unknowable. No diary has come to light. As far as can be discovered from the public records accessible at present, the only child of Mary and Peters marriage to survive into adulthood and the next century was Ada. Somewhere in New Zealand there may yet be someone who remembers an old family friend or spinster aunt with the name of Ada, or Amandra, Gramatica who refused to talk about her days in the Lyell. In Auckland, as recently as 1955, Ada M.M. Gramatica died. Marys daughter was 76 years old, and she died unmarried. That she lived her life as a single woman suggests that her early childhood experiences of men and marriage may have had a deterrent effect.
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Confusion still surrounded the name of Ada Menga Mary Gramatica, who even on her death certificate is recorded as Amandra. This person, whose name was an amalgam of several by which she and her sisters had been known, was buried in 1955. When Marys infant daughter was taken into the Industrial School in Nelson the only details of her name were shown as Ada (M.M.) and it is assumed that these initials stood for Menga Mary. One of her other sisters, Mandra Ellen, had been born in Hokitika on 1st April, 1869, as shown on birth certificate number 734; and at the date of Adas death if this was the same person she would have been 86, not 75. It has not been possible to date to find any records on electoral rolls of members of the Gramatica family for the intervening years, apart from a Miss Gramatica who was the sponsor at the baptism of a George Augustus Le Noel of Auckland at St Patrick's Cathedral on 16 Mar 1946 . 1No other public record of her life has been discovered between this event and the drawing up of her will in February, 1955, which was carried out in Auckland. A solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand, Clifton Edwards Clarke, wrote in reference to the will of Ada Gramatica which he had assisted in drawing up:
that the signature of the testatrix to the said will is rather indistinct due to the fact that the Testatrix had been been very ill and signed same propped half sitting up in her bed.

but despite this, at the time of the execution of the said will, he believed that
the said Testatrix was in full possession of her mental faculties.

The will was handwritten on lined paper by, it seems, Mr. Clifton Edwards Clarke, on 26th June, 1954, rather than Ada herself, and one of the witnesses was a Mr. Kavanach. It is not known whether James Patrick Kavanagh was anything more to Ada than a witness to her will and a fellow inmate of St. Josephs Home, but if he was, he did not benefit by it, as nothing was left to him in the will. Apart from donations to the church, and the medical men who had cared for her or with whom she had worked, all her bequests were to women friends: Evelyn
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Leslie, a married woman, who was to be enticed to rejoin the church by the promise of fifty pounds if she did so, (the validity of her faith to be decided by Adas presumably best friend and executrix, Marie Honora Fox) and Eileen Shaw, my friend. Adas occupation is not shown, and she is classified as a spinster. She was not a nun, as she would not have been able to retain possession of such a large estate, since nuns must make vows of poverty, along with chastity and obedience, when they take up the veil. It is assumed that she either supported or worked closely with or in one of the church organisations mentioned in her will, and also that she had been awarded the estate of her mother, Mary Gramatica, after her death. It seems that Mary died intestate, as no will has been found and no probate details are available, but nonetheless it would appear that the Gramatica estate willed to the family by her father Peter has been handed down to her as the last surviving member. The sum of six hundred and sixty three pounds was quite

substantial, even in 1955. Ada does not seem to have known much about her origins, as the information provided on her death certificate about her parents is not only scanty but incorrect. The information shown relating to her parents records their names accurately, but Pietro (Peter) is stated to have been a gold miner. Peter had been listed in various official documents as a dairyman since before Adas birth, and Mary said at the trial in 1883 that he had been farming for a few years prior to that event. Her own name is given as Amandra and this is confirmed with a tick, so some doubt must have existed as to its correctness, perhaps even in Adas own mind. The name which fits most accurately with her details is that of Menga Mary, born at Lyell on 26th June 1879, according to her birth certificate (even this makes her 76 -- a difference of five years from that shown on her death certificate (NZ No. 1879/8/2529) to Mary Gramatica (nee Giblin) aged
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37, born County Tyrone, Ireland and Pietro Bartolomeus Gramatica aged 42, of Cantone Grigeoni, Brusico, Switzerland, occupation: miner. This may have been the only source of her information about them, as it seems that she lost contact with her mother once she left Lyell when so young. The day on which her will was drawn up was her seventy-fifth birthday. The name used by the person making this will was Ada, and yet the death certificate shows it as Amandra. Someone must have been aware by that stage that Ada was not her real name, and that there was someone with the name of Mandra, and assumed that Amandra was the full name from which Ada had been derived. In her will, Ada (Menga Mary) makes several large bequests:
This is the last will and testament of me Ada Gramatica of Auckland, Spinster. I hereby revoke all former wills and testamentary dispositions made by me and I declare this to be my last will and testament. I appoint my friend Marie Honora Fox (hereinafter called my Trustee) to be the executrix and trustee of this my will I give devise and bequeath the whole of my property to my trustee upon trust to pay thereout my just debts funeral graveyard and testamentary expenses and to stand possessed of the remainder of my estate to pay the following pecuniary legacies (1) to Reverend Dean Alink of Auckland for the offering of masses for the repose of my

soul the sum of one hundred pounds ({100) (2) To the Superior for the time being of the Catholic (Lewisham) hospital at Christchurch

the sum of fifty pounds for the general purposes of the hospital (3) To the Superior for the time being of the Mater Misericordiae Hospital at Auckland the

sum of fifty pounds ({50) for the general purposes of that hospital. (4) To the Columbian Missionary Society at Wellington for the general purposes of that society the sum of one hundred pounds ({100) for the offering of Masses for the repose of my soul (5) To Cecelia Mead (In religion Sister Marie de la Passion) of the order of the Little
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Sisters of the Poor the sum of one hundred pounds ({100) (6.) To my friend Miss Eileen Shaw the sum of One hundred pounds ({100) (7) (8) To Dr. McVeigh of Christchurch Medical Practitioner the sum of {10. to Dr. Cox of Christchurch Medical Practitioner the sum of three pounds {3)

(9) To my friend Evelyn Leslie the wife of Andrew Leslie of Te Papapa if at the time of my death she shall have returned to the practise of the Roman Catholic faith (of which my Trustee is to be the sole and absolute judge) the sum of fifty pounds ({50) (10) To my trustee the said Marie Honora Fox the sum of {100 (One hundred pounds) and as to any balance remaining after the payment of the foregoing I bequeath the same to the Superior for the time being of the Little Sisters of the Poor at Auckland for the general purposes of the Home for the Aged conducted by that order at Auckland. In witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my hand to this my will this 26th day of June, 1954. A. Gramatica Signed by the testatrix the said Ada Gramatica as and for her last will and testament in the sight and presence of us both present together who at her request and in her sight and presence and in the sight and presence of each other have hereunto subscribed our names at attesting witnesses , C.E. Clarke, Solicitor, Auckland,

J. P. Kavanagh, St. Josephs Home Ponsonby, Pensioner.

~~~~
From the details given in the document above, it can be assumed that after leaving Nelson, Ada spent some years of her life in Christchurch and Wellington, before settling finally in Auckland. It seems that she led a devout life very closely involved with the Catholic church and its good works. That she retained a strong faith in that religion can be seen from her bequest to her friend Evelyn Leslie, whom she wished to entice back to religious practise with a bequest of fifty pounds.
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Ada Gramatica was buried from St Benedict's Church in Newton, at Waikaraka Cemetery, and rests in Area 5 Block B Lot 755, but once again the recording of her name is incorrect, as she is shown as Amandra GRAMITICA2 in the records. In the cemetery where the last relics of the Gramatica family lie, the grey cement headstone is inscribed: Sacred to the memory of AMANDRA GRAMATICA died 11 Feb 1955, aged 75 years. Whatever her name and identity, she was the last of the family line and the sole remnant of the Gramatica family in the South Island of New Zealand. The two genealogical strands of her parentage had travelled from Switzerland and the British Isles in the days when not only the future was unpredictable and unknown, but so also was the country to which they had been courageous enough to venture their lives and fate. As a pioneering family, they survived less than a hundred years in the harshest times and conditions of the early foundation days of the young colony of New Zealand. They were not so fortunate as to be one of those families which forged success from harsh beginnings and endured in a new country. They were only one of countless families which failed to thrive in the days without any social or municipal infrastructure to assist and encourage their efforts at survival. The grief and heartaches suffered by this family were no doubt matched by many others who made their way from various countries from around the globe, and contrast with the more fortunate families who made the remote north and west of the south island their base, socially and economically, and survived to grow with their chosen country. For this reason, their story deserves telling for the simple tragedy of it. ~ ~~
THE END
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END NOTES CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO 1 As Mary Giblin had a brother living in Westport, New Zealand, in 1883, and as she was the only person with that surname on board, it might be assumed that she followed her brother to the Antipodes. Only five people of Irish origin with the name of Giblin were transported to Australia as convicts, and as Mary was not one of them, she came as a free citizen. 2 Extract from death certificate No. 967 registered at Buller, New Zealand, folio no. 323/1896, ref.no. 2.1 3 4 5 6 National Archives of Ireland, document ref., TR 11, p.53 loc.cit., www.nationalarchives.ie/search01.html. Doc. ref. TR 13, p.11 loc.cit., TR 9, p. 150 CRF 1838 G 23 loc.cit., TR 2, p. 140. There are no notes to this chapter.

CHAPTER 3 1 Public Records Office, Victoria. Information also provided by Sandy Hedstrom via personal email: Thomas Giblin aged 30, married, male, left Hobsons Bay, 21st September, 1864 for Lyttleton, N.Z. on the Albion. He may have been the son of convict Thomas Giblin. 2 The only record of anyone by the name Mary Giblin arriving in Australia in the 1800s is that of Mary Gyblin, aged 18, aboard the White Star in Melbourne, Victoria in August 1865. As spelling was often random in those days, and as no other record can be found of this family name in the UK or Australia, it is assumed to be a mispelling of Giblin. Source: Public Records Office, Victoria (PRO VIC) board. 3 4 Address shown on the birth certificate of the daughter of Mary Giblin and Maurice OConnell. The birth certificate of Ada Johana OConnell reads as follows: 1864. Colony of Victoria Birth Certificate No. 2041 Births in the District of Melbourne North. Child born: Twelfth July 1864, at 17 Barkly Street. Name: Ada Johana, female. Father: Maurice OConnell, Grocer, 23 years, born Clare. When and Where married: 1863, Melbourne. Mother: Mary OConnell formerly Giblin, aged 23 years, born Dublin. Name of informant: Mary OConnell, mother, 17 Barkly Street. a Fiche 249. There was however no-one by the name of Maurice OConnell or similar on

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Witnesses: Mrs. McClusky Registered: 24th October 1864 Melbourne North. 5 In 1864 on 14 September (fiche no. 4634) a Mrs. OConnell, 30 years of age, was listed as a married female from Scotland who left Melbourne for Port Chalmers. There are no entries for 1865 of anyone by the names of either Giblin, OConnell or Gramatica travelling to New Zealand at that time. 6 The Deceived Girl by Francis J. Childs, in the Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles, can be read and heard on website www.contemplator.com/child/deceive.html. The ballad was popular in Scotland particularly along the border in the 17 and 1800s. The Deceived Girl. As she walked past the jail house door, She spied a man with head hung low, And all because of bolts and bars, His homeland he would never know. 'I am a prisoner far from home, But if you'll only steal the key, I'll take you where the grass grows green, And make of you a great lady.' 'I cannot go, I will not go, And be your great lady, For you have got a Scotland wife, And you've got babies three.' She's done to her father's stable, She's done to her mother's till, She's got the jail house key so large, And she's galloped Kerr the hill. And as they galloped Kerr the plain, It was "my dearling dear," But as they came to Scotland, Well changed was this cheer. 'Oh pity, pity, pity, please, As I did pity thee, Or fling me from your castle's walls And break my slim body.' 'But how can I have pity b

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When you are just a whore? Where I'll see you no more!'

Now get you back to England 'Oh false and faithless knight,' said she, 'I'll to my father's door, And he will prove to Scotland That I have never been whore.' Her mother, who was truly queen, She gently then did smile: 'You're not the first, nor only one, The Scotsmen did beguile.' Come all ye maidens, young and old, Pray come, be warned of me Scots were never, never true. And Scots will never be.

Death certificate of Maurice OConnell: No. 202. 1886 Deaths in the district of Clifton Hill in the Colony of Victoria. 25th November 1886 Yarra Bend Asylum, Jika Jika, County of Bourke, Maurice OConnell, Lamptrimmer, Male 41 years, Cause of death: 1. Chronic inflammation of the Bowels

2. Verdict at inquest held by R. Youl, 26th November 1886. Name and address of father and mother: unknown, born Ireland. Married: where, and at what age and to whom: not known Issue in order of Birth, their names and Ages: unknown. No record has been found of a Maurice OConnell born 1841 in County Clare, Ireland having arrived in Australia. The death details were given by the staff of the asylum, who knew nothing about him, and only his age and country of origin are given, possibly incorrectly. From this certificate, he was born in 1845; on Adas birth certificate his age shown there would mean he was born in 1841. CHAPTER 4. 1 2 3 4 Captain James Cook, in D. Latham, The Golden Reefs, Nikau Press, Nelson, N.Z., 1992, page 23. loc. cit. Dumont dUrville, quoted in D. Latham, loc. cit. D. Latham, loc. cit, c

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Colleen Pounsford, kindly provided this information by e-mail, 8 September, 2001: 1866 No. 6428 Name: GIBLIN, Miss M. Age: 19 Status: S. sex: F Occupation Country of Origin: Scot Accom: Stg. Ship: Alhambra Departed Melbourne 29 September 1866, Port of arrival: Hokitika. PROV. VPRS 948 LDS Film no. 0284498. Alhambra - schooner, registered tonnage 497, Age of vessel: 21 yrs. in August 1876. L. Gluckman, Touching on Death: A Medical History of Early Auckland Based on the First 384 Inquests, pub. Doppelganger, Southern Publishing Group Auckland, 2000, internet site: http://pearlspad.net.nz/TouchingonDeath.htm, viewed 28/8/01. marriage certificate: copy of Registry of Marriage, amended return 1867, No. 99. Archives ref: BDM 20/12/P384/93. An amended return, number 1485 of 1867 ~ the reason for the amendment to the original is unknown. David McGill, The Lion and the Wolfhound, Grantham House, Wellington, 1990, page 152. Phillip Ross May, 1964, Hokitika: Goldfield Capital published for the Hokitika Centennial Committee, by Pegasus Press Ltd, N.Z., www.hokitika.net/hokihist.html ibid. Westport Times, 1st March, 1883. Copy kindly provided by Dept. of Conservation of Historic Resources and Archives, Hokitika, N.Z. Police Gazette, page 123 P. R. May, Hokitika website, as above. ibid. ibid. ibid. ibid. ibid. ibid. In 1869, on 1st April, a second daughter, named Mandra Ellen, was also born in Hokitika, registration number 003? stamped 734. Father: Peter Gramatica. Mother: Mary [shown as formerly] Gibblin. (sic) Darrell Latham, The Golden Reefs, Nikau Press, page 33 ibid., p. 36. ibid., p.37 ibid., pp 35 - 38 Mike Johnston, annotation to draft of this manuscript. birth certificate Angelo Bartholomew Francis (Frank) Gramatica , No. 208, 29th January, 1871, Westport. Registered at Buller, Folio 1871/718, Ref. No: 20000052255. D Latham, The Golden Reefs, p. 26-27

6.

7.

8. 9 10. 11. 12 13 14. 15 16. 17. 18 19 20.

21 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27.

CHAPTER 5. 1 2 3 4 Lucas, Nelson Almanac, 1892, Nelson, New Zealand, page 158. op. cit., page 157 W. E. Spencer, , History of the Buller District, unpublished thesis, Ch. 3 ibid., Ch. 3 d

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5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37

ibid., Ch.3 ibid., Ch. 3 R. Waite, A narrative of the discovery of the West Coast Goldfields p.3, cited in Spencer, op. cit. ibid. ibid. ibid. ibid. ibid. Lucas, Nelson Almanac, page 173 W. E. Spencer, op. cit., Ch. 3 ibid. ibid. ibid. ibid. ibid. ibid. ibid. ibid. ibid. ibid. ibid. ibid. ibid. ibid. ibid. ibid. Mike Johnston, annotation to this manuscript. Darrell Latham, 1992, The Golden Reefs, Nikau Press, NZ., page 53 op. cit., pages 63-64 op. cit., page 64 op. cit., page 71 op. cit., page 64 op.cit., page 64 e

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38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

op. cit., page 65 op. cit., page 229 op. cit., page 185 op. cit., page 185 A.B.Nelson, Bishopdale, letter to newspaper, June 26 1883,Nelson Evening Mail D. Latham, op.cit., p. 183-4 op. cit., page 183 op.cit., page 184 op. cit., page 232 op. cit., p. 342 quoting M. McCaskill, The Goldrush Population of Westland, (1956) op. cit.. page 343 op. cit., page 343 op. cit., page 65 op. cit., p. 227. A chignon was a knot or roll of hair, especially when worn at the nape of the neck (late 18thC) Encarta World Encyclopedia, Macmillan, 1999. A balmoral was either a strong laced walking shoe that is fastened with laces, or a traditional scottish flat woollen cap (mid 19thC). Named after the royal estate of Balmoral in Scotland because of Queen Victorias fondness for this estate. Scottish items became fashionable during her reign.

52 53 54

Margaret Brown, 1987, Lyell the Golden Past, page 38. Latham, op. cit., p. 188 Theresa Gramaticas existence is recorded in a Lyell school report of 29 November, 1882. New Zealand Education Department Examination Schedule, Lyell Public School, November 29th, 1882, by Inspector Hodgson. Theresa was shown as being 10 yrs, 0 months old at July 1 of that year, and had attended 25 days, passing Introductory, A.B.C. and cards. Her birthday therefore was in November, 1872.

55 56 57

Latham, op. cit., p. 66 see Appendix 1 for details of Gramaticas naturalisation. Diana Clark, Archivist, St. Marys Parish, Nelson, letter dated 6th November, 2001 Ada Gramatica confirmed St. Marys Church Nelson on 13 October 1878 by Bishop Francis Redwood. Confirmation name: Mary Sponsors: Judge Broad, Mrs Broad.

CHAPTER SIX 1 W. E. Spencer, History of the Buller District, page 12 f

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D.Latham, The Golden Reefs, page 71, and on the birth certificate of Peter Gramaticas daughter, Menga Mary Gramatica, where his place of birth is shown as Cantone Grigeoni, Brusico, Switzerland.

3.

Minutes of Lyell School Committee, dated 17 June 1876 and 30 November 1889. Murchison Museum has a comprehensive typewritten transcription of the correspondence and minutes of the Lyell School committee meetings from this period.

4.

Diana Clark, Archivist, St. Marys Parish, Nelson, 6th November, 2001, and newspaper report in Westcoast Times of 2 March, 1883, which reads: About five years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Gramatica lost a daughter, a fine girl of 14 or 15, Ada by name, who was drowned before their eyes. She was returning home from the Nelson Convent School...

CHAPTER SEVEN
1

Women did not achieve the right to vote in Switzerland until 1971. In New Zealand universal suffrage was attained by men in 1881 and by women in 1893.

Westport Times, March 1st, 1883. Copy kindly provided by Department of Conservation Historic Resources and Archives, Hokitika, N.Z.

Peter Ackroyd, 2000, London the Biography, Random House, London. John Pascoe, ed., Mr Explorer Douglas, quoted in Margaret Browns article Some Early River Crossings, page 50

4.

5.

George McNee, An Unfinished Journal, quoted in Margaret Browns article Some Early River Crossings, page 50

6 7

Nelson Evening Mail, 30 December, 1878 accessed via website www.paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/ Kumara Times, January 6, 1879 (p.2, c.3) kindly provided by Ms. Mary Rooney, Museum Assistant, West Coast Historical Museum. N.Z. See also The West Coast Times, January 6, 1879, page 2, column 4, which carries the same report, but gives the name of the girl in full; Ada Gramatica.

Margaret Brown, 1987, Lyell, The Golden Past, page 29:

The Grammatica family lived on a

farm which supplied milk to Lyell. It was across the river and the only access was a chair - a box on ropes. Two of their daughters were returning from school in Nelson when the ropes securing the chair broke and they were hurled into the river while their horrified father looked on quite helpless. Lyell Times, 7 February, 1885. There is a remote possibility that the two girls did in fact fall, as there has not been found any official record of the death at any time of the second daughter, Mandra, who would have been ten at the time, as similarly no record can be found of Adas death. Presumably a Coroners Report and death certificate cannot be executed without a body, and it seems that g

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the body of Ada was never found. If in fact Mandra was with her sister, it would have meant that there were three people in the wooden box suspended across the river, and this extra weight might have been enough to cause the breaking of the wire rope. This would mean that the constables report was incorrect, which is unlikely.

CHAPTER SEVEN Copy of documents relating to the inquest, held the day after the body of a man had been pulled from the Buller River, 1879. Coroner Westport Inquest pro. on J. Tuena. J79.247 21.1.79 Westport January 15 1879

Sir,

I have the honor to forward you herewith proceedings at an Inquest holden by me on the body of the man named in the margin*, John Tuena, together with the customary voucher for your certificate. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obt. Servant, Charles Broad, Coroner. The Under Secretary Justice Wellington. copy Item 3. Cor. No.6-258. Provincial District Nelson Colony of NEW ZEALAND, Westport, To Wit. INFORMATIONS of WITNESSES severally taken and acknowledged on behalf of our sovereign Lady the Queen, touching the death of John Tuena at the dwelling-house of Edmond Roche known by the name of Roche's Family Hotel in the Provincial District of Nelson in the Colony above-mentioned, on Wednesday the 15th day of January One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight (sic) before Charles Broad Esquire one of the Coroners for the said Colony, on an Inquisition then and there taken on view of the body of John Tuena then and there lying dead, as follows, to wit:Robert Allen being sworn saith that I am barman at Gordie Wildes hotel Westport. I have seen the body shewn to the jury, it is the body of a man known as John Tuena . I knew him at the Lyell he had been a long resident there . (signed) R. H. Allen. 2 And this deponent Samuel Alexander Leech on his oath saith as follows; I am Harbor Master at Westport, about half past twelve yesterday I was in a boat on the Buller river, my attention was h

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called to an object floating down the river, I saw at once it was a dead body, there was a flood in the river I followed it down and picked it up; that is the same body shewn to the jury, it presented the appearance of a person who had been drowned, about 40 or 50 years of age. (signed) S. A. Leech. And this deponent John Marshall on his oath saith as follows I am a Mounted constable stationed at Westport. Yesterday afternoon about 3 oclock, in consequence of information received I went across the Buller river in a boat and found the body shewn to the jury on the opposite bank. I made arrangements and had the body conveyed to where it is now. I had previously heard that man named John Tuena had been drowned at the Lyell together with a girl and I have been watching for the bodies. (signed) J. Marshall.

Provincial District Nelson Westport Colony of NEW ZEALAND to wit The above-named Depositions of Robert Allen, Samuel Leech and John Marshall written on three pages of paper, numbered consecutively from one to three and by me affixed together, were taken and sworn before me at Westport in the said Colony, on the 15th day of January 1879. (sic) (signed) Charles Broad. Provincial District Nelson, Westport, Colony of New Zealand, to wit AN INQUISITION indented, taken for our Sovereign Lady the Queen, at the house of Edmond Roche known as Roche's Family Hotel, at Westport Provincial District of Nelson, in the said Colony, on the 15th day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy (eight) nine, (sic) before Charles Broad Esquire one of the Coroners of our Sovereign Lady the Queen for the said Colony, on view of the body of John Tuena , then and there lying dead, upon the oath of Edmond Roche, Daniel McLeod, Robert Wilson, Martin Young, William Mailler, William Stewart, John Flanagan, M. Carpenter, William Jones. Dr. Bissett, good and lawful men of the neighbourhood, duly chosen and who being there and then duly sworn and charged to inquire for our Lady the Queen, when, how, and by what means the said John Tuena came to his death, do upon their oaths say That the said John Tuena on Sunday the 29th day of December (sic) in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy eight was endeavouring to cross the Buller River near a certain place called the Lyell by means of a wire rope, when it happened accidentally that the wire rope broke whereby the said John Tuena was thrown into the waters of the said river in the Provincial District and Colony aforesaid and was therein suffocated and drowned and thereby did instantly die. And so the jurors aforesaid upon their oath aforesaid do say that the said John Tuena in manner and by the means aforesaid accidentally, casually and by misfortune came to his death and not otherwise.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, as well as the said Coroner as the said Jurors aforesaid have hereunto set and subscribed their hands and seals the day and year first above written.
Edmond Roche, Robert Wilson Martin Young Charles Broad, Coroner. Foreman Daniel McLeod John Flanagan !his mark"

Daniel Mcleod Andrew Kerr

William Mailer M. Carpenter William Stewart !his mark" Wm. Jones F. Svalijence ? D. Bissett

~~~~~ i

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CHAPTER EIGHT 1 2 3 Graham Egarr, 1995, New Zealands South Island Rivers, Nikau Press, N.Z. Cathy Swaine, Inangahua Historical Museum, email, July2002. When Menga Mary was registered at St. Marys Industrial School in 1884, at the age of 5 years and 3 months, her name was recorded as Ada (M.M.) on page 137, Register of St. Marys Industrial School list of names for 1884, dated 12 September, 1884 ( provided by Archivist, St. Marys Parish, Nelson. 6 Nov. 2001). That the girl who came to be known as Ada or Amandra was originally

known as Menga Mary is borne out by the birth certificate National Number 1879/8/2529 , which shows the date of her birth as 26th June, 1879. On the school records she is shown as being five years and three months old, which means she was born on approximately 12th June, 1879. 4 That is if in fact Mary Giblin had been married as she claimed when registering Adas birth. No record has been found any record, either in church or government records in Victoria, Australia, New Zealand or the U.K. of a marriage taking place between Mary and Maurice, the father of Ada, her child, who was registered under the name of OConnell. It is interesting to note that the date of registration was the last possible date allowed, and question why they had delayed doing so. 5 Death certificate for Peter Gramatica, copy of extract, Births, Deaths and Marriages Central Registry, folio No. 1599/1881, ref. No. 2.82 6 empyema: a collection of pus in the space between the lungs and the chest wall (the pleural cavity). This usually results from pneumonia, tuberculosis or cancer of the underlying lung. Empyema causes lung collapse and interferes with breathing and the pus must be removed. Collins Dictionary of Medicine, p. 200.) 7 8 for a copy of Gramaticas will, see Appendix Newspaper report in Nelson Evening Mail, March 1883, page 2, Mining reports: Lyell Thursday. The United Victory cleaned up yesterday with a return of 225 dwts. of retorted gold from 245 tons of stone. In the western reef struck yesterday by the United Alpine Company in the Western Cross, cut from No. 4 level, gold is plainly discernable in the face. CHAPTER NINE 1 Eva Bruner, The Hoppers Came West, White River Valley Historical Quarterly, vol. 4, No. 8, Fall 1972 on http://198.209.8.166/wrvq/v4/n9f72g.htm 2 copy of folio No. 1882/687 BDM Central Registry NZ death certificate No. 4. Ref. No. 20000052255 Registered at Lyell. for Frank Angelo Bortolo [sic] Gramatica. Legal procedures were in the case of persons dying, the occupier of the house in which the death took j

The Laundress of Lyell

place, or the relatives of the deceased present at the time of death, or an undertaker, is required, within thirty-one days from the date of such death, to give notice thereof to the Registrar, stating the cause of death, and obtain from the registrar, without fee, a certificate. Any minister or other person burying a corpse without such certificate is liable to a penalty of 10 pounds, unless notice of such burial and particulars as to the death of the individual are given to him by the Registrar, within seven days of the date of such burial. Lucas Nelson Almanac 1892, p. 109. 3 New Zealand Certificate of Title 5/185 Register Book folio 1811. Barbara Ellard kindly sourced this information in the set of microfiche labelled "Returns of Freeholders of New Zealand, October 1882" Microfiche 5 of 13 which has the following information: Freeholder = Mary Grammatica, Laundress of Lyell, County of Buller. Area = 22 acres. Value = 130 pounds. Borough of Auckland. 4 The description of Marys cottage is from her statement given to the police after the murder had taken place there, reported in The Colonist, Nelson, Wednesday 20th June 1883, p. 5 5 William Shakespeare, Macbeth.

CHAPTER TEN
1.

Eva Bruner, The Hoppers Came West, White River Valley Historical Quarterly, vol. 4, No. 8, Fall 1972 on http://198.209.8.166/wrvq/v4/n9f72g.htm

2.

Liverpool Irish were emigrants in transition from Ireland to the New World, who congregated in Liverpool in sufficient numbers and lengths of time to become an identifiable community.

Charles Fell was also involved in the subsequent trial concerned with Quinlans murder. (Johnston, Mike, 1992, Gold in a Tin Dish, p.261-262)

4.

Mike Johnston, 1992, op.cit. Inangahua Times, Wednesday March 7, 1883, page 2, John Reids testimony at the inquest. Damian-Claude Belanger, , Departement dhistoire, Universite de Montyreal, Marionopolis College (via internet)

6.

7.

Mike Johnston, 1992, Gold in a Tin Dish, p.88 op. cit., page 162.

8.

CHAPTER ELEVEN 1 Darrell Latham, The Golden Reefs, p 184 -185

CHAPTER TWELVE no footnotes k

The Laundress of Lyell

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
1.

West Coast Times, 8 February, 1883, copy kindly provided by the Department of Conservation, Historic Resources and Archives, Hokitika.

Nelson Evening Mail, 10, 12, 15 February, 1833, copy kindly provided by the Department of Conservation, Historic Resources and Archives, Hokitika.

The Lyell Times, February 21, 1883, copy kindly provided by the Department of Conservation, Historic Resources and Archives, Hokitika.

Inangahua Herald, February 8th, 1883.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
1

Nelson Evening Mail, February 2, 1883 Inangahua Times, March 7, 1883, p. 2 from Davidsons letters to Mary, quoted by Reid in The Colonist, 21 June, 1883, page 13, and also Inangahua Times, March 7, 1883, p. 2

2
3

4 5
6

from [B]ulmers statement at the inquest, The Colonist, 21 June, 1883. Inangahua Times, March 7, 1883. A report of the Registrar General of New Zealand in the Inangahua Times on 24th May, 1882 said that In respect to education, 192,979 males and 151,288 females can read and write; 13,180 males and 14,158 females cannot read ... the proportions to every 100 of males, 73.31 read and write, 5:01 read only; 21:68 cannot read; and to every 100 of females, 68:94 read and write; 6:39 read only, 24:? cannot read. The persons above the age of five years who cannot read number 15.971 males and 14,141 females, or in the proportion of 7:91 females to every 100. Inangahua Times, Wednesday, March 7, 1883.

7.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN 1 Inangahua Times, Wednesday, March 7, 1883.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN 1 Details taken from the Affidavit of the Executor of the will of Peter Gramatica, Florian Adank, filed at Westport on 22 March, 1883. 2 Unfortunately the originals seem to have been lost forever, as they have not been located within any of the archival repositories in New Zealand to this date.
3

Nelson Evening Mail, June 18, 1883 Other members of the jury were: J. Rothwell, W. Newth, J. Hall, J. W. Treacher, W. E. Brown, W. Remnant, F. Faulkner, R. Watson, J. Small, C. H. Hall and R. Kenning.

Keith Sinclair, Richmond, Christopher William 1821 - 1895 in Dictionary of New l

The Laundress of Lyell

Zealand Biography URL: http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/

6

op. cit. Guy Scholefield, ed., The Richmond-Atkinson Papers, Vol. 1, Maria Richmond in a letter to Jane Maria Richmond, pp. 78-79, NZ Government Printer, 1960.

op. cit, p. 755. The Otago Daily Times. (quoted in K. Sinclair, op. cit) For a detailed account of this interesting incident in West Coast history, see David McGill, The Lion and the Wolfhound: The Irish rebellion on the New Zealand Goldfields, Grantham House, Wellington, 1990.

10

11

Keith Sinclair, op. cit. op. cit.

12

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 1 2 The Colonist, Nelson, 19th June, 1883. loc. cit., 19th June, 1883. Note: This account of the trial has been taken from the pages of the newspapers of the day, some of which were read in the original whilst others are available over the internet on the website PapersPast. The statements of the witnesses have been taken verbatim from the original text as transcribed by the unattributed journalists who were at the trial, but the questions posed by the legal interrogators have been inserted by this author in order to make the transcript more easily read. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 1 The Colonist, Nelson, Wednesday June 19, 1883.

CHAPTER NINETEEN. 1 The Colonist, June 19th, 1883.

CHAPTER TWENTY. 1 The Colonist, June 19th, 1883.

CHAPTER TWENTYSEVEN. 1 The Colonist, Nelson, Wednesday June 20th 1883.

CHAPTER 28
1

The Colonist, Nelson, Thursday June 21 1883. SUPREME COURT CRIMINAL SITTINGS, Before His Honor Mr. Justice Richmond.

CHAPTER 29 1 The Colonist, Nelson, June 21st, 1883 m

The Laundress of Lyell

CHAPTER 30 1 The name of this witness is variously spelled as Sciaroni, Sharoni, and in other ways. For the sake of consistency, the form Sciarone is used as probably being the most correct. 2 Elsewhere, Peter is described as being an Italian. Parts of Switzerland then and still are Italian language areas. Sciarone is an Italian name and Bernardo Sciarone would have been able to speak with Peter Gramatica in their common tongue. 17 years earlier, Peter and Mary had only just arrived in Hokitika, and they possibly met there. CHAPTER 32 1 transcribed from The Colonist, Nelson, Thursday, June 21, 1883.

CHAPTER 33. 1 reprinted in The Colonist Nelson. February 21, 1883 under the heading: UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION, JOHN DAVIDSONS STATEMENT AND MRS. GRAMATICAS CONFESSION. Wellington Transcripts based on reports printed in The Colonist, Nelson, Wednesday, 20th June 1883. CHAPTER THIRTYFOUR 1 2 The name was spelled Charoni in the report printed by The Colonist but for the sake of consistency this spelling is used throughout. The Colonist , June 20th 1883. Note: The account of the trial has been taken from the columns of The Colonist, June 20th, 1883. The words of all those in the passages used, except those of Mary Gramatica, have been extrapolated from the answers given by her, except in cases where the responses are quoted verbatim from the newspaper reports, transcribed by unnamed journalists. CHAPTER THIRTYFIVE 1 From The Colonist of February 21, 1884. None of the original documents have been located by the National Archives or Justice Department records to date. 2 The Colonist. 21 June, 1883, page 13 CHAPTER THIRTYSIX 1 2 3 4 Nelson Evening Mail, Monday June 18. 1883. Nelson Evening Mail, 21 June, 1883 The Colonist, p. 13 Nelson Evening Mail, 21 June, 1883

CHAPTER THIRTYSEVEN
1.

from a copy of a document M. Niel forwarded to the Hon. Secretary for Justice, on August 4th, 1883. It is a statement which had been sent to him by Fell, the Crown Solicitor, by the gaoler at the n

The Laundress of Lyell

Nelson Gaol. Nelson Evening Mail, 21 June, 1883 CHAPTER THIRTYEIGHT

1

Colonist, Nelson, Friday June 22, 1883. The plight of women in New Zealand, insofar as their economic position in society was concerned was recognised over time, and a hundred years later Anne Else wrote that:

The history of New Zealand social policy can be read in part as a history of attempts to deal with consequences arising from this different positioning, while continuing to uphold it. For example, the married women's property acts passed in 1860, 1870 and 1884, as well as the 1881 Adoption Act, represented various forms of response to the perennial problem of serious destitution among wives and mothers, stemming from the departure or dereliction of their male partners. Anne Else, Social Policy and the Positioning of Women in Relation to Men,
Social Policy Journal of New Zealand Issue 9, November 1997, pp. 16-26
3

West Coast Times, January 10, 1880. Colonist, Nelson, June 22, 1883.

CHAPTER THIRTYNINE
1.

The journey which then took a couple of days from Nelson to the Lyell now takes a couple of hours by car along a smooth bitumen roadway, and it is possible to drive across the bridge over the Buller River without being aware that the creek which runs into it below was the once gold-rich Lyell Creek at the entrance to the Lyell valley.

CHAPTER FORTY 1 2 3 The Colonist, Nelson, Monday July 30th,1883, Shocking Tragedy at the Nelson Gaol Cathy Swaine of Inangahua kindly provided these notes and photocopies of Lyell police notebooks. correspondence, 14 January 2002. Sister Marie Lucia, Archivist, Sisters of our Lady of the Missions, Petone, N.Z. wrote: In the Nelson Orphanage Register there is one name that reads ADA. M. GRAMATICA, sent to the Orphanage in 12.09.1884. Father dead. Mother not responsible. She also advised that Mandra Ellen and Theresa are not mentioned, but perhaps they attended the Nelson Boarding School. There also was a notation in a police notebook from Lyell to the effect that Mandra Gramatica was sentenced to the St. Marys Industrial School till 15 years of age, being a neglected child, Constable Bowden being the complainant. The date shown is Friday 12th November, 188?, information provided by Cathy Swaine, Inangahua. CHAPTER FORTYONE
1

The Colonist, Nelson, Monday July 28th, 30th, 1883 and Inangahua Times (?) article headed The o

The Laundress of Lyell

Nelson Tragedy Murder and Suicide, dated July 31st, 1883, from Department of Conservation and Historic Resources and Archives, Hokitika. 2 The jurymen were Messrs. D. MDonald, J Holloway, G. Gillow, J.H. Cock, F. St. John, W. Haddow, T. Scott, W. Young, W. E. Farrar, A. N. Batchelor, W. Black, S.B.White, and Captain W. H. Webb, the first named gentleman being Foreman. CHAPTER FORTYTWO
1.

David McGill, The Lion and the Wolfhound, Grantham House, Wellington, 1990: Hokitika's Fenian newspaper The Celt further fanned the flames, and when three Fenian prisoners were hanged in Manchester in late 1867, there were protests both at Addison's and in Hokitika. Several weeks later in 1868 at Clontarf, Australia, the attempted assassination of Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh, by a Fenian, sparked 'loyalist' processions, and these, coupled with the earlier Fenian protests, have given rise to the tradition that the Coast was then from one end to the other in the grip of a continuous riot.

2
3

The Colonist, July 30th , 1883. The Colonist, July 28th, 1883. Inangahua Herald, Wednesday, March 7, 1883. In official records, details relating to his burial in Nelson are shown as: Family name: Gender: Davidson male left blank

Occupation, address, and age at death: Date of interment: Cemetery: Denomination Area in cemetery: Funeral director: Notes: (ref. no. WKOGO 6099) CHAPTER 43 1 : 29/7/1883 Wakapuaka blank

Old general, cemetery Block 06, Plot #1 099, Gorrie Clergyman: blank

Age given as 35 - 40 in register.

What was St. Marys Industrial School is now Ngawhatu Hospital, Polstead Road, Stoke. The following is taken from "The Boys in the Valley" by Dawn Smith; Journal of the Nelson and Marlborough Historical Societies Vol. 2 No 5; pp 21-26; 1993. from p. 308. The use of the area for institutional housing began in 1885 when the Roman Catholic authorities bought a 373 acre farm as the site for a boys' orphanage. The Church had begun p

The Laundress of Lyell

caring for orphans in 1872, following the arrival in Nelson of the Sisters of the Mission. ...Accommodation was provided at Manuka street for Catholic children, and the Provincial Government made a payment of a shilling a day for each child. The number of children increased considerably after the St Mary's Orphanage was gazetted under the Industrial Schools Act of 1882. Children of other denominations and from other areas were now received and, by 1884, 79 girls and 99 boys were in care. The categories of those committed under the Act included being destitute, vagrant, uncontrollable, living in disreputable places and guilty of punishable offences. The cost of their care was subsidised by central govt. The local Charitable Aid Board sent children whose parents were unable to care for them, through poverty or other reasons,and subsidised them. In some cases families paid for a child's care. The property at Stoke was bought to provide accommodation for boys eight years and older. The site was regarded as ideal, being dry and healthy; a place where the most delicate boy would have the very best chance of developing into sturdy manhood. The Stoke branch of St Mary's Industrial School was generally known as the Stoke Orphanage. The Marist Order took charge of the institution in 1889. An amendment to the Act, prohibiting the control of private Industrial Schools by overseas organisations, compelled the departure of the Marist Brothers in 1900. Prior to which there had been problems, culminating in two brothers appearing in the Courts on charges of assault (most charges were dropped and a verdict of not guilty was returned on four). In 1910 the property was sold to the government and the institution was then run by the Education Department until it was closed in 1919. The Nelson Provincial Museum holds information and photos and the official records are held at National Archives, Wellington. With thanks to Elizabeth OConnell for providing a copy of this article. see also website http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~tweetybirdgenealogy/stoke.html 5 Official Transcript from Nominal Roll for St. Marys Industrial School, Nelson, from Archives New`Zealand Archives reference CW 14/13), record made 1896. CHAPTER FORTY FOUR 1 Extract from death certificate No. 967, registered at Buller, folio no. 323/1896, ref.no.2.1. Details: 1896, 24th January, 1896. Name: Mary Gramatica. Occupation: Domestic. Sex and Age, F., 46. Cause of Death: 1. Fractured Pelvis 1a. Internal injuries. Duration: 3. 4. 16 days

W.P. Willis 15th January, 1896. Unknown q

Fathers Name:

The Laundress of Lyell

Mothers name: Unknown Maiden name: Unknown. When Buried: Where Buried: 26th January, Orowaiti. Where Born: Ireland Informant. D. Jones, Undertaker, Westport. 2 The details from death certificate show that certificate of death number 967 was filled out on 24th January, 1896, almost exactly thirteen years after the murder in Lyell. Mary Gramatica was described as female, and her age was given as forty-six years. She was actually fiftyfour, if her age as inscribed on the marriage certificate was correct. In October 1867, on her marriage certificate, her age was recorded as twentysix. Her physical appearance, despite her arduous and disaster-filled life and having borne at least five children, must still have been that of a woman ten years younger than she actually was. The ultimate cause of death was a fractured pelvis and internal injuries, which had occurred 16 days earlier, which takes the date of the accident back to about 8th January, 1896. Her fathers name, her mothers name and her maiden name were listed as unknown, and her place of birth shown simply as Ireland. The informant providing these few details was the undertaker, Mr. D. Jones of Westport. It would seem that no friends or family, neither her brother nor any daughter had been present at the end of her life to give any more accurate information. No next of kin was listed, and on the certificate in the space allocated for this information it recorded no children listed as having been borne by her. It is not known from where the Inangahua Times reporter had received the sparse details of her family background . CHAPTER 45 1 2 3 Diane Wilson, email, June 20, 2002, from a search of Electoral Rolls for Christchurch up to 1955. Diane Wilson, reference found on www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpub.d11. Diane Wilson very kindly provided this photograph of the headstone in Waikaraka cemetery.

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The Laundress of Lyell

INDEX OF NAMES ADAMS, Warder ADANK, Florian ALINK, Rev. Dean ATKIN, Walter Alhambra Astrolabe BESWICK, Lizzie BODLE, Thomas BOWDEN, Constable BOYLE, Rosanna BROAD, Charles, Warden, J.P., Judge, Coroner BROAD, Leonard, Coroner BRUEN, Dr. BRUNNER, explorer BUDDLE, T. BULMER, Frederick BUNNY, lawyer BUSCH, Joseph, BUSH, Owen CAMPBELL, Dr. J. M.D. CAREW, D.P, priest CARMINE, Louis CARROLL, K(C)atherine, CARROLL, Frederick CARROLL, Nellie CARROLL, Patrick CHASE, Alexander CHARBONNET, Ms. Alice CHEVALIER, Caroline 278, 283 63, 65,138, 206 308 68 13 15 50 197 296 71, 78, 124 ~ 38 58, 39, 44, 53 288 69 26, 29 127 124, 132, 195 149, 257 260 167 108, 136, 157, 265 62 51, 119, 171 129, 180 150 ~ 52 108, 119, 135 127, 196 57 19 a

The Laundress of Lyell

CLARKE, Clifton E., solicitor, COOK, Captain, COOK, Henry COX, Dr. CRONCHER, Thomas CULLEN, Mrs CUMMINS, Father DAVIDSON, John (Jack) dURVILLE, dSURVILLE DOLLIMORE, Edward EMERSON, Inspector Endeavour EPAPARA, discovered gold Fifeshire FALLON, Edith FAMER, Vincent (hotelier) FELL, Charles Yates FENNELL, John, FENIAN movement FIRTH, FITZHERBERT, John W. FOX, Marie Honora GIBLIN, Mary - Anthony, James, Michael GIBLIN, Thomas GILES, Joseph, Warden GOLDSTUCKER, J GRAMATICA, Angelo B.F. (Frank) Peter (Pietro) Ada,

306 15 260 309 125 40 40 71, 79 ~ 104 ~ 15 52 105, 113, 120,133,200 15 25 28 50 129 68, 82, 149, 150, ~ 242 68 291 79 19 307 6, 16 ~ 6 7 39 43, 47 ~ 26 14, 18 ~ 12, 44 ~ b

The Laundress of Lyell

GRAMATICA Mary Amandra, Mandra Ellen Menga Mary Theresa Gypsy, HARLEY, T. G. HOLMAN, Frank Hokitika HUBBARD. Thomas Inangahua Irish immigrants Irishmans Creek Jane JACOBS, Charles, KAVANACH, J.P. KEATING, Constable LARKIN, Father William Le NOEL, George A. LESLIE, Evelyn Little Ben Lyell Lyell Argus Lyttleton MACKLEY, McCOY, Mrs McDONOGH, P.H., Rev. McDOWELL, Fannie McKAY, James McLEAN, Captain McMAHON, Mrs. Catherine 62 24 55, 61 43 ~ 30~ 57 70 20, 33 98, 188 36, 38 38 32 31 62 306 104, 134, 232 ~ 149 306 307 187 36 ~ 42 32 29 40 18 50 28, 40 13 52 c

The Laundress of Lyell

MQUILKIN, McVEIGH, Dr. MANGOS, Captain Peter MARSHALL, Constable John MARTIN, Mrs John MAWHIKA, John, MEAD, Cecelia Menga Mary born METCALFE, T. J. MOLLER, Henry MORGANTE, Charles MURDOCH, Susan Nautilus Necromancer Nelson Nelson steamer NEVILLE, linguist NIEL, M. OCONNELL Maurice OCONNELL, Ada OROURKE, John ODAY PALAMONTAINE, Constable PRESHAW, George PITT, Albert, prosecutor POTTS, Dr. Anna QUINLAN(QUINLIVAN) Denis QUINN, Detective Rangitane tribe, REID, John REDWOOD, Bishop Francis schooner

124 309 34 59 31 31 309 55, 61 48, 52 80 176 80 31 32 28 ~ 33 38 253 8~ 18 ~ 99, 125, 172 ~ 40 122 32 149, 150 ~ 264 79, 104 ~ 105, 133 26 67, 130 53 d

The Laundress of Lyell

REVELL, W.H., R.M. RYAN, Mrs ROBINSON, Superintendent ROGERS, Saunders ROUT, W. ROTTON, F.G. ROWE, George RICHMOND, C.W., Judge RUSH, Owen SCIARONE, Bernardo SLOANE, J.K. SHALLCRASS, Robert SHAW, Eileen SHEEHAN, Johanna SHORT, Thomas STATON, Henry SNODGRASS, John SUTER, Andrew B., Bishop TAINUI, TARAPUHI, Maori chief TASMAN, Abel Tasmanian Maid THOMPSON, W.Benjamin TUENA, GUISEPPE ULLMER Von Haast WALSH, Father, WALLACE, (Wallis) William Wallaby WAITE, Reuben, WAKEFIELD, Captain Westport

105 ~ 40 34 30 146 52 293 20, 146 ~ 125 124, 127, 167, 190 ~ 49, 51 139, 182, 278 ~ 307 19 182 184 155 265 29 29 15 25, 31 187 2, 58 2 45 64, 87 119, 177 33 29, 30 28 34 e

The Laundress of Lyell

Westmoreland WHELAN, John WHITE, Warder White Star WHITWELL, Captain WILLIAMS, William Constable WILLIAMS, Helen, (Ellen) ZANETTI, George, ZALA, Antonio

7 119, 169 278 8 31 57 78, 114, 123, 165 ~ 206 ~ 26, 47, 66 ~

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The Laundress of Lyell

BIBLIOGRAPHY Ainsworth, W. F. (ed.) 1870 Annear, Robyn (1999) Belich, James (1998) Brown, Margaret (1987) Corbalis, Judy, (1997) Hassam, Andrew, (1995) Hoban, Mary (1973) Holden, Robert, (1999) Oxford University Press (1989) Johnston, Mike (1992) Kingston, Beverley (1975) Latham, Darrell (1992) Langton, Graham (2000) Lucas, (1892) McGill, David, McGlaughlin, T. (ed.) (1998) Pescott, Mrs. N. , (1994) Scholefield, Guy H. (1960) Spencer, William Earl (1986) All Round the World: an Illustrated record of Voyages, Travels, and Adventures in all Parts of the Globe with two hundred illustrations. William Collins, Sons & Company. Nothing But Gold: the diggers of 1852, Text Publishing, Melbourne. The New Zealand Wars , Penguin Books, NZ Lyell:The Golden Past, Murchison District Historical & Museum Society, N.Z. Tapu, Vintage Books, Random House. No Privacy for Writing: Shipboard diaries 1852-1879, Melbourne University Press. Fifty one pieces of wedding cake, Caroline Chisholm: a biography Lowden Publishing Co., Kilmore, Victoria. Orphans of History: The forgotten children of the First Fleet, Text Publishing, Melbourne. Illustrated History of Ireland Gold in a Tin Dish, Nikau Press, Nelson N.Z. My Wife, My Daughter and Poor Mary Ann, Thos. Nelson, Melbourne. The Golden Reefs Nikau Press, Nelson N.Z. Mr. Explorer Douglas, Canterbury Uni.Press, Christchurch NZ Nelson Almanac 1892, Nelson, N.Z. The Lion and the Wolfhound: The Irish Rebellion on the New (1990) Zealand Goldfields, Grantham House, Wellington, NZ. Irish Women in Colonial Australia, Allen and Unwin, St. Leonards, NSW. Australian Early Settlers Household Lore, Ballarat Historical Park Association, Sovereign Hill. The Richmond Atkinson Papers, Government Printer, Wellington , NZ History of the Buller District unpublished thesis, available on internet at www.geocities.com/georgeslack2000/w_e_spencer.htm

The Laundress of Lyell

APPENDICES Appendix 1. from the North West Nelson Tramping Guide

Lyell to Lyell-Mokihiniu Saddle The first leg of this trip is from the old township site to the head of the Lyell Creek catchment, along old dray roads and a benched track. These were constructed with immense effort to service the gold workings last century. For the most part the tract passes through attractive beech forest which seems to have good numbers of resident robin, tomtit, fantail along with the occasional kea. For the first 30 minutes the track is the Lyell walkway, which leads to an old quartz stamping battery. After a few minutes on this walkway is the unusual sight of regenerating forest growing amongst the old hillside cemetery. A little further on is a bridge over Lyell Creek where an old diversion tunnel can be seen downstream. At the T intersection beyond the bridge turn right onto the old dray road and after a few minutes take the second side track on the left. This track, which was also formerly a road, climbs on a gentle gradient to Zalatown, site of a small settlement and several mines. The first signs of Zalatown are various rusting iron relics in an old clearing, about an hour from the highway, beyond a big slip. The vigorous beech forest, with its tree ferns and mixture of ground ferns, is rapidly recolonising the ravages of both nature and the old mining days. After Irishman's Creek a side track on the right heads down to meet the old dray road at the site of the Alpine Battery. The benched track, although a little overgrown and narrow in places, continues around the hillside, crossing Boatswain and Brown Creeks before arriving at a rather dilapidated hut situated above the track (2 - 3 hours). Beyond this old hut, the track has received very little recent maintenance. fallen trees, slips and washouts call for more attention than before, although for the most part there line of the track is reasonably obvious. a couple of the larger slips have blazed detours in the forest above them. Elsewhere the walking is easy and the pleasant beech forest can be appreciated more readily. The track winds on up the valley, generally at a higher elevation than is marked on map L29 (Edition 1), and at one point it crests the ridge. The old hut sites and scattered corrugated iron indicate some kind of former outpost at this point. Campsites are not easy to find but in places the track itself is wide enough to pitch a tent with reasonable comfort. Water may also be scarce and after Eight Mile Creek the next reliable source is the creek just north of point 976 m. East of point 1082m. the tract emerges from the forest onto an open area with marble outcrops and a good view back down the Lyell valley. This open area signifies that shortly the saddle separating the Lyell and Mokihinui catchments will be crossed and the luxury of a track will be lost. from Lyell to the Saddle takes something like 8 - 9 hours. ~~ p. 87 (Derek Shaw, Nikau Press)

The Laundress of Lyell

Appendix 2 CHAPTER 5. Naturalization certificate details:

His Excellency the Right Honorable Sir James Fergusson, Baronet, a Member of Her Majestys Most Honorable Privy council, Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over Her Majestys Colony of New Zealand and its Dependencies, and Vice-Admiral of the same. The Memorial of Pietro Bartolomeos Gramatica of the township of Lyell in the Colony of New Zealand, Dairyman, made in conformity with the provisions of An Act to Amend the Law Relating to Aliens, 1866 humbly showeth, 1. 2. 3. 4. 5 That the name of your Memorialist is That your Memorialist is 37 years of age. That your Memorialist was born at Brusio Switzerland That your memorialist resides in the Township of Lyell That your Memorialist has been residing in the colony of New Zealand for thirteen years. I, Pietro Bartolomeos Gramatica of the Township of Lyell make oath and say, that the statements contained in the foregoing Memorial are true.. Signature of Memorialist ..... Pietro Bortolomeos Gramatica Pietro Bartolomeos Gramatica

sworn at Lyell aforesaid this 7th Day of March 1874. before me Charles Broad, J.P. I, the undersigned Charles Broad, do hereby certify that I know Pietro Bortolomeos Gramatica the Memorialist named in the foregoing Memorial, as that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, he is a person of good repute. Place Lyell Charles Broad, J.P. Date M arch 6, 1874.

On the 7th day of April 1874, Piter B. Gramatico (sic) swore before Mr. Broad:
I do sincerely promise and swear that I will be faithful, and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, as lawful Sovereign of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. So help me God.

In Wellington on 7th July, 1874 His Excellency the Governor was

respectfully advised to sign the accompanying letters of Naturalization in favour of Frederick Ullmer, D. T. Mangos, J. Goldstucker, G. S. Zanetti. P. B. Gramatica, G. Hofer and Giovanni Gagliardi and Guiseppi Sargogna.

This was approved and letters forwarded and gazetted on 9th July, 1874. ii

The Laundress of Lyell

Appendix 3 CHAPTER 8.
The following pages are a copy of the will and last wishes of Peter Gramatica, reproducing the original layout of the pages as closely as possible.

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In the District Court of Westland Holden at Westport In re The Will of Peter Gramatica deceased Affidavit of Executor In the matter of the will of Peter Gramatica late of Lyell in the Provincial District of Nelson in the colony of New Zealand Dairyman deceased New Zealand (to wit) I , Florian Adank of Lyell in the Provincial District of Nelson and Colony of New Zealand Accountant make oath and say 1 That I believe the paper writing now produced to me bearing date the sixth day of December one

thousand eight hundred and eighty one and marked a to be the last will and testament of Peter Gramatica formerly of Lyell aforesaid Dairyman now deceased. 2. 3. That I the said Florian Adank am the only executor therein named That the whole of the real and personal estate which the said deceased died possessed of is under

the value of Five Three hundred and twenty one pounds nine shillings and sixpence. 4. I swear that I will faithfully execute the said Will by paying the debts and legacies of the said

deceased so far as the property will extend and the law binds 5. That I will (if required) exhibit unto the Supreme Court at Nelson

a full and perfect Inventory of all the personal estate and effects and credits of the deceased on or before the twelfth day of June One thousand eight hundred and eighty three and

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6.

That I will (if required) file a true account of my administrationship on or before the twelfth day

of March One thousand eight hundred and eighty four. Sworn at Lyell in the Provincial District of Nelson in the colony of New Zealand this Fifteenth day of March One thousand eight hundred and eighty three Before me ) ) ) ) )

John Fennell

A Justice of the Peace of and for the Colony of New Zealand. Filed at Westport on 22/3/83 G.C.K. D.C. D.C. J.F. J.P.
________________________________________________________ In re The Will of Peter Gramatica deceased

Affidavit of Death 1883 In the District Court of Westland Holden at Westport

In the matter of the will of

Peter

Gramatica late of Lyell in the Provincial District of Nelson in the Colony of New Zealand Dairyman deceased. I Zoffany Claude Horne of Westport in the Provincial District of Nelson Commission Agent make oath and say: 1. That I knew Peter Gramatica formerly of Lyell in the Provincial District of Nelson Dairyman now deceased and that the said Peter Gramatica was resident at the time of his death within the said District.

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The Laundress of Lyell 2. That the said Peter Gramatica died in the Hospital at Westport aforesaid on Wednesday the seventh day of December One thousand eight hundred and eighty one. Sworn at Westport in the Provincial district of Nelson this twenty second day of March One thousand eight hundred and eightythree ) ) )

Zeffany C. Horne
)

Before me

W. Revell
a Justice of the Peace of and for the Colony of New Zealand.

stamped with a one shilling and a two shillings New Zealand duty stamp both of which show the profile of a young Queen Victoria and the stamp of the District Court of Westland. ------------------New Zealand to wit In the District Court of Westland Holden at Westport In the matter of the Will of Peter Gramatica late of Lyell Dairyman deceased Probate with Will annexed W. R. HASELDEN Solicitor New Zealand to wit In the District Court of Westland Holden at Westport In the matter of the Will of Peter Gramatica late of Lyell Farmer deceased Westport

The Laundress of Lyell Be it known to all men that on this thirteenth 29th day of March One thousand eight hundred and eighty three the last Will and testament of Peter Gramatica deceased a copy of which is hereunto annexed hath been exhibited read and proved before his Honor Louther Broad Esquire Judge of this Honorable Court and administration of the personal estate effects and credits of the deceased hath been and is hereby granted to Florian Adank of Lyell Accountant the Executor in the said Will and Testament named, being first sworn faithfully to execute the said will by paying the debts and legacies of the deceased as far as the property will extend and the law binds and also to exhibit unto the Supreme Court at Nelson a true full and perfect inventory of the said property on or before the twelfth day of June One thousand eight hundred and eighty three and file a true account of his administratorship on or before the twelfth day of March One thousand eight hundred and eight four. Given under the seal of the said District court of Westland this 20th day of April One thousand eight hundred and eighty three.

Ernest C. Kelling
Deputy Clerk of the Court, Westport.

stamped with the stamp of the District Court, Westland, and three one pound New Zealand duty stamps.

THE WILL OF PETER GRAMATICA This is the last will and Testament of me Peter Grammatica of Lyell in the Provincial District of Nelson and colony of New Zealand Dairyman, I give devise and bequeath all my real and personal estate to Florian Adank of Lyell Accountant upon trust to pay all my just debts funeral and testamentary expenses out of my goods and chattels and as to all other my real and personal estate to hold the same Upon Trust to permit and suffer my wife to use occupy and enjoy the same with the increase thereof while she remains my widow, upon the death or marriage again of my said wife my said Trustee shall repossess himself of my said property and hold the same until my youngest child shall attain the age of Twenty one years when the same shall be divided equally among between my children, my trustee shall have full power at any time to take and apply such portions of my said property as he may think necessary and the income therefrom for the purpose of maintaining and educating my children and advancing them in life, the right to use and enjoy my property during her widowhood hereinbefore given to my wife shall not extend to moneys or shares in companies or mines of which I shall die possessed but only to entitle her to receive the income therefrom during widowhood. My said Trustee may at his discretion realize and convert into money any shares in Companies or Mines of which I am possessed. Lastly I appoint the said Florian Adank Trustee and executor of this my Will.

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The Laundress of Lyell Dated this sixth day of December One thousand eight hundred and eightyone. Signed by the testator Peter Grammatica as and for) his last will and Testament in the presence of us, who in his) presence, at his request and in the presence of each other have) hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses -- Wm. H. Poole. Hospital Stewart, Westport ---

Zoffany C. Horne, Solicitors Clerk, Westport --

Appendix 4 Title to section of land owned by Peter Gramatica. REGISTER NEW ZEALAND OF TITLE 5/184 folio CERTIFICATE

Register Book folio 1811

Pietro Bartolomoio Gramatica of Lyell Dairyman is now seised of an estate in fee simple subject nevertheless to such encumbrances liens and interests as are notified by a memorial under written or endorsed below in that piece of land situated in the Town of Lyell containing eleven perches more or less bounded as appears on the plan drawed hereon and therein bordered green between the several linkages thereof a little more or less which said piece of is the Section marked 2 (two) delineated in the public map of the said town deposited in the Office of the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Nelson, and originally granted the 11th day of August 1875 under the hand of the Marquis of Normandy, Governor of New Zealand and the Seal of the Colony to the Said Pietro Bartolomoio Gramatica -- whereof I have hereto signed my name and affixed my seal this twelfth day of April one thousand eight hundred and eighty signed in the presence of (Leo Spencer) the 20th day of April 1880. ________________________________ vii Msr. Turnbull. District Lands Registrar District of Nelson.

The Laundress of Lyell

Transmission No. 140. By virtue of the Administration act of 1879 the above land now become transmitted to Florian Adank, Executor of the will of the said Pietro Bartolomoio Gramatica dated 6th December 1881 and proved 20th April 1883. Probate produced 24th December 1884 at 2 pm. (signed) Msr. Turnbull______________________ Mortgage No. 1674 produced 24th December 1884 2 p.m. Florian Adank to Charles Yates Fell of Nelson, Solicitor, (signed) Msr. Turnbull________________________ Transfer No. 2534 produced 1887 at 2 p.m. Florian Adank to John Fennell of Lyell, Merchant. signed Msr. Turnbull.

Discharge of mortgage No. 1674 produced 20th February 1889 at 2 pm. (signed) Mr. Turnbull. Transfer No. 2939 produced 27th March 1889 at 10.00 am. John Fennell to Walter Atkin of Lyell, Journalist (signed) Mr. Turnbull A provisional certificate for the above land was today issued to Walter Atkin above named the original certificate having been destroyed by fire and surrendered to me for cancellation. Dated this 15th December 1897. Discharged mortgage No. 4999 produced 11.20 am. 9th April 1899 Walter Atkin to John Fennell. ~~~

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Appendix 5

CHAPTER FORTYONE.

Copy of the Coroners report on the death of John Davidson. Colony of New Zealand, to wit} INFORMATIONS of WITNESSES severally taken and acknowledged on behalf of our Sovereign Lady the Queen, touching the death of Samuel Adams and John Davidson at the Public
Gaol, Nelson, in the Provincial District of Nelson in the colony above-mentioned, on Saturday the 28th day of July one thousand eight hundred and eighty three before Leonard George Brody one of the Coroners for the said colony, on an Inquisition then and there taken on view of the bodies of Samuel Adams and John Davidson then and there lying dead, as follows, to wit:John Hudson, being sworn, saith that I am a duly registered medical practitioner visiting in Nelson. I was requested this day to make a post mortem examination of the two bodies in the Nelson Gaol. -- one that of a male aged from 35 to 40 years. There was a large wound in the palate of the mouth, as if caused by firearms, containing a bullet; there was no second wound; on turning the body to examine the back of the head, a large quantity of blood flowed from the mouth. The nature of the wound was such as to have caused immediate death; and in my opinion was the cause of death: the direction of the wound was such that any hard substance discharged from a fire arm would have penetrated the brain. The skull had been fractured. The second body was that of a male aged about 40 years; the body was warm and had been dead a few hours. There were six wounds, all inflicted by a sharp instrument, probably a knife. Two small and superficial wounds on the left fore arm, not deep: an irregular wound four inches long on the back of the hand, with an infected (?) an inch proceeding from it; the bone was not injured; a (stab?) at the back of the neck an inch long and four inches deep between the muscles and a (wound) of length (indeterminable?) a wound three inches long in the left flank, from which the bowels were protruding and an inch and a half long wound in the back, opposite the (breeching?) between the eighth and the ninth ribs, notching the bone; the intestines and the spleen were wounded; the diaphram was cut through, and the lobe of the left lung cut through. Numerous arteries were divided and free haemorrage within the cavity of the abdomen. there were cuts in a flannel on the body corresponding to the ... external ... In my opinion the two external wounds and the internal injuries were caused by one stab with a sharp instrument. The knife produced would have caused all these wounds. The bleeding alone would have been sufficient to cause rapid death. Judging from the appearance of these wounds, I believe they were caused by a person standing in front of the body: - no help even if immediately given, would have saved life. Hudson, Med. Dr.

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Robert Shallcrass .being sworn saith:

I am gaoler of the Nelson Gaol. The deceased Samuel Adams was warder of the gaol. His age was 39 years. The body on which Dr. Hudson has just made a post mortem examination of the body of Samuel Adams. The deceased John Davidson was a prisoner in the Nelson Gaol. His age was 38 years. This morning Saturday 28th July at two minutes before six, I heard screams, which appeared to come from outside the Gaol, and afterwards, almost immediately, a noise like something falling heavily. I got up, putting on only my trousers and slippers, and went immediately into the corridor of the Gaol. I had the key to the iron gate went out and unlocked it. When half way along the corridor, Davidson suddenly appeared from the Gaol passage on the left, and stood in the doorway, about eight paces before me: he had a revolver in his right hand; he said If you come another step forward I will shoot you. Open that door and let me out. I refused -- he said if you do not, I will shoot you. I then (tried) to reason with him if he did escape he would be hunted down by the police and be worse off: that he was better off in his present position. He continued threatening; still with the pistol pointed at me. I then set him talking on his own grievances, relating to the circumstances for which he was
imprisoned. I thought it would quieten him down. I then asked where Warder Adams was: he said Oh, he is all right. I was parleying with him for fifty minutes, up to thirty minutes to seven. I once told him I would shoot him -- saying I had a revolver close at hand. He said, Shoot, I will stand and let myself be shot. -- I said, no, if your life is to be taken, I would you took it yourself than that I should take it.

He said again If you dont let me out, I will shoot you.

During this time, he frequently put the pistol to his head saying: Here goes. Mr. White the principal warder came about half past six. It was not his turn to sleep at the Gaol on Friday night. Mr. Shallcrass let him in through the dwelling house. Davidson saw him as he came into the lobby and said: I am sorry I cant shake hands with Mr. White before I go. Mr. White expostulated with him for some time. Davidson on his back against the wall: put the pistol to his mouth and pulled the trigger; the cap snapped and the chamber was discharged. he emptied the pistol (..?) into his mouth a second time, discharged it and fell dead on the floor. I immediately passed by him turning by the passage to the left to the yard, expecting to find Warder Adams in one of the cells, on the right of the yard, as I heard a bolt drawn before I first went into the corridor. ............ Warder Adams on the floor of the yard ... lying on his back, and his arms extended. He was quite dead: there was a quantity of fluid blood under the head and shoulders there was a wound in the left flank and the intestines protruding. I lifted the head and saw a wound on the scalp and at the back of the neck ... Mr. White had followed me and was with me when I examined the body. A prisoner, Victor Alfred More Edge was sleeping in one of the cells to the right of the yard: he could not see from it into the yard: if he had been awake he could have heard anything going on: I went to his cell immediately to let him out and I asked him if he has heard

The Laundress of Lyell

anything: he said he have heard a scuffle but nothing else: there were three male prisoners -- white men, in the corridor where Davidson and I were conversing; they could (hear) him but not see anything that was going on : Davidson just before he shot himself put his hand through the grating of the cells in which Rowe and Hogson were respectively confined; he shook hands with them; he did this during an interval of our conversations while I went into my office under the pretence of getting a revolver. Where Davidson was standing, he could see the yard in which the body of Adams was lying: he cast his eyes frequently in the direction of the yard. While I was talking to Davidson, Mrs. Shallcrass came on to the steps of the corridor. She was present when I went into the office and I believe Mr. White was too. I had the body of Adams moved into the carpenters shop where it now lies. I then noticed a wound in the back; the body the jury have viewed is the body of Samuel Adams. Davidson was employed as a cook in the Gaol and had been so since 18th May, for a month before since he has been a prisoner; always orderly, civil and obliging, and agreed well with his fellow prisoners, which is rare for cooks; he had never shown any mental aberration or he had been attended by the Medical Officers except on his admission and for examination previous to his intended removal to Wellington; he was closely watched when he first came, his boots and pocket handkerchief taken from him at night. he seemed depressed in spirits; he picked up, in strength, after a month, and wanted to be employed; -- and he was employed at odd jobs about the Gaol, during the second month. He appeared trustworthy - he had no quarrel with Adams - It was Adams duty to call Davidson in the morning to go to his duties as a cook; he had access to the knives and forks; the knife proffered (?) is the cooks knife Mr White showed me this morning; inform me that he picked it up by Davidsons body. I looked around the year where Adams body was lying there was no evidence of a struggle it would not have shown it as the yard was cemented. Mr. White reported to me having found a key in one of the inner doors and did not fit; it was one which should have been in Adams possession; the key of that gate and the key of the two outer doors are taken charge of by Monday night and were in my possession on the night of Friday. During my conversation with Davidson in the corridor he slipped away for a moment and returned with a second revolver which he held in his left hand during the remainder of the time; these revolvers were kept in the armoury of the Gaol, which is a cupboard in the Officers Rooms; is is kept locked: the rifles in daily use by the warders are also kept here -- the revolvers were kept as of right in this cupboard. I went into the officers rooms as soon as I left Adams body: the right hand panel had been wrenched off. The revolvers found on Davidson were the revolvers which were in this cupboard. I have examined the revolvers; in one, two chambers had been discharged, in the other, one chamber only. I should have stated that on coming down stairs I heard a report as of fire arms being discharged; these revolvers are kept loaded at night time. I do not think Davidson could have known they were in the cupboard. Davidson was locked up every night but could have got into the officers room. It

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was his duty to light the fire in the officers room. Davidson knew he was to be removed to Wellington; he did not appear to have been disturbed by the thought of going; except from what I gathered from his conversation this morning: he then said, If I go to Wellington, I shall be under a couple of Irish warders. I said: You have been under an Irish warder ever since you have been here but you have found no fault with him. He said No, but my saints tell how it might have been if there were two of them. he said If I go, I will jump overboard. It is usual that a prisoner be employed as cook. Davidson was employed because the prison cook had left and I had no one else to employ. He was never sent to work with the hard labour gang because I thought he might escape. --Robt. Shallcrass. (p.11)

Following Robert Shallcrass came Henry White, the Chief Warder of the Gaol at Nelson:
Henry White being sworn saith: I am Chief Warder of the Nelson Gaol. I came on duty at the Gaol at half past six oclock this morning. It was my turn to sleep out on Friday night. As I came near the Gaol, Mrs. Shallcrass beckoned me to hand: she brought me in through the dwelling house and informed me that Prisoner Davidson had locked Warder Adams up and had Mr. Shallcrass covered (?) with a revolver. I went into the lobby: Prisoner Davidson was standing in the archway at the end of the corridor: he had on his shirt and trowsers. He had a revolver in each hand: Mrs. Shallcrass was in the corridor opposite the (....?)cell door. Davidson said Stay or I shall shoot you. I did not go any further. I heard a conversation between Davidson and Mr. Shallcrass. Mr. Shallcrass was advising Davidson to put the revolver down. Davidson said What is the use? I do not intend to (.....?) the whole of my time: I shall jump overboard on my way to Wellington. I was there twenty minutes. Davidson asked Mr. Shallcrass several times to shoot him: he was not out of my sight all the time I was there. Davidson put the revolver to his mouth on more than one occasion saying Goodbye each time. (He) then put the revolver to his mouth and pulled the trigger. It missed fire: he changed the revolver for the one he had in his other hand, he again said Goodbye and discharged (it) into his mouth and fell dead. Mr. Shallcrass and I went into the yard and saw Adams on his back, his arms stretched out, he was quite dead. I went back to Davidsons body, and picked up the two revolvers produced, also the cooks kitchen knife, now produced; it is a long, sharp butchers knife, now produced. it was lying close by the wall on the right of where he was standing: being gaslight, I did not see it before. I took the revolvers, one from each hand. I have no reason to think that there was any ill feeling between Davidson and warder Adams - Adams had never any occasion to report

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Davidson. Davidson has been well behaved ever since he has been in the Gaol. White. (page 13)

~~ Henry

Next to provide a statement on the events was a fellow prisoner of Davidsons, one George Rowe. George Rowe, being sworn saith: I am a prisoner at present in Nelson Gaol. I was asleep in the cell - end cell of the corridors last night. I know a prisoner named Davidson. All was quiet in the Gaol during the night until about a quarter to six this morning. I was in my cell I heard a noise like a scuffling in the yard: it lasted two or three minutes -- I heard no voices, but groaning. I believe it was the groaning that woke me. I then heard footsteps in the passage -- they were going towards the officers room. I then heard a noise like someone breaking open a door, it occurred in about a second. I then heard the report of a pistol, it sounded as if it came from the officers room. I then heard footsteps in the passage backwards and forwards between that room and the yard. I could not see into the (....) passage. I could see into the corridor a little by standing sideways. - I saw Mr. Shallcrass standing there. I heard Davidson say Come any further and Ill shoot you. or words very like it. Mr. Shallcrass said Lay down your arms, dont be foolish. A low conversation continuing for nearly an hour: then took place the above being the general purport of it: Mr. Shallcrass asked where Mr. Adams was. Davidson replied Oh, hes safe enough. Mr. Shallcrass asked Davidson if he had woken Mr. Adams up - he said yes making the above addition to it. I heard two reports, the first as if a pistol had missed fire, then the report of fire arms. Davidson had previously put his hand through the grating of my cell and said Goodbye I could only catch hold of Davidsons fingers or I would have held his hand. I have never heard any words between Warder Adams, and Davidson. Davidson has told me he was glad he was going to Wellington. Davidson has always been ... and sociable since he has been in Gaol. : I have not observed anything peculiar about his conduct. During this conversation, I heard Davidson ask Mr. Shallcrass for the keys. Mr. Shallcrass refused to give them over. I believe it was Monday or Tuesday he said he was glad he was going to Wellington -- it way the same afternoon he told me he was going. Davidson never complained of any ill treatment. I do not think he could. He did assign (..?) for being glad he was going to Wellington: besides that he would have more company there.

- G. Rowe p.13, 14

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Appendix 6

CHAPTER FORTYONE:

The verdict of the jury involved in the inquest into the death of John Davidson.
COLONY OF NEW ZEALAND, TO WIT} AN INQUISITION indented, taken for our Sovereign Lady the Queen, at the house of Public

Gaol at Nelson, in the district of Nelson, in the said colony, on the twenty-eighth day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three, before Leonard George Broad one of the Coroners of Our Sovereign Lady the Queen for the said Colony, on view of the body of John Davidson then and there lying dead, upon the oath of Donald McDonald, John Holloway, Stephen B. White, William Black, William H. Webb, Arthur N. Batchelor, William E. Farrer, William Young, Thomas Scott, William Haddow, Frederick St. John, John H. Cock and George Gillon,
good and lawful men of the neighbourhood duly chosen, and who being there and then duly sworn and charged to inquire for our lady the Queen, when, how, and by what means the said John Davidson

came to his death, do upon their oaths say __ That the said John Davidson, a prisoner confined in the Public Gaol at Nelson on the twentyeighth day of July in the year aforesaid, did, with a pistol charged with gunpowder and leaden bullets, and held in his right hand, feloniously and wilfully, discharge the contents of the said pistol into the head of himself, thereby causing one mortal wound, of which he the said John Davidson did there and then instantly die and we the aforesaid Jurors do say that the said John Davidson in the manner and by the means aforesaid, did feloniously, wilfully and of malice aforethought, kill and murder himself.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, as well the said Coroner as the said Jurors aforesaid have hereunto set and subscribed their hands and seals the day and year first about written.

Leonard Broad, Coroner

(signed and sealed by all the abovenamed jurors.)

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