1825: Thomas Peacock Hanged at Hobart for the Murder of Constable Craggs
Thomas Peacock, transported from Macquarie Harbour to stand trial, was convicted in the Supreme Court of the murder of Constable Craggs. Craggs had apprehended Peacock in the bush; Peacock stabbed him deliberately in the left side, declaring at the time that he would die happy having caused the constable’s death.
Peacock was hanged on the new drop at Hobart Gaol on 31 August 1825. His loud sobbing on the scaffold suggested the happiness he had claimed was nowhere to be found in his final moments.