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
Motorway 1 bridge over Hawkesbury River near Sydney with traffic

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1796: First Fleet Convict John Finlow Hanged in Sydney for Murder

John Fendlow (c.1768-1796), a tinsmith convicted at the Old Bailey in 1783 for highway robbery, arrived in Sydney with the First Fleet in January 1788. After time on Norfolk Island, he received a 30-acre land grant at Mulgrave Place in November 1794 and worked as a settler in the Hawkesbury region with his partner Eleanor Byrnes.

On 4 July 1796, Fendlow shot dead his servant David Lane after Lane attempted to assault Byrnes. Byrnes testified that all three had been drinking on a boat that evening, and that Lane had come after her in the house. Fendlow was hanged in Sydney on 8 August 1796.

HMS Mercury after 1809. By William Huggins. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
HMS Mercury after 1809. By William Huggins. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

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On This Day in True Crime History
1867·Hanged at Perth Gaol, His Final Words a Shout for the Irish Republic
1908·The Slowest Death: a Perth Stepmother's Acid Poisoning Spree Claims a Third Child
1923·Squizzy Taylor Walked Free While a Man Who Never Fired a Shot Hanged for a Melbourne Bank Murder
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