Dark Stories: On This Day In True Crime History - Dark Stories True Crime Tours

1854: Hanged at Brisbane Gaol for the Killing of a Station Manager

In March 1852, Adolphus Henry Trevethan, a station manager at Rawbell in the Burnett District, was killed during a tense confrontation with a large group of armed men on his property. He had gone out to negotiate and was returning with tobacco and pipes when he came running back, hand pressed to his chest, crying ‘I’m a dead man’ before dying of multiple stab wounds within hours.

The accused was tried at the Brisbane Circuit Court, where witness James Carney testified against the accused. Found guilty and sentenced to death, the condemned man walked to the scaffold on 22 August 1854, ascending it without resistance and dying without a struggle.

Noose at historic Tombstone courthouse courtyard, Arizona

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Australia Brisbane Burnett District Execution Murder QLD Trial

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1962: De Gaulle Survives a Hail of Bullets at Petit-Clamart

On the evening of 22 August 1962, Lieutenant-Colonel Jean Bastien-Thiry led a carefully planned ambush on the presidential motorcade at Petit-Clamart, south of Paris. Acting under the banner of the Organisation armee secrete (OAS), his team opened fire with automatic weapons as de Gaulle’s car passed, riddling the vehicle with bullets. The president and his wife escaped without injury.

The attack, code-named Operation Charlotte Corday, triggered a massive manhunt that swept up nearly all participants within months. Bastien-Thiry was brought before a military court, where he justified the attempt by declaring de Gaulle a tyrant who had betrayed French Algeria. He was sentenced to death and executed by firing squad in March 1963, the last person to die by that method in France.

Historical firing squad execution scene

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Assassination Europe Execution France Political Crime Terrorism Trial

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1884: James Hawthorn Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for Shooting His Brother Dead

On the night of 21 March 1884, William Hawthorn, a market gardener near Brighton, was shot while sleeping in his house. He died nine days later from his wounds. His brother James was quickly implicated: native trackers Moses and Johnny found double tracks between the two brothers’ homes, footprints matching James’s boots exactly, and a recently discharged gun in his possession. The brothers had been locked in a bitter equity dispute, and James had openly threatened William’s life.

Acquitted by a coroner’s jury, James was nonetheless arraigned by the Crown and tried twice in the Supreme Court. The first jury deadlocked; the second convicted him on 26 July 1884. The Chief Justice sentenced him to death, and a bid for executive reprieve failed. He was hanged at Melbourne Gaol at 10 o’clock on the morning of 21 August 1884.

Brother vs Brother

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Australia Brighton Execution Melbourne Murder Trial VIC

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1865: David Young Hanged at Castlemaine for the Murder of Margaret Graham

David Young was executed at Castlemaine Gaol on 21 August 1865 for the murder of Margaret Graham at Daylesford. His case had drawn fierce public controversy: Young spent nearly seven months imprisoned before trial, twice remanded at Castlemaine Assizes by Crown Prosecutor C. A. Smyth despite what his defence counsel described as no credible evidence. His lawyer made repeated applications for discharge, one of which was refused by Judge Williams, who instead ordered that Young be tried or freed.

The prolonged detention sparked a public letter from his counsel condemning the Crown prosecutor’s conduct as repugnant to English law and a cruel oppression. Comparisons were drawn to parliamentary compensations paid to wrongfully imprisoned men in England and the colony. Despite all of this, Young was ultimately convicted and hanged.

Hut where Margaret Graham was murdered

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Australia Castlemaine Daylesford Execution Murder Trial VIC

1854: Hanged at Brisbane Gaol for the Killing of a Station Manager

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1962: De Gaulle Survives a Hail of Bullets at Petit-Clamart

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1884: James Hawthorn Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for Shooting His Brother Dead

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1865: David Young Hanged at Castlemaine for the Murder of Margaret Graham

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