1806: A Sydney Shepherd Hanged for Tar-Marking His Master’s Sheep to Sell Them as His Own
William Organ was a shepherd in the service of the wealthy Sydney grazier John Palmer, trusted to drive his master’s flock in from Hawkesbury. Along the way he peeled off nine sheep, daubed tar on their heads to disguise them, and tried to sell them to a local man named Chears for 20 shillings, claiming they were his own.
The scheme unravelled when a fellow shepherd spotted the tar-marked sheep rejoining the flock and recalled Organ’s story that they belonged to Chears but had simply strayed. Tried before the Court of Criminal Jurisdiction, Organ was convicted; the judge also condemned Chears for knowingly dealing with a man of doubtful character rather than reporting him. Organ was hanged in Sydney on 11 October 1806.
