Ballarat - Dark Stories True Crime Tours

1876: Donegal Jim Hanged at Ballarat for the Assault of Elizabeth Reece at Burrumbeet

James Ashe, known as “Donegal Jim,” was hanged at Ballarat Gaol on 21 August 1876 for the violent assault of Elizabeth Reece at Burrumbeet on 4 April that year.

After months of searching, Detective Mahony spotted Ashe sitting on a doorstep in Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, and recognised him from a description in the Police Gazette. Ashe gave a false name and denied knowing anything about the attack.

He was identified first by Reece’s son-in-law and then taken back to Burrumbeet, where Reece immediately recognised him. On seeing him among several men, she pointed him out, saying, “There he is; that’s the ruffian.” When asked to identify him more closely, she touched Ashe and said, “This is the one.”

Ashe was convicted and sentenced to death. On the morning of 21 August, he walked calmly to the gallows at Ballarat Gaol. Asked whether he wished to say anything, he simply replied, “No sir.” He was then hanged.

Lake Burrumbeet bushland reserve, Victoria Australia

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Australia Ballarat Burrumbeet Execution Murder Trial VIC

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1873: Oscar Wallace Hanged at Ballarat for Armed Assault at Mount Beckworth

Oscar Wallace, known also by the aliases James and Hasker, had only been free for six weeks when he committed a brutal armed assault on Mary Cook at her isolated farmhouse near Mount Beckworth, outside Clunes, on 4 August 1873. Her husband was away, and Wallace, disguised with a bran bag over his head and a sack about his body, entered the property, seized a double-barrelled gun, locked the children in an adjoining room, and attacked the homeowner at knifepoint. He then fled through the district, robbing several men, firing at a Mr Prentice near Beaufort, and reportedly heading toward a hotel to settle an old score. He had served two years in Pentridge for larceny and had openly threatened the life of a witness from that trial.

Senior Constable Woods disguised himself as a digger and tracked Wallace to a store near Beaufort, where he overpowered him before Wallace could use the butcher’s knife he still carried. Wallace was tried, convicted, and hanged at Ballarat on 11 August 1873. He reportedly showed complete indifference to his fate from the moment of his capture.

James Wallace (tried as Oscar Wallace), prisoner no. 8775. PROV, VPRS 515/P0000, Volume 13, p. 167

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Australia Ballarat Beaufort Clunes Execution Mount Beckworth Murder Prison Robbery Trial VIC

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1867: George Searle Hanged at Ballarat for the Piggoreet Murder

Thomas Ulick Burke, manager of the Bank of Australasia at Smythesdale, was ambushed and shot dead on 10 May 1867 while travelling alone by buggy after buying gold along the road toward Bulldog. His body was found the following day in the bush near the Coach and Horses Hotel, slumped in the buggy with his valise emptied of all gold and notes. Evidence placed George Searle and his associate Joseph Ballan near the scene that afternoon, with a witness confirming Ballan had been scouting goldfield yields in the days before the murder.

At the Ballarat Circuit Court, before Judge Barry, both men were tried for wilful murder. Searle, keeper of the Cosmopolitan Hotel, and Ballan, a lodger there, had been seen together at key locations along the murder route on the day of the killing. Horseshoe markings provided further physical evidence linking the pair to the crime. Searle was convicted and hanged at Ballarat on 7 August 1867.

Murder of Mr Burke native trackers finding the pistols

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Australia Ballarat Execution Goldfields Murder Robbery Trial VIC

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1867: Joseph Ballam Hanged at Ballarat for the Piggoreet Road Murder

Thomas Ulick Burke, manager of the Bank of Australasia at Smythesdale, was shot and killed on 10 May 1867 while travelling alone by buggy through the bush near the Coach and Horses Hotel after purchasing gold from claims along the Break-o’-Day road. His valise was found empty, all gold and banknotes taken. Joseph Ballam, an unemployed lodger at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Piggoreet, had spent the days before the murder quietly canvassing the local claims for yield information, noting that the Break-o’-Day Company would have a good haul that fortnight.

At the Ballarat Circuit Court, before Judge Barry, Ballam and co-accused George Searle, keeper of the Cosmopolitan Hotel, were charged with the wilful murder. Witnesses placed both men on horseback near the route Burke had taken on the afternoon of the killing, their horses shod with shoes of distinctive shape that a farrier could identify. Ballam was convicted and hanged at Ballarat on 7 August 1867.

Piggoreet murder prisoners Ballan and Searle Smythesdale police court

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Australia Ballarat Execution Murder Piggoreet Robbery Trial VIC

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