Execution - Dark Stories True Crime Tours

1808: Joseph Moreton Hanged in Sydney for Forging a Promissory Note

In early June 1808, Joseph Moreton purchased livestock worth 24 pounds, paying with a promissory note he endorsed on the spot without hesitation. The note later proved to be a forgery.

At trial before the Court of Criminal Jurisdiction in Sydney, multiple witnesses corroborated the transaction and the note was produced as evidence. Moreton claimed he had found it near a bridge in Sydney and held it for some days before passing it on. The court returned a verdict of guilty and a sentence of death. He was hanged on 28 August 1808.

Ancient letter with old blue pen on paper

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Australia Execution Forgery Fraud NSW Sydney Trial

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1857: Frederick Turner Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for Armed Robbery and Attempted Murder

Frederick Turner, just 21 years old, was hanged at Melbourne Gaol on 28 August 1857 for robbery under arms on the Flemington Road. He and accomplices had robbed a labouring man near Flemington, and when the victim begged for the return of half a crown to feed his children, Turner drew a revolver and fired at his head. The ball glanced off, inflicting only a minor wound, but the intent was clear. Turner had arrived in Victoria as a free emigrant aboard the William Jardine in 1849, accompanied by his parents and brother.

Convicted at the Criminal Sessions of highway robbery and shooting with intent to murder, Turner went to the gallows clinging to hope of a reprieve that never came. He refused to reveal his real name, admitting only that idleness and dissolute company had been his ruin.

He maintained he had never intended to kill his victim, and this belief appeared to sustain a lingering, ill-founded hope that mercy would be shown to him in this world.

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Australia Bushranger Execution Melbourne Murder Robbery VIC

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1893: John Conder Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the Murder of a Merchant

John Conder was hanged at Melbourne Gaol on 28 August 1893 for the murder of Kaiza Singh, a Hindu hawker, near Buchan in eastern Victoria. Several hundred people gathered outside the prison, and inside, around two dozen witnesses attended the execution.

Conder was led to the scaffold by the hangman and his assistant, both heavily bearded. A chaplain, recited prayers at the scaffold. When asked by the Sheriff if he wished to make a statement, Conder, who was hard of hearing, shook his head. The rope was placed around his neck and the cap drawn over his face.

Conder cried out “O God, have mercy on my soul” before the bolt was drawn.

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Australia Buchan Execution Melbourne Murder VIC

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1809: Thomas Dowlan Hanged in Sydney for Burglary at Hawkesbury

Thomas Doolan, described as an old offender who had been tried several times in the colony, was convicted of forcibly breaking into the house of John Styles at Hawkesbury. He had previously saved himself from execution by turning informant against his accomplices, some of whom were hanged on his testimony.

Doolan was hanged in Sydney on 26 August 1809. Court records from the same period reveal he had also been among those who burglariously broke into the dwelling of a settler named Thomas Harley, beating the occupants and ransacking the house, though he did not live to face that additional charge.

Motorway 1 bridge over Hawkesbury River near Sydney with traffic

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Australia Burglary Execution Hawkesbury NSW Prison Robbery Sydney

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