1856: Michael Casey Hanged at Oatlands for a Brutal Assault with Intent to Murder
Michael Casey, an Irish labourer working to clear land at Falmouth, Tasmania, attacked a fellow worker named John Hewitt with a stick and then kicked him in the head, leaving him unable to move. Read more →
1858: Matthew Burns Hanged at Avoca for Assault in a Botched Double Execution
Matthew Burns, convicted of assault, and George Young, convicted of the murder of Esther Scott, were hanged together at the gaol in Avoca on 5 August 1858. Read more →
1861: Nathaniel Ruby Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the Murder of a Fellow Miner at Tarnagulla
At Sandy Creek, near Tarnagulla, the body of Joseph Watson was discovered at the bottom of a deep mine shaft in August 1861. Read more →
1919: The Fitzroy Vendetta Erupts: Shots Fired into a Sly-Grog Shop, Squizzy Taylor Acquitted
On the night of 5 August 1919, shots were fired into a sly-grog shop at 31 Fleet Street, Fitzroy, wounding three people: Minnie Clarke, Dick Paget, and James Darcy. Read more →
1944: The Cowra Breakout: Bloodiest Mass Prison Escape of World War II
In the early hours of 5 August 1944, more than 1,000 Japanese prisoners of war held at the 12th Australian Prisoner of War and Internees Camp near Cowra, New South Wales, launched a mass breakout. Read more →
1991: Sir Terence Lewis, Queensland Police Commissioner, Convicted of Corruption
Sir Terence Lewis, Commissioner of the Queensland Police Service from 1976 to 1987, was found guilty on 5 August 1991 of 15 counts of corruption and one of forgery, following the explosive Fitzgerald Inquiry into police misconduct. Read more →
