THE REMINISCENCES 
 
 OF 
 DETECTIVE-INSPECTOR CHRISTIE
 
 J^afayette, Photo 
 
 J. M. Christie. 
 
 Frontispiece.
 
 The "Told-by-the-Pioneers" Series 
 
 THE 
 
 REMINISCENCES 
 
 OF 
 
 DETECTIVE -INSPECTOR 
 CHRISTIE 
 
 RELATED BY 
 
 J. B. CAST1EAU. 
 
 GEORGE ROBERTSON & COMPANY 
 
 PROPTY. LTD. 
 
 MELBOURNE. SYDNEY. ADELAIDE. BRISBANE 
 and LONDON
 
 DEDICATED 
 
 TO 
 
 SIR HARRY N. P. WOLLASTON, 
 
 K.C.M.G.. I.S.O.. LL.D.. J.P.
 
 Elliott Cr Fry, London, Photo 
 
 Sir Harry N. P. Wollaston, K.C.M.G., LL.D., I.S.O.. J.P. 
 
 Comptroller of the Customs Department of Victoria and Comptroller 
 General of the Trade and Customs of the Commonwealth. 
 
 Pacing page /]
 
 Stacfc 
 Annex 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 C57C& 
 
 y 9 / 
 
 *. .7 / 
 
 . 
 ge 
 
 Preface ........................ *. . . . . . 7 
 
 Biographical Introduction ................. ... 9 
 
 Part I. As a Detective. 
 
 Chap. I. Initiation .................... 19 
 
 II. Halliburton's Robbery .......... 24 
 
 III. Robberies ............ . ..... 35 
 
 IV. Brookes and Wilson, Coiners ...... 42 
 
 V. O'Grady's Robbery ............ 47 
 
 VI. CatcRing a Forger .............. 50 
 
 VII. An Opera Singer's Jewels .......... 54 
 
 VIII. The "Snowbird" Case ............ 62 
 
 Part II. As Royal "Shadow." 
 
 Chap. IX. The Visit of Prince Alfred, also of the 
 
 Duke and Duchess of York ...... 73 
 
 Part III. As Champion Athlete. 
 
 Chap. X. A Pugilistic Interlude .......... 89 
 
 XI. Heavy- Weight Championship ...... 99 
 
 XII. Champion Sculler of Victoria ...... 103 
 
 Part IV. As Customs Detective. 
 
 Chap. XIII. Illicit Distillation .............. 113 
 
 XIV. The Last of the "Moonlighters" ...... 130 
 
 XV. The "Widow's" Perambulator ...... 136 
 
 XVI. The Coffin Trick ............... 143 
 
 A Bogus Illicit Still ............ 144 
 
 XVII. Women Smugglers .............. 148 
 
 XVIII. The Gentle Art of "Crimping" ...... 160 
 
 XIX. Opium Smuggling .............. 170 
 
 XX. Bridge and Its Consequences ........ 183 
 
 XXI. Story of a Diamond Necklace ...... 206 
 
 XXII. Miscellaneous Customs Frauds ...... 212 
 
 XXIII. "A Cloud of Witnesses" .......... 218 
 
 XXIV. The "Language" of Birds .......... 228 
 
 XXV. Conclusion .................. 231 
 
 Index .................................. 235
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 J. M. Christie Frontispiece 
 
 Sir Harry N. P. Wollaston Facing Page 4 
 
 Seal of the Christie Family 9 
 
 Christie as a Swagman 28 
 
 Christie as a "Christy Minstrel" . 29 
 
 Christie Watching a Suspected Dwelling .... 48 
 
 H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh 72 
 
 Christie as a Sailor on H.M.S. Galatea 73 
 
 Christie and Ned Devine ,. 83 
 
 Christie and the Commissioner of Police, N.Z. . . 84 
 
 T.R.H. the Duke and Duchess of York 86 
 
 Christie v. Hicken Prize Fight, 1876 96 
 
 Christie as Champion Sculler 102 
 
 Detectives and Police in the Western District .. 112 
 
 Christie Sells the "War Cry" 113 
 
 Christie as a Travelling Tinker .. 116 
 
 117 
 
 Reading Warrant to Tom Delaney 117 
 
 A Newspaper Portrait : Lord Hopetoun as Christie 128 
 
 Smugglers and their Dodges 170 
 
 Detective-Inspector J. M. Christie ,. 212 
 
 An "Old Hand's" Tribute . 234
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE life of every mature human being contains the 
 material for a book, and sometimes many books, 
 provided records have been preserved. The 
 volume may be one of romance, history, adventure, or 
 the stirring events of an active life. There the book 
 is, if only we can get the facts, and thereon base the 
 story. Fortunately Mr. John Mitchell Christie was as 
 methodical in this respect as he was in everything he 
 undertook. He carefully kept notes and newspaper 
 cuttings of all the incidents, official and athletic, in 
 which he has played a part. As, in a period covering 
 nearly forty-five years, he was successively a leading Vic- 
 torian Detective, a Royal "Shadow," Champion Oarsman 
 and Boxer of Victoria, and Detective-Inspector of Cus- 
 toms during a specially interesting period, it will at once 
 be recognised that his career must have been crowded with 
 interesting incidents. The following pages have been 
 compiled from a mass of records and personal narra- 
 tives. The task was not easy, because the wealth of ma- 
 terial made selection a problem. For Mr. Christie's 
 career contains many books, which might be spread over 
 a scope bewildering in its variety. It was decided fin- 
 ally to select and relate events in their order of date,
 
 8 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 so that the narrative, even though some of the items are 
 separated by years, are yet in chronological sequence. 
 What is given here is representative of the man and his 
 eventful career, and may perhaps prove an appetiser for 
 a fuller feast to follow. 
 
 For reasons which will appeal to every reader, the cor- 
 rect names of some persons who appear in these pages 
 have been withheld. The few instances need not be 
 particularised, as they are readily recognisable.
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 JOHN MITCHELL CHRISTIE was born at Clack- 
 mannan, in Scotland, in the year 1845, and came 
 from a family distinguished in active public service 
 from generation to generation, as the crest and motto 
 "Pro Rege" indicate. His grandfather was a Major of 
 Brigade in Canada, where he married a beautiful and 
 accomplished Irish girl, daughter of an Irish officer in 
 the French Army. Captain James .Christie, his father, 
 served in India, and on retiring settled at Clackmannan. 
 John Mitchell's brother, also a Captain James Christie, 
 belonged to the 42nd Highlanders, the famous Black 
 Watch. He was present at the siege and capture of 
 Lucknow, and other important engagements of the In- 
 dian Mutiny. Subsequently he was Governor of Edin- 
 burgh Gaol, facetiously known as "Christie's Hotel." 
 That there is much in the tradition that "blood will tell" 
 these pages should further testify. 
 
 Young J. M. Christie was intended for the Army, and 
 to that end, at the age of seventeen, was placed at Tay- 
 lor's College, Woolwich, after a preliminary education 
 at Madras College, St. Andrews, Scotland. At Wool- 
 wich he was conspicuous as being the only Scottish pupil.
 
 10 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 This caused some of the other scholars to attempt to 
 make him a butt. In resenting this he encountered the 
 bully of the school, and a fight was arranged. It was 
 no mere schoolboy "scrap," but a regular set-to with 
 ring, seconds, and a referee, who was a Sergeant-Major 
 in the Royal Marine Artillery. Christie fought pluckily, 
 but was beaten. On going home for the holidays he 
 found that his father had been fully informed of the 
 affair. But instead of censure, he got encouragement, for 
 Captain Christie was a "sport" in the truest British 
 sense of the word, having himself had some experience 
 of boxing in the Army. "We'll fix you up so that you 
 will be able to lick that fellow when you go back." he 
 declared, and thereupon took his son away to London, 
 where he put him with Nat Langham, a celebrated 
 pugilist, who, in his day, had defeated the renowned 
 Tom Sayers. Young Christie came through his course 
 of lessons with a straight, strong left, some sound advice 
 as to P.R. tactics, and a special prescription for the 
 treatment of "rushers," of whom the bully was one. 
 Then he returned to school, where the old feud broke 
 out afresh. Another battle royal ensued, in which the 
 previous result was reversed. Christie's bit of science 
 enabled him to thrash his opponent, and the victor was 
 carried shoulder-high around the school ground by his 
 delighted comrades. 
 
 This incident is related at length, because it is one 
 which considerably influenced one of the most interest- 
 ing phases of Christie's career. It is only such incidents 
 which it is proposed to pick out in this brief biographi- 
 cal sketch. 
 
 When the Woolwich term ended an unexpected change
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. 11 
 
 was made in the family's intentions in regard to Chris- 
 tie. His mother's brother, Mr. Hugh Reoch, was heard 
 of from Australia, where in Gippsland, Victoria, he had 
 made successful ventures in squatting and mining. This 
 uncle practically proposed to adopt his nephew and make 
 him his heir. After grave consideration this tempting 
 proposal was accepted and all thought of the Army 
 abandoned. So, saying farewell to his family and 
 friends forever, Christie took passage in the Commodore 
 Perry to seek his fortune 16,000 miles away. He arrived 
 at Melbourne after a ninety-three days' voyage, and im- 
 mediately proceeded en route to Sale by the steamer 
 Keera, then commanded by Captain Patrick, the veteran 
 and popular bay excursion boat commander. 
 
 At Sale he was met by Mr. A. C. Pearson, and later 
 on by Mr. William Pearson. The latter subsequently 
 became one of the foremost public men in Australia. 
 He was elected to the Legislative Council, which entitled 
 him to the prefix "the Honourable." As owner of such 
 celebrated Australian horses as Commotion, Plausible, 
 and others, he became prominent in the racing world, 
 while as a director in the famous Walhalla Long Tunnel 
 Gold Mining Co. he acquired a further great influence, 
 being particularly popular with the men, for whom he 
 obtained a rise of 10/- a week in wages. He befriended 
 Christie throughout their acquaintance, and it was a 
 piece of rare good fortune that the young immigrant 
 should so soon after arrival have found so solid a friend. 
 
 Horses had been brought for the party to ride to the 
 Pearson homestead, Kilmany Park, and then Christie 
 commenced his course of painful new-chum experiences. 
 He had never ridden on horseback before. But he
 
 12 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 braced himself up for the ordeal, and, with the aid of 
 a by-stander, got astride his lofty mount, a famous thor- 
 oughbred steeplechaser named "Wandering Willie," 
 upon which Christie recalls that he felt like a "Jumping 
 Jack." 
 
 This was only the opening of a series of bush experi- 
 ences, which ended in turning him out an expert rider, 
 oarsman, and all-round bushman, a proficiency destined 
 to prove invaluable to him in after years, when his duty 
 took him through the roughest country under the rough- 
 est of camping conditions. 
 
 The next move was to Stringer's Creek, now best 
 known as Walhalla, where he was to meet his uncle, 
 Mr. Reoch, who immediately initiated his nephew into 
 the various phases of mining life from prospecting to 
 reefing. Various prospecting ventures proved unprofit- 
 able, and the nephew was sent to Bolden's Station at 
 Strathfieldsaye to learn station life. The life did not 
 suit him, although the lessons of his experiences were 
 not lost. It was during this period that a few daring 
 adventures on the Gippsland Lakes in precarious boats, 
 made him familiar with the handling of water craft, and 
 no doubt contributed towards his subsequent success as 
 a sculler. He and his companions also had some ex- 
 citing encounters with wild pigs, and incidentally had 
 to flee from the wrath of an irate farmer whose tame 
 domestic pigs they had slaughtered in mistake. There 
 followed many other mining ventures which were fail- 
 ures, during which at Mount Pleasant he met Mr. Walter 
 Butler, a well-known goldfields warden in his day. Mr. 
 Butler was a character. An expert huntsman himself, 
 he never opened a gate where he could take a fence.
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. 13 
 
 He had all his paddocks gateless, so that when the fre- 
 quent importunate seekers of horse accommodation came 
 along he could always say, "Certainly, if you can get 
 into the paddock!" Very few ever could. Among 
 other things he was a deadly shot, and would hit a 
 bucket being carried by his man servant, also a charac- 
 ter, and a Crimean veteran known as "Mickey Free." 
 The latter would sometimes be tossed a crown-piece, 
 which he would hold up in his hand to be shot out of 
 it by his master. Mickey's reward was the crown. Once 
 being asked if he was not frightened, Mickey characteris- 
 tically replied, "Shure, why should I be? The boss is 
 so good a shot that he could not hit you if he thried !" 
 
 There now happened another incident, which led to 
 Christie's development as a fighter. On the goldfields 
 was Tom Curran, ex champion pugilist of Victoria. 
 Attached to the hotel he kept was a room devoted to 
 boxing, among the patrons being then Chief Justice 
 Stawell, Mordaunt Smallpage, William Pearson, and 
 other prominent public men. These induced Curran 
 to arrange a meeting between Christie and a noted prize- 
 fighter known as "The Bruiser." to whom Curran jok- 
 ingly described the new chum as a counter-jumper. "Oh 
 I'll soon settle Mr. Counterjumper," replied "The 
 Bruiser," but, as it happened, it was he who was settled, 
 being knocked-out in nine rounds. 
 
 Shortly after this, news came of the drowning under 
 tragic circumstances of his uncle Mr. Reoch. It was 
 found that a will had been left making his nephew heir 
 to his estate. But it had not been witnessed, and was 
 therefore invalid. So Christie was suddenly thrown 
 upon his own resources. There could be no more inde-
 
 14 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 finite dabblings in mining and station life. He must 
 at once seriously consider a settled career. Finally he 
 decided that, notwithstanding the friendliness of the 
 Pearsons and other influential landowners, who desired 
 to advantageously place him on a holding, a country 
 life could not satisfy his aspirations or give scope to 
 his natural qualifications. So he went to Melbourne 
 with excellent references to Mr. Richard Gibson, of 
 Dalmahoy Campbell & Co. This introduction led up to 
 another coincidence, which had much to do in shaping 
 Christie's career. It happened that Mr. Gibson re- 
 quired an official detective to do some private work, and, 
 being unable to obtain one, he, after consultation with 
 Superintendent C. H. Nicolson, offered Christie the job. 
 It was accepted, and Christie commenced upon that use 
 of disguises and methodical seeking of information, 
 which afterwards he developed to such an advanced de- 
 gree. The man supposed to be possessed of the facts 
 belonged to a railway survey party, which Christie at 
 once joined as an axeman. His adventure was entirely 
 successful, and during the course of it he kept his 
 straight, strong left in practice by defeating the cham- 
 pion of a rival camp. 
 
 Upon his return to Melbourne he was assured by 
 Mr. Gibson that his first success as a detective would 
 be amply rewarded and well-remembered. Shortly 
 afterward.^ he defeated at "The Butchers' Arms," (kept 
 by an ex-pugilist named George Strike), a well-known 
 fighter known as the "Fighting Artilleryman," who had 
 recently defeated another noted amateur, young Mr. Dal 
 Campbell. A testimonial to Mr. Christie was subscribed 
 by such well-known gentlemen as the Pearsons. Camp- 
 bells, Messrs. Gibson, John Buncle, Hugh Lennon, etc.
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 But still Christie was without regular employment. 
 Declining with thanks some further good offers to go 
 on the land, he turned his eyes towards the Detective 
 Police, whereupon Mr. Gibson gave him the following 
 laconic note to Superintendent Nicolson, who was in 
 charge of the Detective Office: 
 
 "Dear Nicolson, 
 
 "The bearer cleared up the case I spoke to you about 
 some time ago. He is good with head and hands." 
 
 Christie was immediately sworn in and commenced 
 his official career as a detective.
 
 PART I. 
 AS DETECTIVE.
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 INITIATION. 
 
 CHRISTIE'S first experience as a detective was 
 uncomfortable for himself, but amusing enough 
 to others. Indeed, it practically led to his own 
 arrest. Certainly he had to give .himself up to the 
 police. It was in this way. When he reported himself 
 for duty, he was ordered, raw recruit as he was, to roam 
 the city and run down stray offenders. But he had just 
 got to the Eastern Market, then known as Paddy's 
 Market, only a little distance from the Detective Office, 
 when he saw a Chinaman, the first he had ever seen. 
 Curiosity caused him to regard the Mongolian attentively, 
 and as he gazed the dormant detective instinct within him 
 awoke. There was something suspicious in the man's 
 appearance, and in his movements. So curiosity in the 
 young detective turned to discreet watchfulness, and he 
 unostentatiously followed the Chinaman all around town. 
 He was rewarded, after an hour's vigil, for the man 
 furtively approached a stall, in Paddy's Market, from 
 which he stole two pairs of boots. Christie promptly 
 pounced upon his prey, and placed the Chinaman under 
 arrest. He had hooked his first fish. But now he had 
 to land him within the net of the law, and that was not 
 to prove as easy a task as it looked. Of course a crowd 
 quickly gathered about the struggling couple, and when 
 Christie had subdued his prisoner, a jeering mob fol- 
 lowed them down the street. Unfortunately Christie, 
 strange to Melbourne, took a wrong turn, and, instead of 
 
 19
 
 20 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 going straight to the Detective Office, close at hand within 
 30 yards, went straight away from it. He wandered 
 far, until he encountered Police-Sergeant Summerhayes 
 in uniform near the Carlton Gardens. This sub-officer 
 demanded an explanation of the Chinaman, his captor, 
 and the crowd. 
 
 "I am Detective Christie. I have arrested this man 
 for stealing two pairs of boots, and I want to know the 
 way to the Detective Office," explained Christie. 
 
 "Then show me your card," said the Sergeant, sus- 
 piciously, scrutinising a man who claimed to be a 
 detective, and yet did not know the way to his own office. 
 
 Christie coloured up in confusion, for no card of 
 authority, a most essential badge of office, had been 
 supplied to him. He had to admit as much, whereupon 
 the Sergeant grimly said, 
 
 "Then I'd better take both of you to the Detective 
 Office myself." 
 
 This he did, and, of course, the laughable bungle was 
 immediately cleared up to the satisfaction of all con- 
 cerned, except the Chinaman, who was duly convicted. 
 
 Not long after this Christie was to receive another 
 lesson. It must be remembered that at this time he was 
 barely twenty and brimful of youthful innocence. Thus 
 it happened that he was actually caught by some of the 
 very magsmen whom he was sent out to catch. One 
 of these made himself friendly with the youthful look- 
 ing new-chum, and proposed a walk and then a drink. 
 In the hotel they met two more gentlemen at large, and 
 a game of cards was proposed. Christie fell an easy 
 victim and lost thirty-eight shillings. He took his loss 
 smilingly, but registered a vow to get even, for by this
 
 INITIATION. 21 
 
 time he was convinced of the shady character of his pre- 
 tended friends. He left them ostensibly, but really only 
 retired to a favourable spot from which he could view 
 their exit and follow their movements. They soon came 
 out, proceeded down the street, and shortly after fra- 
 ternised with a gullible foreigner, whom they took for 
 the usual drink which is the inevitable preliminary to 
 all spielers' swindling schemes. Christie at once got 
 two other detectives, and the hotel was watched by the 
 three at all exits. In a little while the foreigner came 
 out in a very excited state of mind. On being questioned 
 he explained that he had been swindled out of his money 
 at a game called "Cho choo chum." This was enough. 
 The other detectives, in order that Christie's identity 
 should remain concealed, entered the hotel and arrested 
 the magsmen, who were in due course sentenced each to 
 twelve months' imprisonment. 
 
 "You weren't long in getting your revenge, young fel- 
 low," said one of them subsequently, with a grin. "Why 
 you're almost sharp enough to be one of us !" 
 
 But Christie was perfectly conscious of the fact that 
 his so-called smartness was really only a mixture of 
 innocence and good luck. However, he was never again 
 either "bushed" or "taken down" in the city, with every 
 inch of which he was destined to become familiar, from 
 dirtiest slum to dignified Government House. 
 
 During his detective career Christie had charge of 
 hundreds of cases, most of which ended in the arrest, 
 conviction, and imprisonment of the criminals. His skill 
 rapidly developed and the raw recruit matured into the 
 erect dignified military-looking officer familiar alike to 
 the wrongdoers and good citizens of Melbourne. At the
 
 22 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 same time his methods were more and more cultivated, 
 until in him detection assumed almost the dignity of an 
 art. Offenders held him in something like awe. They 
 did not know how or when he was going to put his 
 hand upon them. One moment a criminal would be 
 talking affably with a polished gentleman who might 
 be an attache of a diplomatic corps: the next he would 
 be confronted by a stern-faced, steel-eyed Nemesis, who 
 in a flash had presented a revolver at his head and 
 clapped a pair of handcuffs on his wrists. 
 
 Christie's velvet glove always covered an iron hand, 
 and in many an encounter did he find his science as a 
 boxer stand him in good stead. This was especially so 
 in connection with the larrikin pushes, who were at one 
 tune a menace to law-abiding men, women, and even 
 children. One evening a group of these gentry received 
 a very severe shock, which gave some of them, at least, 
 a lesson sufficient to last them a lifetime. One of the 
 detectives got Christie: to arrange with Jem Mace, 
 champion pugilist of the world, then in Australia, and 
 another splendid fighter, to go down Russell Street and 
 break up a notorious push which was the terror of that 
 thoroughfare. The three pretended to be drunk, and 
 were thus considered fair game for the gang of roughs, 
 who commenced to jostle the seeming roysterers. But 
 suddenly a startling sobriety took the place of stagger- 
 ing drunkenness. The trio, standing back to back in a 
 triangle, dealt out blow after blow with lightning 
 rapidity, felling their aggressors like ninepins. They 
 inflicted very heavy punishment. That push never fore- 
 gathered again. One such experience was enough, and 
 the feeling of what fools they had been probably never 
 left them.
 
 INITIATION. 23 
 
 In the work of stamping out these larrikin hordes 
 Christie was associated with Sergeant Dalton, a noted 
 terror to the pest and an amusing character to boot. 
 It was he who was supposed to have originated the term 
 "larrikin" as applied to the Apaches or Hooligans of 
 our cities. The story goes that on charging several 
 youths with offensive behaviour he said to the Bench 
 in his best Irish brogue, 
 
 "Plaze yer worships, Oi found the prisoner a-larrakin' 
 (larking) about the strates." Street ruffians have been 
 known as larrikins throughout Australia ever since. 
 
 "How did you capture so many of them, Sergeant?" 
 asked the magistrate, with a smile. 
 
 "Plaze, your worship, it was surrounded them moiself 
 I did, Sorr!" 
 
 Another good story is told of Dalton in connection 
 with what was known as Spann's robbery. It was a 
 mysterious affair, and Mrs. Spann consulted a well-known 
 spiritualist in the hope of getting information from the 
 spirits. At a seance she was told that the thief would 
 be found exactly at midnight standing beneath the Post 
 Office clock as it struck twelve. She duly waited, and 
 pounced upon the only man standing at the spot indi- 
 cated. She seized him and was at once assailed with a 
 wordy storm of abuse in the richest brogue that was ever 
 produced from the bogs of the Emerald Isle. Explana- 
 tions followed, and she found to her dismay that she 
 had grappled with Sergeant Dalton ! The Sergeant was 
 ever a genial spirit, notwithstanding his gaunt appear- 
 ance and rough and ready handling of larrikins. He was 
 one of the coolest and most determined men ever in the 
 Police Force of Victoria.
 
 CHAPTER. II. 
 HALLIBURTON'S ROBBERY. 
 
 THE following is the story of a crime in which 
 Christie is seen in some of his most characteris- 
 tic phases: 
 
 In the year 1870 a number of very daring and clever 
 burglaries were effected in Melbourne, and the detec- 
 tives were some time before they could run down the 
 criminals. Christie was away at this time on a holiday, 
 during which he received a telegram recalling him to 
 duty. On reporting himself at the detective office, the 
 Inspector in charge handed to him some crime reports 
 which had just come in, giving an account of extensive 
 burglaries which had been committed in two softgoods 
 warehouses in the City. The reports showed that the 
 operators were experts of the first rank, and had gone 
 to work with great coolness as well as dexterity. Chris- 
 tie was directed to take the case in hand and use his 
 best endeavours to arrest the thieves. His first step was 
 to call at one of the warehouses which had been broken 
 into, where he found the proprietor in great tribulation, 
 having lost about 1,500 worth of goods. On examina- 
 tion of the premises it was evident that an entrance 
 had been effected through the front door, the padlock 
 on which had been broken and the door lock opened by 
 skeleton keys. 
 
 A brief description of the means by which the 
 burglars open a main door into a public street which 
 is regularly patrolled by a policeman always on duty 
 may here be deemed not uninteresting. The modus 
 operandi is as follows: The burglars ascertain the pre- 
 24
 
 HALLIBURTON'S ROBBERY. 25 
 
 else time as which the constable on the beat is relieved 
 and the spot at which he will be met by the policeman 
 who relieves him. At this time they anticipate that 
 there will be an interval of ten to twenty minutes, dur- 
 ing which they will be pretty safe in working. If there 
 is no padlock on the door they desire to open it is soon 
 opened by means of skeleton keys, but if there is also 
 a padlock, as is usually the case, two of the gang will 
 stand before the door as if conversing, whilst two others 
 will operate on the padlock, concealed from view to a 
 great extent by their mates who are standing in front of 
 them. One of the men will hold a piece of stone about 
 the size of half a brick under the padlock, which is 
 placed on its back whilst his mate strikes it with an 
 iron "Jimmy." As a consequence the back plate of the 
 padlock comes off, the wards fall out, and the lock is 
 opened. Just when the blow is about to be made the 
 confederates commence to cough, and the slight sound 
 occasioned by the blow would not be heard even by 
 persons on the opposite side of the street. The broken 
 pieces of the padlock are pitched away or concealed, the 
 door opened, and two of the gang pass in. The two 
 remaining outside replace the hasp and attach a padlock 
 of the same size and make as the one broken off, and, 
 having locked it, leave the spot, taking with them the 
 tools used and the key of the new padlock. 
 
 This is done in very much shorter time than it takes 
 to relate it. The burglars know that the constable on 
 his beat tries the padlocks that are on the doors he 
 passes, hence the necessity of replacing the broken one. 
 The two men inside wait at the back of the door till 
 the constable tries the padlock, leaning heavily against
 
 26 . DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 the door so that it may appear to the constable to be all 
 solid and fast. As soon as he has passed, by means of 
 their dark lanterns, they select the goods they wish to 
 steal and carry them to the front door ready to be taken 
 away. At the hour of the next relief the men who 
 had gone away return with a spring cart usually con- 
 taining tins of milk, drive up to the door and open 
 the padlock. The goods ready are whipped out in an 
 instant and placed in the cart, which is driven either 
 to their own crib or straight to that of the "fence." The 
 two men who had been inside being of an economical 
 turn of mind, take off the new padlock and carry it 
 with them, quietly strolling off as if taking an early 
 morning walk. The constable on his next round prob- 
 ably discovers the robbery and the usual reports are 
 made. 
 
 In the Halliburton case here related it was clear that 
 not only had very clever cracksmen been at work, but 
 that one of them must have been a very excellent judge 
 of cloth, as the stuff taken was the best and most expen- 
 sive in the warehouse. The cutter out of the establish- 
 ment told Christie that one of the rolls taken had been 
 cut by him, and, in answer to enquiry, that he had the 
 piece cut off still by him. The piece was for 
 a coat, and the cut was an irregular one, consequently, 
 if the roll could be recovered the piece could be fitted 
 in and would thus serve to identify the cloth. This would 
 be the more fortunate because in the absence of tickets, 
 it was usually very difficult to swear to any particular 
 roll of cloth. The detective then proceeded to the 
 other warehouse, which had been raided, evidently by 
 the same gang. From this warehouse a great quantity
 
 HALLIBURTON'S ROBBERY. 27 
 
 of ready-made clothing, blankets, etc., had been taken, 
 and which the proprietor said he would have great diffi- 
 culty in identifying, but added that amongst the goods 
 taken was a pair of shoe-brushes of a particular pattern 
 which had on them not only his own private mark but 
 that of the maker, and that these could be sworn to if 
 recovered. Moreover, only six pairs of these brushes 
 had been imported, and five were still in stock. The 
 detective requested that these might be retained for the 
 present. 
 
 Having reported the result of his enquiries to the In- 
 spector and also his opinion that one of the thieves must 
 have been a tailor, Christie then proceeded to scrutinise 
 the list of prisoners recently discharged from gaol, paying 
 particular attention to those described as tailors by trade, 
 and then strolled down to a public house in Queen Street, 
 which was a notorious haunt .of criminals. On arrival, 
 however, he found the place deserted, and, on asking 
 the landlord where the boys were he replied that the 
 other D.'s had been down so often lately that they had 
 all taken the alarm and cleared out, with the exception 
 of two or three who had taken up honest work and were 
 now entirely "on the square." When the detective en- 
 quired who these were to whom he referred he mentioned 
 the names of Harry Brookes and Ben Long. The first 
 named he said was at work at his trade as a tailor, whilst 
 the other was doing odd jobs at carpentering, and that 
 he expected the latter down that afternoon with two 
 forms for the bar which the landlord had ordered. The 
 detective on hearing this, immediately returned to his 
 quarters, where he assumed a disguise he had by him, 
 of a swaggie or bushman, dyeing his hair, eyebrows and
 
 28 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 moustache with a preparation which would easily wash 
 off. He then engaged a cab, into which he took his 
 swag and, having drawn the curtains, directed the cab- 
 man to take up a position at the corner of the street 
 which commanded the approach to the public house at 
 which Mr. Ben Long was expected, with the result of 
 his honest work. 
 
 After waiting a considerable time Christie at last per- 
 ceived the industrious mechanic coming down the street, 
 wheeling a hand truck in which were two forms, which 
 he took into the hotel and then proceeded with the truck 
 into Lonsdale Street, where he left the vehicle up a 
 right of way. It subsequently appeared, as a reason for 
 this singular proceeding, that he had stolen the truck 
 from a marine store dealer, and, having served his pur- 
 pose, desired to get rid of it. Having left the truck, 
 Long jumped into a North Melbourne cab that was 
 passing at the time. The detective followed at a re- 
 spectful distance, with a view to finding out where the 
 man lived, and feeling convinced that the honest tailor 
 would be found in the same locality. Long left the cab 
 in Howard Street and proceeded to a public house in 
 that street, and as he did not emerge for some time 
 Christie went into the place with his swag on his back 
 and, entering the bar parlour, called for a glass of rum, 
 which, by the way, he threw into the fire when the land- 
 lady's back was turned, and, speaking with a strong 
 Irish brogue, invited the lady to have a nip also, to 
 which request she graciously acceded. He then inquired 
 if he could have a shake-down for the night, to which 
 she replied that as he had his blankets with him, he 
 could coil up in the shed at the back, where a couple more
 
 Detective Christie as a Swag'man. 
 
 J'ncing page .
 
 Facing page 29] 
 
 J. M. Christie as a " Christy Minstrel " 
 at a Charity Fancy-Dress Ball.
 
 HALLIBURTON'S ROBBERY. 29 
 
 were dossing down. After a little further conversation 
 the Detective again shouted for the landlady, who, after 
 the second glass, became very agreeable, especially when 
 the detective told her he had recently made a rise and 
 would like her to take care of his "sugar" for him. He 
 then went on to tell her that he was looking for an old 
 mate of his named "Ben the carpenter," and enquired if 
 she knew of anyone of that name in the neighbourhood, 
 to which she answered that a man named Ben Long, a 
 carpenter, was living in the right-of-way behind her 
 house, and that as his back-door opened into a yard 
 which adjoined her own the man usually went in and 
 out through her place. "If you leave your swag in the 
 shed "you can go in and see if he is the mate you are 
 looking for," added the woman; "but if you want me 
 to take care of your money for you, you had better give 
 it to me now or you may be robbed of it." The detective 
 then told her to wait till he came back, as he might want 
 some money to shout for his old mate and his missus. She 
 told him that Ben had no missus, but had six or seven 
 men living with him. Christie then remarked that if 
 he had no missus he was not the man he was seeking 
 and, picking up his swag, went to the shed in the yard, 
 where he placed it and then took a look round at the 
 locality. 
 
 He saw that there were only two cottages in the 
 right-of-way. The window of one was covered up with 
 calico and the yard very untidy and dirty. At the door 
 of the other, which though a wretched hovel was yet 
 very clean and tidy, an old woman was sitting in the 
 doorstep with several children playing about. Lighting 
 his pipe, Christie strolled over to her and enquired of
 
 30 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 her who lived next door, as he might get the job of doing 
 up the yard. She replied that she did not know, but 
 that whoever they were, they were not of much account, 
 as they slept all day and only went out after dark, and 
 on returning brought with them big bags full of stuff, 
 which she could hear them dump on the floor. She 
 added that one morning her husband, on getting up, had 
 found that some one had been using his horse and spring 
 cart, which he had cleaned over night and then found 
 very dirty, and found wheel marks leading to the door 
 of the next cottage, and that her husband was going 
 to put the police on to the neighbours. 
 
 When Christie heard this he was satisfied he was on 
 the right track and, bidding the woman good day, he 
 passed back through the hotel out into the street and 
 picked up his cab where he had left it standing. Giv- 
 ing the cabbie a nod to follow, he walked into the next 
 street; there he jumped in and drove off at once to the 
 detective office, where Detectives Brown and Harrington 
 were picked up. Proceeding thence to his quarters, Chris- 
 tie resumed his usual attire. The party then proceeded to 
 the public house where Christie's swag had been left, 
 and whilst the latter engaged the landlady in conversa- 
 tion Detective Brown slipped through unperceived, as pre- 
 viously agreed on between the detectives, into the shed. 
 
 Here he was joined by Christie, and the two then 
 slipped into Long's back yard and crept up to the door, 
 the keyhole of which was plugged up with paper. Chris- 
 tie pushed the plug quietly out with his knife, and, on 
 looking through, saw Long and two other men in the 
 front measuring and cutting up cloth. On seeing this, leav- 
 ing Brown to watch the back door, Christie hurried back
 
 HALLIBURTON'S ROBBERY. 31 
 
 to the cab and, telling Harrington to follow, proceeded 
 round to Long's front door, which he tried, but finding 
 it locked, taking care to keep out of sight of the window, 
 he knocked gently and heard some one inside say "Who 
 is there?" To which the detective replied in a low voice, 
 "It's me, Ben." The door was then opened slightly, 
 when Harrington and Christie dashed at it and, getting 
 inside, Harrington locked it and then turned to help his 
 brother officer, who was engaged in a desperate struggle 
 with the three men who had all fallen on him at once. 
 The fight lasted for some time, and was a pretty rough 
 one while it lasted, but in the end the three men were 
 handcuffed and secured. Brown was then admitted 
 by the back door, through the keyhole of which he 
 had been gazing at the encounter, without however be- 
 ing able to come to his fellow detectives' assistance. 
 
 The three men taken were Long, Brookes and Thomas 
 alias "Jack the Lagger," but it was hoped the rest of 
 the gang might be secured. With this object in view 
 the three captives were made to sit down on the floor in 
 the back room, whilst Christie took a chair, sitting down 
 behind the front door, determined to await the arrival 
 of the other men who formed the rest of the gang. He 
 had not been there long when a knock came at the door, 
 which was opened by the detective, who kept well be- 
 hind it, when two men stepped into the room, which was 
 unlighted. Christie slammed the door to and locked it, 
 and before the new arrivals could realize that they were 
 trapped, they were handcuffed and placed with the others 
 in the back room, after a bit of a struggle. The last 
 comers were Baker (alias Young), and Edwards (alias 
 Brown). Not content with the haul already made, and
 
 32 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 judging from what the landlady had said as to the 
 number of men living at Ben Long's, it was determined 
 to see if any more would turn up, accordingly the door 
 of the room in which the men were caged being closed. 
 
 Christie resumed his position behind the front door. 
 His patience was soon rewarded, for after a short inter- 
 val there was another knock, and in a low voice the 
 detective asked who was there, when a voice replied, 
 "It's all right, Ben." On the door being opened a man 
 and woman stepped in and the door was at once locked 
 and Christie called for a light, which being brought 
 disclosed the fact that they had netted two more notori- 
 ous criminals McEwan and "Mother" Waddle, each 
 having aliases. The new comers joined the happy party, 
 and as the supply of handcuffs had run short they were 
 made fast with a clothes line found on the premises. 
 Having the thieves secure, a boy outside was sent for the 
 cab which had been waiting all the time (the driver 
 being a man usually employed by Christie on his plea- 
 sant jaunts), and was on arrival sent to the Police Sta- 
 tion for three constables, and to bring two furniture vans 
 to remove the stolen goods with which the place was 
 crowded. On arrival of the reinforcement, the prisoners 
 were bundled into the cab and the plunder placed in 
 the vans and all taken to the detective office, where the 
 other detectives were found all sitting at muster. 
 
 The arrival of seven prisoners and two van loads of 
 recovered property created considerable excitement and 
 jubilation, as such a large haul at once seldom occurs. 
 The prisoners were all placed in the lock up pending their 
 trial. The next day Christie returned to Howard Street, 
 where he found the inhabitants much excited over the
 
 HALLIBURTON'S ROBBERY. 33 
 
 night's happenings. He called at the hotel which he 
 had previously visited in disguise and told the landlady 
 whom he had thought he had captivated the day before, 
 that one of the party who had been arrested was at her 
 hotel the day before and had left his swag in the shed. 
 She replied: "Do you mean the red-headed man?" and 
 being answered in the affirmative said : "Oh the man was 
 a thief, and I would not let him sleep in the house. He 
 had a lot of money, and the scamp wanted me to take 
 care of it for him, but as I thought it was crooked I 
 would have nothing to do with it." When Christie told 
 her he was the red-headed man and thus knew exactly 
 what had passed between them she became very abusive, 
 and the detective, after obtaining his swag, left. He then 
 called on the old woman who lived ne-xt door to Long's 
 and who was much pleased at the clearing out of the 
 gang. He next inspected Long's premises, and there 
 found the marked shoe brushes which had been over- 
 looked before, and under the hearthstone a jimmy, skele- 
 ton keys, a loaded revolver, a dark lantern, and a large 
 brass padlock, which had evidently been the one used 
 in the robbery. Pieces of the tickets which had been 
 on the cloth were found half burnt in the fireplace. On 
 examination of the cloth recovered the roll from which 
 the piece had been cut was found intact, and the two 
 fitted exactly. The gang was duly tried and convicted 
 and sentenced each to eight years' imprisonment with 
 hard labour. The detectives were highly complimented 
 by the presiding judge on the ability shown in the con- 
 duct of the cases. Christie himself was presented with 
 amounts totalling twenty-five pounds in recognition of 
 his part in the case.
 
 34 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 At the trial Aspinall, the celebrated barrister and wit, 
 defended the prisoners and attempted to discredit Chris- 
 tie's statement that he had viewed the interior of the 
 thieves' den through a keyhole. 
 
 "Supposing I bring the landlord to prove that the 
 door has no keyhole, what would you say?" he asked. 
 
 "That I looked through a keyhole," replied Christie. 
 
 But the judge was obviously impressed by the appar- 
 ent earnestness of the barrister, and directed Christie 
 and another officer to proceed and further examine the 
 door. 
 
 "Does your Honour expect them to bring back the 
 keyhole?" asked Aspinall to the amusement of all. 
 
 They did, however, bring back the next best thing. 
 That was a piece of wood with which the keyhole had 
 been plugged up. 
 
 That settled the case. A verdict of guilty was brought 
 in, and the eight offenders all received heavy sentences, 
 as stated.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 ROBBERIES. 
 
 ONE Sunday night, the warehouse of Haigh Bros., 
 a firm of tailors situated in Collins Street, was 
 broken into by burglars, who had effected 
 entrance through the roof by breaking in a skylight, and 
 by the aid of a rope ladder. The thieves carried off pro- 
 perty valued at several hundred pounds, and one of the 
 partners on Monday morning immediately reported the 
 matter to the detective office. Detectives Williams and 
 Christie were told off at once to take the case in hand. 
 The two officers had no difficulty in soon seeing that 
 expert cracksmen had been at work. The officers 
 arranged to meet at the post office at 8 in the evening. 
 
 Christie dressed himself up to give himself the 
 appearance of a bushman just arrived from the 
 back country, sauntered down to the post office and 
 waited for his brother detective. Whilst seated he was 
 spied by a constable, who went up to him and told him 
 to move on. Christie, saying nothing, got up and strolled 
 along through the crowd at the corner of the street, and 
 whilst so doing the same constable again noticed him 
 and, walking up to him, said, "If you do not clear out 
 of this at once I'll "vag" you, as I know you are a mags- 
 man." At this particular moment Christie's mate came 
 on the scene and, having seen his disguise before, recog- 
 nised him but said nothing. Christie then sauntered 
 away into Little Bourke Street, and was soon followed 
 by Williams, who joined him, telling him as a great joke 
 
 35
 
 36 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 that the constable who had told Christie to clear out 
 had just informed him that the latter was a notorious 
 magsman and a card sharper named Murphy. Williams, 
 hardly able to keep his countenance, had said that he 
 would shepherd Murphy and went after the supposed 
 magsman. 
 
 Whilst the two detectives were standing in front 
 of an hotel a man passed whom Christie had seen dis- 
 charged from Pentridge Prison about three weeks before, 
 named William Owen. On seeing this man he said to 
 Williams, "Why there goes Owen who was discharged 
 only the other day. I wonder what he is up to now?" 
 Williams replied, "If that is Bill Owen you may be sure 
 he was on the job we have in hand, because he is an 
 expert cracksman, and being moreover a tailor by calling, 
 would be the most likely man to be concerned in a rob- 
 bery of cloth and mercery." Christie parted with Wil- 
 liams and followed Owen up the street as far as the 
 entrance to the Theatre Royal, where Owen met another 
 man apparently by appointment, and, having purchased 
 tickets, both men went into the pit of the Theatre. Chris- 
 tie followed the two men and sat down on a seat im- 
 mediately behind them. Between the acts they conversed 
 in very low and generally inaudible tones together, but 
 from a few fragments of their conversation, Christie felt 
 sure he was on the right track and that they were the 
 men who were wanted. Owen was heard to say to his 
 friend that as they had a large swag of silk handkerchiefs 
 on hand, they had better get rid of them, and that he 
 thought he could fence them with old Levi, who was a 
 notorious fence, and that the latter could "stand for 
 them."
 
 ROBBERIES. 37 
 
 Owen, at the conclusion of the play, left with 
 his mate and they walked up Bourke Street together, 
 but parted company opposite Parliament House, Owen 
 telling his mate to be sure and be up early in the morn- 
 ing, to which the latter replied, "All right." The de- 
 tective followed Owen through various streets to a 
 cottage in Victoria Street, which the man entered, and 
 soon after his entrance a light was seen in one of the 
 windows, which Christie concluded was Owen's room. 
 He noticed a card in the window, on which was printed 
 "William Jones, Tailor." On enquiring at a neighbour- 
 ing hotel of the landlord the officer was informed that 
 the owner of the cottage was a decent old man who let 
 two rooms furnished to lodgers, but the names of the 
 latter were not known. 
 
 On returning to the cottage, the detective having en- 
 tered the garden, crawled up to the window in which 
 the light was seen, and, looking under the corner of 
 the blind, could make out a man undressing, who got 
 to bed and blew out the candle. Seeing his quarry 
 apparently disposed of for the night, Christie hailed a 
 passing cab and, jumping in, ordered the cabman to 
 drive to Williams' house. Having roused up the detec- 
 tive, the two returned to Owen's house, which they in- 
 tended to search. On arrival, Christie knocked at the 
 window, and an old man came with a light. The de- 
 tective motioned him to open the front door, and Christie 
 having told his business, went into the old man's bed- 
 room. 
 
 The old man told all that he knew of his lodger. 
 He said that on Sunday evening, the night of the rob- 
 bery, Owen had gone out and did not return till nearly
 
 38 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 daylight, and that as Owen had forgotten to take his 
 latch key with him, he had to get up and let him in. His 
 lodger had two other men with him, and had come in a 
 cab, from which they carried several bundles into Owen's 
 room. The mates then drove away. His lodger told 
 the old man that he had brought some goods there to 
 start tailoring. 
 
 Detective Christie then went to the door of Owen's 
 room, entered noiselessly, and found the occupant fast 
 asleep. Lighting a candle he held it to the sleeper's 
 face, at the same time shaking him by the shoulder. 
 The sleeper, starting up, said, "Hallo, Avhat's up?" "It 
 is all right, Bill," said Christie. "I am a detective, and 
 am going to search your rooms for goods stolen from 
 that warehouse in Collins Street that you cracked on 
 Sunday night." "Who gave me away?" said the man, 
 "for you seem to know all about it." "Never mind," 
 said the officer. "Get up and dress yourself." Then, 
 calling to Williams to come, they arrested the man and 
 slipped the handcuffs on him. Searching the room, they 
 found about 150 worth of goods in the room, some of 
 which were marked with the name of the firm from 
 which they had been stolen. Christie then asked the 
 landlord if he could describe and identify the two men 
 that came with Owen when the packages were brought 
 to the house, and obtained from him a full description 
 of them. From this he found the description given of 
 one of the men was identical with that of the man he 
 had seen in Owen's company at the Theatre, and accord- 
 ingly the detective determined to await the man's arrival. 
 About nine o'clock a knock was heard, and the landlord 
 said that it was one of the men he had seen previously.
 
 ROBBERIES. 39 
 
 Christie told him to tell the caller that Owen had gone 
 out. 
 
 The man then went away, followed by Christie 
 to a small cottage in Collingwood. Christie drove to 
 Detective Williams' house, and the two officers returned 
 to the cottage. Williams having established himself at 
 the back door, Christie knocked at the front and, receiv- 
 ing no answer, burst it open. He found the cottage was 
 entirely empty. While the detectives were then discuss- 
 ing what they should do next, one of the persons in the 
 neighbourhood, a female who had been attracted to the 
 spot by the noise made in breaking open the door, told 
 them the house was hers, and that two men had rented 
 it from her a few days before, and although they had 
 paid the rent in advance had not yet taken up their 
 abode there, though they had been several times in and 
 out. Her son informed them also that on Monday morn- 
 ing early he had seen the men come in a cab and take 
 several bundles from it, which they had carried into the 
 house. They had then subsequently carried the bundles 
 out through the back yard to another cab. On asking 
 the boy if he could recognise the cabman if he saw him, 
 the sharp lad replied, "You bet I would." Christie took 
 the boy and drove round to the different cab stands in 
 the neighbourhood to try and spot the cabman they 
 wanted. The youngster was promised a half-sovereign 
 if he could pick out the man. After driving about for 
 a little time the boy called out, "There he is," indicating 
 a cabman who was passing, having his vehicle loaded up 
 with passengers and luggage. This man was hailed 
 and the position explained to him, and arrangement was 
 made by which his load was transferred to the detectives'
 
 40 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 cab, whilst the latter got into the second cab. The 
 driver said he perfectly remembered the occurrence of 
 driving the men and bundles on Monday morning, and 
 could take them straight to the place where he had driven 
 them. 
 
 Leaving the cab in a right-of-way close to the 
 building, the two detectives effected an entrance through 
 one of the windows. They found no one inside, but 
 found the rest of the goods which had been stolen from 
 the tailor's in Collins Street. The officers then sat down 
 to await the return of the men. Very soon footsteps 
 were heard on the front verandah, and the two men 
 walked in. Christie came out, and, on seeing him, one 
 of the men said, "Oh, I see, we have made a mistake. 
 I beg pardon ; we have come into the wrong house. 
 Having just taken a place, we did not know it very 
 well," and the men turned to go away. To this the 
 officer replied genially, "Oh, you need not apologise, 
 my friend. You have made no mistake. We are very 
 glad to see you, and you are very welcome." 
 
 Before they could recover themselves Williams and 
 Christie had indicated the nature of the wel- 
 come which was extended them by deftly slip- 
 ping the handcuffs on both of them and 
 telling them they were prisoners. The cabman 
 was then called in, and fully identified the men and also 
 the bundles. The men were found to be actually wear- 
 ing suits with the name of the firm they had been stolen 
 from on them, and in the oven of the kitchen range was 
 found a complete kit of burglars' tools, including skele- 
 ton keys of all kinds and a "jimmy" known as an alder- 
 man in the profession. This implement was a clever
 
 ROBBERIES. 41 
 
 piece of workmanship and ingenuity, and, by its means, 
 if a key had been left in the lock of a door on the in- 
 side, the door could be readily and noiselessly unlocked 
 from the outside. In addition was also found a beauti- 
 fully made rope ladder, soft and pliable and yet very 
 strong, which could be carried easily round the body 
 secure from observation. On the jaws of the "alder- 
 man" being compared with the marks of the skylight on 
 the building, they were found to fit exactly. The two 
 burglars were convicted and each sentenced to five years' 
 imprisonment with hard labour.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 BROOKS AND WILSON, COINERS. 
 
 TOWARDS the end of the year 1869, an immense 
 number of counterfeit coins were in circulation, 
 principally half-crowns and florins, and they 
 were so well made that it was only when they were ten- 
 dered to the banks that the deception was discovered. 
 
 The manager of the Bank of Victoria sent for Chris- 
 tie, and showed him some of the counterfeits. Having 
 received the addresses of some of the persons who had 
 been victimised, the detective called on them, but the 
 only clue he could get was that all of them suspected 
 a medium-sized man, who always had a little fair-haired 
 girl, about five or six years old, with him. He then 
 carefully went through the descriptions of prisoners re- 
 cently discharged from Pentridge, who had undergone 
 sentences for coining. He could only find three Robert 
 Smith, Joseph Brooks, and John Wilson. 
 
 Smith, previous to his last sentence, lived in Syna- 
 gogue Lane with a woman named Lizzie Ferguson. 
 Christie dropped into her old haunts, armed with a 
 search warrant, and, accompanied by Detective Hudson, 
 knocked at the door, calling out, "Milk-oh!" 
 
 Lizzie, seeing it was Christie, said, "You're a nice 
 milkman. What's up?" 
 
 Christie said, "Is Bob in?" and she replied that he 
 was. 
 
 42
 
 BROOKS AND WILSON, COINERS. 43 
 
 Bob was just turning out, and was greeted with, 
 "Well, Bob, I have come to look for a red thimble 
 and slang (gold watch and chain) that was pinched last 
 night." 
 
 He replied, "Well now, Christie, I'm surprised at 
 you. I'm only out a few weeks, and have turned square." 
 
 Christie asked him where he was working, and he 
 replied, "I have been doing a few odd jobs among the 
 boats down at the river, and besides the old woman has a 
 quid or two in the Savings Bank." 
 
 After a fruitless search for a coining plant the detec- 
 tive casually remarked : "By the bye, I see Joe Brooks 
 and his mate, Jack Wilson, are out." 
 
 Bob replied, "Yes, they came out after me. I was 
 up in the Market with my old woman Saturday night, 
 and we met Joe with his little girl." 
 
 I said, "How old is the girl? I did not know he 
 had one." 
 
 He replied, "Oh yes; she's a pretty little fair-haired 
 child about five years old, and the image of his old 
 woman." 
 
 I asked what had become of the "old woman." 
 
 "She got a couple of stretch (years) for snowdropping 
 (robbing clothes lines), and she's done about half of her 
 time." 
 
 I said, "Well, who looks after the girl?" 
 
 He replied, "Joe does. He seemed flush of cash and 
 shouted several times for us at the Adam and Eve. 
 He said he was working on the square at a timber yard 
 in Rokeby Street, Collingwood." 
 
 Christie went home and donned his old labourer's suit, 
 and dropped down by a Simpson's Road cab to Rokeby
 
 44 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 Street, but could find no timber yard, so he strolled up 
 to the Glasshouse Hotel, the landlord of which he Jcnew. 
 Christie disclosed his identity to him, and told him*what 
 he was after, giving a description of Brooks and his little 
 girl. 
 
 He replied, "Well, I believe I know the man you 
 mean. He lives in a small sort of courtyard about 
 two hundred yards down Rokeby Street on the opposite 
 side from here. Come outside and I'll show you." 
 
 Christie replied, "Not just now. We'll wait till dark, 
 and then you can show me." 
 
 "Well, come upstairs and I'll show you the entrance 
 to the yard from the street from one of my bedroom 
 windows," and from the upstairs window we had a 
 splendid view. 
 
 The detective determined to wait till dark and then 
 reconnoitre the courtyard. Towards dusk, up came the 
 landlord and said, "The man I mean is in the bar having 
 a drink with a man who's often with him." 
 
 Christie went down into the priva-te bar-parlor, and 
 got a splendid view of them through the glass door 
 leading into the bar. They were Joe Brooks and John 
 Wilson. 
 
 When it got dark Christie strolled down the street 
 and into the yard. There were three small cottages, 
 containing two rooms each, with doors opening into the 
 yard. The top one had a notice up, "Mangling Done 
 Here." He went up to the house. The door was open, 
 and a fat little jolly sort of woman was sitting in front 
 of the fire. He said to her, "Can you tell me which 
 house black Johnson lives in?" and she replied, "Well, 
 there's no niggers living in this street."
 
 BROOKS AND WILSON, -COINERS. .45 
 
 He said, "Well, he gave me directions to come here," 
 and she told him that at the end house of the three 
 
 V * 
 
 there was a charwoman, and in the centre one there 
 were two men and a little girl. 
 
 Almost as she spoke, out came the child with a jug 
 and ran off to the hotel for a jug of beer. She was just 
 the sort of girl described to Christie by the persons who 
 had been victimised with the base coins. The mangle 
 woman said, "There is something queer going on next 
 door. They never get up till 10 or 11 o'clock in the 
 forenoon. They always keep their door locked, and 
 sometimes there is a great smell of chemicals." 
 
 Christie said, "These are very small cottages," and 
 she replied, "Yes ; I pay 6/- a week rent, and there is no 
 back yard, only a door leading out to the front." That 
 was satisfactory, thought the detective, as there was no 
 get-away at the back. 
 
 Obtaining a search warrant, Christie, with Detective 
 Hudson, proceeded next forenoon about 10 o'clock to 
 the house. They were dressed in their ordinary clothes, 
 and crept up the yard past Brooks' window on their 
 hands and knees. They could hear those in the cottage 
 working at something; it sounded like pegging boots. 
 They burst in the door, and discovered Brooks and Wil- 
 son in the very act of coining. 
 
 Brooks had a ladle full of metal in his hand, and 
 made a hit at Christie, who floored him with a left- 
 hander and got the handcuffs on him. In the mean- 
 time Wilson had thrown Hudson and sprung through 
 the window, taking sash and all with him. Leaving 
 Brooks with Hudson, Christie chased Wilson, caught and 
 threw him, holding him down till Driver- Detective Kid- 
 ney came up.
 
 46 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 Searching the house, the detectives found all the ap- 
 pliances requisite for coining, including dies, battery, 
 chemicals, &c. The coins they had just made were still 
 hot and of the same year as those Christie had seen at 
 the Bank of Victoria. They also found a quantity of 
 the metal used in manufacturing the coins. 
 
 The two men were in due course committed for trial, 
 and at the criminal sittings of the Supreme Court, on the 
 15th December, 1869, they were tried, found guilty, 
 and sentenced to four years hard labour each. The little 
 girl, charged as a neglected child, was sent up to gaol 
 to her mother, who had some months still to serve.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 O'GRADY'S ROBBERY. 
 
 DURING the night of the 5th March, 1870, the 
 dwelling of Mr. Michael O'Grady, at Haw- 
 thorn, was broken into by burglars. Amongst the 
 stolen property there was a magnificent silver centre stand 
 of the value of 200 guineas. Christie was directed to take 
 up the case, and he came to the conclusion that the rob- 
 bery was the work of two desperate young burglars 
 named George Lindley and Robert Bitson, who lived 
 with their paramours in a lane off Little Lonsdale Street. 
 
 Christie rigged himself out in a dilapidated old suit 
 and wideawake hat, put one arm in a sling and a ban- 
 dage round his head, and took up a position command- 
 ing the entrance to the right of way in which they all 
 lived. 
 
 Just at dusk, Lindley came out and went into the 
 corner hotel, followed in a few minutes by Bitson, bet- 
 ter known as "White-headed Bob." When they came 
 out they proceeded into Madeline Street, and came to 
 a barber's shop with the name of John Manix over the 
 door. 
 
 About ten months previously Manix, who had occu- 
 pied the position of barber in Pentridge Stockade off 
 and on during the previous nineteen years nearly the 
 whole of which time he had been in the Stockade for 
 daring crimes had been discharged from Pentridge. He 
 enlisted the sympathy of an old and respected clergy- 
 
 47
 
 48 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 man of Carlton, and induced him to set him up in the 
 shop. 
 
 Christie walked boldly into the shop and, sitting down 
 on a chair, desired to be shaved. He saw at once that 
 Manix was identical with the ex-Pentridge barber, and 
 sitting on a form were Lindley and Bitson in close con- 
 versation. After being shaved, Christie engaged a cab, 
 put down the curtains, and pulled up in view of Manix's 
 shop. After some little time Lindley and Bitson came 
 out and returned to their respective "drums." 
 
 Next day Christie watched the whole of the day from 
 a shop nearly opposite. Nearly every night the three 
 met, generally about 9 o'clock in the evening, when they 
 Avould lock the front door and put the blind down. 
 
 One evening, when they were all locked in, Christie 
 ventured up to Manix's back gate. He could hear the 
 three men talking inside the house. He listened atten- 
 tively, and presently saw Manix come outside into 'his 
 yard and bury something. He also threw some hot 
 ashes out. In a little time Lindley and Bitson came out, 
 and Christie heard Manix say to them, "Well, come up 
 to-morrow evening, and we'll whack up." 
 
 Early next morning Christie was at his friend's shop 
 in Madeline Street, to watch Manix. During the day he 
 came out and walked down to a pawn office. After 
 a few minutes, he came out and went back up Swanston 
 Street. Christie went into the shop and said to the pawn- 
 broker, "What did that man want?" He replied, "I 
 was just going to send up for you, as there is something 
 suspicious about him. He told me he was a working 
 jeweller, and wanted to sell me this piece of melted up 
 silver, weighing 90ozs. I told him to leave it with me
 
 Detective Christie watching a Suspected Dwelling. 
 
 Facing page 48}
 
 O'GRADY'S ROBBERY. 49 
 
 while I tested it, and he could return in a couple of hours 
 for the money." The silver was evidently part of 
 O'Grady's centre stand melted down. 
 
 Christie placed Detective Daly in the pawn shop, to 
 hear any conversation that might ensue on Manix's re- 
 turn, but he injudiciously showed himself, and Manix 
 ran out of the shop. Seeing Manix making off up 
 Swanston Street in a cab, Christie drove quickly to the 
 pawn office, picked up Detective Daly, and started in 
 hot pursuit. Getting to Franklyn Street, the detectives 
 had overhauled Manix's cab. The two collided, and the 
 officers were thrown out. Manix ran for the right-of- 
 way at the back of his shop, where Christie caught him. 
 He fought desperately, but Christie knocked him down 
 and handcuffed him, took the key of his front shop door 
 out of his pocket, and Daly and he brought Manix into 
 his shop. 
 
 They searched the place, and found the whole of the 
 silver centre stand in different pieces, except some por- 
 tions which had been melted up into the block he had 
 offered for sale. Other portions of the stand, silver 
 figures, were found in various parts of the roof, hid 
 amongst the rafters. In the yard, partly covered up, 
 was found a splendid new crucible, which had apparently 
 been only used once or twice. In a small shed was a 
 small bag of charcoal, some borax, and a pair of bellows, 
 all useful and necessary for melting down metal. 
 
 Warrants were obtained for the arrest of Lindley and 
 Bitson, charged with burglary at O'Grady's house. In 
 a few nights the three offenders were arrested, and in 
 due course each sentenced to five years hard labour.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 CATCHING A FORGER. 
 
 DURING the year 1871 Christie was on the look- 
 out for a forger from New South Wales, and his 
 whereabouts were supposed to be known to a Mr. 
 Kato, a cattle drover, who lived at McKenzie's boarding 
 house, where Christie also put up. During his sojourn 
 there he made the acquaintance of Mr. Alexander Rose, 
 manager of the National Bank at Emerald Hill (South 
 Melbourne). They became great chums. Through him 
 Christie succeeded in tracing Fraser, the suspected 
 forger, to Tumut. Fraser was arrested, tried, and con- 
 victed of forgery, and received a sentence of five years. 
 At this time Rose knew Christie was a detective. 
 After three or four months of Rose's acquaintance, it 
 struck Christie that he lived greatly in excess of his 
 income. He seemed particularly anxious to impress 
 upon Christie that he had large interests in some of 
 the best mines at Sandhurst (Bendigo), particularly the 
 Great Extended Hustlers. His detective instinct caused 
 Christie to ascertain the truth of the matter, and enquiry 
 proved that no person named Rose held shares in any 
 Bendigo mine. The bank was the mine that was being 
 bled. Rose was engaged to one of the handsome daugh- 
 ters of a popular butcher at Emerald Hill, and he had 
 been very lavish in his presents. The marriage day was 
 fixed. 
 
 50
 
 CATCHING A FORGER. 51 
 
 One morning Christie accompanied him on his way 
 to the bank, and said to him, "Do you wish to sell any 
 of your shares in the Hustlers?" He coloured up, and 
 said, "Certainly not. Why?" 
 
 Looking him straight in the face, Christie said, "Rose, 
 you must think I am a fool not to tumble to your little 
 game; you have not a single share in the Hustlers, and 
 1 may tell you straight, after the lies you have told me 
 I can come to no other conclusion than that you are rob- 
 bing the bank." He seemed as if struck dumb, but re- 
 covering his self-possession, said, "I will make you pay 
 dearly for what you have said," and, turning on his 
 heel, walked quickly away. 
 
 During the next day information came to the Detec- 
 tive Office that Rose was missing. A detective was told 
 off, and the auditors soon found out several cases of 
 embezzlement against him. Previous to leaving Mel- 
 bourne, he wrote letters purporting to be from the man- 
 ager of the branch of the National Bank at Prahran 
 to the managers of the branches at Learmonth and 
 Buninyong, advising each of them that drafts had been 
 issued on them for 200 (each) in favour of George 
 Leslie. He rode to Learmonth, entered the bank, and 
 enquired if 200 had been forwarded to him, and being 
 answered in the affirmative, the money was duly handed 
 over. He then rode to Buninyong, where he repeated 
 the same tactics, and received another 200. He then 
 proceeded to Ballarat, and on the way, in case of acci- 
 dents, he cut the telegraph wires. 
 
 He determined to avoid Ballarat and go to Bendigo, 
 where he remained that night, and an early start next 
 morning took him to Murchison, where he saw the Mel-
 
 52 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 bourne papers containing an account of his misdeeds, 
 his full description, and an intimation that a reward of 
 50 was guaranteed for his arrest and conviction. This 
 scared him very much, and he decided to give himself 
 up. He, sat down and wrote the following letter to 
 Christie : 
 
 Murchison. 
 Dear Christie, 
 
 Meet me at the Shamrock Hotel, Sandhurst, at 8 
 p.m., on the 3rd, and you can earn 50. I am bound to 
 be caught, and would sooner you get the reward than 
 anyone else. 
 
 I remain yours sincerely, 
 
 ALEX. ROSE. 
 
 But he changed his mind before posting the letter, 
 and decided to try to escape to New South Wales. 
 He rode to Violet Town, where he put up for the night 
 at the leading hotel. The hotel-keeper was a farmer, and 
 owned a number of sheep, and was generally considered 
 a good judge of mutton. He asked Rose how he liked 
 the country, and Rose replied, "I will have to like it. 
 I am the newly-appointed Government Inspector of scab 
 in sheep." 
 
 "Oh," replied the publican, "I am pleased to make 
 your acquaintance. If you come out to the back I will 
 show you some fine sheep. H,e soon found that Rose 
 knew nothing whatever about sheep, and decided that 
 he was an impostor. He went straight off to the Police 
 Station to inform the officer in charge. 
 
 When the Senior Constable called at the hotel Rose 
 was at dinner. He and the publican went into Rose's
 
 CATCHING A FORGER. 53 
 
 bedroom, and there the police officer saw some pieces 
 of paper in the fireplace. He picked them up, and 
 put them in his pocket, tore up another piece to resemble 
 the others, and left them in the fireplace. He then went 
 into a private parlour, put the pieces of paper "together, 
 and found it was the letter Rose had written to Christie. 
 The senior constable then promptly arrested Rose, and 
 on searching him 370 in gold was found. He was 
 subsequently tried, found guilty, and sentenced to four 
 years' imprisonment. The Senior Constable got the re- 
 ward, and he had a good laugh at Christie over it.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 AN OPERA SINGER'S JEWELS. 
 
 CHRISTIE'S prestige as a detective was often the 
 cause of his being approached privately to render 
 service in the detection of mysterious crimes. A 
 notable instance of this was what was known as the Lyster 
 Robbery in 1874. It was a matter of burglary, in which 
 the residence of Mr. William Saurin Lyster, the well- 
 known grand opera entrepreneur of the seventies, had 
 been broken into. A haul of jewellery to the value of 
 350, mostly presents made to Mrs. Lyster, had been 
 secured. From the beginning the detectives were com- 
 pletely baffled, and, in spite of the incentive of a 50 
 reward offered by Mr. Lyster, they got more and more 
 at sea as their inquiries proceeded. At last Mr. Lyster 
 lost all patience, and wrote to the press, commenting 
 severely upon the incompetency of the police. His 
 grievance was that the detectives, while assuming most 
 mysterious airs, never got any nearer the elucidation of 
 the crime, the arrest of the criminal, or the recovery of 
 the property. Instead, they continued to flounder in a 
 tangle of "theories." First, they sagely ascribed the 
 crime to professional expert thieves; then they thought 
 that possibly some inmate of the house was the culprit; 
 next, they hazarded the notion that the job might have 
 been the work of some tradesman, visiting or employed 
 about the house. These wild speculations exasperated 
 Mr. Lyster, because he was quite satisfied that they were 
 absurd. He knew, for instance, that no inmate of the 
 house could have been the thief, because on the night 
 
 54
 
 AN OPERA SINGER'S JEWELS. 55 
 
 of the burglary only himself, Mrs. Lyster, and a trusted 
 servant, who, moreover, slept with Mrs. Lyster, occu- 
 pied the premises. The tradesman theory was equally 
 preposterous. So in desperation Mr. Lyster called upon 
 Christie. The rest of the story is best told in Christie's 
 own words : 
 
 I promised to do my utmost to run the thieves down, 
 and Lyster said, "Business is business; here is 10; spare 
 no expense." I replied, "No thanks, Mr. Lyster; you 
 have already generously offered 50. If I succeed that 
 will recompense me." 
 
 The result of my examination merely showed me that 
 the robbery had been executed by men who thoroughly 
 understood their work, and had left not the slightest 
 clue behind them. I determined to hunt up all the pro- 
 fessional cracksmen and see what they were all up to. 
 In a few days after this, as I was passing down Bourke 
 Street opposite Paddy's Market, I spotted an old friend 
 of mine, Dick Jones, the tailor, only recently discharged 
 from Pentridge, after doing a sentence for the robbery at 
 Haigh Bros. I hailed him with, "Hullo, Dick! You 
 are getting very proud." He replied, "Well, Christie, I 
 did not know you at first." Then I said, "You had a 
 hand in that robbery at Lyster's the other night" ; and 
 he replied, "That is the first I heard of Lyster's job." 
 I said, "That is all rot. You and your mates did it, 
 sure enough" ; and he replied, "No, Christie ; you're on 
 the wrong lay this time." I said, "The swag consisted 
 of jewellery, and there is 50 reward ; if you put me on 
 I'll give you 25." "A 'fence' wouldn't give much for 
 the stuff, as it is only fit for the melting-pot," Dick re- 
 plied. "If I had the swag, I wouldn't know what to 
 do with it, as I don't know a 'fence' in the town."
 
 56 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 I now determined to lay a plot for him. I told him 
 the names of two pawnbrokers Henry Scott, of Ste- 
 phen Street, and William James, of Bourke Street. The 
 first was the crooked est "fence" in Melbourne, and the 
 latter was the honestest man in his business. 
 
 I said to Jones, "Now, old man, 25 if you put me on 
 to the job." He replied, "Now, Christie, you ought to 
 know me better than to think I would split on a mate." 
 I said, "Well, I'll have both the men and the stuff be- 
 fore many days are over. The only thing I'm frightened 
 of is that the swag will be taken to Harry Scott's in 
 Stephen Street, or to old James's at the top of Bourke 
 Street. If it is, it will be in the melting-pot in less than 
 five minutes after." He said, "I always thought old 
 James was a square head" ; and I replied, "He stands 
 for any quantity of stuff and melts it down at once: 
 that's why we can't get on to him." 
 
 Dick left me, and after he had gone a short distance 
 I hailed a cab and followed him at a distance, till I 
 saw him go into a house in Levison Street, Hotham. 
 In one of the front windows was hung a Card, with 
 "R. Jones, Tailor," printed on it. I returned in the 
 cab to Melbourne and drove straight to James the 
 pawnbroker's, to whom I said, "Now, James, I want 
 you to help me. You have a list of the jewellery stolen 
 from Lyster's, have you not?" He replied, "Yes," and 
 I said, "Well, I met a notorious burglar this morning, 
 who was likely to have had a hand in Lyster's robbery, 
 and he told me if he had the swag he would not know 
 where to sell it, so I told him that you and Harry Scott 
 were the crooked est and worst fences in Melbourne."
 
 AN OPERA SINGER'S JEWELS. 57 
 
 Mr. James thanked me for giving him such a good 
 character, and I said, "Now, if he has had a hand in the 
 robbery and comes with anything suspicious, I want you 
 to buy it and send for me at once. Come and I'll show 
 you where I can be found when not at the Detective 
 Office. I have rented a shop ; the front window looks 
 straight into Scott's pawnshop, which I am going to 
 watch closely." 
 
 James promised to act up to my instructions. I 
 then acquainted Inspector Secretan of what I had done, 
 and obtained a special detective to assist me. I then 
 proceeded to my hotel and rigged myself up like a swag- 
 man. We went to my shop in Stephen Street and white- 
 washed the front window, leaving a small streak, out of 
 which we could watch without being seen. 
 
 That day we saw nothing, but returned to our posts at 
 7 o'clock next morning, before Scott opened his shop. 
 At about 1 o'clock we heard a knock at the back door. 
 I slipped down the passage and peeped through a side 
 window, and saw that it was old James, the pawn- 
 broker. 
 
 He said, "I think I have got something in your line," 
 and pulled out of his pocket a piece of newspaper. It 
 contained some loose diamonds. He said, "This lozenge- 
 shaped stone answers the description of one of the ring 
 stones in Lyster's robbery; it has a peculiar flaw in it, 
 and they may be able to identify the stone. If they can, 
 I can give you a good clue. I purchased the diamonds 
 from a man for 20, and I gave him 10 on account. 
 I told him that was all the money I had in the shop, 
 and to come back for the balance next day. If you 
 have any more I will buy them."
 
 58 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 "He said, 'I have no more stones, but I have a little 
 jewellery I may bring and sell to you.' " 
 
 I examined the piece of paper the stones were wrapped 
 up in, and said, "Did the man give you the stones in 
 this piece of paper?" 
 
 James said, "No; the piece he had them wrapped 
 up in was a dirty piece of newspaper. I threw it into 
 the waste paper basket." 
 
 I said, "We must go to your shop and get it. I want 
 to examine it." 
 
 We found the piece of newspaper. It had been a part 
 of the Herald, and had a part of an address still on it 
 nes, 
 on St., 
 tham. 
 
 I put the piece of paper carefully away, and James 
 described the man. His description tallied exactly with 
 Jones. I hunted up the Herald of the same day; it con- 
 tained a full account of Lyster's robbery, and had evi- 
 dently been sent to Jones by some of his pals on that 
 account. I drove to the Opera House to see Lyster, who 
 asked me if I had had any luck. 
 
 I replied, "I think so, if you can identify any of these 
 stones;" to which he replied, "I could not, but Mrs. 
 Lyster can," and he sent for her. She picked out the 
 lozenge-shaped stone at once, as being a stone out cf one 
 of her rings. 
 
 Obtaining a cab, and the assistance of Detective Hart- 
 ney, I at once proceeded to Jones's house. Hartney 
 went to the back, and I knocked at the front door, v/hich 
 was opened by Jones himself. He staggered back on 
 seeing me. I said, "Hullo, Dick, what's up? You
 
 AN OPERA SINGER'S JEWELS. 59 
 
 look ill," and he replied, "What do you want here?" 
 
 I said, "I hear you have some skeleton keys which you 
 brought from Pentridge with you when you were dis- 
 charged. You got them made in the blacksmith's shop 
 by Levi Walker, and there is a row about it, so I want 
 them." 
 
 He replied, "I have none, and, if I had, I wouldn't be 
 such a mug as to keep them in my drum." "Well," I 
 continued, "I must search and see." 
 
 We thoroughly searched the house and yard, but found 
 nothing. We walked down to Victoria Street, and on 
 getting round the corner, I told my cabman to wait 
 about the corner and keep an eye on Jones's house, and 
 that if he came out to try and follow him, unless he 
 engaged him; if so, as soon as he was paid off to come 
 to my hotel at once. 
 
 Hartney and I were just finishing dinner when my 
 cabman came rushing in out of breath, and said to me, 
 "Shortly after you left, Jones came quickly down the 
 street towards me, and said, 'I want you. Drive down 
 to King Street.' I drove on down, and when we got to 
 the corner of the Flagstaff Gardens he jumped out, went 
 into the gardens by the corner entrance, and returned 
 with something concealed under his waistcoat. He then 
 told me to drive to the Adam and Eve Hotel in Little 
 Collins Street, and on getting there he slipped round the 
 corner into the small lane leading into Collins Street, 
 then doubled into a small right-of-way, and went into 
 the back entrance to Scott's Pawn Office." I asked him 
 how long it was since he went into the yard, and he 
 replied not five minutes. 
 
 Hartney and I jumped into the cab and drove to
 
 60 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 Scott's. Hartney went to the back, and I walked into 
 the shop by the front door. When Scott came out, I 
 said to him, "Has any one been here offering you any 
 jewellery for sale?" and he replied, "There is a man 
 inside now who has a lot of jewellery for sale. He 
 is showing it to my wife." 
 
 I rushed in and there was Dick Jones with a paper 
 parcel full of jewellery on his knees showing it to Mrs. 
 Scott. He was completely staggered. I asked Mrs. 
 Scott who the jewellery belonged to, and she replied, 
 pointing to Jones, "That man has just brought it here 
 for sale." Turning to Jones, I said, "I told you, Dick, 
 I would get the jewellery, in spite of you." 
 
 He made no answer, and I called Hartney in, took pos- 
 session of the jewellery, and removed Jones to the Dectec- 
 tive Office, and we locked him up in the watch-house, 
 charged with burglary. 
 
 The same evening I took the jewellery to the Opera 
 House and Lyster identified it at once as his. It was 
 intact except that the stones were taken out. We saw 
 the ring in which the lozenge-shaped stone had been ; 
 we tried it in, and it fitted exactly. I then observed 
 that the newspaper in which the jewellery was wrapped 
 was the Plerald. I got the piece in which the diamonds 
 were packed, and on examining the two, the small piece 
 fitted exactly into the large piece. Moreover, the large 
 piece had the other part of the address previously referred 
 to. The case was now complete." 
 
 Jones was brought up at the City Court, committed for 
 trial, and at the Supreme Court on November 15, 1874, 
 he was found guilty, and sentenced to five years' hard 
 labor.
 
 AN OPERA SINGER'S JEWELS. 61 
 
 Mr. Lyster immediately handed me the reward he had 
 offered, viz., 50, and a complimentary ticket to admit 
 two to any theatre under his control as long as he was in 
 the business.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 THE "SNOWBIRD" CASE. 
 
 SOME years ago, the bankruptcy of a large firm of 
 merchants in Sydney Caused considerable stir in 
 commercial circles, and the facts which subse- 
 quently came to light in connection with the affair were 
 somewhat remarkable. The partners having got into pe- 
 cuniary difficulties determined to work a swindle in order 
 to raise sufficient money to enable them to carry on until 
 the marriage of one of them to a wealthy heiress, which 
 had been arranged, would enable them to make use of 
 her fortune to set themselves on their feet and wipe off 
 their liabilities. The scheme they hit upon was to pur- 
 chase goods largely, then ostensibly ship them by their 
 own vessel to some other port, and then cause the ship 
 which carried them to be lost. They intended to insure 
 heavily, and expected to be able to obtain the insurance 
 money promptly, and, having obtained the goods origin- 
 ally on long bills, would be able to make use of the 
 money in the interval. But this was not all. Instead 
 of exporting the actual goods, they intended to ship 
 dummy cases only, with the same marks on them. 
 
 In pursuance of the scheme determined on, the firm 
 purchased the schooner Snowbird and loaded her with 
 a dummy cargo. They had appointed a master, who 
 was also in the swindle, and the ship was duly cleared 
 by him at the Customs for Sweers Island, in the Gulf 
 of Carpentaria. The fictitious cargo was insured for 
 10,000 and the vessel for her value only. 
 
 62
 
 
 THE "SNOWBIRD" CASE. 63 
 
 No doubt the swindlers thought it safer not to over- 
 insure the ship, as to have done so would have caused 
 enquiry and investigation when she was lost. When on 
 the voyage and about 60 miles from Cleveland Bay in 
 Queensland, the ship took fire and was burnt, the master 
 and crew taking to the boats and arriving safely at that 
 port. In connection with this matter, it was a some- 
 what significant fact that a barque owned by the same 
 firm about the same time left Auckland and was never 
 more heard of. 
 
 Meanwhile the goods ostensibly shipped in the Snow- 
 bird Avere being disposed of by the partners, and a por- 
 tion of them was sent to Melbourne to be sold. On 
 account of pressure of creditors before they could com- 
 plete their scheme, the partners were compelled to file 
 their schedule; as a consequence an official assignee was 
 appointed to the estate, and the recent transactions of 
 the firm came under notice. Evidence soon came to light 
 of swindling, and the partners were arrested, as was also 
 the master of the late Snowbird, and they were all 
 charged with conspiracy to defraud. Enquiry as to the 
 disposal of the goods the firm had purchased just prior 
 to stopping payment, revealed the fact as to the fictitious 
 nature of the Snowbird's cargo, and also of the despatch 
 to Melbourne of a portion of the purchase for sale there. 
 These goods were in charge of two men named O'Brien 
 and Rogers. Immediately this fact became known to the 
 assignee a warrant was obtained for their arrest, and 
 telegrams sent to the police in Melbourne asking that 
 the men should be apprehended. The telegram also 
 stated that the goods had been sent by a certain steamer. 
 
 The officer in charge of the detective branch directed
 
 64 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 Detective Christie to take up the case. His first object 
 was to find out what had become of the goods, and on 
 ascertaining that duty had been paid on them, and that 
 they had passed through the Customs, he sought out the 
 carter who had conveyed them away and from him learnt 
 they had been taken to a well-known auction room in 
 Collins Street for sale. He then called on the auctioneer, 
 who informed him that the two men who were the osten- 
 sible owners of the goods had instructed him to sell them. 
 They had asked him for an advance of 1,000 on 
 account of the goods, which he readily gave by means 
 of an open cheque. The men had arranged to call again 
 the next day, but he had not seen or heard anything of 
 them since, and, according to instructions, had sold the 
 goods, which had fetched nearly 3,000. It was evident 
 that they had received warning from Sydney that a war- 
 rant had been taken out there for their apprehension, 
 and had felt that their only chance of avoiding arrest 
 was to keep in concealment and be content with the ad- 
 vance they had received from the auctioneer. 
 
 Christie then called at the bank upon which the auc- 
 tioneer had given the men the cheque, where the teller 
 told him that he had cashed the cheque in question and 
 had paid the men twenty 50 notes, all new. He also 
 furnished a detailed description of the appearance of 
 each man, for he had taken particular notice of them. 
 The detective then went the round of the banks in Mel- 
 bourne asking the officials of each to assist him in trac- 
 ing the fugitives by informing him if the men or either 
 of them in the course of the next few days should pay 
 in or obtain cash or draft for any of the notes. 
 
 Next morning Christie received a message from one of
 
 THE "SNOWBIRD" CASE. 65 
 
 the banks to call, and, on calling, was informed that 
 one of the notes had been paid in by the landlord of one 
 of the hotels of Melbourne. Christie immediately pro- 
 ceeded to this hotel, and learnt from the landlord that 
 he had taken the note and given change for it from 
 a man who had a bundle of them in his pocket. The man 
 had a friend with him and said they had come from Syd- 
 ney. The landlord had not seen either of the men since, 
 and did not know where they were living or anything 
 more about them. He remembered, however, that a 
 waiter had called a cab for them when they were leaving. 
 This waiter was called and said he remembered the men 
 quite well, and knew the cabman who had taken them 
 away. He was then dispatched to find the cabman, and 
 soon brought him to the hotel. Christie then engaged the 
 cab, and, after picking up Detective Mainwaring at 
 the City watch-house, the driver was asked if he remem- 
 bered taking away two gentlemen from the hotel men- 
 tioned, and whether he could drive the detectives to the 
 house to which he had taken them. This the cabman 
 said he could do, and when they had arrived at the 
 corner of Gertrude Street the cabman pointed out a two- 
 storied house, which he said was the place where the 
 two men had left him. As it was desirable before pro- 
 ceeding to the house to ascertain who the tenant was, 
 and what character he (or she) had, Christie stopped 
 at a chemist's close by and made enquiries from him. 
 He was told the occupant was a widow, who kept a 
 lodging-house and was a respectable person. 
 
 Whilst at the chemist's the detective wrote a memor- 
 andum purporting to be a request to a firm of solicitors 
 that they would send someone at once to see the writer,
 
 66 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 and that the cabman who was the bearer of the memo, 
 would point out the house they were desired to call at. 
 The detective, leaving the cab a few doors away, knocked 
 at the door of the house. The door was opened by a 
 woman, who was evidently the landlady, and one of the 
 detectives, assuming a strong Irish brogue, stated they 
 had called to see Mr. O'Brien and Mr. Rodgers, and 
 enquired if they were in. 
 
 "No," said she, "they do not live here." 
 
 "That is strange," said the officer, "because they sent 
 this letter to our firm. They said they wished particu- 
 larly to see us to-day on very important business." 
 
 The woman hesitated. At last she said, "Excuse me 
 for a moment, while I go upstairs." 
 
 He replied, "Oh, as they are not here, we must hurry 
 back to our office." 
 
 On hearing this the woman said, "Well, Mr. O'Brien 
 and Mr. Rodgers are staying here, but they told me 
 to say they did not. But as you are their solicitors I 
 will tell them you are here. They are up in their bed- 
 room." 
 
 The officers then remarked that they would go up with 
 her. The woman made no objection, and they followed 
 her closely up the stairs. She knocked at a door, which 
 was opened by O'Brien, and Christie pushed into the 
 room, saying, "We are detectives." 
 
 On hearing this the landlady opened fire upon them 
 in most abusive terms. Taking no notice of her, how- 
 ever, they arrested both the men, searching their rooms 
 and luggage, but without success. They were brought 
 before the bench, but as no warrant had been received 
 for their arrest, the police magistrate ordered their dis- 
 charge.
 
 THE "SNOWBIRD" CASE. 67 
 
 The men left the court very jubilant, but the detec- 
 tives, knowing the warrant would be over that day from 
 Sydney, re-arrested them. The warrant duly came to 
 hand. The prisoners were again brought before the 
 magistrate and remanded to Sydney. 
 
 The detective was much puzzled as to what had be- 
 come of the balance of the money which the men had 
 received. He determined to again search the lodgings. 
 It should have been related that when leaving the house 
 with their prisoners, the landlady had invited Christie 
 into her sitting room, where she apologised to him for 
 the language she had used to him upstairs. She then 
 produced a bottle of whiskey, saying, "I have got a drop 
 of the real stuff here, and to show there is no animosity 
 between us, you must have a nip." Christie affably com- 
 plied. 
 
 With a view to propitiating the lady on his second 
 visit, he brought a bottle of the best Irish whiskey. She 
 conducted him into her parlour, where Christie produced 
 his bottle, saying that as she had been kind enough to 
 "shout" for him when he was last there, he had now 
 brought some first-class whiskey to return her hospitality. 
 The landlady was nothing loath, and the detective poured 
 her out a regular "second mate's allowance," i.e., three 
 fingers. After the lady had disposed of this he drew 
 her on to talk about the recent arrest in her house. Then 
 he pressed his fair friend to have just a trifle more, and 
 desired her to keep the bottle to be finished at her leisure. 
 The lady was much pleased at this, and expressed her 
 appreciation of his generosity. Having thus loosened 
 her tongue, Christie asked her permission to go upstairs 
 and make another search in the men's room. To this
 
 68 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 she willingly assented. Calling the landlady after hav- 
 ing finished his task, he examined her minutely as to 
 the movements of her lodgers while they were in the 
 house and especially asked her to tax her memory as to 
 where they had been about the house or in the yard, 
 or whether she could recollect having seen them in any 
 other spot than their rooms or going up the stairs. 
 
 She said, "Now I remember that on the evening be- 
 fore they were arrested I heard someone on the landing 
 upstairs and ran up to see who was there. Both men 
 were there, and one of them was on his knees and part 
 of the carpet was turned up. They seemed confused, 
 and one of them said to me, 'You ought to have this car- 
 pet tacked down, as it is most dangerous. My friend's 
 foot caught in it, and he slipped down and has hurt 
 his knee.' I said I was very sorry and would tack it 
 down immediately." The woman added, "But as it is 
 a roll of notes you are after, if they were under the car- 
 pet, you would feel them easily enough." The detective 
 then went to the spot where she had seen the men and 
 ripped the carpet up, but no notes were to be seen. On 
 examining the floor beneath, however, he observed a 
 short loose board, which had evidently been cut to admit 
 of the gas pipe in the hall below being got at. Prizing 
 up this board and putting his arm into the cavity, he 
 felt something soft, and found that it was a roll of new 
 notes, the full balance of the money for the cheque. 
 
 His fair friend exclaimed, "Well, I never; you detec- 
 tives are as cute as the devil !" Christie took the notes 
 to the office, whence they were forwarded to the official 
 assignee in Melbourne, who marked his appreciation of
 
 THE "SNOWBIRD" CASE. 69 
 
 the detective's acuteness by sending him a present of 
 fifty pounds. 
 
 As regards the swindlers, five in number altogether, 
 they were duly tried and all convicted and sentenced 
 to imprisonment. Four of them, including O'Brien and 
 Rogers, received five years each and one two years. 
 
 This successful issue was due in a very large measure 
 to the splendid work done by Detective Bowden in 
 Sydney.
 
 PART II. 
 AS ROYAL "SHADOW."
 
 H.R.H. Prince Alfred, DuKe of Edinburgh. 
 
 (From a Photograph taken at the time of/i/'s I'isit to Australia). 
 
 Pacing page 72}
 
 Detective Christie as a Sailor on H.M.S. Galatea. 
 Disguise used while travelling' -with the 
 
 DuKe of Edinburgh. 
 Facing page 73}
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 THE VISIT OF PRINCE ALFRED. 
 
 WHEN Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, 
 second son of Queen Victoria, arrived 
 at Adelaide in H.M.S. Galatea, on 
 February 22nd, 1869, the Prince wrote to Cap- 
 tain Standish, then Chief Commissioner of Police 
 of Victoria, enquiring if a brother to Captain 
 James Christie of the 42nd Highlanders was 
 serving in the Victorian Police Force, and asked, if such 
 were the case, that he might be directed to wait upon 
 him on board the Galatea. When Detective Christie 
 presented himself in response to this command, it was 
 arranged that he should be in close attendance on the 
 Duke during his visit and exercise the greatest care that 
 no undesirable characters approached the latter, and to 
 take all necessary precautions to ensure his safety. This 
 precaution was rendered necessary by the action of a 
 fanatic who, in Sydney on his previous visit, shot at 
 and wounded the Prince. Christie therefore in pursu- 
 ance of his duty attended the Prince wherever he went 
 night and day, accompanying him all over Victoria, and 
 some amusing and interesting incidents in connection 
 with the royal visit are to be related. 
 
 Some of the officers connected with the ship or in 
 attendance on the Duke were young and full of high 
 spirits. At this time the present Treasury Gardens had 
 not been made, and at the back of the Treasury there 
 existed a gully, which was subsequently filled in, and 
 which led from the Treasury Buildings to the Fitzroy 
 
 73
 
 74 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 Gardens. A few of these officers were much taken with 
 the statue of Venus in the Fitzroy Gardens and, in a 
 frolicsome mood, were carrying it to the Melbourne 
 Club, where Captain Standish, Chief Commis- 
 sioner of Police, resided, in order to put it 
 into the Captain's bed. They had got it half 
 way across the gully, when suddenly the moon 
 shone out very brightly and disclosed the party to the 
 eye of a vigilant constable. Seeing what looked like a 
 party of men carrying a naked corpse, the constable 
 ordered them to stop. The party took the alarm and 
 promptly bolted in different directions, leaving the 
 "corpse" on the ground. The constable gave chase, but 
 in doing so fell head over heels into an unsavoury heap 
 of refuse, and by the time he had recovered himself all 
 trace of the men was lost. Next day Venus was restored 
 to her pedestal, and nothing more was heard of the 
 affair. 
 
 On one occasion the Duke informed Christie that a 
 diamond ring, a gift from the Tzar of Russia, had been 
 stolen from his room and desired him to endeavour to 
 recover it. No trace could be found of the valuable 
 article, but as a last resource Christie carefully over- 
 hauled the Prince's room, and the ring came to light 
 hidden in one of the fingers of a glove the Prince had 
 thrown aside. 
 
 The Prince, who resided at the Melbourne Club, went 
 about the city a good deal incognito, and was always 
 shadowed by Christie in his rambles. 
 
 Whilst the Duke was staying at the Club a rather 
 funny thing happened. One of the members, a bit of 
 a tuft-hunter, never lost the opportunity of making up
 
 THE VISIT OF PRINCE ALFRED. 75 
 
 to any member of the British aristocracy who might visit 
 Melbourne. One day during the Prince's stay at the 
 Club this member observed a tall fashionably-dressed 
 man, apparently waiting for some one. The clubman 
 immediately concluded that the stranger was a member 
 of the Prince's suite. Accordingly he bustled round the 
 club rooms to find some one who could introduce him. 
 Not being successful in this, he determined to address 
 the stranger himself, and approached him with some re- 
 mark about the weather. The stranger was most affable, 
 and replied in an English drawl that the country was 
 much to his liking and the people everything that could 
 be wished. The conversation was then proceeding, alto- 
 gether to the satisfaction of the clubman, when Prince 
 Alfred appeared. Seeing him coming, the stranger sud- 
 denly broke off, saying, "Pardon me, I must speak to the 
 Prince." This confirmed the clubman in his supposition 
 as to the rank and position of the gentleman he had been 
 conversing with, and he determined to endeavour to fos- 
 ter the acquaintance so happily commenced. 
 
 That same afternoon the clubman called in at a tobac- 
 conist's in Collins Street to obtain a cigar, and whilst 
 going in he was passed by a customer quietly going out, 
 the same distinguished gentleman he had been talking to 
 in the Club. He asked the tobacconist who that gentle- 
 man was who had just gone out. "Oh," the salesman 
 said, "don't you know him? That is Detective Chris- 
 tie." 
 
 When the time came for his departure to Sydney, the 
 Duke made Christie a present of a very handsome blue 
 pearl pin mounted to represent a snake coil. The Prince 
 expressed his great satisfaction at the manner in which
 
 76 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 Christie had carried out his somewhat delicate duties. 
 On the day of leaving, Christie accompanied the Royal 
 party to Sandridge, where the visitors were to embark 
 on the Galatea. Whilst standing on the pier, Prince 
 Alfred came up to Christie and said to him that he was 
 very desirous that he should accompany him during his 
 entire trip in Australia and New Zealand. The latter 
 said he was, of course, under orders, but that if the Com- 
 missioner approved, he would be very glad to go. A 
 consultation then took place between the Governor (Sir 
 Henry Manners-Sutton), the Premier, and Captain 
 Standish, with the result that permission was given. As 
 the Galatea was just on the point of sailing, Christie 
 told Captain Standish that as there would be no time 
 for him to return to the city to obtain his clothes, etc., 
 he would have to go just as he was, and moreover that 
 he had no money. Captain Standish then bustled round, 
 and between himself and some of his friends got together 
 the necessary funds and told Christie he should have 
 his clothes sent after him. When Christie got on board 
 he was very uneasy in his mind at being without his 
 dress-suit and other clothes. The Prince's valet came 
 to him and told him that the Duke had given instruc- 
 tions that he was to be fitted up with all that he required 
 from the Duke's own wardrobe, including a brand-new 
 dress-suit. 
 
 The duties devolving upon him in Sydney were much 
 the same as what had been previously required, atten- 
 dance on the Prince at a constant round of balls, dinners, 
 theatres, races, pigeon matches, etc. On the more pri- 
 vate excursions the necessity for the protection of the
 
 THE VISIT OF PRINCE ALFRED. 77 
 
 Prince being recognised, Christie frequently assumed a 
 disguise, often dressing as a sailor of the Galatea. 
 
 Whilst at the theatre one night, the gas being turned 
 very low during one of the acts, Christie was standing 
 at the back of the Royal Box and observed a dark object 
 come whizzing down from the upper circle into the 
 Royal Box, landing in the lap of the Countess of Bel- 
 more, the wife of the New South Wales Governor, who 
 was sitting next to the Prince. In an instant (having 
 visions of bombs, infernal machines, etc., in his mind) 
 he slipped into the box, saying to the Countess, "Don't 
 move," picked up the missle, ran out of the dress circle, 
 and, without examining it, threw it down the back-stairs. 
 On investigation it proved to be nothing more dangerous 
 than a big bunch of flowers, which some enthusiast had 
 thrown from the gallery to the Prince. 
 
 The Galatea reached New Zealand on the llth April, 
 1869. Christie found a spot where the Prince might 
 land in the evening, as he wished to go ashore incognito. 
 It was beginning to blow very hard and the sea was get- 
 ting up fast. The sailor Duke, however, insisted on 
 leaving the ship punctually at 8 p.m. The boat was 
 pitched about considerably. It then lifted on the sea, 
 came down on the top of a pile, and stove in her bow. 
 One of the men tried to stop the rush of water, which 
 soon became knee deep. The boat was now in the 
 breakers and being regularly pooped by the waves. The 
 water was up to the thwarts, and it looked as if they 
 would all have to swim for it. The Duke at this junc- 
 ture took charge, issuing his orders as coolly and gamely 
 as if on a river. Just as the boat was sinking, she 
 grounded heavily. The crew patched her up in some
 
 78 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 way, mainly by stuffing clothes into the leaks, and man- 
 aged to get her back to the Galatea, the sea having sud- 
 denly gone down as it frequently does in that harbour. 
 Not to be beaten, the party changed clothes and started 
 for the shore in another boat, and the Duke landed safely 
 at the spot selected. 
 
 Next day the official landing took place. There was 
 the usual round of festivities, in which the Maories took 
 a great share, exhibiting native dances, etc. Fine sport 
 was given to the Prince amongst the wild pigs, and dur- 
 ing a chase of one the Prince fell into a ditch full of 
 water but shot the animal and, although dripping wet, 
 went to the assistance of a mounted policeman who was 
 being attacked by a wild boar. The constable, however, 
 killed the animal with his sword just as the Duke reached 
 him. 
 
 Several robberies of jewellery at some of the leading 
 hotels took place, and the local police were puzzled as 
 to the culprit. The officer in charge of the police asked 
 Christie to give him his assistance in discovering the 
 thief. He immediately endeavoured, as usual, to obtain 
 a "clue." His suspicions were directed to a man, a pho- 
 tographer, who, by representing to the Commodore who 
 left Sydney for Wellington after the Galatea had sailed, 
 that he was the Duke's own photographer and had missed 
 his passage in the Galatea, obtained the Commodore's 
 permission to have a passage in his ship to New Zealand. 
 This man was staying at one of the best hotels and liv- 
 ing in considerable style. There was little time to lose, 
 so Christie determined to risk it and attempt a coup de 
 main. He accordingly went to the hotel where the sus- 
 pect was living and, going to his room, interviewed the 
 photographer.
 
 THE VISIT OF PRINCE ALFRED. 79 
 
 "Oh, I beg your pardon," said Christie. "I see I have 
 made a mistake in the room. I wanted to see a friend of 
 mine about those robberies." 
 
 "What robberies?" said the man. 
 
 "Haven't you heard about them?" said Christie. 
 "Why, the detectives have got on the track of the thief, 
 and are now busy searching the room upstairs for him 
 and his plunder. They are coming to this floor next, and 
 I want to get my keys from my friend, with whom I 
 left them, so as to be ready to show the detectives the 
 contents of my portmanteaux." 
 
 The photographer turned pale at this, and without a 
 word slammed the door on Christie's face and locked it. 
 The window of this room opened on a balcony, and it 
 was anticipated that if the occupant of the room was 
 really the thief he would try and get off through this 
 window, which was being watched from the yard by 
 police. When the door was locked, Christie did not 
 retire, but remained listening at it and distinctly heard 
 the hurried opening of portmanteaux. He then knocked 
 and called out in a feigned voice: "Open this door; we 
 are detectives and must enter." With that the window 
 was heard to be cautiously lifted. Christie had taken 
 the precaution of opening the window of the room ad- 
 joining, which also looked on to the balcony, and, hear- 
 ing the opening of the window, slipped into it and out 
 on to the balcony, meeting the man as he stepped on to 
 it. The police below were signalled to come up, and 
 meanwhile the man was bundled back into his room. 
 They found the whole of the stolen property on him, 
 and he was duly tried and convicted of theft. 
 
 At the next port of call, the Prince at dusk, accom-
 
 80 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 parried by Christie, who was dressed as a sailor, went 
 ashore incognito. The people were wildly enthusiastic 
 at the arrival of the Prince and the sight of one of the 
 crew of the Galatea, the first to be seen on shore, caused 
 them to give the latter the warmest of receptions, es- 
 pecially when he informed enquirers that he was the 
 Duke's coxswain. The Prince himself was not recog- 
 nised, as he completely effaced himself, leaving Christie 
 to be the spokesman. The Duke was dressed in a blue 
 suit, wide-awake hat, and a big muffler round his neck. 
 No one recognised him, and he was much amused, 
 especially at the many and extraordinary questions which 
 were put to his "coxswain" as to the Prince's habits. 
 When they reached the gig and the officer in charge 
 saluted with the usual ceremony of receiving him, the 
 considerable number of people who had followed the 
 two down to the wharf saw who their visitor really was, 
 and raised a tremendous cheer as the boat shoved off. 
 
 On the next passage the corvette H.M.S. Blanche was 
 seen approaching on the weather bow with every stitch 
 of canvas she could possibly crowd on. Directly the 
 Duke noticed her he gave orders to pile on all the sail 
 the Galatea could stand, including upper and lower stun- 
 sails. The breeze was very fresh, and it was a pretty 
 sight to see both vessels bowling along, each under a 
 perfect cloud of white sheets. In spite of the Galatea 
 being the best sailer as a rule, on this occasion the 
 Blanche held her own, being of lesser draught and able 
 to keep nearer in shore. 
 
 At Canterbury the same festivities took place as at 
 other towns. It was at first intended that the Duke 
 should have been driven to Hokatika, to enable him to see 
 the magnificent scenery on the way out.
 
 THE VISIT OF PRINCE ALFRED. 81 
 
 Information had been conveyed to the authorities that 
 a party of Fenians had conspired to lay an ambush in 
 the Otira Gorge and capture the Prince, take him into 
 the mountains, and hold him as a hostage with a view 
 to the settlement of the Irish question. The leader of 
 the enterprise speaks of the matter openly to this day. 
 The trip was therefore abandoned. 
 
 Amongst other amusements the Duke attended the 
 races in company with Lord Charles Beresford, the well- 
 known admiral and hero of Alexandria, and was 
 very successful in backing horses. He then 
 went to another town in the Blanche, the Galatea 
 drawing too much water, and whilst there was 
 driven further in a carriage with eight magnificent 
 grey horses, the ribbons being handled by "Cabbage Tree 
 Ned" (Devine), a celebrated coach-driver. Whilst at this 
 place there was introduced to him a splendid specimen 
 of a Highlander, who was a brother of the well-known 
 John Brown, the personal attendant of the late Queen 
 Victoria. The Duke attended the races, where he won 
 200 on "Captain Scot," a horse of Ned Devine's. When 
 going to the races the Prince usually drove his own team 
 of four horses, as he was a first-class whip. 
 
 During this visit a somewhat regrettable incident hap- 
 pened. A young lady made a wager with her fiance 
 of a half-dozen pairs of gloves that she would at one 
 of the celebrations walk up to the Prince and pinch his 
 arm. The young man sent an anonymous letter to the 
 Chief of Police, telling him what the girl meant to do. 
 This letter was handed to Christie to take such action 
 as might be thought necessary. He invoked the aid of 
 the detectives, and they kept a watch on the young lady.
 
 82 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 On the day of the ceremony Christie kept on the qui 
 vive, and, just when the Duke was talking to the Mayor 
 prior to the opening ceremony, saw a detective standing 
 close by a young lady in the crowd. This officer gave 
 him a signal. At this moment the girl stepped boldly 
 forward out of the crowd and started in the direction of 
 the Duke. Christie at once intercepted her, and, raising 
 his hat and touching her arm, said : "Good morning, 
 Miss. I am so pleased to see you," addressing her as if 
 she were a friend. 
 
 She was much taken aback, and said : "You are a 
 stranger to me; please let me pass." As her way was 
 blocked by Christie and, finding he did not move, she 
 added : "I merely wish to just touch the Duke, and, if 
 I do, will win six pairs of gloves." 
 
 Christie then informed her he was a detective and 
 could not allow her to proceed as she wished, but the 
 Duke would be glad to receive her in the proper form. 
 She very willingly accepted the alternative, duly made 
 her appearance, was introduced to and shaken hands with 
 by the Duke, and, on leaving, received a box of gloves 
 from Christie on the Duke's behalf. 
 
 The Duke had attended an exhibition of boxing by the 
 local champion boxer and other pugilists, and, whilst 
 Christie was chatting with his friends the next evening, 
 a great discussion arose as to the real merits of the 
 pugilists. As Christie was known to be an expert boxer, 
 he was asked his opinion, when he replied that he 
 thought the best way to settle the question would be for 
 him to have a match with the champion himself. Di- 
 rectly this suggestion was made it was at once adopted, 
 and a match was speedily arranged. The fight was with
 
 Detective Christie and the Commissioner 
 of Police, N.Z. 
 
 On tour with T.R.H. the DuKe and Duchess of York. 
 
 l-iicing page
 
 J. M. Christie and "Cabbage Tree Ned" (Devine). 
 
 (Photographed in later years}. 
 
 Facing page 83}
 
 THE VISIT OF PRINCE ALFRED. 83 
 
 small gloves in a sixteen foot ring under the prize rules. 
 After seven severe rounds Christie was declared the 
 victor. 
 
 On the evening of arrival at the next port of call, the 
 Duke wished to go ashore to the theatre incognito before 
 his official landing, as he was not supposed to land till 
 next day. Miss Cleveland was here playing in "Leah 
 the Forsaken," and the Duke had a high opinion of her 
 as an actress. Christie secured a private box at the 
 theatre and inspected the streets by which the back en- 
 trance to the building could be reached, and found them 
 a regular labyrinth. So, unobserved, he placed white 
 chalk marks at each turn, so as to see his way after dark. 
 The party landed about half-past seven, and by the help 
 of the chalk marks found their way without difficulty. 
 The Duke got back to the Galatea without being recog- 
 nised. 
 
 At the conclusion of the visit to New Zealand, the 
 Prince was proceeding to India, and not only wished to 
 take Christie with him, but also to accompany him on 
 his return to England to be attached to the Detective 
 Branch of the Royal Household. Christie was unwilling 
 to leave Australia, and accordingly returned to Mel- 
 bourne, where he duly reported for duty on arrival. He 
 had in his baggage some very handsome presents both 
 from the Prince and members of his suite, the Prince's 
 gifts including a gold watch and chain. 
 
 On the day of his arrival, Christie rigged himself out 
 in fashionable style, frock coat, silk hat, patent leather 
 boots, white spats and a gold-headed cane, and by way 
 of a joke called in at the Detective Office, going into the 
 room used by the public and knocking loudly on the
 
 84 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 counter with his cane. The chief clerk came out, and 
 Christie, putting on the English Johnny drawl, said: "I 
 want you to send a couple of detectives down to my 
 hotel, where there has been a robbery." Mr. Robert 
 Moore, the chief clerk, who recognised him at once, 
 looked him up and down and replied drily: "By Jove, 
 I think there certainly has been a robbery or a fire, and 
 you have been in it." Next day the detective resumed 
 his usual work. 
 
 One day in April, 1901, the Governor- General of the 
 Commonwealth, the Earl of Hopetoun, afterwards the 
 Marquis of Linlithgow, sent for Detective-Inspector 
 Christie and expressed his desire that he should hold him- 
 self in readiness to personally attend upon their Royal 
 Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and 
 York, now their Majesties the King and Queen, through- 
 out their Australasian tour. It was generally understood 
 that this step was taken upon a suggestion from the 
 Imperial authorities in appreciation of Christie's services 
 when in attendance upon H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh. 
 
 Needless to say the Royal "shadow" needed no tuition 
 for his responsible task. Indeed, it might fairly be 
 claimed that he was able to coach the Royal party's per- 
 sonal staff upon many points in relation to Australian 
 popular customs and public characters. Of course, the 
 staff in itself formed an efficient personal bodyguard, but 
 they could not attend to the infinite details of purely 
 detective duty. This is where Christie shone. He 
 organised a plan of supervision which safeguarded the
 
 THE VISIT OF PRINCE ALFRED. 85 
 
 Royal visitors completely and unostentatiously. Nobody 
 knew what was being done to watch and warn all sus- 
 picious persons, and to prevent intrusion upon the places 
 reserved for the distinguished personages. Yet the ser- 
 vices of the police and detectives, directed by their chiefs, 
 in every State were called into requisition. Resorts that 
 anarchists might frequent were closely watched. Know- 
 ledge had been sent in advance of a flight of confidence- 
 men and pickpockets from Great Britain and the Con- 
 tinent, who were coming to Australia on predatory mis- 
 sions. These were all placed under surveillance by 
 the various Police Commissioners in the different States. 
 Christie alone, tall, straight, silver-haired, was in evi- 
 dence, and few knew who and what he was. As one 
 paper said he might have been an Ambassador or a 
 Field Marshal in mufti.
 
 Autographed Photograph and Gold Medal presented 
 to Detective-Inspector Christie in 19O1 by T R.H. 
 the Duke and Duchess of YorK on the termination 
 
 of their Australasian Tour. 
 Faci ng fiage 86}
 
 PART III. 
 AS CHAMPION ATHLETE.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 SOME PUGILISTIC ENCOUNTERS. 
 
 AFTER leaving the detective police force, Christie 
 who had been victor in several contests with the 
 gloves, was induced to further practise the art, 
 and to engage in many encounters with well-known pro- 
 fessors of pugilism. This is not the place to enter into 
 a discussion as to the merits of pugilism, but it may be 
 observed that at the time we speak of many men who 
 occupied leading positions in the community were sup- 
 porters of the art. 
 
 Christie, during his career in the ring, obtained a 
 considerable Australian celebrity, and for a time was 
 champion of Victoria. It would be tedious to recapitu- 
 late at length the various fights he was engaged in, but 
 a few of the more important ones will be briefly nar- 
 rated. Christie opened an Athletic Hall, in which he 
 taught boxing, and he had considerable success as a 
 teacher. In connection with the punching bag, which 
 formed part of its appliances, a little incident happened 
 which is perhaps worth relating. He had decided to 
 fill the bag with wool, which was usually used for the 
 purpose; and one of his pupils, a wool merchant, offered 
 to give him what wool he required. The quantity re- 
 quired was comparatively small, and Christie was much 
 astonished at receiving one day a whole bale of wool. 
 This was placed on a small piece of vacant ground situ- 
 ated between the hall and the City watch-house. Enough 
 
 89
 
 90 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 having been used, the remainder of the bale was left 
 near this door. There was at that time well known to 
 the police a notorious thief, whose speciality was the lar- 
 ceny of wool and hides. One day he came into the hall 
 and entered into conversation with Christie on the sub- 
 ject of his last conviction and lagging, and the thief was 
 asked by the ex-detective why he was always stealing 
 wool; Mr. Chirnside of the Werribee being desirous of 
 learning what the man's modus operandi was and the rea- 
 son for his penchant for the article. When looking 
 round, this man noticed the bale at the door, and asked 
 whose it was. By way of a joke Christie told him that 
 it was stolen property, and that the watch-house keeper 
 had placed it there pending the trial of the thief. "Look 
 here, Mr. Christie," said the old lag, "now that you are 
 out of the D.'s I know you will not give me away, so 
 I do not mind telling you that if the wool is left there 
 I intend to 'pinch' it. I know of a good fence with 
 whom I usually do business, and he will stand for it." 
 Christie laughed at this, thinking the man was not 
 in earnest; but that same night, somewhat late, when 
 locking the side door mentioned, he was astonished at 
 finding the old lag with a mate just hoisting the bale 
 on to a truck. The pair were much taken aback at 
 Christie's appearance, and the mate ran away, but was 
 called by the ex-convict, who said : "Come back, you 
 fool. Mr. Christie would not give us away." Christie 
 then gave them warning that he would most certainly do 
 so if they tried it on again, but the men were apparently 
 not much impressed by what he said, and did not think 
 him in earnest, for a few nights afterwards the wool 
 had disappeared, and nothing more was ever heard of it.
 
 SOME PUGILISTIC ENCOUNTERS. 91 
 
 In October, 1875, Christie fought Abe Hicken, at that 
 time Champion of Australia, for the championship and 
 gold cup at the Princess Theatre. The fight was with 
 3oz. gloves, and lasted an hour and twenty-three min- 
 utes. It was held under ring rules in a sixteen-foot ring. 
 Joe Thompson, the well-known "bookie," was referee, 
 and, though Hicken was removed from the ring with 
 two ribs broken, declared the fight to be a draw, though 
 in Christie's favour. Subsequently, however, the reason 
 for this singular decision became apparent, when it 
 leaked out that the referee and his clique had been back- 
 ing Hicken. 
 
 The following description of this fight is quoted in 
 full from a characteristically-worded press report : 
 
 The great glove fight, under Prize Ring Rules, for the 
 Boxing Championship of Australia and a trophy valued 
 100 between Abe Hicken, the Champion of Australia, 
 and Mr. J. M. Christie, Amateur Champion Boxer and 
 Sculler of Victoria, took place at the Princess Theatre, 
 Melbourne, on the 17th October, 1876. The theatre 
 was packed to suffocation, and the whole of the proceeds 
 were handed over to the sufferers by the recent disastrous 
 wreck of the S.S. Dandenong, the prices for admission 
 being 1, 10/-, and 5/-. Captain Aubrey, Superin- 
 tendent of the Sailors' Home, acted as Treasurer. 
 
 Joe Thompson, the well-known bookmaker, much to 
 the disgust of Christie and his friends, was appointed 
 referee. 
 
 The combatants agreed not to claim any fouls so far 
 as throwing was concerned. 
 
 At 8.30 p.m. they entered the ring accompanied by 
 their respective seconds, Jack Thompson and Ned
 
 92 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 Bitton for Hicken; Tom Curran, ex-Champion of Vic- 
 toria, and Jack Cody for Christie. 
 
 Joe Thompson then advanced to the footlights amidst 
 a storm of cheers and groans, and announced the weights 
 of the fighters Hicken, lOst 91bs. ; Christie, list. 41bs. 
 After an appeal to the audience to keep order, he called 
 time. 
 
 As the men advanced to the scratch and shook hands, 
 their condition was the theme of general admiration. 
 Hicken looked the beau ideal of a pugilist. His con- 
 dition was all that could be desired. Christie looked 
 the model athlete, his muscular development showing to 
 great advantage as he threw himself into attitude. 
 
 Two finer or more accomplished boxers never entered 
 a ring. 
 
 The preliminaries having been settled, both men shook 
 hands and squared. The fun then began. By this 
 time the theatre was crammed to suffocation. 
 
 1. Hicken faced his opponent in a playful style, while 
 Christie looked determined and cool, but pleasant and 
 gentlemanly. Little time was lost in sparring. Hicken 
 began the work, evidently determined to let no grass 
 grow under his feet. He let out and touched Christie's 
 smeller slightly, Christie parrying the blow; a second 
 effort reached his opponent's bread-basket, and he also 
 landed one on the frontispiece. Each then let off both 
 mauleys, and smart work followed. A rally ensued, 
 both going down, Hicken under. 
 
 2. Hicken again showed eagerness, and reached 
 Christie's dial-plate with his left, and escaped the com- 
 pliment. It was now evident that Hicken was resolved 
 to force the fighting, and it was whispered this was because
 
 SOME PUGILISTIC ENCOUNTERS. 93 
 
 his backers had bets that he would finish Christie off 
 in the given time. Christie was evidently aware of the 
 intention and at once assumed the easier role of defence. 
 He met Hicken in the forcing and fighting, and returned 
 a heavy impression on the ribs by a present on the jaw. 
 Christie met him very coolly. After a magnificent ex- 
 hibition of skill in attitude and defence both closed and 
 were parted amidst a great round of cheers. 
 
 3. Short, sharp, and decisive, Hicken having the 
 advantage. He went in like a demon, slogging on both 
 sides. 
 
 4. During this round the seconds entered the ring, at 
 the suggestion of the police, who were at the back, in 
 order to prevent accidents when the men became excited. 
 Christie met Hicken in first-rate style. He achieved 
 marvels with his left hand, which went out like the piston 
 of an engine, administering severe punishment. They 
 were separated very early. 
 
 5. Christie still in fine form, striking Hicken's dial 
 twice. Hicken lost his temper, and rushed in looking 
 like a demon, but he was well met. Rally. Separated. 
 The close was exciting, and cheer after cheer rent the 
 theatre. 
 
 6. Hicken still forcing the fighting, but he was 
 repulsed successfully. He got his head in chancery. 
 
 7. Hicken furious. He evidently thought he could 
 knock Christie out of time. His backers were enthusias- 
 tic. Well met. Very short. 
 
 8. Abe began wild. Missed his right, but managed to 
 land the left. Fine rally. 
 
 9. Very short. Hicken in chancery. Christie was 
 perfectly cool, and retired to his corner smiling.
 
 94 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 10. Hicken got at Christie's smeller. Repeated with- 
 out return ; caught Christie on the potato trap, but 
 received a return in the same shot. Both went down. 
 
 11. Each succeeded in getting on the other side of 
 the other's nut. Both seemed to be in a fair temper. 
 Christie had the best of the round. 
 
 12. A desperate round. Hicken was again in tan- 
 trums, but found he had no (c)hicken to deal with. 
 Christie got at his potato trap to more purpose, twice 
 with those terrible left-handers of his. The audience 
 began now to cheer Christie lustily. They had begun 
 to notice that he was, as it were, alone that the plat- 
 form were almost to a man Hickenites. Hicken was 
 also noticed to be doing all he could to annoy Christie. 
 Christie's bark was peeled, and Hicken's kissers were 
 puffed. His wind also seemed to be failing. 
 
 13. A fine round, Christie's x hits telling with great 
 effect, being delivered with marked precision and sledge- 
 hammer force. Christie warded off several hits success- 
 fully, and was cheered to the echo. 
 
 14. Hicken evidently losing his first wind, and his 
 condition telling. He was still forcing the fighting, and 
 appeared anxious to please his patrons. Christie worked 
 his dukes splendidly. He got a splendid hit at Hicken, 
 but the latter slipped and fell. Groans and confusion. 
 
 15. Hicken came to the scratch in a terrible temper. 
 and began to hit out wildly, but was knocked under the 
 ropes. 
 
 16. Wind was evidently wanted on both sides, parti- 
 cularly on Hicken's. Abe got the best of this round, 
 and got in repeatedly. 
 
 17. An undecisive round, Hicken getting very close,
 
 SOME PUGILISTIC ENCOUNTERS. 95 
 
 and showering blows, which were well warded off. 
 
 18. It now became evident that the surmises at the 
 beginning were correct, and that Hicken was backed to 
 win against time, hence his forcing of the fighting, a 
 procedure that told greatly against himself. After a 
 sharp rally Hicken got Christie under. 
 
 19. A fair round. 
 
 20. Christie nearly knocked Hicken over, but the latter 
 recovered and a desperate rally ensued, the sparring being 
 fine. 
 
 21. Good open fighting, with several exchanges, 
 Hicken appearing to rally a little. The round closed 
 in his favour. 
 
 22. A fair round, Hicken, after a desperate en- 
 counter, coming out best. 
 
 23. Hicken got in a straight blow and drew the claret. 
 It may be noted that Hicken, in a most improper manner, 
 used to draw his glove down Christe's face after "off" 
 was called, as if to chafe the skin and annoy him. He 
 also patted Christie on the head. Both men, however, 
 appeared in good temper, one saying, "Isn't it beautiful?" 
 to which the other replied, "Yes." 
 
 24. Having tapped the claret, Hicken made straight 
 for Christie's rather prominent conk repeatedly. He 
 was now getting his second wind, and had much 
 improved his form in the 15th and 16th rounds. 
 
 25. Splendid hitting. Hicken seemed to be tired, 
 while Christie's face was very raw. Christie got home 
 repeatedly on Hicken's auricular apparatus. 
 
 26. Hicken appeared distressed. After a sharp 
 rally they closed and separated as if done up. 
 
 27. More time was occupied over this round, as if the
 
 96 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 opponents were resting. Christie stopped remarkably 
 well, and in an unguarded moment caught Hicken below 
 the gob very cleverly. Abe staggered back and was 
 at once picked up by the redoubtable Jack Thompson. 
 
 28. Hicken's backers looked very blue. They had 
 bet that he would polish Christie off in an hour, and 
 now it seemed as if the fight would last all night. 
 Christie got Hicken in chancery. 
 
 29. A bad round for Christie. Hicken got past his 
 guards, and delivered three telling hits on his smeller. 
 Great excitement. Many declared that Christie's legs 
 were getting shaky. 
 
 30. Christie looked very raw and punished. He 
 belied those who said his legs were giving by bearing him- 
 self firmly. Not once had he lost his self-control or 
 temper. Nothing was done in this round. 
 
 31. Jack Thompson interposed when Hicken was 
 severely gruelled, and evoked a unanimous howl of indig- 
 nation. All the public were now in favour of Christie. 
 
 34. Both men were at it hammer and tongs, amidst 
 immense excitement. So quick were the exchanges that it 
 was difficult to note them. The men fought most deter- 
 minedly, and seemed bent on giving the coup de grace to 
 each other. The audience were becoming very demon- 
 strative. One person in the stall seemed determined to 
 interfere. The police authorities, afraid of a general 
 melee, conferred with the referee, who jumped into the 
 ring and closed the fight, which was declared a draw. 
 Both contestants then shook hands, and left the ring in 
 good humour. 
 
 Our illustration represents the moment when Christie, 
 having been advised by his seconds that he had stood
 
 Christie. Hicken. 
 
 Finish of the 31st Round. 
 
 The Fight between J. M. Christie and Abe HicKen, 
 Oct. 17, 1876. 
 
 I-'acing page 96]
 
 SOME PUGILISTIC ENCOUNTERS. 97 
 
 the assaults of Hicken for the hour on which so many 
 wagers were hung, went in and dealt the sledgehammer 
 blows from the shoulder which completely lifted the 
 veteran off his feet. 
 
 The sale of the tickets to see the encounter produced 
 350, which was handed over to the fund for the suf- 
 ferers through the loss of the ss. Dandenong. Christie 
 won considerably over the event, as bets had been freely 
 laid that he would be knocked out under the hour, ard 
 he had backed himself. His friends also were equally 
 fortunate. His pluck in the performance was so much 
 appreciated that he was tendered a complimentary bene- 
 fit in the same theatre, at which all the cracks of the ring 
 performed, and as a result he was handed 210 by the 
 Committee. 
 
 When Jem Mace, the celebrated pugilist, who at the 
 time was Champion of the World, was making a tour 
 of Australia, Christie was engaged by Mr. Wilson, circus 
 proprietor, who was financing the trip, to accompany 
 Mace and box nightly with him four rounds, and also 
 to meet all comers who might present themselves at any 
 of the exhibitions given. For this he received 75 per 
 week, while Mace's retaining fee was 150 a week with 
 all expenses paid. 
 
 A recent writer in the press mentions that when Chris- 
 tie was appearing with Jem Mace the boxers proved a 
 "most tremendous draw. They were got up in faultless 
 style white flannel knee-breeches, patent leather boots, 
 flesh-colored stockings, and armless singlets. O, I tell 
 you, they did pull in the cash." 
 
 Whilst under this engagement, Christie engaged most 
 of the local cracks, and immense crowds attended the
 
 98 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 various performances in Sydney, Melbourne, and Ade- 
 laide. While under this engagement a bet was laid that 
 he could not knock out Harry Sallars, a negro who was 
 a leading professional, under ten rounds. An encoun- 
 ter taking place, in the second round Sallars nearly broke 
 his opponent's jaw with a terrific cross counter and 
 knocked out one of his back teeth. Christie was carried 
 to his corner, where he spat out the tooth, which Mace 
 picked up and said he would keep as a memento of 
 the fight. At the third round Sallars evidently thought 
 he would be able to finish off his antagonist very quickly, 
 but the latter was on the alert, and contented himself 
 for a little with just sparring for time to pull himself 
 together. Sallars rushed at him with both hands and 
 nearly tumbled him again, but Christie, recovering him- 
 self by a great effort and timing his blow to a nicety, 
 gave the black a lovely left hander with sledge-hammer 
 force full on the end of his nose, knocking him clean 
 off his feet. The next round Christie gave him no time 
 to recover, and after a very severe round the negro was 
 done and gave in. Mace acted as referee in the fight. 
 
 A couple of days after the contest the two opponents 
 met accidentally, and Sallars, coming up to Christie, said : 
 "Well, Massa Christie, dey tell me dat I hab 'bout broke 
 your jaw." 
 
 "There is nothing wrong with my jaw," said Christie, 
 slapping with considerable force the right cheek, which 
 was the uninjured one, but still causing himself consid- 
 erable pain. 
 
 However, Sallars, knowing it was the other jaw which 
 had been damaged, said: "Just do dat on the oder side, 
 Massa Christie, and see how you like him." But Chris- 
 tie did not respond to the invitation.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 HEAVY-WEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP. 
 
 ON 12th August, 1871, Abe Hicken offered a cup 
 of the value of ten guineas for competition for 
 the amateur heavyweight Championship of Vic- 
 toria. The contest was to be open to all comers, and 
 was to be conducted at Hicken's Athletic Hall, under the 
 direction of Abe Hicken, at that time Champion of Aus- 
 tralia. 
 
 Though several men entered their names as competi- 
 tors only two made their appearance on the evening of 
 the fight. These were Jack Thompson and J. M. Chris- 
 tie. The Hall was crowded, although tickets for admis- 
 sion were ten shillings each. When the men appeared 
 stripped for the fray there was great excitement. Each 
 of the competitors seemed in splendid condition. Christie 
 stood 5 feet lOf inches in height, and Thompson at 6 
 foot 3 inches. The former's weight was eleven stone 
 and seven pounds, the latter thirteen stone and four 
 pounds. Mr. Bill Branch acted as referee. Four ounce 
 gloves were used. Both men entered the ring, which was 
 sixteen feet square, and the contest commenced punctu- 
 ally at the appointed hour. The difference in height and 
 weight between the two was very noticeable, and it was 
 evident that so far as appearance went that Christie would 
 have to do all he knew to hold his own. The feints 
 were quick, and each man showed great ability in dodg- 
 ing the blows. First blood was drawn by Christie 
 with a blow with his left on his opponent's nose. 
 
 99
 
 100 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 Thompson then dashed in a left and right, which were 
 however neatly parried. Thompson then rushed Christie 
 to the ropes, having his face well peppered by the latter, 
 but Thompson got in a smashing blow with his right 
 hand right under Christie's left ear, which sent 
 him staggering to the ropes, and thus ended 
 the first round. On coming to scratch in the 
 second round both men showed marks of punish- 
 ment, Thompson's nose bleeding freely. Christie 
 at once dashed in, landing a telling left-hander on 
 Thompson's nose, and he replied wildly. Some sharp 
 infighting then took place, during which Thompson slip- 
 ped and fell, which ended the round. At this stage 
 the betting became two to one on Christie. At the third 
 round Thompson led off with a right cross-counter, which 
 he landed on Christie's face, but before he could recover 
 himself Christie sent him to the ropes, and the round was 
 finished. Betting then rose to three to one on Christie. 
 On the fourth round Thompson rushed at Christie with 
 a left and right, but both were neatly parried. Some 
 fibbing then took place, when Thompson sent in a left 
 hander which Christie avoided very cleverly and replied 
 by a cross-counter with his right on Thompson's jaw. 
 
 Although dazed the latter rushed to close quarters, 
 when some infighting ensued, but soon a blow from 
 Christie with his left floored his antagonist, and ended 
 the fight in his favour. Christie was declared the win- 
 ner, and received a great ovation from the spectators, 
 who were much pleased with the fight, and also 
 applauded Thompson for having fought well. The odds 
 were certainly in favour of Christie's opponent, who had 
 the advantage in height, length of reach, and weight,
 
 HEAVY-WEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP. 101 
 
 but science triumphed, and Christie in this fight certainly 
 showed himself the better man and a severe punisher. 
 
 The cup was then presented to him by the donor amidst 
 great applause. 
 
 Just before the Melbourne Cup meeting of 1878 a 
 glove contest had been arranged by a well-known sport- 
 ing surgeon, to take place at his residence in the presence 
 of about forty of the elite. The match was to be between 
 Abe Hicken and Jack Thompson and was to take place 
 in the evening after dinner. , 
 
 On the day appointed Abe Hicken was unable to be 
 present, so Christie was approached with the view to 
 taking Hicken's place. He consented, and he and 
 Thompson met at the Doctor's to box for a cheque of 
 25. The dining-room was cleared and chairs placed 
 round the room, as had been done on previous occasions. 
 Some of those present, who had witnessed the fight at 
 Brighton between the same contestants, expressed surprise 
 at the improvement in Christie's physique, he having, 
 owing to illness, weighed only 10 stone 10 Ibs. on that 
 occasion, and now weighed 11 stone 11 Ibs., which was 
 4 Ibs. above his fighting weight. This was none to his 
 disadvantage in a contest in a warm room against an 
 opponent about 2 stone heavier and 4 inches taller. 
 
 The contest lasted for twenty minutes, during which 
 time six rounds, fast and furious, were fought, Christie 
 being declared the winner and receiving the cheque amid 
 hearty congratulations from those present. A well- 
 known Captain acted as referee. 
 
 In a previous glove fight with Jack Thompson, 
 Christie was the winner. In the one about to 
 be narrated with the same antagonist Christie's good
 
 102 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 luck had departed, and he was defeated. A match had 
 been arranged for the championship and 400. After 
 being in training for about a month and getting into 
 splendid condition, Christie became ill, and was sick 
 right up to the time of the contest, and of course train- 
 ing was out of the question for him. He had lost more 
 than a stone in weight, and was nine pounds under his 
 proper scale. He was relying much on the friend who 
 represented him in the negotiations relating to the match, 
 and, when medical certificates were given that he was 
 not in a fit state to appear in the ring, expected this 
 friend to arrange a postponement of the match. At a 
 consultation with Thompson this friend said no post- 
 ponement of the fight ought to take place, and that if 
 Christie could or would not meet his opponent the stakes 
 must be declared forfeit. Christie was accordingly in- 
 formed he must either fight or forfeit. Moreover, he 
 had to leave in a waggonette in the morning at two 
 o'clock for the scene of action at Brighton. The rendez- 
 vous was at the barracks in the St. Kilda Road, but al- 
 though Christie was on time they had to wait two hours 
 in the bitter cold for the referee. They got away about 
 four a.m., and after a cold drive of nine miles reached 
 Black Rock, beyond Brighton, where the fight was 
 brought off at 8 a.m. After a game struggle, lasting 
 nine rounds, Thompson was declared the winner. Mr. 
 James Wilson, senr., of St. Alban's, the well-known 
 racehorse owner, was referee.
 
 J. M. Christie, 1848. 
 
 J. M. Christie, Champion Sculler of Victoria, 1876-8. 
 Facing page ioz\
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 CHAMPION SCULLER OF VICTORIA. 
 
 FROM childhood Christie was at home on the water, 
 having lived in his earliest years upon the borders 
 of a lake in Scotland. As previously stated, too, 
 he had considerable aquatic experience in Gippsland. 
 So it was not surprising that in the 'seventies he became 
 a champion of the river. He first won the Champion- 
 ship of Victoria on 8th April, 1876, when he defeated 
 Messrs. P. J. Carter (champion), and the brothers, 
 James and John Cazaly. He maintained his position for 
 the two following years, when he was defeated by 
 Charles Messenger. Christie has always acknowledged 
 that he met more than his match, and he practically aban- 
 doned rowing, not only for this reason, but because he 
 had decided to return to the Public Service, and had no 
 leisure to devote to the arduous training which champion- 
 ship form in sculling entails. Messenger was a worthy 
 successor. He was a finished oarsman, both by here- 
 ditary fitness and expert training. He was the son of 
 James Arthur Messenger, himself a noted English oars- 
 man. 
 
 During the whole of his period of river success, 
 Christie trained under the tutelage of the late Mr. James 
 Edwards, a well-known boatbuilder in his day, and pro- 
 bably one of the best-skilled men in Australia engaged 
 in the construction of light river craft. Added to the 
 advantage of having such an excellent coach, Christie 
 
 103
 
 104 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 possessed a fine physique. His style was finished and 
 striking. He reached well over his toes, with both arms 
 straight. He caught the water cleanly with a powerful 
 horizontal stroke and used his force at the time of immer- 
 sion, making a clean feather and a smart recovery. He 
 was veiitably a picture as he sat in his outrigger, and 
 sent it skimming swiftly upon the smoothly flowing 
 water. 
 
 There necessarily is not much that is sensational in an 
 aquatic career, nor is it of general interest to row over 
 again the sculling contests of the past. But Christie 
 had adventures on the river all the same. At the finish 
 of one race, for instance, which he had won by half a 
 length, his sliding seat slipped, and he was capsized. 
 Mr. S. Edwards jumped from the umpire's steamer and 
 helped him back to the boat. Miss Emilie Melville, 
 the reigning star in light opera in her day the latter 
 'eighties, lived on the banks of the Yarra, and prevailed 
 upon Christie to give her lessons in rowing, and she 
 proved a very proficient pupil. 
 
 A very much less agreeable experience, though an 
 amusing one, befell him one day when training on the 
 Lower Yarra. He was rowing, as was his custom, in the 
 buff, and, when passing some Harbour Trust works then 
 in progress, was violently struck between the shoulder 
 blades by a stone hurled at him from the bank. An 
 ugly gash was inflicted and it bled copiously. Christie 
 immediately pulled in and called upon some navvies to 
 stop the miscreant, who was getting away as fast as he 
 could. When the fellow was caught and brought back, 
 Christie at once recognised him as a well-known criminal 
 named John Sharp, whom he had arrested in 1868 on
 
 CHAMPION SCULLER OF VICTORIA. 105 
 
 a charge of burglary at the residence of the then Mayor 
 of Melbourne, Mr. A. K. Smith. Christie, who had 
 been helped ashore and supported by the foreman of 
 the navvies, felt a bit weak, but nevertheless said, "Well, 
 Sharp, if you had hit me on the head instead of the back 
 you would have finished me. But if you'll stand up and 
 face me for four rounds I will cry quits." Sharp 
 agreed, and a number of navvies formed an impromptu 
 ring. Sharp was deservedly well punished, and ample jus- 
 tice was done. Christie then invited the foreman and 
 about a dozen navvies to the Admiral Hotel, which stood 
 where the Federal Coffee Palace now is, to drink his 
 health. This Christie afterwards ascertained they did 
 right royally. Twenty-two of them rallied to the hotel, 
 and had two rounds each at Christie's expense. But he 
 declares that he never settled with anybody so cheerfully 
 as he had done with Sharp, and subsequently with the 
 landlord. 
 
 As the outcome of a challenge issued by Christie to 
 "row any bona-fide amateur in Australia a two-mile 
 sculling match in outriggers, for a trophy of the value 
 of 100 and the Championship," a contest was arranged 
 between Christie and James Cazaly, "two of the best, 
 if not the very best rowers in the colony," as they were 
 described by a leading journal. This took place on 
 Saturday afternoon, December 18th, 1875, the value of 
 the trophy being 50 ; the course was on the Lower 
 Yarra from the Melbourne gas works to Humbug Reach, 
 a distance of very nearly two miles. 
 
 The following description of the race appeared in 
 The Australasian:
 
 106 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 It is not often that we see so important a sculling 
 match arranged and brought to an issue within so short 
 a period of time as that which took place on Saturday 
 last between these scullers. Only a fortnight before 
 were the usual formal preliminaries entered into. In 
 certain quarters this haste was regarded as unseemly, and 
 expressions the reversal of complimentary were freely 
 indulged in. It is, however, to be hoped that those whose 
 feelings were so grievously wounded at the course pur- 
 sued by Mr. Christie are now satisfied, at all events, that 
 the race was one of the finest contests which has ever 
 taken place on these waters. That it should have been 
 rowed in the most unprecedented time, and won by feet 
 only ought to go a long way to refute the suspicion that 
 lurked in the minds of the Regatta Committee, when that 
 body gave vent to its feelings in the resolutions passed 
 at its last meetings. Whether or not the winner of the 
 match on Saturday is entitled to be termed the "Cham- 
 pion Sculler" is not a matter of much concern at present ; 
 whatever Mr. Christie claims he is, no doubt, prepared 
 to defend. 
 
 Soon after the advertised time, the steamer Warhawk, 
 which had been engaged to accompany the race, left the 
 Queen's Wharf fully freighted. On arrival at the start- 
 ing place some delay occurred in awaiting the approach 
 of the Argyle. As soon as that steamer had passed, the 
 competitors took to their boats and rowed to their respec- 
 tive stations, where they were not long detained, having 
 been sent off to an excellent start by Mr. H. A. Wil- 
 liams, who officiated as starter. Christie on the north 
 side seemed to glide away quickest, but after a dozen 
 stokes or so had been pulled, Cazaly showed slightly in
 
 CHAMPION SCULLER OF VICTORIA. 107 
 
 front and soon assumed a lead of close on a boat's 
 length; this he maintained for about a mile, when 
 Christie drew up level, but Cazaly again assumed the 
 lead, which he held down the last straight reach, but it 
 was evident during the latter part of the journey that 
 the leading man was closely pressed. 
 
 Cazaly began to row in the most determined manner, 
 but his opponent could not be shaken off, and notwith- 
 standing that the latter was allowed to get too close to 
 the bank, which he struck with his scull on one or two 
 occasions, he still held his own, and it became evident 
 every stroke that a desperate finish was about to take 
 place. On rounding the last turn that is, that part 
 of the river known as the commencement of "Humbug" 
 reach Cazaly steered too close to the Sandridge bank, 
 while Christie hugged the opposite side. Cazaly's 
 course proved too circuitous, for he lost his lead, and the 
 wash of some four-oars in front completely extinguished 
 his chance of making up his lost ground. Christie had 
 in the meantime assumed a lead of half a length, which 
 he managed to retain past the winning post, and won one 
 of the best, if not the very best contested sculling races 
 we have even seen rowed on our waters. 
 
 The winner used a sliding seat, which well nigh 
 brought him to grief at the most critical part of the race. 
 When at a short distance from the finish, Christie made 
 a desperate effort, in response to a friend on the bank, 
 for the lead. From some cause or other, probably the 
 fouling of the sliding gear, or the great strength put into 
 the last struggle, the seat went too far back, jumped 
 up on the triangle piece, and stuck there hard and fast. 
 There was, therefore, nothing for it but to struggle,
 
 108 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 which the winner did in a most determined and plucky 
 style. This performance of Mr. Christie ranks him as 
 about the fastest sculler we have yet had, the two miles 
 having been traversed in about 10 minutes 12 seconds. 
 
 In consequence of Christie getting his left-hand scull 
 entangled in strong rushes growing out from the bank, 
 he was reluctantly treated to an immersion in the river. 
 It was at first feared, when Sid Edwards was seen to 
 jump into the river after the distressed sculler, that 
 Christie had become exhausted, and had fallen in that 
 condition from his boat. Such, however, was not the 
 case, for though the severity of the race left its marks 
 on him, there was still a trifle left. It is a pity that 
 the course was not fixed so as to have a straight finish. 
 Mr. Arthur Nicholls acted as umpire. 
 
 On April 8th of the following year, Christie won the 
 Challenge Sculls (Australian Cup) at the Melbourne 
 Regatta. The competitors were Christie, John and James 
 Cazaly, and P. J. Carter, and the greatest possible inter- 
 est was taken in the race, as the title of Amateur Cham- 
 pion Sculler of Victoria went to the victor. As a news- 
 paper report says: "Christie was favourite from his 
 late performances, and the fact that he had paid every 
 attention to his training. When the race started he soon 
 singled himself out in the front, and before half the 
 race was over was at least a hundred yards ahead. Carter 
 found himself in hopeless difficulty early, and therefore 
 did not persevere. In the last half of the race, Christie 
 allowed John Cazaly to come nearer to him on suffer- 
 ance, but there was no sign of a race, owing to Christie's 
 great superiority. Time, 9min. 17sec."
 
 CHAMPION SCULLER OF VICTORIA. 109 
 
 On March 20th of the following year Christie also 
 won the Champion Sculls at the Barwon Regatta, Gee- 
 long, four days later easily winning the Champion Sculls 
 and Australasian Cup from James Cazaly and W. Stout 
 at the Melbourne Regatta. He then left for Sydney 
 by the s.s. Lyee-Moon under engagement to Mr. John 
 Wilson for boxing matches with the famous fighter, Jem 
 Mace. 
 
 Christie was eventually beaten for the Sculling Cham- 
 pionship of Victoria by Charlie Messenger, son of a 
 former Champion of England. 
 
 Christie in his career was also a foot racer far above 
 the average, and also was in great demand as a trainer 
 of athletes, and so it may be truly said that he achieved 
 prowess in the ring, on the river, and on the road. 
 
 After four years of athletics, Christie received an offer 
 to return to the Government service, which he accepted, 
 and eventually joined the Customs Department as Detec- 
 tive.
 
 PART IV. 
 AS CUSTOMS DETECTIVE.
 
 . 
 
 .2 3 
 
 " 
 
 g
 
 
 Detective Christie sells " The War Cry." 
 J'aciiig page // j]
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 ILLICIT DISTILLATION. 
 
 THE operations of the men engaged in the illicit 
 manufacture of spirits were often conducted in 
 a highly ingenious manner, and with great dar- 
 ing. The loss to the revenue was considerable. Public- 
 housekeepers of a certain class were always ready cus- 
 tomers of the "moonlighters," as they could purchase 
 spirit for about 5/- per gallon and sell it across the bar 
 in noblers at sixpence a piece ; whereas, the duty-paid 
 article would cost them say sixteen shillings per gallon 
 at the least. 
 
 Another evil was the prevalence of drunkenness in the 
 illicit still districts. The drinking bouts which often 
 took place in the small townships or villages in the bush 
 were frequently the cause of scenes of debauchery of 
 the most shocking kind, and were a scandal to the com- 
 munity. But the greatest possible difficulty was experi- 
 enced in detecting the site of the stills, and, what was 
 more important, in obtaining evidence of such a conclu- 
 sive nature as to cause the conviction of the person en- 
 gaged in the illicit traffic. If the still were situated in 
 a broken and mountainous district sparsely inhabited, the 
 chances were that the surrounding inhabitants were more 
 or less interested in the trade and all on the alert to 
 give warning of the approach of the revenue officers 
 or of any strangers coming into the district who might 
 be suspected of being such. Moreover, the capture of 
 a still itself was of comparatively little service, unless 
 
 113
 
 114 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 the persons who worked it were also caught. A few feet 
 of pipe formed into a worm and a few vessels would 
 be sufficient for the bare making of spirit, and could 
 easily be replaced if taken. 
 
 Stills were located in all kinds of places and neigh- 
 bourhoods. Sometimes they would be found in a lonely 
 valley in the mountains, and approached only by secret 
 paths through wild and thick forests. So well concealed 
 were some of these stills that anyone in their neighbour- 
 hood could hear the workers actually talking to each 
 other and yet be quite unable to locate the exact spot. 
 From such places the spirit would be distributed to pur- 
 chasers by means of packhorses. Even when settlers 
 did not approve of the traffic they were unwilling to 
 give any information, as the relatives and friends of 
 the distillers would not hesitate to seek vengeance. Some- 
 times a still would be situated right in the city in one 
 of the busy streets, either on business premises or in a 
 private house. The stuff would be taken round in all 
 kinds of innocent-looking conveyances, some of which 
 will be described presently. 
 
 The most effective ways of obtaining information were 
 found by the Department to be the employment of special 
 agents, who would settle or work in the suspected neigh- 
 bourhood, and also by the payment of large rewards, 
 such as a hundred pounds in gold coin. This money 
 would be paid without disclosing the informant's name 
 and identity in any way, no official receipt being taken. 
 The bait of such a reward was often too much for many. 
 Sometimes also other motives than gain operated on the 
 informers, such as spite, revenge, or jealousy. On one 
 occasion, for example, the Head was interviewed by a
 
 ILLICIT DISTILLATION. 115 
 
 woman who said she desired to give information about 
 a still, and it came out she was the wife of the man 
 carrying on the trade. There was another woman in 
 the case, and the man had left his wife without support. 
 She was consequently justified from her point of view 
 in making what she could out of him. The operations 
 of these illicit distillers was a continual worry to the 
 Department, which tried hard to suppress them. 
 
 In the Western District of Victoria there was at one 
 time established a regular gang of smugglers, who, 
 though nominally settlers or small "cockatoo" farmers, 
 yet practised every kind of lawlessness, and were a terror 
 to their more respectable neighbours, who were, however, 
 few and far between. The first time the officers came 
 into contact with this notorious gang was at the wreck 
 of the ship Fiji at Moonlight Head, close to where the 
 wreck of the Loch Ard took place. The shore was 
 strewn with wreckage of all descriptions, including a 
 large assortment of dutiable goods. A posse of Customs 
 Officers, of whom Detective Christie was one, was there- 
 fore sent down to protect the revenue. They had not 
 long arrived when they soon found that the gang was 
 hard at work. On one occasion, whilst removing some 
 packages, they were interrupted by a Customs Officer, 
 but they immediately assaulted him, and he was thrown 
 over a cliff at least four hundred feet high. He fell 
 about fifty feet, but, fortunately for him, into a bush, 
 which he caught and clung to till rescued. The mem- 
 bers of the gang who committed the outrage were after- 
 wards arrested and convicted. 
 
 The leader and moving spirit of the gang was an 
 Irishman, known as Denis O'Brien, a thick-set man of
 
 116' DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 great muscular power and daring conduct. This man 
 was one of those convicted, and was removed to the local 
 watch-house. Christie, knowing the man had had 
 nothing to eat that day, had a meal supplied to him, and 
 when passing the lock-up later was hailed through the 
 barred windows by O'Brien. "I got that bit of break- 
 fast you sent me in this morning," he said, "and I was 
 very thankful because I was jolly hungry." To which 
 Christie replied, "Oh, that is all right, Dennis; though 
 I had to 'jug' you, I did not want to starve you also." 
 The man then said he would send the officer a nice keg 
 of poteen as a Christmas gift, real good stuff, that would 
 make the detective's hair curl. To which Christie 
 laughingly replied, "Thanks, my boy, and mind you 
 do." 
 
 A little while after this, Christie was directed to see 
 the Head of his Department in the latter's office. Dr. 
 Wollaston told him that he desired that effective mea- 
 sures should at once be taken to put a stop to the opera- 
 tions of this notorious gang. The credit of the Depart- 
 ment was involved, and they must bestir themselves and 
 not rest till the gang was entirely suppressed. To this 
 Christie replied that the task would not be an easy one, 
 the men were a desperate lot, known to stick at nothing, 
 and the attempt to capture them would involve consider- 
 able danger. Still, of course, he would willingly take 
 the matter in hand. The Doctor then said, "Well, I 
 shall give you a free hand in this matter, and will back 
 you up in any action you may advise me is necessary, and 
 you shall have as many men as assistants as you may re- 
 quire. I need hardly tell you, however," he added, "that 
 absolute secrecy is required, and that you cannot be too
 
 Detective Christie as a Travelling TinKer. 
 
 Facing page 116]
 
 Detective Christie as a Travelling TinKer. 
 
 Reading Warrant to Tom Delaney at 
 Warrnambool Watch-house (see page 134). 
 Facing page 7/7]
 
 ILLICIT DISTILLATION. 117 
 
 cautious. Above all, see that none of our good friends in 
 the press get any inkling of what is in the wind, or else we 
 shall have some of those delightful paragraphs in the 
 papers and such headlines as 'Customs on the Warpath,' 
 'Suppression of Moonlighters,' or 'Strenuous Action by 
 the Permanent Head and His Officers," and so on, and 
 the whole thing will be 'blown upon.' " Christie assured 
 the Doctor he would employ only the most discreet of 
 assistants. 
 
 After some consideration, he determined that the 
 method most likely to lead to success was in the first 
 place to obtain a thorough knowledge of the geography of 
 the district, and of the various settlers dwelling in the sus- 
 pected neighbourhood, and so endeavour to locate the 
 actual sites of the stills. He decided, therefore, to 
 adopt the guise of a travelling tinker. As, however, he 
 know nothing about tinkering, he betook himself to an 
 acquaintance who was a member of a well known firm 
 of tinsmiths in the city (Lanyon and Bryant). His 
 friend (Mr. Bryant) told him that with a little applica- 
 tion, he could, in a few weeks, learn sufficient of the 
 craft to pass doing merely rough jobs. Thanks to this 
 friend's kind help, Christie learnt all that would be 
 required. Having sent on his kit tools together 
 with the suitable rig-out for a "swaggie" to a trusty 
 friend in the district, Christie soon followed, and quietly 
 turned himself into a travelling tinker. When 
 starting on his rambles his friend warned him, "If you 
 make a false step," he said, "or give yourself away in 
 any particular, you will be bowled out at once. The 
 gang would soon settle you, as they had often been heard 
 to boast that if they ever caught any 'sanguinary' detec-
 
 118 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 tives near the scene of their operations, they would make 
 poteen out of them, the same as the moonlighters did to 
 the ganger Fitzpatrick in Ireland." Christie was well 
 armed with weapons concealed, and said that two could 
 play at the same game. 
 
 He set out in the direction of the locality where O'Brien 
 lived, about twenty miles distant. Having gone about 
 eight miles, he camped on the edge of a small lagoon 
 known as the "red water hole," and whilst so doing, a 
 mounted constable came along and questioned him as to 
 his name, etc., and generally putting him through a 
 severe cross-examination. The constable then told him 
 he would have to search his swag because some larcenies 
 had been committed in a neighbouring township, and 
 that Christie answered the description of the suspected 
 thief. The constable found nothing in the swag. 
 Christie took off his coat and waistcoat offering them for 
 examination also. This he did because he was afraid 
 that the constable would detect the arms he had under 
 his singlet. The constable then went on his way, with- 
 out having the least suspicion who the tinker really was. 
 
 Christie travelled on for a few days, calling at all the 
 houses on his way, and executing any repairs that might 
 be required. One settler would send him on to another 
 to see if he could get a job, and by using the names of 
 these people, the person to whom he was sent, regarded 
 him as a bona fide professional tinker travelling only in 
 the search for work. At one of these places, he executed 
 some small jobs, amongst which was that of repairing a 
 boiler. For this he took a shilling and a meal in pay- 
 ment. This place was close to where the distillers' head- 
 quarters were supposed to be, and the detective doubled
 
 ILLICIT DISTILLATION. 119 
 
 his precautions. At last, he came to the house of the 
 leader O'Brien, and found his wife on the premises. The 
 latter gave him a few jobs. He then went on his way, 
 but had not gone far when she called to him and said, 
 "If I thought I could trust you, I have a job which I 
 want done badly." To this he said, "Of course, you 
 can trust me; you may be sure I do not want to lose a 
 job, and any way I am not the person to peach. If 
 there is anything crooked in the wind, I am not so fond 
 of those D's as to wish to do them a good turn, and 
 why should I give you away? What is the job?" She 
 replied, "I have a copper pipe which wants mending, 
 but it will take you a good time to do, and will want 
 a good deal of work. I am afraid that damned fellow 
 Christie might come round, and catch you at it. If 
 he did, he would twig what the article was at once, and 
 we should all get into trouble." "Why do you think 
 Christie is about?" said the tinker. "Oh," said she, 
 "don't you know he was down the forest about a month 
 ago and seized Long Will's still, and had him convicted ?" 
 "Oh, yes," said the pseudo tinker, "but I have no truck 
 with coves of that breed. I know he would as soon jail 
 me as anyone else if he nicked me making a still or worm 
 for any of the boys, but I am too fly for him. I can do 
 any job without him spotting me, smart as he may think 
 himself, and I can do him with his eyes open. Those D's 
 think a damned sight too much of themselves, and I like 
 taking them down a peg when I get the chance." With 
 this speech, the woman seemed satisfied that the tinker 
 could be trusted, as she said, "Denis is away from home, 
 but I will go and get the worm for you to see if you can 
 mend it ; it got broken by one of the horses getting loose
 
 120 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 and treading on it. It is kicked about so much it is 
 quite useless." After telling him to sit in the kitchen 
 to await her return, she left to fetch the worm. 
 
 There were two children left in the house, with whom 
 Christie endeavoured to make friends, at the same time 
 trying to observe the direction the woman had gone. 
 Christie said to one of the girls, "I will put my billy on 
 the fire, and make myself some tea, as your mother will 
 be some time if she has far to go." The younger child 
 immediately burst out, "Oh, she won't be long; she has 
 only gone across the creek to Leach's to get the pipe." 
 The sister turned on her savagely, telling her to shut 
 up. However, the long-sought-for information had been 
 obtained. In about a quarter of an hour Mrs. O'Brien 
 returned, and told Christie he would find the worm on 
 the other side of a stack, which she pointed out, adding, 
 "Mind; that stack is not on our selection." She said 
 this because in the case of discovery it would be impor-' 
 tant to show the worm was not on O'Brien's property. 
 
 Christie got the worm, and saw it was beyond any skill 
 he possessed to make it good, and suggested to the lady 
 that it would be much better to get a new worm. He 
 said he could get her a splendid one made of copper 
 and infinitely superior to the damaged leaden one for a 
 sum of five pounds. "Oh," said she, "it is all damned 
 
 easy to talk about getting a new one, but the 
 
 Detectives are on the job, I suspect, and we could not 
 manage to get it here without being caught." On this 
 the tinker assured her she need have no fear on that 
 point. He himself would undertake to convey the worm 
 safely to her, and neither Christie nor any other of the 
 sanguinary D's would detect it, as he would put it in a
 
 ILLICIT DISTILLATION. 121 
 
 bag of chaff, and bring it down by the back track him- 
 self, so that nobody would be any the wiser. "Well," 
 she answered, "if you can undertake to get it here before 
 Christmas I will take it," and was assured she should 
 have it without fail, but the tinker said, "What about 
 the money; will your man pay down on the nail?" "You 
 need not be afraid," said the woman ; "your sugar will 
 be all right; you may take your oath of that." 
 
 Christie then returned to his friend's place, resumed 
 his usual garb, and at once returned to Melbourne to 
 make arrangements for making the raid. Arrangements 
 were made with Mounted- Constable Arthur, at Cob- 
 den, for the assistance of the constables in the district, 
 and a secret telegraph code was agreed on. 
 
 The party was to meet on the night previous to the 
 day upon which the surprise was to be attempted. De- 
 tective Christie and a Customs Officer, well armed, pro- 
 ceeded by train to Camperdown. Christie took with him 
 the make-up of a "sundowner," and his swag, includ- 
 ing in his outfit a boot with an iron attachment which 
 would have the effect of causing anyone using it to limp 
 in walking. At Colac he changed his clothes, and soon 
 transformed himself into a veritable "sundowner." On 
 the platform at Camperdown he limped along, stoop- 
 ing to make himself appear several inches shorter. No 
 one took much notice of him except some urchins, one 
 of whom remarked, "That old man has a stringhalt." 
 On the way out he bumped against one of the local 
 constables, who said to him, "Can't you see? Where the 
 devil are you going to?" Christie made no reply, but 
 passed on down the road, where he met some other mem- 
 bers of the party. They all went to the Police Station,
 
 122 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 and until explanations were made the sergeant in charge 
 thought the disguised detective was a prisoner whom 
 Mounted Constable Arthur had brought in. "Well," he 
 said, "no one would recognise Christie in that disguise." 
 He handed him a telegram, and told him in case he 
 did not get out at Camperdown, he had sent a constable 
 up to the railway station with a copy of it to give him. 
 Christie told the sergeant that he had met the constable, 
 and that, owing to his having one eye bandaged, did not 
 observe him till he had cannoned against him. "We 
 will have a little joke at his expense." Just as he had 
 said this, the constable entered much out of breath, say- 
 ing, "He has not come; I looked through the whole train, 
 and Mick, the guard, assured me he was not on board, 
 or else he would have seen him." "Oh," said the ser- 
 geant, "that will be all right; we shall get a wire from 
 him in the morning. In the meanwhile, just look that 
 old man up and enter a charge against him of insulting 
 behaviour." The constable accordingly said, "Come 
 along, old chap, and I will put you in the logs." On 
 Christie raising his head and smiling, the constable ex- 
 claimed, "Why, this is the old chap who nearly knocked 
 me over at the railway station." He was much discon- 
 certed when the whole party then burst out laughing, 
 but enjoyed the joke, saying, "Why, this is the second 
 time that beggar has taken me down," referring to the 
 search of Christie's swag when he was camping in the 
 forest. Final arrangements were then made to meet on 
 the following night. 
 
 The next day the officers kept under cover till dusk, 
 when, according to appointment, a butcher's cart was 
 driven into the yard of the Police Station. The officers
 
 ILLICIT DISTILLATION. 123 
 
 lay down in the vehicle, and were covered up with corn 
 sacks. They were then driven about eight miles out, 
 where a constable joined them with horses. The party 
 mounted and proceeded through swamps up to the saddle 
 flaps, and over ranges till the red waterhole was reached. 
 On arrival, Constable Arthur imitated the note of the 
 mopoke, which was the agreed signal, and immediately 
 had a response. All these precautions were very neces- 
 sary, because if any of the settlers, "cockatoos," or wood 
 splitters had noticed them, a bush telegram would have 
 been sent through the forest immediately to warn the 
 gang. The night was very dark, and the route lay over 
 most difficult country, mountains, gullies and creeks; 
 these obstacles making rapid progress impossible. After 
 a toilsome and hazardous march the river was reached, 
 at a spot where a bridge should have been, but it had 
 been washed away. As the river was running a "banker," 
 there was no help for it but to try to cross on another 
 bridge about three miles higher up. Constable Arthur 
 proposed to swim the river. The suggestion was not 
 acted upon, as to attempt to swim across would seem 
 only to be courting disaster. There was no alternative 
 than to push on and attempt to reach the other bridge in 
 time. The already jaded horses had then to be hurried 
 on, but, considering the nature of the road they had to 
 travel, it was not easy to hasten them much. The object 
 was to reach the spot where the still was supposed to 
 be located just before daylight. The bridge was at last 
 reached, and, much to their relief, found to be still 
 standing, although a foot of water was running over it. 
 The timber of which it was built was very shaky, and 
 the structure looked as if it might collapse at any mo-
 
 124 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 ment. The spot on the river where it was situated was 
 known as the "Devil's Punch Bowl," on account of the 
 eddies of the river at that point. The party had to risk 
 the passage, and by great good luck all crossed in safety. 
 Hardly, however, had they done so when, with a roar 
 and a crash, the bridge disappeared beneath the flood 
 and was swept away down the stream. 
 
 Encouraged by their success the party traversed a pre- 
 cipitous gully, close to which lay the shanty of a notori- 
 ous sympathizer of the gang, who was known to have 
 a yelping dog always on the alert. It was tolerably 
 certain that they would be discovered unless the dog 
 could be disposed of or quieted. A lump of meat had 
 been brought as a precaution, duly "doctored." One of 
 the constables then dismounted and proceeded to inter- 
 view the animal. The constable soon returned, announc- 
 ing that the cur had been brought to terms, and they need 
 not trouble more about him. 
 
 Quickening the pace, and after a fearfully rough jour- 
 ney, they eventually reached their destination a little 
 before two, fortunately in good time but much fatigued 
 by the journey. A fire was quickly lighted in a quiet 
 and concealed spot, and a billy was boiled, which enabled 
 them to have some hot tea (with a stick in it) and a 
 snack of food. Whilst thus engaged they heard the 
 sounds of a horseman coming up at a rapid pace over 
 the track they had just traversed. As the man came 
 close enough to be recognised, it was seen that he was 
 the occupant of the farm they had passed, and that they 
 had been much in error in supposing that they had got 
 by his dwelling without notice. The man was riding 
 rapidly past the party when he was hailed and desired
 
 ILLICIT DISTILLATION. 125 
 
 to bail up. He, however, took no further notice than 
 to urge on his horse faster. Christie then jumped on 
 his horse and, with two constables, galloped after and 
 bailed him up in the most approved style. Of course 
 they had no legal right to do so, but, as they well knew 
 what his errand was, it was clear if they had allowed 
 him to pass no possible chance of a capture would re- 
 main. To put a good face on the matter, Christie 
 addressed him as if he were a most worthy and respected 
 citizen, and, putting on his most winning manner, said, 
 "Mr. Murphy, I regret exceedingly the necessity for 
 stopping you, but as I understand from Constable Arthur, 
 whom you know, that you are a decent, law-abiding man, 
 I must call upon you in the Queen's name, and by virtue 
 of the authority which is vested by law in Her Majesty's 
 Customs Officers, to demand your assistance in the affair 
 in which we are engaged. I am Detective Christie, and 
 the officers with me are constables." "I thought as 
 much," replied the man; "but I'm damned if I help you 
 one little bit." "Oh well," was the reply to that, "we 
 do not care very much, but you will have to stay with 
 us. You will get three months' ' hard ' if you give us 
 any trouble." Seeing he could not help himself, the man 
 gave in. 
 
 The time had now come for action. Weapons were 
 looked to and a start made for the house of the leader of 
 the gang. Just before daybreak they sighted the shanty of 
 the leader's brother, and in nearing the place Murphy be- 
 came very uneasy, and was evidently much alarmed. He 
 then burst out, "For the love of Heaven let me go back, 
 boys ; for if they see me with you they will think I have 
 informed against them, and my life will not be safe."
 
 126 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 On consideration as he could now do no harm, and as 
 it was evident that all he desired was to be permitted 
 to return home, they allowed him to go, warning him, 
 however, that he must return directly to his shanty, and 
 that they would keep an eye on the track to see that 
 he did so. Murphy having sworn by all that he held most 
 sacred that he would do as desired, immediately went off 
 at a hard gallop down the track towards his home. Next 
 O'Brien's house was visited. 
 
 No signs of a still or of distillation were found. A 
 Customs assistant with a constable was despatched to 
 search Wilson's house on a small selection close by, 
 Christie following shortly after them. This was about 
 6 a.m. Wilson was found to be up and another man 
 in bed on a sofa in the kitchen. On Christie's arrival 
 a search of the buildings was made, and at a room in the 
 back detached from the main building was found a com- 
 plete still, with all the apparatus necessary for working 
 it set in a fireplace, together with some spirits. Wilson 
 admitted the building and still were his property, but 
 declined to say from whom he had got the latter. The 
 worm, however, was not found in the premises, and, on 
 being questioned where it was, Wilson averred he did 
 not know, saying that "they" usually brought it there 
 at night and took it away when they had done. He 
 refused to say who he meant by "they" or give any infor- 
 mation as to who his associates were. On further ques- 
 tioning, he admitted he made the spirits which had been 
 found. On making this admission both Wilson and the 
 other man were placed under arrest. 
 
 There were three large vats in the room which the 
 officers desired to remove with the still, and on Christie's
 
 ILLICIT DISTILLATION. 127 
 
 observing that it would be necessary to pull the building 
 down to get them out, Wilson showed that the sides 
 of the building were movable, and that by displacing 
 them the vats could be taken out easily. The building 
 was fitted up very completely as a distillery, the drain 
 for the waste being concealed and ending amongst a 
 lot of ferns adjoining the still house. A quantity of 
 malt was found buried in the garden. Outside the fence 
 was a well about four feet square containing water, which 
 was up to within ten feet of the top. The sides of the 
 well were boarded up, and the top was boarded over 
 with a hole in the covering large enough to admit of a 
 man. One of the constables called Christie's attention 
 to a ladder which went down the well, and upon the lat- 
 ter going down he observed a round hole in one of the 
 sides from which projected a brass tap. The constable 
 then dug down the side of the well to see what was 
 there, and at about a foot from the surface came on 
 top of a quarter cask. The cask was lifted out, and 
 the contents were found to be spirits. Wilson was asked 
 who buried the cask in the spot and admitted he himself 
 had done so, and also that the spirit had been made 
 by himself. The evidence now being all complete, the 
 prisoner was taken away and lodged in the lockup. He 
 was subsequently brought before the Court and con- 
 victed. 
 
 It may be mentioned in connection with the capture 
 of stills in the Western District, that months were spent 
 by Detective-Inspector Christie in his attempts to dis- 
 cover the offenders. During that time he assumed vari- 
 ous disguises, but on no occasion was his real character 
 detected. The only persons in his confidence were a
 
 128 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 trusty friend who lived in the district and Constable 
 Arthur. Through the help and assistance of these two, 
 Christie, while camping out, was supplied with food, 
 which was hidden in a zinc-lined case sunk in a hole in 
 the ground. Anyone visiting his camp would see nothing 
 but an old tinker living apparently on damper and scraps 
 which he obtained from the people around. Two plans 
 of the district were prepared, in which all bush tracks, 
 gullies, streams, etc., were minutely set out, and new 
 names given to these and the various localities. A 
 cypher code was also arranged, in case any letter pass- 
 ing between Christie and his confederates got astray. 
 These precautions were very necessary, because some of 
 the youths employed in the local post-offices were related 
 to the illicit distillers, and would perhaps "spot" any 
 communications of a suspicious nature. 
 
 The stills in this district were so numerous and situ- 
 ated such distances apart that it was hopeless to attempt 
 to capture them all simultaneously, and accordingly it 
 was necessary to take only one or two at a time. When 
 the capture of two or three had taken place it was the 
 detective's habit, in order to disarm suspicion and lull 
 the uncaught moonlighters into a false security, to "blow" 
 considerably to the representatives of the local press and 
 intimate that the practice had now been effectually 
 stamped out and no more stills existed. Then the per- 
 sons still carrying on the game would chuckle to them- 
 selves and think how the detectives were being fooled, 
 but after a short period of quiescence the detectives 
 would be again in the field and some more of the 
 stills nabbed. The reporters used to get rather irate 
 at being misled in this manner, and did not hesitate to
 
 ILLICIT DISTILLATION. 
 
 129 
 
 inform Christie that in their opinion Ananias was a pil- 
 lar of truth as compared with himself. 
 
 At this time a short-lived Warrnambool paper desired 
 to publish a likeness of Christie in connection with the 
 report of a seizure, and, not being able to obtain one 
 in time reprinted a portrait of the then Governor, Lord 
 Hopetoun, who, at the time the picture was engraved, 
 wore a small moustache, as did the detective this being 
 perhaps the only characteristic common to both. Lord 
 Hopetoun was much amused at this incident, which is 
 still well remembered by the Victorian press. A small 
 reproduction of this portrait is here given. 
 
 DETECTIVE INSPECTOR CHRISTIE 
 The Earl of Hopetoun as Detective Christie.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 THE LAST OF THE "MOONLIGHTERS." 
 
 SOME weeks after the conviction of Edwards it be- 
 came apparent that illicit distillation had 
 not been put a stop to in that district. 
 On the former occasion the worm of the still 
 could not be found. Subsequently the services 
 of black trackers were obtained, with a view, if 
 possible, of finding what had been done with it. By their 
 help the place where the worm had been secreted .was 
 found, but the worm had been removed. A thorough search 
 was made for miles round, but nothing was discovered 
 except certain tracks, which, however, incidentally gave 
 the clue to the existence of another still. Under cover 
 of darkness the police paid several visits to the suspected 
 locality, and succeeded in tracing the worm to the 
 vicinity of a small creek situated about three miles from 
 the house of some suspected "moonlighters." This creek 
 at the particular spot was in the heart of the forest, 
 and the banks were partially obstructed by trees and thick 
 undergrowth. The little stream was subsequently appro- 
 priately named "Whiskey" Creek. The locality was 
 visited several times by Christie in company with Con- 
 stable Arthur. Night after night the detectives pursued 
 their search, often camping out and sleeping in hollow 
 trees. After several of such visits they came to the con- 
 clusion that the still they were in search of must be 
 somewhere within a certain radius and that the time had 
 arrived to endeavour to catch the moonlighters in 
 flagrante delicto, their apprehension being of more impor- 
 
 130
 
 THE LAST OF THE "MOONLIGHTERS." 131 
 
 tance than the seizure of the mere still. Accordingly, at 
 nine o'clock one night four men, well mounted and attired 
 in orthodox bushman's style, met by appointment at the 
 Boggy Creek bridge. The party consisted of Constables 
 Arthur, Snowden and Jones, all first-class bushmen, and 
 Detective Christie. Constable Arthur told his comrades 
 that two men, being those suspected, and a dog had been 
 seen going through the forest in a certain direction. 
 Leaving the horses, the party proceeded on foot towards 
 Whiskey Creek. Rain was falling, the darkness was 
 intense, and not a sign apparent to indicate the way 
 through the thick bush. Arthur, however, was their 
 guide and kept them on the right track. Reaching a 
 belt of almost impenetrable scrub, they halted to deter- 
 mine their next move, and, while conversing in an under- 
 tone, voices apparently proceeding from the centre of 
 the scrub came to their ears. 
 
 "I can hear them," said Constable Jones, "and am 
 sure that is Tom Delaney who is speaking." 
 
 It was now about two o'clock in the morning. A con- 
 sultation was held in whispers and a plan of action de- 
 cided upon which it was anticipated would enable them 
 to completely surround the spot and obtain absolute evi- 
 dence of the manufacture of the spirits and ensure the 
 capture of the operators. With the utmost caution and 
 the greatest difficulty they penetrated the scrub. The 
 voices could still be heard, and the speakers were evi- 
 dently not more than 150 feet distant, but the bush was 
 so thick that not a gleam from their fire could be seen. 
 The men were talking loudly, and the frequent splash- 
 ing of water could be distinctly heard. Gradually, foot 
 by foot, and as noiselessly as they could, the police forced
 
 132 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 their way through the tangle, and after a full hour's 
 struggle at last obtained a clear view of the still house. 
 A curious scene was opened up to them. Within a few 
 feet of where they stood, in a small cleared space, stood a 
 little building a mere "gunyah" constructed of rough 
 saplings. At one end was a chimney, in which a bright 
 fire was burning under a large still, and on the top of a 
 vat was a kerosene lamp, which completely lit up the 
 shanty and enabled the officers not only to recognise and 
 identify the men but to see everything they were doing. 
 The men were at the moment engaged in the manufac- 
 ture of whiskey, and were talking cheerfully, quite un- 
 conscious of the presence of the officers who were watch- 
 ing their movements. The latter placed themselves as 
 quietly as they could around the building, but in so do- 
 ing one of them stepped on a rotten branch. Love heard 
 this, and peered forth into the darkness, looking right 
 at one of the party who was standing not sixteen feet 
 away from him. However, owing to the darkness, and 
 probably somewhat blinded by the glare of the lamp, 
 he did not observe the watcher, but, speaking to Delaney, 
 said : "Tom, I am sure there is someone about." Delaney 
 said : "Oh, it was only a 'possum you heard. There is 
 no one, you may be sure," and the two went on with 
 what they were doing. Christie then, drawing his re- 
 volver, rushed into the shanty and, covering the men, 
 called out: "Customs. I arrest you, Tom Delaney and 
 Jim Love." At this time the detective thought the sides 
 of the gunyah were of bark and that the men could not 
 get through them before he reached them. The moon- 
 lighters looked up in dismay, whilst Christie advanced, 
 pointing his weapon, saying : "Stand, or I'll fire ; you are
 
 THE LAST OF THE "MOONLIGHTERS." 133 
 
 my prisoners." With that one of the men bolted away, 
 ducking his head through the sacking, calling out to his 
 mate, "Come on, Jim." The latter immediately followed, 
 and the officer fired two shots, more with the object of 
 alarming them than hitting them. The still stood in the 
 way, and it was impossible to intercept them before they 
 got through the side. of the building. Constable Jones 
 outside also fired, but without effect. The officers rushed 
 in pursuit, but, owing to the density of the bush and the 
 darkness, without success. One of the detectives was 
 caught in the throat by a projecting branch, which caused 
 him to fall backwards and inflicted on him several pain- 
 ful scratches and bruises. It was, however, impossible 
 to follow the distillers, as they had evidently got away 
 by some secret path. Giving up the pursuit, the officers 
 returned to the gunyah and took stock of its contents, 
 which consisted of a complete apparatus for distillation, 
 two kegs full of whiskey, and a quantity of liquor in 
 process of manufacture. By this time it was four o'clock, 
 and, being tired out, some slept while one of the party 
 kept guard. The sleepers had to bunk on the ground, 
 with the exception of Christie, who roosted in a large 
 vat. When daylight came, a careful inspection was made 
 of the surroundings and some tracks were picked up. 
 Following these it was found that the distillers used to 
 gain ingress and egress to the place by crawling on all 
 fours through the tangled brushwood. Constables Arthur 
 and Jones then followed the tracks to Love's house, 
 where they found him and brought him back to the 
 gunyah. Other tracks were found which took them in 
 the direction of Tom Delaney's house, but the man was 
 not to be found on the premises. One of the constables
 
 134 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 was then despatched to Warrnambool for a light waggon 
 in which to remove the still and apparatus. On its 
 arrival the still was placed on the vehicle for transport. 
 
 The vehicle, with the party and the prisoner, then 
 proceeded to the township, in which the news of the 
 seizure had been received with some excitement, and their 
 entry into the town was somewhat in the nature of a 
 procession. Love was duly brought up at the Court 
 and convicted. In spite of a strong effort on the part 
 of his counsel to obtain a light sentence, especially on 
 the grounds that he was a man in poor circumstances 
 with a wife and six young children dependent upon him, 
 and had made no resistance to the officers, the Bench 
 inflicted a fine of two hundred and fifty pounds or twelve 
 months' imprisonment. In so doing the Police Magis- 
 trate said that the Bench had a public duty to perform, 
 and could not allow any private sympathy for the pri- 
 soner's wife and family to interfere with its duty. 
 
 Meanwhile Tom Delaney was still at large, and pre- 
 parations were being made to run him down, when one 
 morning about three weeks afterwards he appeared at 
 daylight at the house of Mr. O'Callaghan, Inspector of 
 Police, in Warrnambool (subsequently Chief Commis- 
 sioner of Police), and quietly surrendered. This sur- 
 render came as a surprise to all concerned, as the man 
 had the reputation of being a somewhat desperate charac- 
 ter. However, he evidently did not find the life of a 
 hunted fugitive a pleasant one. 
 
 Delaney had been previously fined 25 for smuggling, 
 and he had been caught red-handed in this offence. It 
 was clear he had been carrying on the business of illicit 
 distillation for years, and there was reason to suppose
 
 THE LAST OR THE "MOONLIGHTERS." 135 
 
 that the men who had been previously convicted and pun- 
 ished were more his dupes than otherwise. In justice 
 to the country the Bench felt they could not give him 
 the option of a fine. He was the principal in the matter, 
 and must receive adequate punishment. That punish- 
 ment was a sentence of eighteen months' imprisonment. 
 It may be added that the capture of another still in 
 this district with conviction of the offenders subsequently 
 took place not long afterwards under somewhat similar 
 circumstances, and with that the persons who indulged 
 in the illicit traffic seem to have arrived at the conclusion 
 that the game was not "worth the candle." At all events 
 nothing has been heard of illicit distillation in that dis- 
 trict since. Six stills in all were seized, and five persons 
 convicted in connection with them
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 THE "WIDOW'S" PERAMBUI ATOR. 
 
 IN 1894 Dr. Wollaston learned that illicit spirits 
 were being offered for sale in hotels in the 
 suburbs, and that a smart-looking foreigner carrying 
 sample-bags like a commercial traveller was going round 
 showing samples of spirits in small bottles and asking 
 for orders. This man was offering the liquor at prices 
 which showed no duty could have been paid on it, so 
 that the spirit must either have been illicit, smuggled, or 
 stolen. The Doctor directed Christie to take the matter 
 in hand. The detective accordingly visited various hotels, 
 without any success, but at last found one where the 
 traveller had recently called. The man said that he 
 would call again in a few days. On hearing this, Chris- 
 tie interviewed the landlord, who promised him all the 
 help he could give. Christie requested him, when the 
 traveller called, to give the latter an order for four gal- 
 lons of whiskey and four of rum to be paid for on de- 
 livery. He also arranged for a detective to lodge in the 
 hotel, and shadow the traveller, with a view of finding 
 out where the still was. The liquor was duly ordered 
 and delivery promised the next week. The landlord then 
 invited the "traveller" to have a glass of grog with him, 
 and over this the man said he could supply any quantity 
 of the liquor required once or twice a week. To this the 
 landlord replied that he would take eight or ten gallons 
 a week if sixpence per gallon were knocked off the price, 
 adding: "This you can easily do, as I know the stuff 
 is crooked, but I do not care for that so long as you will
 
 THE "WIDOW'S" PERAMBULATOR. 137 
 
 supply it according to sample. I come from Ireland 
 myself, from a place where stills are plentiful, and, like 
 all good Irishmen, hate a gauger as I do the devil." 
 This completely put the traveller off his guard, and he 
 at once admitted the stuff was "crooked." 
 
 Unfortunately, the detective who had been left to fol- 
 low the distiller when he left the hotel bungled his job 
 and lost the man, so Christie determined to watch for 
 the delivery of the liquor himself. One day early the 
 following week, when the landlord was alone in the 
 bar, a smartly-dressed young woman came in wheeling 
 a perambulator. She ordered a glass of lemonade and 
 then asked permission to leave two tins of kerosene till 
 her mistress should call for them. The request was 
 acceded to, and the tins placed in a corner of the bar. 
 Next day the traveller called, and after shouting for 
 the publican asked him how he liked the spirit which he 
 had sent him, to which the landlord replied that he had 
 not yet received it. "Oh nonsense," said the man, "my 
 wife left it yesterday. It is in two kerosene tins; I de- 
 liver all my liquor that way. You had better pour it 
 into a quarter cask and mix it with other spirits, and 
 then I defy the excise to find out it is ' crooked.' If 
 you will empty the tins I will send for them to-morrow 
 afternoon." This was agreed on, and he left, having 
 previously been paid for the liquor. Unfortunately, for 
 the second time a mistake was made ; the publican forgot 
 to tell Christie the man was in the hotel, and he got 
 away without being followed. There was therefore no 
 help for it but to wait and shadow the person who 
 should come for the tins the next day. 
 
 Next afternoon Christie was on the look out with the
 
 138 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 intention of following the person who came for the 
 empty tins, feeling sure that they would be taken direct 
 to the house where the spirit was manufactured. Whilst 
 so occupied the detective noticed a very attractive- look- 
 ing young woman, dressed as a widow, with a perambula- 
 tor, which she left at the door whilst she went into the 
 side parlor. She ordered a glass of lemonade, and then 
 informed him that she had been requested by "her hus- 
 band" to call for the empty tins. He handed her the 
 tins, when she brought in the perambulator, and, placing 
 the tins therein, covered them over with a kind of mat- 
 tress. On this she laid a child's head made of wax 
 a most excellent imitation, with a baby's cap on and a 
 veil over to keep off the flies. She then arranged a cover 
 over all so as to give the exact appearance of a sleeping 
 infant. 
 
 Christie had not known that the seeming widow was 
 the person he was on the look-out for, but the landlord 
 came outside and made a signal which had been previ- 
 ously agreed upon. Christie immediately followed her 
 on foot, having in attendance at a little distance a cab, 
 without detection. She continued her way to the Haw- 
 thorn bridge. Seeing she was intending to cross the 
 bridge, Christie beckoned up his cab, and jumping into 
 it put on a large Inverness cape and slouch hat, in case 
 the woman might have noticed him before, and told the 
 cabman to drive across the bridge to the top of the 
 opposite hill. After passing over the bridge the woman 
 went up a street and entered a large villa surrounded by 
 an extensive garden, right on the bank of the Yarra. 
 So far satisfied, Christie returned, with the intention of 
 inspecting the house and surroundings after dark.
 
 THE "WIDOW'S" PERAMBULATOR. 139 
 
 About eight o'clock he went round the outside fence, 
 got over, and crept up to the villa. There was a light 
 in one of the windows, through which the "widow" and 
 the traveller could be seen having supper together. 
 Thinking they would be occupied for some time he then 
 went to examine a shed in the garden, when he observed 
 the back door of the house open and the man come to- 
 wards the spot where he was standing. In order to 
 escape detection the officer crept under the fence, and 
 unfortunately for himself fell down a bank which was 
 several feet high, right on his head, on to a ledge which 
 was about one hundred feet above the river. Had he fal- 
 len the whole distance he must certainly have been killed, 
 or drowned. He was badly shaken and much bruised. 
 The man heard the noise of the fall, and called out, 
 "Who's there?" and looked about without seeing any- 
 body. Christie lay perfectly still, and the man then 
 returned to the house. Waiting till all was quiet, the 
 detective quickly scrambled up the dangerous cliff and 
 beat a retreat homewards, with the determination to 
 search the place the next day. 
 
 There had been in the city several robberies of to- 
 bacco, and, under the pretence of searching for the stolen 
 goods, the detective, with two constables, visited the villa 
 the next day and made a search. But though indications 
 were found which showed that the persons were engaged 
 in distillation, no trace of a still itself could be dis- 
 covered. 
 
 The next night, just after dark, Detective Christie 
 established himself on the watch and saw a van drawn 
 up, which was quickly loaded with household effects. 
 This was driven to a house in Abbotsford. Next night
 
 140 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 the house in Abbotsford was closely watched, and about 
 eight o'clock the man came out carrying a spade and 
 proceeded to the house he had recently vacated. He was 
 seen there to dig up something out of the garden. This 
 object was evidently very heavy, and he had considerable 
 difficulty in carrying it down the steep bank of the river, 
 into which he lowered it. 
 
 Next day the officer obtained a boat and rowed up 
 the river till he came to the spot. After searching the 
 bank for some time a wire was detected running down 
 into the water and made fast to the root of a big tree on 
 the bank. Only the most minute search could have re- 
 vealed its existence. On hauling on this wire a bag came 
 to light which was found to contain a splendid copper 
 worm. Christie then scratched his initials on the worm 
 in a place where they would not be observed and sunk it 
 again in the water. 
 
 There was nothing now to be done but keep a close 
 watch over the movements of the suspected couple. For 
 two months a continuous watch was kept, but with no 
 success. During this period they moved twice in the 
 same fashion as before, and the last move was to a 
 house in Richmond. On the opposite side of the street 
 was an empty dwelling, which the detective rented and 
 from there kept a watch. During this watch the woman 
 frequently went out with the perambulator. One of the 
 loads was taken to the publican mentioned before, but 
 although this showed they were again engaged in the 
 trade it was determined to wait till the still could be 
 found in actual working. 
 
 One night a heavy fire had been kept up all night in 
 the house under surveillance, and a great flow of water
 
 THE "WIDOW'S" PERAMBULATOR. 141 
 
 came from the place. The detective considered that the 
 time had come to search the place. Next day was Sun- 
 day, and at dusk the place was kept under watch by 
 Christie, with two constables. Shortly after dusk the 
 man was seen to enter the house, and Christie immedi- 
 ately went to the front door and knocked. The door 
 was slightly opened, and the man was heard to say: 
 "Who's there? Is that you, Annie?" Christie, on the 
 door being opened, had pushed in his foot and called 
 out: "I am Detective Christie. You must surrender." 
 The man endeavoured to close the door, which, how- 
 ever, was forced open by the detective, with whom the 
 man immediately grappled. He proved himself a power- 
 ful opponent and fought desperately. Christie drew his 
 revolver, bailed the man up in a corner of the room with 
 his hands up, and, keeping his weapon pointed at him, 
 opened the door and called out for the constables, who 
 immediately took charge of the captured man. 
 
 An inspection of the interior disclosed a complete dis- 
 tillery in full working order mash tubs with liquor 
 in various stages of preparation, the worm being the one 
 which had been in the river, and still bore the detective's 
 initials. Large quantities of flavouring essences and 
 compounds were found, which were used to give the dis- 
 tinctive flavour and colour of whiskey, brandy, gin, etc., 
 and the silent spirit manufactures. There was also 
 found a revolver fully loaded, and a heavy life pre- 
 server, which was placed just behind the front door, 
 ready evidently for emergencies. The man afterwards 
 confessed that his object in struggling so when arrested 
 was to get at this preserver, and he would certainly have 
 settled his captor if he could have reached it.
 
 142 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 The prisoner was shortly afterwards tried and con- 
 victed. He was fined 200 or twelve months' imprison- 
 ment, and the whole contents of the house, including fur- 
 niture, forfeited.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 THE COFFIN TRICK. 
 
 HERE is another of the various devices used in the 
 conveyance of illicit spirits. One Sunday night 
 Christie was passing St. Patrick's Cathedral, in 
 East Melbourne, when his notice was attracted by a 
 man who was carrying what looked like a child's coffin on 
 his shoulder draped with black cloth. This man passed 
 close to the detective, who, seeing his face under the gas- 
 light, thought he recognised him as a criminal who was 
 a notorious* "moonlighter." He had now the appear- 
 ance of an undertaker going to deliver a child's coffin. 
 Christie shadowed him down to a house in a neighbour- 
 ing street, and, having obtained the assistance of two 
 constables, that night went there, but found the gates 
 locked. The detective was hoisted over the back fence 
 and found everything in darkness. He then burst in 
 the back door, and inside caught the inmate actually at 
 work at a still. He immediately covered the man with 
 his revolver and ordered him to throw up his hands, 
 which the man did, saying, "All right, Mr. Christie, I 
 give in." The distiller was marched off to the lock-up. 
 In due course, he was found guilty and a fine of 150 
 inflicted, or twelve months' imprisonment. After con- 
 viction he asked Christie who had given the information 
 about himself, and when told how he had been sus- 
 pected, he replied, "Well, I thought the devil himself 
 would not tumble to the coffin trick. It was merely two 
 kerosene tins fastened end to end and wrapped in the 
 black table-cover you found on the table in the kitchen." 
 
 143
 
 144 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 A BOGUS ILLICIT STILL. 
 
 The Department of Trade and Customs offers a very 
 substantial reward for information leading to the cap- 
 ture of a still and the conviction of offenders. In a 
 few instances, however, the Department has been 
 deceived and "got at" by bogus informers. One of 
 these cases was in relation to an alleged illicit still. An 
 official notice stated a reward of 100 would be paid for 
 the capture of an illicit still and apprehension and subse- 
 quent conviction of the distillers. There were two men 
 who were "chums," but had for some time been living 
 on their wits, and at last were reduced to great extremi- 
 ties to support themselves. A brilliant idea, however, 
 occurred to one of them by which the two could make a 
 "rise." Bill, the cleverer of the two, being a man who 
 formerly occupied a superior position and was somewhat 
 of a lawyer, suggested to his mate that if they could 
 manage to scrape together the old boiler and tubing 
 which was all that was necessary, and constitute a "still" 
 in the legal sense, they could set one up in a fashion and 
 work it a bit, not with a view to making spirits and 
 selling them, but in order to obtain the reward offered 
 for detection. Bill pointed out that all that was 
 required was that they should pretend to work the still 
 and that one 'of the partners should then "split" infor- 
 mation for which the 100 was offered. Further, that 
 as it was winter, and they were literally on their beam- 
 ends, it would be no hardship for either of them to do 
 three months or so in gaol, and when he came out the 
 half of the reward, fifty pounds, would be waiting for 
 him, which would be a pretty fair return for a com-
 
 A BOGUS ILLICIT STILL. 145 
 
 pulsory residence in the "Queen's Hotel" in comfortable 
 quarters, at the worst season of the year. 
 
 To this Bill's partner, Jim, agreed as a very feasible 
 plan. The men, with the proverbial honor amongst 
 thieves which is said to exist, had confidence in each 
 other, having been associated together for some time. 
 Assured that neither would slip the other up, and 
 as Bill was the sharpest and most presentable of the two, 
 it was agreed that he should give the information, whilst 
 Jim should do the inevitable stretch in the "jug." 
 Accordingly they set up a rough still in the bush in the 
 neighbourhood of a country town not far from Mel- 
 bourne. They then got some grain and made some stuff 
 which could pass as technically "spirit," and when all 
 their preparations were ready, Bill went off to Melbourne 
 to give his mate away. The exact day and hour when 
 the detectives were to come upon the still were agreed 
 on between them, and, at this hour, Jim was to have a 
 big fire going and be apparently busily engaged in the 
 manufacture of spirit. 
 
 Bill then appeared at the office desiring to see the 
 Detective-Inspector and duly interviewed that official. 
 The Detective-Inspector, well pleased at the prospect of 
 making such an important seizure as the information 
 seemed to promise, got his men together and set out just 
 before daylight. Bill had stipulated, however, that while 
 he would guide them to the locality and show the pre- 
 cise spot in which the still was, he himself was to remain 
 hidden, because if it should be discovered that he had 
 given his mate away the consequences to himself would 
 be most serious. 
 
 The party cautiously approached the spot, and soon
 
 146 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 they saw the gleam of fire in a clump of tangled scrub, 
 and, on approaching nearer, saw a bush "humpy" with 
 a fireplace composed of rough stones, in which a big 
 fire was blazing, and a man to all appearances hard at 
 work attending to the heating of liquid, whilst a strong 
 smell of spirit pervaded the air. The detectives sur- 
 rounded the hut, revolvers were drawn, and, crying in a 
 loud voice : "Hands up ! You are our prisoner," they 
 forced an entrance. The distiller was promptly hand- 
 cuffed, seemingly utterly "flabbergasted" by his sudden 
 arrest. He growled out something to the effect that if 
 he had known the "encarmined" detectives were about 
 he would have prepared a hot reception for them. Hav- 
 ing secured their prisoner, the officers proceeded to in- 
 vestigate the extent of their capture, but were intensely 
 disgusted and disappointed to find that instead of being 
 a fully-equipped still of the largest capacity, and with all 
 necessary appliances, which they had been led to expect, 
 it was only one of the most make-shift kind, hardly 
 to be dignified by the name of still at all. They deter- 
 mined, however, to make the best of it, and marched 
 their prisoner off, the man preserving a sullen silence 
 all the time. Seeing it was such a small affair the 
 officers lost much of their interest in the seizure. Jim 
 was brought up in a day or two and promptly fined 50, 
 with the alternative of three months' imprisonment. Bill 
 turned up promptly on the day his mate had been con- 
 victed and demanded his money. The officials were very 
 much disinclined to pay the full amount of 100 for 
 such a meagre capture, and demurred to paying over 
 the sovereigns. However, seeing the precise tones of the 
 official notice which promised the reward without any
 
 A BOGUS ILLICIT STILL. 147 
 
 qualification, after a few days' hesitation, Bill got the 
 money. 
 
 It appeared that he was loyal to his mate and duly 
 kept for him and handed over the fifty "quid" which 
 was the latter's share of the spoil. The officials, how- 
 ever, when they made the tardy discovery that they had 
 been hoaxed, at once withdrew the existing notice and 
 substituted one for it which contained certain restric- 
 tions and conditions which would prevent their being 
 again taken in.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 WOMEN SMUGGLERS. 
 
 IT is a trite saying that in regard to Customs duties 
 women possess no conscience. There exist some 
 men perhaps who under no possible circumstances 
 would desire to escape the payment of duties levied 
 according to law; but as to women, it would seem as 
 if few exceptions can be made. The officials declare that 
 women of all classes "do" the Customs. The famous 
 signal of Nelson which the Customs officers read, "Eng- 
 land expects that every man will pay his duty," has no 
 weight with them. They cannot be made to see that the 
 avoidance of the payment of dues which are levied 
 according to law is an obligation. 
 
 Many men are mean enough, and often the wealthier 
 they are the more they object to part with more coin 
 through the Customs than they can be compelled to, but 
 it is women who as a rule show the greatest disinclination 
 to obey the law. It is on record as an example of what 
 men will sometimes do to escape the payment of a small 
 sum, that a travelling nobleman who was staying at 
 Government House, and who as a matter of courtesy 
 was furnished by the Victorian Government with a free 
 pass on the railways, wrote to the Head of the Customs, 
 on Government paper and under a frank stamp, com- 
 plaining that he had been called upon to pay duty on a 
 pair of slippers which had been sent to him from Eng- 
 land, and expressed his indignation at such a demand 
 being made upon him. Now, the amount of the duty 
 involved was the large sum of two and sixpence! The 
 Head was so lost to every sense of what the circum-
 
 WOMEN SMUGGLERS. 149 
 
 stances required, and so regardless of the risk that he ran 
 of being excluded in future from those select functions at 
 Government House to which he had hitherto been 
 accorded the right of entree, that he actually ventured 
 to inform "my lord" in courteous terms that the money 
 was properly due, and that his lordship could not get 
 the slippers till he paid up. Moreover, that he had 
 better pay up sharply, or they would be taken possession 
 of and sold. The peer was further informed that should, 
 however, the sale take place and any surplus was left 
 of the proceeds after payment of the duty and all ex- 
 penses connected with the sale, such balance, after due 
 presentation of the necessary documents and compliance 
 with the prescribed formalities, including evidence of 
 ownership of the slippers being vested in himself, the 
 Department would be prepared to pay the same over to 
 him. In fact the peer was actually snubbed ! 
 
 Sealskins and furs above all things seem to have an 
 irresistible fascination for some of the fair sex, and their 
 ordinary attraction is considerably increased if in addi- 
 tion the charm of having escaped the payment of heavy 
 duty is added. The motives which induce persons to 
 give such information have been referred to elsewhere. 
 Sometimes it is envy, jealousy, or revenge; more often 
 it is the temptation to secure the handsome reward which 
 the Department always pays to an informer. Many per- 
 sons in Australia who have suffered at the hands of 
 the Customs would be startled if they could learn the 
 names of the people who had betrayed them. Confidential 
 clerks ; intimate female friends ; domestic servants ; all 
 figure on the list. The information is often given only 
 with the greatest precaution.
 
 150 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 In one case the Head received a perfumed note, evi- 
 dently written by a woman of some education, which 
 expressed a desire on the part of the writer to have a 
 private interview with him, but not in his office. Such 
 missives were, however, no particular novelty. No 
 notice was taken of the first letter, but a second was soon 
 afterwards received. It had, however, apparently 
 occurred to the writer that the reason she had received 
 no answer to her first communication was that a trap 
 was suspected, and in her second letter the writer made 
 it clear that the interview she sought was of a business 
 nature entirely, in which sentiment would have no place, 
 and that it was in her power to impart some information 
 as to contemplated smuggling. Consequently the Chief 
 sent an acknowledgement of the second letter, saying 
 the Department would be glad to have any information 
 of a reliable character that could be supplied, and that 
 he proposed to send his confidential Inspector, Mr. Chris- 
 tie, to interview the lady. An answer to this letter was, 
 however, soon received, in which the lady said that she 
 preferred for many reasons to deal with the Head of the 
 Department alone. After consideration and consultation 
 with Christie it was decided to invite the lady to visit the 
 office to interview the Chief. To this invitation the lady 
 replied in a sarcastic vein, intimating that she was not 
 quite such a fool as to accept. She wound up by saying 
 that unless her first request was granted, the offer was 
 to be considered as entirely "off." This communication 
 looked like business, and as if the lady might really have 
 something important to give away. So an appointment 
 was made for the Flinders Street Railway station. 
 
 At the time appointed the Chief was duly on hand,
 
 WOMEN SMUGGLERS. 151 
 
 and the writer of the letters disclosed herself as a very 
 charming-looking girl of about twenty, attractively 
 dressed and of ladylike manners. He soon came to the 
 point, and desired her as briefly and clearly as she could 
 to make her statement, which he promised her should 
 be kept entirely secret. There was, however, some dif- 
 ficulty in getting her to speak out, and a railway station 
 was perhaps not the best of places to receive confidences 
 from such fair lips. However, the Chief soon had an 
 inspiration as to the best way of getting the girl to make 
 a clean breast of it. He suggested to his fair inter- 
 viewer that an adjournment for lunch would be advis- 
 able, when she could speak freely. After lunch had been 
 duly disposed of, the girl told all she knew to her father- 
 confessor. A scheme had come to her ears which had 
 been concocted by two women of her acquaintance in 
 good positions "to run" some most valuable furs and 
 other garments from the mail steamer then shortly ex- 
 pected. Christie was instructed and the culprits caught 
 in flagrante delicto. The whole consignment was con- 
 fiscated and the two dames fined 100 each. The girl 
 had one last private interview with the Chief, when a 
 weighty bag of golden sovereigns was passed by him to 
 her. 
 
 In another important case the game was "blown on" 
 by a maid in the employ of the lady concerned. This 
 girl, in the course of her waiting at table, had heard 
 chance remarks which convinced her something was in 
 the wind. Accordingly she laid herself out to pick 
 up all the information she could. This girl knew 
 how substantial was the reward paid by a gener- 
 ous Government to those who assisted in collecting
 
 152 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 their just dues. Moreover, the girl had a lover whom 
 she wished to marry, but hitherto circumstances had not 
 been altogether propitious for want of the needful. 
 Hence the hundred pounds which she saw before her 
 eyes was a powerful temptation to her. Having thus 
 made up her mind to "split," the rest was easy. The 
 maid had a female confederate. The latter called on the 
 Head ; Christie was sent for, and a very pretty little 
 game was disclosed. The mistress was a lady of means 
 who lived in very good style in St. Kilda and had an 
 intimate lady friend. The scheme was this. The hus- 
 band of the mistress of the house had gone to England, 
 and was about to return. Numerous and expensive 
 articles of feminine attire were to be bought in London 
 and on the Continent and brought out as portion of his 
 luggage. The two ladies were to go to Adelaide and 
 meet the steamer there and come back in her as pas- 
 sengers, and whilst on board take possession of the new 
 clothes and land at Port Melbourne wearing the most 
 valuable and bring ashore the rest as ordinary wearing 
 apparel not subject to duty. This scheme was success- 
 fully carried out up to the landing at Port Melbourne. 
 But here trouble commenced, and the scheme was 
 wrecked. Christie and his assistants were on the watch. 
 The mistress gaily tripped down the gangway to the 
 wharf, closely followed by her friend, and walked to 
 the end of the pier, where her carriage was in waiting. 
 One was wearing a magnificent sealskin mantle and 
 rather singularly a sealskin cape over the shoulders of 
 it, whilst the other wore a new sealskin cape of the best 
 quality and style. The officers followed the carriage in 
 a cab to the residence at St. Kilda. Having obtained
 
 WOMEN SMUGGLERS. 153 
 
 an interview with the mistress, she was asked if she had 
 brought any dutiable goods ashore. She emphatically 
 denied having done so, but when she was notified that 
 the officers must then search the house, the sealskin cape 
 and mantle were produced, but the lady said they were 
 old garments. Unfortunately for her, however, the Cus- 
 toms officers gain considerable knowledge of what relates 
 to these articles, and are able to tell a new garment 
 from one that has been worn. A glance at the furs 
 showed the garments were new. Christie then formally 
 seized the articles, and after some further pressure the 
 lady called her husband, who admitted that he had 
 brought out the furs with him. He added, however, that 
 he had no other dutiable goods with him. An unfortu- 
 nate falsehood, for the officers knew better, and he only 
 increased his punishment. The detectives insisted on 
 searching his trunks, and found in them a varied assort- 
 ment of dutiable articles. 
 
 So far so good. But there was the lady friend to be 
 accounted for. This person had been kept under sur- 
 veillance for some days in the hope that by her means 
 something more would come to light, and one day she 
 was followed to Spencer Street, where she took a ticket 
 for the express to Sydney. Christie was there, but was 
 somewhat puzzled, as the lady's hair seemed a different 
 tint from what it had been when she landed at Port 
 Melbourne, and he was consequently rather dubious as 
 to her identity. But he boldly accosted the lady, asking 
 her to accompany him into the waiting-room with her 
 belongings. She was highly indignant, and expressed 
 her opinion in no unmeasured terms at the "outrage" 
 which was being committed on her. But the detective
 
 154 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 was persistent. When in the room he felt and opened 
 a railway cushion she had with her, and within was found 
 a fine sealskin jacket carefully folded up. The lady 
 said it was only an old one, and she carried it that way 
 for convenience sake. The detective, however, was scep- 
 tical, and desired her to accompany him to the Customs 
 House, whither she went with very ill grace. But here 
 a difficulty presented itself. It was all very well for the 
 detective to hunt down illicit stills and moonlighters, 
 but to investigate the intricacies of feminine apparel in 
 actual use was a task beyond his limit. The lady would 
 not own up and would not disgorge. But the emergency 
 was soon grappled with. The housekeeper's wife was 
 sent for, the room was given up to the women, and a 
 search disclosed a handsome and valuable necklace and 
 a small costly gold watch and pendant. 
 
 As a result the whole of the seizure was forfeited to 
 the Crown and sold for the benefit of the revenue, and 
 the two women had to pay in addition a fine of 100 
 each. The spoils were catalogued and found to be not 
 only the very rich and expensive furs already mentioned 
 and the jewellery, but also several costumes, blouses, 
 veils, boots and shoes, gloves, perfumes, hair-wash and 
 hair-dye, intended for the use of society dames, and, last 
 but not least, "improvers." It may be added the sub- 
 sequent sale created considerable interest amongst society 
 women, and the Department netted a considerable amount 
 over the transaction. The maid was duly remunerated 
 and her swain made a happy man, and let us hope they 
 lived happily ever afterwards. 
 
 Apropos of letters, it is singular how these seem to 
 turn up unexpectedly to disclose matters which but for
 
 WOMEN SMUGGLERS. 155 
 
 them would be otherwise hidden. For instance, at one 
 time there was a considerable amount of smuggling over 
 the New South Wales border into the broken and moun- 
 tainous country of Gippsland, and much trouble given 
 to the Customs and Police in consequence. In one case, 
 the principal smuggler was strongly suspected, but he 
 could not be caught, nor could any reliable evidence be 
 obtained against him. A sagacious police constable,_ how- 
 ever, once on his lonely patrol through the forest came 
 across a bit of dirty and crumpled paper which his curio- 
 sity led him to inspect, as he observed it had been writ- 
 ten on, and the sight of an apparent letter in that locality 
 was a rarety. He perused it at the end of a stick, not 
 caring to handle it, and then forwarded it on to head- 
 quarters, with a warning in the corner to be careful in 
 the handling of the contents. On perusal, with the 
 assistance of a paper-knife and a little eau de cologne, 
 the contents proved to be a communication from one 'of 
 the smuggler's pals, disclosing a plan for running some 
 cattle across. Christie was duly instructed, and the 
 parties "nabbed" and convicted. 
 
 In another instance the "bowl out" was rather amus- 
 ing. A certain Lady Blank had ordered a dress, to be 
 worn at the approaching Cup races in Melbourne. It 
 was invoiced at, say, ten pounds, but the Customs officials 
 saw at a glance from its make and material, and also 
 from the fact of its coming from a celebrated and world- 
 wide known "builder" of feminine attire in Paris, its 
 cost was certainly very much over that amount. The 
 lady was accordingly told that the value placed upon it 
 could not be accepted, and that the duty alone would be 
 more than the stated value of the frock. She was very
 
 156 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 angry at this demand and indignant at the action of the 
 officers, and intimated that she would interview the Head 
 of the Department and see that their insolence was pro- 
 perly dealt with. Accordingly she called upon the Chief, 
 stating her grievance, and demanded redress. He 
 was all smiles and courtesy; sympathised with the lady 
 and soothed her ruffled susceptibilities in his very best 
 manner. He assured her that it was only necessary for 
 her to produce some evidence that the price to be paid 
 for the "confection" was only what she stated it to be, 
 and it would be accepted at once. The lady calmed 
 down, and from her peggy-bag brought forth various 
 bills and documents, which she handed over to him for 
 perusal as supporting her contention. One of these docu- 
 ments was a letter written in French from the maker of 
 the article. Now, whether the lady's knowledge of the 
 French language was not equal to the charms she un- 
 doubtedly possessed, or whether in the excitement of the 
 moment she had forgotten the exact purport of the let- 
 ter in question, we know not. Suffice it to say, however, 
 that on perusal the letter read to the effect that the 
 invoice or bill which had been originally produced to 
 the Customs officials was only prepared and forwarded 
 so as to enable the recipient to hoodwink the Customs and 
 escape the payment of duty, and that the real price the 
 maker of the frock expected to receive was very much 
 higher than the sum mentioned in the fictitious bill, and 
 the writer would be glad to have a remittance of that 
 amount. The Chief translated the document to the lady, 
 who had not then a word to say for herself, and the 
 usual consequences of course inevitably followed. 
 
 On one occasion a man having the appearance of an
 
 WOMEN SMUGGLERS. 157 
 
 American traveller, carrying a bag apparently containing 
 samples, strolled into an hotel at the seaside and entered 
 the private parlour, where the buxom and not unattrac- 
 tive landlady happened to be present. The stranger, 
 being a personable man with pleasant manners, and the 
 lady not being coy and apparently not offended at the 
 evident admiration with which the American regarded 
 her, soon grew chatty and made herself very agreeable. 
 At the invitation of the stranger a glass of wine was 
 partaken of, after which the traveller produced some 
 cigars, which he informed the landlady were samples 
 of what he had to dispose of. She inquired the price, 
 but on hearing what was asked for them said: "Oh, 
 that is too much; I can get imported cigars and good 
 ones too for much less." 
 
 To this the traveller replied that he would be glad 
 to purchase as well as sell, and if she could put him in 
 the way of getting any good cigars cheap he would be 
 much obliged. 
 
 "I can let you have a quantity of good cigars at six 
 pounds the thousand," said the landlady. 
 
 "You must then be smuggling them," answered the 
 traveller, "to be able to afford to sell them at that rate." 
 
 She smiled knowingly, replying: "You can bet your 
 bottom dollar I do. The Customs officers are easily 
 done; they can't see a hole as big as a haystack." 
 
 "Well, they always seem to me pretty sharp when I 
 am about," said the traveller. "How many cigars can 
 you let me have at the price you mentioned ?" 
 
 "If you will come here on Good Friday I will have 
 4,000 cigars for you," replied the landlady. 
 
 The traveller agreed to take that quantity, at the same
 
 158 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 time warning her to be careful of the Customs officials ; 
 but she did not seem much afraid of them, as she re- 
 marked she could always manage them all right, adding 
 that the only one she was at all afraid of was Christie, 
 and enquiring if the traveller knew him. 
 
 "Oh yes," he answered. "I have seen him, but do 
 not fancy he is up to much. Anyway, those bright eyes 
 of yours would fix him up to rights if you ever came 
 across him." 
 
 "There is a brewer's traveller, Mr. Lyons, I know, 
 who is going to bring him in here some day, so that I 
 may be introduced and get to know him, when I will 
 do my best to get round him." 
 
 "Well, be careful you are not found out and take 
 care of yourself. So long." With these words the tra- 
 veller departed. 
 
 On Good Friday Christie who was, of course, the pre- 
 tended traveller of the previous occasion walked into 
 the bar-parlour of the hotel, and the landlady appeared 
 and recognised him at once, saying: "I have got those 
 cigars for you I promised the other day. I did the 
 Customs officers beautifully. They had no suspicion of 
 me." 
 
 At these words Christie pretended to be puzzled, and 
 did not apparently understand what cigars she meant. 
 
 "Are you not the traveller who was in here a few 
 days ago?" 
 
 "No," said Christie; " I am to meet Mr. Lyons here, 
 as he asked me to meet him here to-day. My name is 
 Inspector Christie. Who are the Customs officers you 
 have done so beautifully?"
 
 WOMEN SMUGGLERS. 159 
 
 "I was only joking," replied the lady, realising she 
 had made a mistake. 
 
 "Well, I do not like jokes of that kind at the expense 
 of my brother officers, and after your remarks I must 
 search your premises to see if you have any smuggled 
 cigars in the place." 
 
 He then called the constables he had in attendance 
 outside and placed them at all the exits, keeping a sharp 
 eye on the landlady. He observed her whisper to the 
 barman, who immediately proceeded quickly to her bed- 
 room. The detective followed at once; and found the 
 door of the room locked inside, but, by a vigorous thrust 
 with the whole weight of his body, burst it open and 
 found the man alongside his mistress's bed, with a corn- 
 sack in his hand. On searching the bed, the four thou- 
 sand cigars in boxes were found concealed under the 
 bedclothes. 
 
 A further search revealed petticoats and feminine gar- 
 ments of a more intimate nature, which had been speci- 
 ally contrived for smuggling boxes of cigars or bottles 
 of spirits. Rows of deep pockets were fixed around the 
 garments, which were made of stout material, into which 
 the boxes or bottles could be slipped and so carried 
 ashore. Women knew there would be no personal search 
 except by women-searchers, and that such rarely takes 
 place, and only in cases of the gravest suspicion, conse- 
 quently female smugglers concealing goods in this man- 
 ner often escape detection. 
 
 The landlady was prosecuted and fined 50, and the 
 cigars forfeited to the Crown.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 THE GENTLE ART OF "CRIMPING." 
 
 CRIMPING ( "shanghaing" as it is sometimes term- 
 ed) , used to be very rife at the Port of Melbourne 
 for many years, and the place had a bad reputa- 
 tion in this respect owing to the evil practices of a num- 
 ber of notorious crimps, who would stick at nothing to 
 make money out of the unfortunate sailors. The evil, 
 however, was completely suppressed when Dr. Wollaston 
 became Permanent Head of the Department of Trade 
 and Customs, which had control of all shipping and 
 marine matters. Acting under his instructions, the 
 crimps were relentlessly pursued by the officers of the 
 department and no trouble or expense spared to suppress 
 them. As a result every one of them was ultimately 
 convicted and served a sentence in gaol. The officials 
 who were more especially instrumental in carrying out 
 this duty were Captain Nichol, Overseer of Seamen, (a 
 former P. & O. Company's officer) and Inspector 
 Christie. The first-named, being a sailor himself, was 
 on that account able to render most intelligent and valu- 
 able service. 
 
 In old days, when sailing vessels formed the bulk of 
 shipping visiting the port, they would make hardly more 
 than one voyage in the twelve months, owing to the length 
 of time they would be detained in harbour waiting for 
 orders. On arrival the crew would have a considerable 
 amount of pay due to each, and if they left the ship 
 without being legally discharged all this money would 
 
 160
 
 THE GENTLE ART OF "CRIMPING." 161 
 
 be forfeited. The ship would thus have had their ser- 
 vices practically for nothing, with the exception of the 
 one month's pay which each man received when he 
 shipped, by means of what is known as an "advance 
 note." As articles are usually signed for three years, 
 during the detention of the ship the men's wages would 
 run on, and there would be in addition the cost of keep- 
 ing them in food. If, however, the men deserted or 
 "ran," not only were the wages saved to the ship, but 
 also the expense of maintenance. Naturally enough, 
 masters of ships who wished to show good returns were 
 not averse to the men leaving the vessel without legal 
 sanction. Indeed, many would actually give the crimps 
 a bonus on each man they enticed on shore and sent off 
 in other vessels. 
 
 It can easily be imagined that the temptation to have 
 a good spree on shore after the privations and monotony 
 of a long voyage at sea would be too much for the men, 
 who, once in the clutches of the crimps, were kept in 
 a muddled state till they were shipped again. 
 
 The unfortunate sailors were fleeced by the. crimps in 
 many ways, and by many indirect methods. In the first 
 place, a master who was seeking a crew would pay a 
 bonus for each man brought on board by the crimp. At 
 a time when seamen were very scarce, such a bonus 
 would run as high as 5 per head. Next, when a sea- 
 man signed on, he was entitled to receive an advance 
 note, which is a document authorising the bearer to re- 
 ceive one month's wages from the local agent of the 
 ship as soon as she had cleared the port. The object 
 of this advance note was that each man might have a 
 little money to buy clothes, etc. But the crimp would
 
 162 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 get hold of it, give the sailor a few miserable "duds," 
 and, having made him tipsy, send him to sea and him- 
 self draw the money. Most of the amount would be 
 clear profit to him and a direct robbery of the sailor. 
 When the wages were, say, 10 a month and an advance 
 note was given for one month's pay, the crimp could 
 easily net eight pounds by "doing" the sailor. If, be- 
 sides this, he got a tip for enticing the man ashore from 
 his other ship in the first instance, it would not be diffi- 
 cult to make ten pounds a head on each man going 
 through his hands, and, as the number of seamen re- 
 quired for an oversea ship would number from fifteen to 
 forty men, it can easily be understood that the gains 
 the crimps made were considerable. 
 
 Sometimes, however, when men were scarce, and in- 
 deed not to be got at all, and the ship was only to make 
 a short stay in port, the desire of the master would be 
 all the other way. He would wish to keep his men, 
 so as to avoid paying higher wages to a new crew or the 
 delay to his ship whilst waiting a crew. When foreign 
 wages were, say, four pounds a month and colonial rates 
 ten pounds, the inducement to a crew which had shipped 
 in England to "run" would be very great indeed, even 
 if they did lose their accrued wages. In such circum- 
 stances, in order to prevent the men slipping ashore, 
 great vigilance would have to be exercised by the officers 
 of the ship. The vessel would be out in the bay at 
 anchor, and no person would be allowed on board with- 
 out their permission, and no seaman who could not be 
 trusted to return, would be allowed to go ashore. Par- 
 ticularly was this the case with American ships. Of 
 course all deserters are liable to be arrested and put on
 
 THE GENTLE ART OF "CRIMPING." 163 
 
 board the vessel they belong to by force, but when the 
 crimps were in full swing conducting their nefarious 
 business, such arrests were infrequent and difficult to 
 effect. Yet after the crimps were suppressed it was com- 
 paratively easy to find any men who had "run," especi- 
 ally if they were foreigners. Men knew it was useless 
 to attempt to escape, as they would soon be picked up 
 by the police and sent on board. 
 
 On one occasion, two sailors tried to make use of the 
 law to obtain their retention in Victoria. The Mary 
 Jane barque, of Boston, U.S.A., was lying in Hobson's 
 Bay ready for sea, when two of the sailors got ashore 
 by stowing themselves in a bum boat. Immediately they 
 landed they went to Mr. James Daly Emmerson, a lawyer. 
 The latter saw at a glance they were "shell-backs," and 
 asked them what they wanted. They asked what fee 
 was to be paid for advice. They were informed one 
 guinea, which amount was immediately handed over. 
 They then went on to ask the solicitor if it were the 
 case that in Victoria a wife who knew her husband was 
 going out of the State and leaving her without means 
 for her support could obtain a warrant for his arrest and 
 have him detained. They were told that such was the 
 case. The men seemed satisfied with this and left. 
 
 About nine o'clock the same evening the solicitor re- 
 ferred to was walking down the street, when he observed 
 lights in the front-room of the local parsonage and a 
 cab standing at the gate. He asked the cabman what 
 was going on. Cabby replied : "Shure, you ought to 
 know, sorr." 
 
 "Why should I know?" said the lawyer, who then 
 learnt that it was this cabman who had driven the
 
 164 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 seamen to his house earlier in the evening and thence to 
 a local public house, where the men had each picked 
 up a fair but frail one who, for a consideration, and un- 
 limited liquors, was willing to go through the marriage 
 ceremony with him, and then to lay an information next 
 morning against the husband and obtain his detention. 
 
 The two couples were at that moment being married. 
 The next evening the solicitor was at a lodge meeting, 
 when a very tall brother, evidently a Yankee, came and 
 introduced himself as the master of the Mary 
 Jane. Then he said: "Well, Brother Emmerson, 
 you thought you had done me a nice trick by getting 
 two of my sailors to get spliced to two street "whalers." 
 But I have weathered on you to rights, I guess. I got 
 the women to ship, one as a stewardess and the other 
 as cook. I have taken the wind out of your sails, and, 
 besides, have done a Christian act by giving the women 
 a chance to reform." The ship duly sailed with the 
 men and their brides, but what subsequently happened 
 history does not record, and perhaps that is just as well. 
 
 The notorious crimps at the Port of Melbourne re- 
 joiced in various nicknames, such as "Blueskin," "The 
 Ghost," "Flash Jack," "Blue Nose," and "Jack Shep- 
 pard." One was a woman who rejoiced in the classic 
 name of Cassandra, and had the pseudonym of "Port 
 Wine Mary Anne," so called from a large birth-mark 
 on her face. She was well known personally or by re- 
 pute all over the world amongst deep-sea sailors. The 
 dodges and tricks practised by these persons were of 
 infinite variety, not to mention many other actions which 
 were pure villainies.
 
 THE GENTLE ART OF "CRIMPING." 165 
 
 Late one night the master of the well-known Greens' 
 ship the Renown, which was due to sail at daylight the 
 next morning, called on Christie and informed him that 
 six of his crew had deserted since tea-time, one of them 
 a big nigger, and that it was of the utmost importance 
 to the ship to recover them. It was evident, therefore, 
 that no time was to be lost. The assistance of half-a- 
 dozen constables was obtained, and the whole party 
 then drove down to Port Melbourne, where was situated 
 a public house kept by the notorious "Blueskin," also 
 known as "King of the Crimps." Some of the police 
 were placed to watch the "pub" back and front, whilst 
 the skipper, with Christie and a constable, knocked at 
 the front door. Lights were plainly visible. As soon, 
 however, as the knock was given all lights were "doused," 
 and presently an upstairs window was thrown up and 
 the head of the virtuous "Blueskin" protruded. The 
 latter expressed his surprise at being disturbed so late 
 at night. What he said, however, did not make much 
 impression on his hearers, who told him that if he did 
 not open his door at once, it would be forced open, and, 
 almost simultaneously, a ship's bell was heard to ring 
 twice inside the building. The fact of the bell being 
 thus rung was evidence to those acquainted with the 
 ways of the crimps that the men wanted were on the 
 premises, and were probably concealed in some hiding- 
 places known to exist in the building. 
 
 These hiding-places were very cleverly constructed, 
 whole sides of some of the bedrooms being partitioned 
 off, having cunningly constructed spring doors in the 
 partitions, which doors could not be detected except after 
 careful inspection, inch by inch, of the whole of the
 
 166 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 partition. Inside was a ladder running up to the roof. 
 When the alarm bell rang once, if the runaways were 
 in the bedrooms, they would be hustled by the crimps' 
 assistants behind the partitions, and if the bell rang 
 twice, it meant the men were to be taken up to the roof, 
 where they would be able to drop down into the street 
 behind or over other houses, and so escape. In this 
 instance, only three of the deserters got up to 
 the roof, one of whom was the darkey. They 
 clambered over the neighbouring housetops and 
 were seen by one of the watching constables to be de- 
 scending into a back yard. But before they could be in- 
 tercepted by him they managed to get away. The con- 
 stable immediately ran into the public house and in- 
 formed Christie, who, leaving the other police to guard 
 the hotel and search for the other three men, jumped 
 into the waggonette which had brought the party from 
 town, and, driving it himself, went round into the street 
 into which the three men had probably got by this time. 
 He was fortunate enough to see them bolting up the 
 street as hard as they could go. He whipped up his 
 horse, and when he got abreast of them, pretending to 
 be the cabman, sang out to them: "The police are after 
 you, boys; jump up quick, and I'll get you away." They 
 got in, and were driven round to the police station, be- 
 fore the passengers could realise that they had been 
 trapped. He marched the three men into the watch- 
 house, where they were temporarily locked up. He then 
 returned as quickly as possible to the "pub," where he 
 found that the other three men had been discovered 
 "three sheets in the wind," and consequently too drunk 
 to get up on the roof in time to escape. The whole
 
 THE GENTLE ART OF "CRIMPING." 167 
 
 six, under police escort, were conveyed aboard the 
 Renown, which duly sailed at the advertised time. 
 
 In another case, the master of one of the famous 
 clipper ships which used to trade to Australia was 
 a crack boxer, and always contrived to have as 
 a member of his crew a man who could also "put 
 up his dukes." This clipper was lying out in the 
 stream, when the skipper found to his disgust 
 that the fighting black, who was his second cook, 
 had deserted. The master knew all the principal 
 professional fighting men in Melbourne, and immediately 
 went on shore to obtain a man to take the place of the 
 deserter. He went to the public house of "Blueskin," 
 informed him of his loss, and desired him to set to work 
 to obtain another fighting sailor. The captain of the 
 clipper specially mentioned "Black Albert." This in- 
 dividual was a well-known boxer, and had fought with 
 Peter Newton, a famous pugilist of his time. He added 
 that he would give the crimp five pounds for his trouble. 
 "Blueskin" at once accepted the task. In undertaking 
 this, however, he found that he had promised more than 
 he could fulfil, for when the gang attempted to inveigle 
 the black down to 'the "pub," they saw he was too fly 
 for them. Being an old "shell back," he evidently smelt 
 a rat. Failing this man, they then tried their wits upon 
 a noted pugilist, named Jimmy Shannon, whom they in- 
 vited to come down to the hotel in the evening for the 
 ostensible purpose of arranging for an exhibition of box- 
 ing which was to take place in the lounge, promising 
 him five pounds for his night's work. Jimmy willingly 
 accepted the invitation. He duly turned up the 
 next evening and discussed the arrangements for
 
 168 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 the pretended exhibition. Whilst his attention was 
 otherwise engaged, a drug was skilfully added to 
 his liquor, with the result that he soon became help- 
 less. The gang then removed him to a room known as 
 the "dead house," till he could be carried off in an appar- 
 ently drunken condition to be shipped. There they 
 took from him his watch, chain and money, and then 
 in a most artistic fashion blacked all those portions of 
 his body which were not covered by his clothes, so that 
 he would look like a nigger and pass for "Black Albert." 
 They would thus be able to get the five pounds promised 
 by the master. Late the same evening poor Jimmy was 
 taken, still unconscious, to the ship by "The Ghost" 
 and "Blueskin," and, on arrival, was dumped down 
 in the forecastle. The chief officer was at the gangway, 
 and told the skipper that the nigger had been brought 
 off by the crimp. The captain accordingly handed over 
 the promised five pounds and the advance note, and the 
 rascals departed, chuckling over the success of their plot. 
 Another instance well illustrates the simple manner 
 in which poor Jack allows such sharks and harpies to 
 prey upon and ill-treat him. Three seamen were on 
 one occasion "shanghaied" on board a vessel bound to 
 England and back. On the voyage these men determined 
 that they would return to Melbourne in company and 
 take their revenge upon the crimp. As luck would have 
 it, the first night they returned to Port Melbourne they 
 ran up against "Blueskin" himself. They professed .the 
 greatest pleasure at meeting him, ignoring all that had 
 taken place, and after a little talk invited the crimp to 
 a neighbouring "pub" to have a drink. "Blueskin," how- 
 ever, who well knew who the men were and suspected
 
 THE GENTLE ART OF "CRIMPING." 169 
 
 their intentions, put them off on the plea he was busy just 
 then, but invited them all to come up to his hotel at 
 eight o'clock, when he would be glad to "shout" for 
 them, and give them a good time generally. The men, still 
 with their vengeance in view, willingly agreed, and were 
 duly on hand, anxiously awaiting the crimp's advent for 
 the purpose of taking it out of him. "The Ghost," Blue- 
 skin's principal aide-de-camp, had however been notified 
 by his master that the men were coming, and directed 
 to keep the men amused and to ply them freely with 
 drink in the interval. The men were nothing loath to 
 drink at his expense, and thus had no hesitation in fill- 
 ing themselves up on the drugged liquor supplied. By 
 the time "Blueskin" appeared on the scene, the three 
 were all blind-drunk and helpless. Now, it so happened 
 that the gang had an order to find some men for a ship 
 that was to sail at daylight the next morning. The trio 
 of revenge-seekers were accordingly carried out of the 
 back door, driven to the shore, jand taken off to the ship, 
 where they were bundled into the forecastle, there to 
 dream of revenge and, on waking, find that their experi- 
 ence of it had been by no means sweet.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 OPIUM SMUGGLING AND OPIUM 
 SWINDLERS. 
 
 A WELL-KNOWN authority has stated that "for 
 ways that are dark and tricks that are vain the 
 heathen Chinee is peculiar," and the correct- 
 ness of this statement is well borne out by the Customs 
 officials of Australia, who have, for many years, had to 
 contend with the cunning and ingenuity of celestials in 
 their attempts to evade the heavy duties on opium. 
 Though the importation of opium has, of late years, been 
 entirely prohibited by the Federal Government, such pro- 
 hibition has rather increased than otherwise the fertility 
 of the Chinese imagination and ingenuity in the attempt 
 to evade the vigilance of the officers and to smuggle it 
 into the Commonwealth. The Chinese, many of whom 
 have become habitual opium-smokers, are incapable of 
 doing without it, and will give any price and use any de- 
 vice to procure it. 
 
 The effect of prohibition has been to very largely in- 
 crease the gains of the smugglers when successful, and so 
 remunerative has become the trade to those who manage 
 to run any quantity of the stuff, that many white people 
 also have become smugglers of the article and thus ren- 
 dered the attempt to entirely suppress its importation 
 increasingly difficult. Up to the time of the prohibition, 
 the attempts to smuggle were, as a rule, confined almost 
 entirely to Chinese, and that only by vessels coming di- 
 rect from the East. But now, when so much larger pro- 
 fits await the successful smuggler, the article is sent by
 
 From " The Australasian," June 7, 1890. 
 
 Facing page 770] 
 
 Smugglers and their Dodges. 
 (see back)
 
 SMUGGLERS AND THEIR DODGES. 
 
 (See Illustration) 
 
 1. The Waistcoat with 170 inside pockets for Watch Smuggling. 
 2. The Dummy Umbrella, used for "Ring Sneaking" over the Border. 
 3. Chinese False-Bottomed Box, showing smuggled Opium in skins. 
 4. Opium Belt put round the Chest. 
 
 5. The Hollow-Backed Jewel Smuggler. (The lines show the box held 
 in position by the braces). 
 
 6. The "Improver" Dodge. (When in fashion wearers had to be 
 watched carefully). 
 
 7. Customs' Officer: "John, you welly fat." John: " Don't touchee me, 
 me got heart disease." (He was suffering from two opium 
 belts round his chest). 
 
 8. Disguises of a Customs' Detective. 
 
 9. Detective (to returned Colonist who has brought out a few things for 
 his tall friend Brown) : "All those clothes yours? You must 
 have shrunk a good deal on the voyage, Sir." 
 
 10. Customs' Officer (after plunging his bayonet through the false bottom 
 of Ah Sin's clothes box, and finding the point covered with 
 opium): "Whose box this?" Chorus of Celestials: "No 
 savee !" 
 
 11. A Ruse Lately Played. Six Chinamen draw off the two Customs 
 watchers, while the seventh sneaks a big swag of cigars ashore. 
 
 12. On the Overland Trip from Sydney. Suspicious Detective : " I beg 
 your pardon, Sir. Hullo! What's that in your hat ?" (It was 
 a diamond tiara.)
 
 OPIUM SMUGGLING. 171 
 
 all kinds of devious ways to Australia, as it pays well 
 to send the opium via England or America. When it is 
 remembered that a pound of the stuff can be packed into 
 a receptacle not three inches square, and that when suc- 
 cessfully landed it will fetch 10, if of superior quality, 
 it is very evident that without a personal search of every 
 person arriving in Australia from abroad, obviously im- 
 possible, its detection can never be altogether complete. 
 
 Many years ago, when the duty on opium was 20/- 
 per Ib. and the Chinese population of Victoria much 
 larger than it is now, it became evident to the Customs 
 authorities that large quantities of the stuff were being 
 used in the colony on which the duty had not been paid. 
 The officials were at their wits' end to discover how the 
 smuggling was managed, but did not find out until the 
 offer of a very large reward induced an informer (a 
 Chinese) to show how the evasion of duty was effected. 
 
 The means adopted were as follows : During the time 
 when the new season's tea arrives the Customs sheds are 
 filled up with boxes all marked with Chinese hierogly- 
 phics and each bearing a strong family resemblance to 
 the other. The idea occurred to the smugglers that by 
 placing the opium tins in the middle of the chests, sur- 
 rounded and concealed by tea, they would escape de- 
 tection, but as it was the practice of the officers who 
 examined importations to have cases opened haphazard 
 for the purpose of inspection, it was necessary to place 
 the opium in some only of the chests, and to so manage 
 that none of the latter were selected for inspection. The 
 boxes which did contain opium were marked with a 
 Chinese ideograph which signified "dirt." Though such 
 a mark would convey nothing to the western eye, a
 
 172 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 Chinese would immediately detect it. Consequently when 
 the tea chests were piled in immense stacks, and the ex- 
 amining officers would point out the particular boxes 
 they wished open, it was easy for a Chinese labourer 
 ostensibly to pick out the particular ones indicated by 
 the officer, but contrive that none bearing the distinguish- 
 ing mark should be opened. By this means a most lu- 
 crative trade sprung up and fortunes were made by 
 Chinese. 
 
 When, however, this information was obtained, prompt 
 action was taken by the authorities. The cargo of each 
 incoming tea ship was carefully inspected, with the re- 
 sult that 70,000 worth of opium was seized. The two 
 officers principally active in the detection received a thou- 
 sand pounds each from the Government for ability shown 
 in the case, and the informers a very large reward. 
 While wholesale importations were thus stopped, yet con- 
 siderable quantities would still continue to come in 
 through all kinds of channels and in all kinds of ways, 
 and, indeed, still do so. 
 
 Besides the well-known devices of false bottoms to 
 cases, false bulkheads, concealed places on board ship, 
 hiding under coals, and so on ad infinitum, opium has 
 been found in a sausage skin inside the pigtail of a 
 Chinese, in his boots, anywhere in his clothes or about 
 his person. Drums containing oil would have tins of 
 opium suspended in them, and it would also be found 
 in the packages of all kinds of eatables, Chinese medi- 
 cines, etc. It has been brought ashore in women's "im- 
 provers," in women's clothing, or in their hair. Female 
 smugglers would have their petticoats made with pockets 
 all round, in which the small tins of opium could bo
 
 OPIUM SMUGGLING. 173 
 
 put. It can easily be imagined how in the old days of 
 crinolines such a practice could be made use of. 
 
 An amusing incident of this kind once occurred. It 
 is usual for the Customs officials to keep a special watch 
 on all vessels arriving from China and the East, and on 
 one occasion when Christie and ' several other Customs 
 officials were down at a ship's side for this purpose, they 
 observed a very stylishly-dressed young woman go on 
 board the steamer, and afterwards noticed the same per- 
 son talking very earnestly to a seedy-looking stoker. 
 Their suspicions being naturally aroused, when the wo- 
 man came ashore Detective Christie accosted her and 
 desired her to get into the cab he had waiting at the 
 wharf. She complied without any apparent hesitation. 
 When the cab was under way, she asked where she was 
 being taken to, and on being informed that she was be- 
 ing conveyed to the Police Watch-house to be examined 
 by the female searcher to see if she had any dutiable 
 goods concealed on her person, she said : "Oh, you need 
 not trouble yourselves about that; I did intend to bring 
 some opium ashore if I could get it, but they had none. 
 You can see for yourself that I have nothing on me," 
 and with that coolly lifted up her garments, showing her 
 underwear, which had been prepared with little pockets 
 round the legs, adding: "You see, I got all ready to 
 bring it, but, as I have none on me, you can't touch 
 me." As her view of the law was correct, there was 
 no alternative but to let her go. Many and many a 
 story could be related of a somewhat similar character, 
 and there is no end to the various methods employed to 
 get this easily-handled article ashore. 
 
 Besides the actual smuggling of opium several swindles
 
 174 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 in connection with the same drug have also been per- 
 petrated. Two Chinese, named Ah Toon and Ah Low, 
 felt a craving upon them to visit their native land, but, 
 not having sufficient funds for the purpose, cast about 
 for means to get the "needful." They put their heads 
 together to devise some scheme through which by hook 
 or by crook they could raise the wind. The more acute 
 Ah Toon it was who hit upon the idea which was after- 
 wards successfully carried out. It struck him that, as 
 he knew the Chinese merchants in Melbourne were buy- 
 ing up all the opium in the market in anticipation of the 
 prohibition of importation which was subsequently pro- 
 claimed, they might be able to fake up a quantity of so- 
 called opium which they could palm off as the real thing. 
 The price the storekeepers were offering for the cele- 
 brated Lai Quan brand was much in advance of that 
 paid for ordinary smoking opium. The buyers knew 
 well that in a short time they would realise very high 
 profits. This being so Ah Toon decided that his opium 
 should be nominally of prime quality of the veritable 
 Lai Quan brand. Accordingly Ah Low was set to work 
 to obtain two secondhand cases (in which the drug had 
 been imported) in good preservation with all original 
 shipping marks thereon, showing contents and to 
 buy several tins of the best Lai Quan opium; also to 
 obtain a quantity of empty opium tins of the proper 
 size to fill them with some stuff looking like opium and 
 to label them with fresh labels of the Lai Quan brand. 
 All this being duly attended to, Ah Toon called upon 
 a well-known Chinese leading storekeeper (who was no 
 favourite by the way with his countrymen), Quong Sing 
 by name, and spun him a pleasant fairy tale, the pur-
 
 OPIUM SMUGGLING. 175 
 
 port of which was that a German steamer had just arrived 
 from Hong Kong and was now berthed at the lower 
 wharf, that two of the officers, the second and third 
 mates, had brought down in the vessel two cases of 
 the finest Lai Quan opium, which they were prepared to 
 sell and would undertake to smuggle ashore if they could 
 find a buyer. Ah Toon added that if Quong Sing liked 
 to buy he could have it for forty shillings a pound, and 
 of this amount thirty-eight shillings was for the ship's 
 officers and two shillings for himself by way of "cum- 
 shaw" or commission. Ah Toon also mentioned that 
 the officers had promised him ten pounds cash for him- 
 self if he could find a buyer. Quong immediately 
 accepted the offer on condition that the stuff was veri- 
 table Lai Quan, and he was to be satisfied on that point 
 before paying over any money. Ah Toon said the spot 
 where the opium would be landed was very quiet, and 
 that they could go down in a cab and pick up the boxes 
 and bring them to Quong's store, where they could be 
 examined and Quong could satisfy himself as to the 
 contents being genuine. To this Quong agreed, except 
 that as an amendment he would prefer not to bring the 
 boxes straight to his store but to examine them in some 
 other quiet spot. 
 
 This was assented to, and Ah Toon went away, osten- 
 sibly to go to the steamer, but in reality to his house 
 in Fitzroy to complete the packing of the boxes thus: 
 in each box was placed twelve large tins, each of which 
 contained ten smaller tins, or a total of one hundred 
 and twent} for each case; a small tin of the genuine 
 article was placed inside one of the larger cases and 
 was packed at the end, which was so marked by Ah Toon
 
 176 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 that he would know which end to open when getting 
 out the tins for Quong's inspection. He had previously 
 arranged with an Austrian and an Englishman to per- 
 sonate two German ship's mates for a tip of five pounds 
 each. One of these could speak broken English only, 
 and the other, to keep up the deception, was to pretend 
 that he did not understand English. A cab was char- 
 tered, the two bogus cases picked up, and also the sup- 
 posititious Germans, and a start made for the spot agreed 
 on with the Chinese buyer. On the way, the party stop- 
 ped at a second-hand clothing shop and hired two old 
 naval suits, which, on being donned by the men, made 
 them look like a couple of stage pirates. 
 
 On arrival at the spot the cases were lifted out of the 
 cab and left in charge of the two make-believe mates. 
 Ah Toon then hurried off for Quong, and on his return 
 with the latter, found the pirates sitting quietly on the 
 boxes waiting for them by the roadside. With much 
 ceremony the two were introduced to Quong, who was 
 apparently much impressed by the uniforms, the faded 
 splendour of which was not apparent in the light of a 
 neighbouring gas lamp, and the boxes were placed in 
 the cab, which, with the whole party, was driven to an 
 hotel in Russell Street. Ah Toon desired that the boxes 
 should be taken inside, but to this the foreign officer 
 objected in broken English, saying the boxes must re- 
 main in the cab until they were paid for, and further 
 suggested the boxes be opened in the cab and a few 
 tins taken out for examination in the bar parlour. To 
 this Quong assented, and a hammer and chisel were pro- 
 cured, several tins taken out these being by the manipu- 
 lation of Ah Toon those containing the real stuff and
 
 OPIUM SMUGGLING. 177 
 
 were taken inside the hotel, where the contents were care- 
 fully examined by Quong, who pronounced them to be 
 the real thing and of first-class quality. He then took 
 possession of the whole quantity and handed over the 
 price agreed on to Ah Toon, evidently very pleased with 
 his bargain. Ah Toon paid his "Germans" and sent 
 them back with their uniforms. 
 
 Quong passed the word round amongst his co-patriots 
 that he had plenty of first-class opium for sale, and soon 
 commenced what promised to be a brisk and profitable 
 trade. Hardly, however, had the first tins disposed of 
 been sampled than his store was beseiged by a crowd of 
 indignant celestials, who declared they had been swindled 
 and vociferously demanded their money back, declaring 
 that Quong was a rogue of the most vermilion type; 
 that all his ancestors had been criminals of the deepest 
 dye; and that virtue had been unknown to his female 
 forebears. 
 
 On ascertaining the reason of the outbreak Quong 
 hurriedly examined all the rest of his purchase which 
 he had in stock, and saw at a glance he had been com- 
 pletely "taken down" by Ah Toon. He immediately 
 dashed off to hunt up Ah Toon, and, having run him 
 to earth, after a torrent of invective, declared that un- 
 less the former returned the money by noon the next 
 day, he would have a warrant taken out for his arrest. 
 To this Ah Toon, with a bland and childlike smile, re- 
 plied by informing Quong, as a courteous preliminary, 
 that he was a sanguinary fool. That he, Ah Toon, had 
 never sold any opium to Quong, but that he well knew 
 the latter had smuggled some lately. He further stated 
 that if Quong gave him any trouble, he would inform
 
 178 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. ' 
 
 the Customs authorities of the affair and that Christie 
 would be immediately sent to search his premises and 
 would find the stuff. Also that Quong himself would 
 be arrested and convicted of smuggling, and he playfully 
 reminded Quong that the fine which in that case would 
 be inflicted upon him, would be at least 1,500, and, 
 further, if he were required to pay this, it would increase 
 his total loss on the whole transaction, besides the loss 
 of a reputation which of course, as a virtuous man, the 
 merchant must value more than any amount of money. 
 He also intimated that in order to secure Quong's con- 
 viction he, Ah Toon, would himself cheerfully bear wit- 
 ness against him in Court. On the whole, therefore, and 
 as a friend, he would advise Quong to drop the matter, 
 to remember that it was no use to throw good money after 
 bad, and to put up with his first loss. It would always 
 doubtless be a satisfaction, he added, to a good man 
 like Quong to know that his money would be of ines- 
 timable benefit to a deserving young man like himself, 
 and enable that estimable individual to see again his 
 native land, and to convey to his aged parents the assur- 
 ance of his love and affection, and, last but not least, to 
 celebrate those funeral rites to the memory of his ances- 
 tors, whom every self-respecting Chinaman held in rever- 
 ence. 
 
 Next day the story of how the unpopular Quong had 
 been taken down by the smart Ah Toon was known all 
 over the Chinese colony in Melbourne. Quong was pro- 
 perly chaffed by his compatriots, and, for a time, any 
 allusion to opium or Ah Toon would elicit sentiments 
 which would never be found in the sayings of Confucius 
 or Mecius. Ah Toon duly departed on the Tsinan, but
 
 OPIUM SMUGGLING. 179 
 
 before his departure he rigged himself out in a stylish 
 European suit of blue serge, Panama hat, patent-leather 
 boots, high collar, brilliant tie, etc., and, with a silver- 
 mounted umbrella on his arm, went to say "Good-bye" 
 to his friends, who received him with all honor. 
 
 The following narrative is an instance of an excel- 
 lently conceived plan to smuggle a considerable quantity 
 of opium, which, however, came to naught through an 
 accident. A syndicate was formed in Melbourne for 
 the purpose of illicitly introducing the drug. The plan 
 was to bring the opium to Melbourne in cases marked 
 "curios," marks and numbers being recorded on the ship's 
 manifest, and on arrival at the Port to nominally trans- 
 ship the goods to another vessel sailing for America. We 
 say "nominally" because it was the intention to substi- 
 tute bogus cases for the genuine ones whilst the goods 
 were in transit from one ship to another. The plan was 
 not badly conceived, but unfortunately for the specu- 
 lators they were bowled out in their first attempt. The 
 ship Aldenham arrived in Melbourne, having as portion 
 of her cargo four cases which were marked "Curios 
 James Lloyd, Melbourne consignor John Brown Jr." 
 The cases were duly set out under these marks on the 
 ship's manifest, and were amongst the cargo stowed in 
 the after-hold of the vessel. Though marked "Curios," 
 as a matter of fact, they contained 720 tins of opium, 
 of the value of 2,500. The only person on board the 
 ship who knew what the cases actually contained was 
 Ah Kim, the Chinese chief steward of the Aldenham. 
 
 The hatchway of the hold in which the boxes were 
 stowed opened into the Chinese boys' quarters, which 
 were under Ah Kim's control, and the latter thought his
 
 180 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 best plan was to get the boxes up into these quarters and 
 keep them there, instead of letting them go to the sheds 
 with the rest of the cargo. He dared not broach the 
 subject, however, to any of the ship's officers, and thought 
 it best to induce one of the stevedore's labourers work- 
 ing on the cargo to see, when the cases came to hand, 
 that they were put in the place he desired. He accord- 
 ingly promised 20 to one of these men to do as he 
 wished. The man could not identify the cases, however, 
 in the confusion of discharge of such a large miscel- 
 laneous cargo, and being unwilling to lose his twenty 
 pounds he picked out four cases which were like those 
 described by Ah Kim, taking the precaution to lay them 
 with the shipping marks underneath, so that the latter 
 could not be read. He then called Ah Kim and pointed 
 the cases out to him as being the ones he wanted and 
 impressing upon him not to touch them, because the Cus- 
 toms officers were about. Ah Kim was very pleased at 
 having got the cases into his hands, and smilingly paid 
 over the 20. 
 
 The Chinaman then covered the cases over with mat- 
 ting and other stuff so that they would not be noticed. 
 The same evening he interviewed one of the Customs 
 night-watchmen, and by means of a heavy bribe induced 
 him to connive at the cases being taken away during the 
 night in a boat which was to come alongside. But dur- 
 ing the day Inspector Christie and a posse of officers 
 searched the ship and came across the cases in the boys' 
 quarters. Ah Kim was all innocence, and denied any 
 knowledge of them or that he knew how the boxes got 
 where they were found. The boxes were opened and 
 found to contain ordinary merchandise, to the great as-
 
 OPIUM SMUGGLING. 181 
 
 tonishment of Ah Kim, who saw at once that the steve- 
 dore's man had tricked him, but he dared not say any- 
 thing, and could only put up with the loss of his 20, 
 though much puzzled as to what had become of the 
 opium. 
 
 What had happened in regard to that, however, was 
 this. Strange to say, the same man who had "done" Ah 
 Kim, when working in the hold afterwards came across 
 the real cases and sent them up with other cargo to the 
 Customs shed in the usual course. Whilst handling them 
 his dog-hook had penetrated through the wooden side 
 of one of the cases and also into one of the opium tins, 
 whence oozed out a thin stream of the liquor. A dray- 
 man who was carting goods for the Chinese storekeeper 
 for whom the opium was intended, remarking this and 
 smelling the stuff, said to the Customs officer on duty 
 in the shed : "That stuff looks like opium," and the 
 officer thinking it was, promptly seized the goods and 
 took possession of them. The drayman subsequently dis- 
 covered, to his dismay, that he had been giving away 
 his own employers. 
 
 Meanwhile, seeing the game was up as regards the 
 smuggling of the opium straight from the ship by means 
 of the boat, Brown, the European to whom the boxes 
 were addressed and who was in the "swim," not know- 
 ing they had been seized by the Customs, had the neces- 
 sary documents put through, authorising the trans-ship- 
 ment of four cases of curios from the Aldenham to a 
 ship about to leave for the United States. The chag- 
 rin of the syndicate may be imagined when, on applying 
 to take delivery of the cases, they were informed of the
 
 182 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 seizure and found they had suffered such a severe loss. 
 In addition to this, the parties were fined, and, of course, 
 Ah Kim had dropped his 20 also.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 BRIDGE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 
 
 IN the course of a detective's career, especially of such 
 a varied nature as was that of Christie, cases occur 
 somewhat different from those with which a detective 
 has usually to deal, and an example of one of these 
 forms the subject of this chapter. A man of position 
 in society, with a young wife and two little children, 
 called on Christie one evening, desiring to have a con- 
 versation with him, but requested that the story he was 
 about to narrate might be kept entirely confidential. 
 Christie nodded agreement, and his visitor went on with 
 his story to this effect. 
 
 Up to a short time before the interview the husband 
 and wife had been living very happily together. The lat- 
 ter had been everything that could be desired, exemplary 
 in every relation of life. Of late, however, she seemed 
 to have some absorbing interest apart from her house- 
 hold, and was constantly out at her friends' houses, often 
 not returning till late at night. Her manner had be- 
 come irritable, and her temper very variable. At times 
 she would seem worried and anxious and distrait in her 
 manner. Her domestic affairs no longer seemed to in- 
 terest her, and the children ceased to occupy her mind 
 and attention. The caller stated that within the last 
 day or so, two occurrences had taken place which had 
 seemed entirely to have upset his wife's nerves, and 
 almost completely prostrated her. Lately a robbery of 
 jewellery belonging to his wife and himself to the value 
 of 300 had been effected from his house. The articles 
 
 183
 
 184 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 were always kept in an iron deed box in Mrs. 's 
 
 boudoir, the only one key to this box being on a ring 
 with other private keys of the lady. They were never 
 out of her possession, or that of her private companion, 
 an inmate of the house. The whole affair seemed very 
 mysterious, as there had not apparently been any break- 
 ing into the house, nor had anything else but the jewel- 
 lery been taken. 
 
 Christie advised his caller to place the matter in the 
 hands of the police detectives for investigation, but Mr. 
 
 said that both his wife and himself were anxious 
 
 to avoid the inevitable publicity which such a course 
 would entail, and particularly his wife seemed strongly 
 opposed to the suggestion. He had, therefore, called 
 on Christie. "My wife," Mr. said, "is in a dread- 
 ful state of mind over the affair, and if you can do any- 
 thing to help us in the matter we should both feel our- 
 selves under an everlasting obligation to you. Come 
 out to my house, and make every enquiry and inspection 
 you may deem necessary, and both my wife and myself 
 will give every possible assistance in unravelling the 
 affair." 
 
 To this Christie willingly assented, and, in a very 
 
 short time called and was introduced to Mrs. . The 
 
 latter, who was an elegantly dressed and attractive look- 
 ing woman, seemed very nervous and excited, and was 
 evidently unable (or unwilling) to give much informa- 
 tion. All that she could say was that she had no sus- 
 picions of any one in the house, that her bunch of keys 
 was seldom at any time out of her possession or sight, 
 and the only suggestion she could make was that the 
 robbery had been effected by some one who had used
 
 BRIDGE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES, iss 
 
 skeleton keys. Christie then carefully looked through 
 the premises, inspected the box, boudoir and general 
 surroundings of the house, and also interviewed each of 
 the other persons attached to the establishment, compris- 
 ing a coachman and three female servants, besides the 
 lady's companion. As a result, it did not take much 
 penetration to arrive at the conclusion that certainly no 
 burglary had been committed, and further that the theft 
 must have been made by one of the inmates of the house. 
 That being so, the suggestion as to the use of skeleton 
 keys seemed also disposed of, and Christie then again 
 
 interviewed the lady. "Mrs. ," said Christie, "it 
 
 seems to me that the abstraction was made by an inmate 
 of the house. Do you think any one of the servants 
 could have done it by obtaining the use of the key with- 
 out your knowledge?" To this she replied that the 
 housemaid and her companion were the only persons be- 
 sides her husband who had access to her rooms. That 
 the housemaid had been with her for five years and en- 
 joyed her fullest trust and confidence, and was in her 
 opinion utterly incapable of such an action ; and that 
 her companion had been with her twelve months, and 
 both from her previous life and the knowledge that had 
 been acquired of her character by close association for 
 that time, it hardly seemed likely she could be the cul- 
 prit, though she added somewhat dubiously, "one never 
 can tell." 
 
 Christie took his leave of the lady and accompanied 
 her husband to his study. "Now, sir," he said, "in 
 my opinion there are only three people who were in a 
 position to steal the jewellery, these are your wife, your- 
 self and your wife's companion. You have asked me
 
 186 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 to take this matter in hand, and I will do so, but I 
 must request you to be good enough to let me conduct 
 it in my own way, giving me all the assistance in your 
 power, and without making any objection to anything 
 I may consider it necessary to do. If you will agree to 
 this I feel sure that in a very short time I shall be able 
 to clear up the mystery, and most probably recover the 
 articles stolen." 
 
 Mr. readily gave his assurance, and added that 
 
 he authorised Christie to take any action he might deem 
 requisite, especially in regard to any member of his 
 household or any person connected with it. 
 
 Acting therefore with Mr. 's concurrence, Chris- 
 tie arranged with the former that he should have an 
 opportunity of meeting the lady's companion, in 
 apparently a casual manner. Accordingly, it was agreed 
 that she should be sent out that evening to post a letter 
 at the pillar box nearby, and that Christie should meet 
 her there apparently accidentally. He was duly strolling 
 on the opposite side of the street opposite the house at 
 
 eight o'clock, and almost to the minute saw Miss 
 
 come out and walk towards the letter pillar. He then 
 crossed over and met her face to face. 
 
 He stopped as if for a minute only to exchange a 
 few courteous remarks, but so contriving that the con- 
 versation should continue and become interesting. Each 
 seemed to find the other agreeable, and they were soon 
 strolling in the neighbouring park, where they settled 
 down on a seat secure from observation. Naturally the 
 subject of Christie's recent visit to the house and its 
 exciting cause came up for discussion. The girl did not 
 seem personally disinclined to talk about the robbery,
 
 BRIDGE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 187 
 
 but nothing definite came from her. At last, Christie 
 thought the proper moment had arrived for a flank move- 
 ment of a decisive character, and changing his manner 
 from that of a polite and interested listener to that of a 
 
 stern investigator, he said : "Now, Miss , from what 
 
 you have told me of yourself and what I have observed 
 
 personally, besides what Mrs. has told me, I feel, 
 
 if you will permit me to say so, though our acquaintance 
 is short, as if I would like to be your friend, and so 
 desire to point out to you in plain terms that you your- 
 self are in a most serious position in regard to this mat- 
 ter of the robbery. Cannot you see that for yourself?" 
 Evidently taken aback by the change in his manner, 
 "What on earth," said the girl in reply, "do you mean, 
 Mr. Christie?" "Am I to understand that I am sus- 
 pected of having taken the things and the s and 
 
 yourself consider me capable of such an action?" 
 
 She was trembling with agitation, the effect of indig- 
 nation and grief apparently. He continued in reply. 
 "My dear Miss , in the course of my long experi- 
 ence in my profession I have often found that persons 
 otherwise blameless in their lives have sometimes, when 
 subjected to a sudden and sharp temptation, given way 
 and committed acts contrary to the whole tenor of their 
 previous lives and foreign to their real natures. A sud- 
 den call for means to help some loved one or a great 
 and overwhelming trouble coming unexpectedly has fre- 
 quently driven people almost out of their senses and 
 caused actions which, committed in a moment, have 
 had far-reaching and serious consequences. You must 
 pardon me if I try to show you exactly in what position 
 you stand in reference to the subject we have been talk-
 
 188 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 ing over. If my inference is wrong no one will be more 
 pleased than myself to find it so ; and if right, I pledge 
 myself to do all I can to extricate you from the difficulty 
 you have got into. Pray, however, calm yourself and 
 try and listen to what I have to say. Indeed, for your 
 own sake and that of your friends and relatives, you 
 should do so, for you are in a position of great peril. 
 You see that everything points to the conclusion that 
 only three people could have had a chance of taking the 
 
 jewellery, and those three are Mr. and Mrs. and 
 
 yourself." 
 
 Here the girl, bursting into tears, interrupted him, "Oh, 
 Mr. Christie, do you really mean that you think I am a 
 thief? I can swear that I have had nothing to do with 
 the robbery, and I know as little as yourself who did it. 
 Indeed, I am perfectly innocent of any complicity in 
 the theft. I cannot bear being under the faintest sus- 
 picion in regard to it. The disgrace of being accused 
 merely will kill me or I shall kill myself. Oh, Mr. 
 Christie, I cannot, cannot, believe that the world can 
 be so cruel. I am trying to keep calm, I know I 
 must do so in order to clear myself of this terrible sus- 
 picion, if in God's mercy I can ever be clear of it. Be- 
 fore God, I assert my innocence and beg you to believe 
 me and help me to prove it." 
 
 Christie, who had been observing her intently, here 
 replied, "Well, Miss - , I have before told you that 
 even if you were the culprit. I would do my best to 
 help you out of the scrape and if you were not, still 
 more I would endeavour, to the best of my ability, to 
 establish the lack of complicity on your part in this 
 affair. Now, I am inclined to believe your statement
 
 BRIDGE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 189 
 
 that you had nothing to do with it, but you must see 
 that if I do so we are driven to the conclusion that it 
 was one of the owners themselves, and that one, for 
 
 obvious reasons, must be Mrs. herself. My dear 
 
 girl, pull yourself together, and let us see what we can 
 do. I notice you have a very intelligent mind, and, if 
 you can only think clearly, must be able to help me 
 greatly. Certainly, the idea of ascribing the abstrac- 
 tion to Mrs. herself seems somewhat wild on the 
 
 face of it. It is hardly credible, that a woman like her 
 living in ease and comfort with her husband, whom she 
 loves, and who loves her, and her children, having ample 
 means apparently at her disposal, should commit an act 
 
 of this kind without any adequate motive. Mr. ," 
 
 he continued, "has already told me he was always ready 
 to supply his wife's pecuniary needs without question. 
 Now think, is there, or was there, any possible reason 
 for her wishing to raise money? Was she in any 
 pecuniary difficulty of which she would not like to tell her 
 husband, for instance? I have known of women being 
 subject to blackmail and driven to resort to all kinds of 
 means to satisfy the demands made on them. Was 
 there anything of the kind in this case? Now, I see 
 you are not yet quite yourself. Remain here for a few 
 minutes, and whilst I am away try and reflect quietly over 
 the situation. You will find it your best policy to treat 
 me as a friend and give me your entire confidence. You 
 must remember the great point is to clear yourself, and 
 
 that the consequences to Mrs. , if she were indeed 
 
 the person responsible for the abstraction, can be nothing 
 like those to yourself even if nothing more than a sus- 
 picion attaches to you. I will be back in five minutes.
 
 190 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 Now try and look at the matter from a common sense 
 point of view. I pledge you my word anything you 
 will tell me shall be kept strictly secret, and further, 
 what I am sure will have great weight with you that 
 
 so far as Mrs. is concerned, even if she committed 
 
 the deed, the worst that could happen to her would be 
 a scene with her husband, who we both know is of a 
 generous and forgiving disposition, and would not be 
 hard upon her. No one else need know anything of it." 
 
 So saying, he left her sitting with her handkerchief 
 to her face, evidently crying. 
 
 When Christie later returned to her, he found her com- 
 paratively calm and collected. "Well, Mr. Christie," 
 she said, "I find myself in some difficulty of conscience. 
 
 Mrs. and, indeed, the whole family, have been 
 
 most kind to me during my twelve months' stay with 
 
 them. My salary has been liberal and Mrs. has 
 
 always treated me more as a friend than a paid com- 
 panion and has, to a certain extent, given me her confid- 
 ence. I owe a great deal both to her and Mr. , 
 
 and I feel it would be a disloyal act for me to betray 
 that confidence, and I cannot make up my mind to do 
 so. I see the alternative, but bitter as it would be, I 
 cannot act otherwise. God knows what this determina- 
 tion will cost me, but I feel it to be the right one." 
 
 Christie was much taken aback at these words. He 
 had thought that the girl, terrified at the implied accusa- 
 tion against herself, would, on reflection, have been will- 
 ing to have done anything and told anything to escape 
 the suspicion raised against her. He had not expected, 
 however, to find such firmness of character in a young 
 woman placed in such a trying position. He could see
 
 BRIDGE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 191 
 
 from her manner that, if the girl would only speak out, 
 he would probably obtain at once a clue to the whole busi- 
 ness, but he also saw that the way to induce her to do 
 so would not be by veiled threats, cajolery, or prospect 
 of reward. She was of too honorable a nature as well 
 as of too firm a character to be influenced by con- 
 siderations of this kind, and it could only be 
 by influencing her better judgment or commanding 
 her reason that he could hope to succeed with 
 her. So he had deliberately to match his brain 
 against hers and endeavour to make her see wherein the 
 path of true loyalty to her employer lay, and to this 
 end to set before her in plain words what he conceived 
 to be her real duty. This he proceeded to do. He 
 admitted she owed much to her employers, and that she 
 should be loyal to them above all. But after all, in 
 what did true loyalty consist? He observed that he 
 
 felt convinced that Miss was aware of something 
 
 which would implicate Mrs. . What the girl had 
 
 to consider was what would be of most benefit to the 
 greatest number. If she remained silent, the greatest 
 possible harm to every one concerned might ensue. If 
 
 Mrs. had taken the articles, it must have been 
 
 only to sell them to obtain money. That fact was bound 
 to become known sooner or later, and the result might be 
 a permanent breaking up of a happy home, and disrup- 
 tion between husband and wife. Suspicion against the 
 latter would inevitably arise in her husband's mind, lead- 
 ing possibly to her separation from him and her children, 
 and this and more would be upon her head as the conse- 
 quences of her obstinate silence. On the other hand, 
 he again reiterated that for her to speak would be pro-
 
 192 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 ductive of benefit only. The mystery would be cleared 
 up, the jewellery restored, confidence between husband 
 and wife re-established, and the latter would have a 
 warning which would beneficially affect her whole future 
 life. In the interests of others, he urged her to give 
 way. After a few minutes consideration in silence, 
 
 Miss turned to him saying, "I must confess that 
 
 what you have said has almost entirely removed my 
 scruples, though I still feel some hesitation in complying 
 with your request. Still, I will now tell you all I 
 know, on the understanding that you will never divulge my 
 name as the source of your information unless with my 
 consent." 
 
 She then proceeded to inform him that within the last 
 
 few months Mrs. had become very intimate with 
 
 three other ladies whose names she mentioned, and that 
 the four frequently met at each other's houses. Mrs. 
 
 's particular friend was a Mrs. . who lived in a 
 
 neighbouring suburb and at whose house she had spent 
 a great deal of time. This lady was an inveterate 
 
 bridge player, as indeed were all three of Mrs. 's 
 
 friends, and had induced her employer to make a con- 
 stant fourth at their games, with the result that Mrs. 
 
 had acquired a strong taste for the game and had 
 
 become a slave to the vice of gambling, though entirely 
 unknown to her husband. Unfortunately, however, for 
 the lady, the other players were much more adept at 
 the game than herself and she had lost (for her) large 
 sums of money to them which she was unable to pay. 
 These other women had lately been dunning her for 
 the money, and she had latterly become much worried 
 over the fact of the sums she owed to them. She dared
 
 BRIDGE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 193 
 
 not let her husband know of her difficulties, and she had 
 become very despondent and unhappy and at her wits' 
 
 end. Miss did not suggest any connection between 
 
 the two facts of the loss of the jewellery and these 
 debts, but after the detective's remarks evidently 
 now thought there was some connection between 
 
 the two. Christie proceeded to question Miss 
 
 further. He asked her whether her employer ever 
 wrote to any of the persons whose names she had men- 
 tioned, to which she replied that she frequently did so, 
 
 especially to Mrs. , the organiser of the card parties. 
 
 The notes were posted in the letter pillar near which 
 Christie had met her. Christie then requested her that 
 on the next occasion she had to post one of these notes, 
 she would pretend to do so, but keep it and hand it to 
 
 Mr. without his wife's knowledge. This she 
 
 undertook to do. He further desired her when next 
 Mrs. was going to town, to let him know by tele- 
 phone, supplying her with the number with which she 
 was to communicate. The message was to be for a 
 "Captain Mitchell, "-and to say, "The lady will be sailing 
 at about . . . .," giving the probable time of Mrs. 
 leaving by the tram. 
 
 Next day he communicated with the husband, desiring 
 
 him to take any letter handed to him by Miss and 
 
 peruse it. 
 
 The following morning Christie received a telephonic 
 message saying the lady was leaving at eleven o'clock. 
 He then posted himself on Princes Bridge to watch the 
 incoming tram cars, and in about half an hour saw a 
 car stopping on the bridge at the Flinders Street crossing, 
 on the dummv of which Mrs. was seated. He
 
 194 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 jumped upon the back of the car, and when the latter 
 
 reached Collins Street saw Mrs. change to another 
 
 car going up the street into which he also got, without 
 being observed. The car stopped opposite a pile of 
 
 buildings where Mrs. got out and remained a little 
 
 while looking into a shop window. Presently a man 
 came up to her and, after a few minutes' conversation, 
 Christie observed the lady hand him a small parcel, which 
 she had taken out of her peggy bag. The two then 
 proceeded inside the building to the place of business 
 of the man, whom Christie had recognised as a dealer in 
 jewellery, etc., and a kind of money lender. She re- 
 mained there about ten minutes, then came out and went 
 into a fashionable draper's shop in the vicinity. After 
 that she took the tram, evidently on her way home. The 
 matter was now clear. The wife had taken the jewellery 
 and pawned or sold it to the dealer to raise money to pay 
 her gambling debts. The companion was innocent. 
 
 Christie considered that it would be advisable to take 
 the husband entirely into his confidence, and leave it to 
 him to decide what further (if anything) should 1)6 done 
 
 in the matter. Accordingly, he telephoned to Mr. 
 
 to call and see him at his office before leaving for home 
 in the afternoon, and the latter did so. "I presume," 
 
 said Mr. , "you have something to tell me about the 
 
 jewellery?" 
 
 "Yes," replied Christie, "I know who took it, and 
 where to find it." 
 
 "That is good news, indeed, but tell me all about it." 
 
 "Before doing so," said Christie, "I must tell you 
 that I fear the information I have to give you will be 
 very painful to you, and give you a great shock. I shall
 
 BRIDGE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 195 
 
 decline to reveal anything unless you will give me your 
 word of honor that if I do you will be magnanimous and 
 forgiving to the guilty. That you will remember that 
 we all have our evil hours when temptation is too strong 
 for us and we sometimes succumb. In other words, 
 that you will show mercy, and pardon a weakness which 
 perhaps you cannot understand, but which nevertheless is 
 the only reason of the fault." 
 
 Mr. changed color, and exhibited considerable 
 
 alarm. 
 
 "Tell me quickly who it was? I promise you all you 
 
 ask. I will forgive the fault." 
 
 "Well, then, it was your wife," said Christie. 
 
 "Good God, man," said , "you are dreaming. 
 
 You might as well say I did it myself. She is incapable 
 of doing such a thing. It is an insult to imagine and 
 a double insult to give expression to such an idea. I 
 have always given her all she wanted in the way of 
 money, and your suggestion is unthinkable. I have 
 always heard that you detectives make up your minds 
 beforehand, and then devote all your energies in proving 
 the case against the person decided upon in your own 
 minds. You have jumped to a conclusion in this 
 
 instance, and are wrong. Miss 's bright eyes have 
 
 been too much for you, experienced as you are, and she 
 has twisted you round her finger. If this is all you 
 can do I regret I ever came to you. and will not trouble 
 you any further. Good day." 
 
 Christie, while listening, felt his anger rising, but 
 keeping himself in check, tried to make allowance for the 
 speaker, knowing what a blow he had dealt him. 
 
 "Wait," he said, and "listen quietly. My first im-
 
 196 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 pulse, on hearing what you have just said was to tell 
 you you might go, and go a good long way, too. But 
 I know you to be a reasonable man and feel convinced 
 that when you have heard all I have to narrate, you will 
 change your opinion." 
 
 He then proceeded to recount all that is related above, 
 
 and as he spoke, the distress in Mr. 's face seemed 
 
 to deepen. When Christie had concluded his narration, 
 his listener looked ten years older. For a time his lips 
 trembled, and he was evidently overcome with emotion. 
 "My wife," he murmured, "my dear Emily to do a thing 
 like this ! Even now I cannot believe it." 
 
 "Mr. ," said Christie, "remember what I said just 
 
 now. You must not condemn for one fault. Your wife 
 has got under the influence of a lot of society harpies 
 who have taken advantage of her, got her in their power 
 and been bleeding her. Your anger should be directed 
 against them, not your wife, who is young and inexperi- 
 enced. It is those bridge-playing women who have 
 done the mischief, and if we could, I should like to make 
 them suffer for it. But I fear we cannot get at them. 
 Now, if you want this matter completely settled up, 
 there are other things to be done. Shall we go on with 
 them?" 
 
 Mr. reflected a little, and then said, "Certainly, 
 
 it must be followed up to the bitter end now." 
 
 "Very well then, when you get home, say nothing to 
 your wife of what I have told you; let your manner be 
 as usual or more affectionate even. Whilst at dinner 
 take an opportunity of remarking casually that she looks 
 out of sorts and that you hope she is not taking the loss 
 of the jewellery to heart. Also, ask her if she went 
 into town to-day."
 
 BRIDGE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 197 
 
 Mr. , on his return home, did as Christie sug- 
 gested, and in answer to his enquiries was informed by 
 his wife that she felt very much upset by the loss, and 
 that she had started to go to town that day, but felt 
 so unwell when she arrived at the tram that she had 
 returned without doing so. Of course, a falsehood. 
 
 Mr. called on Christie the next morning, and, 
 
 after telling him what had passed between his wife and 
 himself, produced a letter which had been handed to 
 
 him by Miss , and which she had received from 
 
 Mrs. to post the evening before. He now desired 
 
 Christie to peruse it. It was addressed to Mrs. , 
 
 the promoter of the bridge parties, and read as follows : 
 
 "I will be up on Wednesday evening, as I am 
 'flush of coin,' as they say in sporting parlance. 
 
 "E." 
 
 At Christie's suggestion this letter was resealed, and 
 was duly posted on the way to the dealer's, whither they 
 now proceeded for the purpose of recovering the articles. 
 
 They introduced themselves to the man, but when 
 they spoke of a robbery, he denied all knowledge of any 
 such transaction. Christie, however, insinuated that 
 they were by no means accusing him as acting as a 
 "fence" or receiver of stolen property, but thought it was 
 quite possible that he had been induced to lend money 
 in the ordinary way of business on some articles, believing 
 they were the property of the person offering them. 
 The man then immediately fell into the snare and said, 
 "Oh, now you are talking sense. I did lend some money 
 to a lady on her jewellery, which she brought to me, a 
 straight and bona fide transaction which I have no reason 
 to conceal, seeing it was her own property."
 
 198 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 They then asked the man to show it to them Christie 
 pretended to inspect it critically, and then suddenly said, 
 "Why, a portion of this is a man's jewellery. You said 
 it was a woman's, and her own property," and turning to 
 
 Mr. , asked him if he identified the articles, which 
 
 the latter unhesitatingly did. 
 
 The man, who looked confused, here broke in, saying 
 that the lady who had brought the things, had stated 
 that as regards these particular articles, they had be- 
 longed to her husband, who was dead. The man added, 
 "If you will give me the 100 I lent on it, you may 
 have them. I will forego all profit." 
 
 "Not so fast," said Christie, "the man's things were 
 stolen and are now in your possession, which requires 
 
 explanation. I cannot advise Mr. to return the 
 
 money, but urge him to apply to the detectives with a 
 view to prosecution. You are certainly criminally liable 
 and deserve to lose over this transaction, which you must 
 have known was a very fishy one at best. We can make 
 
 no bargain with you, but if Mr. is inclined to be 
 
 generous, he might give you half what you say you 
 advanced." 
 
 To this the man, after some hesitation, assented, as he 
 said he did not want to be shown up in the Police Court ; 
 the money was paid by cheque, and they left, taking the 
 jewellery with them. 
 
 "Now," said Christie, "as to-morrow is Sunday, can 
 you tell me if your wife is likely to be out?" 
 
 "Yes," said Mr. , "a lady friend is going to call 
 
 for her in the morning in a motor-car to take her to 
 Sandringham, where they will spend the day and not 
 return till late in the afternoon."
 
 BRIDGE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 199 
 
 "Then," said Christie, "I will call at your house 
 immediately at noon for the purpose of trying to locate 
 the money, which ought to be in your possession, and 
 before those bloodsuckers get hold of it." 
 
 Mr. assented, and Christie duly called at the 
 
 time mentioned. With Mr. 's consent Miss 's 
 
 assistance was invoked in order to restore the various 
 drawers and receptacles in the boudoir to their former 
 orderly condition after search; he himself remaining in 
 the study. After a prolonged turning over, nothing of 
 interest was found until in taking out the lower drawer 
 of the wardrobe a lot of letters in the bottom came to 
 light, and in the cavity between the drawer and outside 
 skin of the wardrobe was a paper scent box which, in 
 handling, Christie knew from its weight contained gold. 
 
 Taking both box and letters down to Mr. in his 
 
 study, they were duly examined by the two. The letters 
 were from the bridge friends relating to past debts, and 
 asking for. money and the box contained 60 in gold. 
 The letters were replaced, as also the box minus its con- 
 tents, which Mr. retained. It was then arranged 
 
 that the wife should be kept in entire ignorance for the 
 present, awaiting further developments. 
 
 On the Wednesday evening Mrs. dressed ready 
 
 to go to the bridge party, and then evidently with a view 
 to get the money, unknown to Miss , who was assist- 
 ing in her toilet, sent the latter out on some trivial errand. 
 On the latter's return what was her dismay to find her 
 employer lying apparently lifeless on the floor, with the 
 drawer of the wardrobe open. Evidently, on finding the 
 gold gone, she had fainted. The companion applied 
 restoratives, and then called the husband, who came at
 
 200 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 once. When his wife regained consciousness or par- 
 tially so, she exclaimed, "I had a box of sovereigns in that 
 drawer, and someone has stolen it." To this her hus- 
 band replied that she was talking nonsense, but some- 
 thing had been going on which must come to an end, 
 and commanded her, as soon as she was fit to do so, to 
 come down to his study where he had something to say 
 to her. 
 
 His wife was much impressed by the gravity of his 
 manner. She was, however, quite unprepared for what 
 met her eye when, shortly afterwards, she appeared in 
 her husband's study for when she did so, she saw dis- 
 played on the table, not only the gold which she had 
 hidden in her wardrobe, and subsequently missed, but 
 every article of the jewellery she had deposited with the 
 dealer. 
 
 Quite overcome at the sight, she sank into a chair unable 
 at first to speak, and could only gaze at her husband with 
 imploring looks as if begging for lenient treatment, and 
 wondering what he intended to do. Too late, the conse- 
 quences of her folly had come home to her. She felt 
 without excuse, and when brought face to face Avith the 
 evidence of her error, began to realise what she had done 
 and the full extent to which she had imperilled her future 
 happiness and that of those connected with her. Seeing 
 
 her terrible distress, Mr. felt that if he followed his 
 
 own inclination, he would without saying more at once 
 relieve her of all anxiety. Still, in her own interest, for 
 her own sake, he knew that this was an occasion which 
 should be utilised to make a lasting impression upon her 
 mind, and one which might have permanent effect upon 
 her, and influence her future life.
 
 BRIDGE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 201 
 
 "Now, Emily," he said, "I can see that you understand 
 that I am aware of what you have done. I do not wish 
 to overwhelm you with reproaches or increase the dis- 
 tress which you obviously feel at the present moment, but 
 it will be absolutely necessary before we can be restored 
 to anything like the former terms of affection and con- 
 fidence in which we lived, that you tell me everything 
 which has induced you to act in this terrible manner, and 
 above all, that you will give me your solemn undertaking 
 that in future you will never, under any possible cir- 
 cumstances, play cards for money, or have any conceal- 
 ments from me. Further, you must also promise to 
 cease to have any association with these women, who, I 
 am convinced, have led you into mischief, and been the 
 main cause of your troubles." 
 
 His wife then related the steps which had led up to 
 the catastrophe. How, at first, she had been induced, 
 
 when spending the evening at Mrs. 's, to join in a 
 
 game of bridge for small stakes, and won a little. How; 
 by degrees, the desire had grown upon her, and the excite- 
 ment of play became her main interest. How her 
 so-called friends had laughed at her scruples, and put 
 her up to the little tricks they each had resorted to, to 
 deceive their husbands in order to obtain the money for 
 the game. Gradually she was drawn in, till she found 
 herself fearfully involved. The sums she could retain 
 out of her housekeeping money or obtain under various 
 pretexts from her husband for special purposes all went 
 to pay losses at cards. The women, however, encouraged 
 her by saying if she kept on she would soon retrieve her 
 fortunes, and in the hope of doing so and winning 
 enough to pay all she owed to the various members of
 
 202 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 the circle, she kept on and on with the result that she 
 found herself without money, and heavily in debt to 
 them. Then they began to press her for payment. 
 Hitherto, they had told her it did not matter, and they 
 would wait, but once entirely in their clutches they seemed 
 to be desirous of making an end of their victim. The 
 
 principle sum was owing to Mrs. , one of those 
 
 women, who, scheming and unprincipled in reality, yet 
 to the world appeared merely a good-natured person who 
 liked to see her friends enjoying themselves. As a 
 matter of fact, her establishment was kept up largely 
 by her gains at cards, at which she was most expert. She 
 was, moreover, when she chose, most winning and attrac- 
 tive in her manner, and could greatly influence many 
 who were brought into contact with her, generally how- 
 ever, to their disadvantage. Many men .could tell a 
 tale of devices by which they had willingly or otherwise 
 been cajoled out of sums of money, some of them con- 
 siderable. She made bets which she never paid when 
 she lost, yet when she won exacted in the most seductive 
 way the utmost return. Without passion, and heartless, 
 yet she could simulate the woman of repressed feelings, 
 of strong physical desires, and of tender affection, never 
 going over the border line, yet as near it as possible with- 
 out doing so. Many men fell victims to her rapacity. 
 She had the face of a madonna, but the soul of a sexless 
 being, intent only on her own gratification. No 
 wonder such a woman could ensnare an innocent young 
 
 woman like Mrs. , and by imperceptible stages lead 
 
 her on to her destruction. 
 
 Mr. knew much of this lady by repute, and could 
 
 readily believe all that his wife told him regarding
 
 BRIDGE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 203 
 
 her, and easily understand the full force of the influence 
 exercised by her. His wife then went on to say how 
 after days and nights of torment she had taken the 
 desperate course already related. In tears she confessed 
 her fault, and begged her husband's forgiveness. She 
 promised by all she held most sacred, she would entirely 
 abandon her acquaintance with this gambling set, and 
 that she would never, in the rest of her life, play cards 
 for money. She said she had known no real happiness 
 since she had commenced gambling. It was only in the 
 excitement of play she could forget. Her days were 
 wearisome, her nights a terror. She had ultimately got 
 into such a state of mind that she was not responsible 
 for her actions. The sneers of her "friends" at her 
 delay in payments, the fear they might apply to her 
 husband, the depth of whose affection and whose kindness 
 of heart were not then understood by her, terrified her 
 
 beyond endurance. It was some hint from Mrs. 
 
 that led her to think of raising money on the jewellery. 
 With specious argument she pointed out that as it was 
 
 really Mrs. 's property, the latter had a right to do 
 
 as she liked with it; that hundreds of women in 
 society from peeresses downwards raised loans upon their 
 valuables without their husbands' knowledge and that 
 it was an ordinary and perfectly innocent proceeding 
 which there could be no hesitation in adopting. 
 
 Influenced by these arguments the step was taken, and, 
 as regards her husband's property, as he never used it, 
 or very rarely, she thought she would be safe in taking 
 that too, as she hoped the loan would be for a short time, 
 and she might, with good fortune, be able to redeem it 
 very quickly before the abstraction was known. Unfor-
 
 204 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 tunately for her, her husband had asked for a pair of 
 sleeve links which was in the box, and hence she had to 
 invent the tale of the robbery to account for their loss. 
 
 "My dear," said Mr. , " I see how this all came 
 
 about. I do not wish to preach or work on your feelings 
 by pointing out the full extent of your error. I fully 
 and unreservedly forgive you your fault, and accept your 
 assurance for the future. We must, however, settle this 
 matter up once and for all, and then we will never refer 
 to it again. The first thing is to deal with those women 
 who have been fleecing you. There must, however, be 
 no scandal or talk; the thing must be managed quietly. 
 You shall not go to any of their houses again, but send 
 each of them a note telling them to call and see you 
 next Monday at 4 p.m., saying you will then pay each 
 the money you owe them, which I will give you for the 
 purpose." 
 
 This was accordingly done, but had no effect, as the 
 ladies scented trouble. It was as well, perhaps, that 
 
 they did not come, as Mr. intended to be present, 
 
 and his remarks might have been more forcible than 
 polite. Crossed cheques to each were accordingly sent, 
 thus enabling payment to be traced, and as these were 
 
 signed by Mr. , it would be brought home to the 
 
 recipients that he was aware of their "little games." 
 
 They had known nothing of the jewellery episode, 
 
 and would probably conclude that Mrs. had cajoled 
 
 her husband into paying the money. Anyway, no cheque 
 was returned. 
 
 Christie was warmly thanked by Mr. for his part 
 
 in the affair, and on Miss 's next birthday, she re- 
 ceived from her employers a handsome bracelet. She
 
 BRIDGE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 205 
 
 is still a valued inmate of the house, though it is thought 
 that the frequent visits of a good-looking young stock- 
 broker to the villa, are not altogether owing to his 
 friendship for the owners.
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 STORY OF A DIAMOND NECKLACE. 
 
 AT the time this incident occurred, Sydney was a 
 free-trade port, whilst very heavy duties were 
 levied on most importations coming into Vic- 
 toria. One of the heaviest was that on jewellery, and 
 this duty very considerably enhanced the cost to pur- 
 chasers. Seeing that on purchases made in New South 
 Wales no such charge had been levied, it is evident that 
 people if they had the opportunity would buy in that 
 State in preference to Victoria. Jewellery is so valu- 
 able, and carried in such small parcels that it was an 
 article which was being perpetually smuggled over, 
 concealed on the persons of travellers. It became a 
 regular thing with some people who could afford it to 
 go over to Sydney and make their purchases there. This 
 practice, of course, occasioned considerable loss to Vic- 
 torian tradesmen, and many and loud were the complaints 
 made as to the surreptitious introduction of goods from 
 New South Wales. The Customs officials used every 
 device to check the practice, but without personal search, 
 which was impossible, it is clear that valuable articles 
 which could be carried on the person, could easily be 
 overlooked. Of course, when the officers had reliable 
 information a search of the person of the suspected 
 individual was made, but such cases were very few and 
 a great number escaped. 
 
 In these days of Federation, one can hardly under- 
 stand how the people of Australia could have put up 
 with the inconvenience of the examination of luggage on 
 
 206
 
 STORY OF A DIAMOND NECKLACE. 207 
 
 the border between the different States. Absurd and 
 irritating cases were always occurring, which often pro- 
 voked a great deal of ridicule or ill-feeling. In cases 
 where there were two towns, such as Wodonga in Vic- 
 toria, and Albury, in New South Wales, almost touch- 
 ing each other, the boundary between being an imaginary 
 line only, this was especially the case. The boundary 
 had to be patrolled constantly, every bridge had to have 
 gates and a watch-house for the Customs officer on it, 
 and every traveller crossing had to be examined and any 
 packages he had with him inspected. The local trades- 
 men in the Victorian township who had to pay duty on 
 the goods they vended would see their customers going 
 over the bridge to the township at the end to make 
 purchases in New South Wales. On the clothing 
 actually in wearing, or on second-hand clothing, carried 
 in his luggage, the Customs could not legally charge 
 duty, and so it was not an uncommon sight to see a 
 Victorian resident stroll across to the other side, and 
 afterwards return, in all the gorgeousness of new 
 apparel which he had purchased there free of duty. 
 
 Owing to the outcry of the local shopkeepers the 
 Customs officers were especially vigilant, and carried out 
 their work in some cases with a minuteness which it must 
 be confessed was at times ludicrous as well as annoying 
 to the victim. Thus, on one occasion a shearer coming 
 from New South Wales was bailed up and his swag in- 
 spected. Inside was found a shirt. Then a great 
 argument arose as to whether the shirt had been worn 
 or not. Its owner asserted that it had, whilst the officer 
 insisted to the contrary, basing his assertions on the fresh 
 appearance of the garment. A vast amount of talk on
 
 208 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 the spot and the correspondence with the head office 
 ensued, and, at last, the owner was given the benefit of 
 the doubt, and got his shirt duty free, escaping payment 
 of about 1/6 duty, and also prosecution as a daring 
 smuggler. On another occasion, another man had 
 bought a pair of boots which he had in his swag and 
 had not worn. On being stuck up for the duty, a 
 heated controversy arose between him and the official, 
 which ended in the owner leaving the boots in the hands 
 of the officer, with the remark that the Customs might 
 
 keep "the boots." They were subsequently sent 
 
 in the usual course to Melbourne, where, owing to their 
 enormous size, tradition avers, they were ultimately used 
 as coal scuttles. 
 
 Now, during the time this state of things existed, a 
 wealthy merchant of Melbourne visited Sydney, and 
 whilst there called in at a jeweller's shop where there 
 was a diamond necklace which had been seen and coveted 
 by the merchant's spouse on a recent visit to the city. 
 The merchant, anxious to please his wife, purchased the 
 jewellery for 800, tendering a cheque for the amount, 
 drawn on a Melbourne bank. The jeweller, as he did 
 not know the drawer of the cheque personally, and as it 
 was on a Melbourne bank, intimated that before handing 
 over the necklace, he must either have the cash or the 
 cheque endorsed by some leading resident of S}^dney, 
 known to himself. The merchant enquired if the 
 endorsement of the proprietor of the well-known hotel, 
 where he was staying, would be sufficient, and receiving 
 an answer in the affirmative, immediately returned 
 thither and found the proprietor in the bar parlour. He 
 told him what had taken place, saying that as he had
 
 STORY OF A DIAMOND NECKLACE. 209 
 
 to leave next day and did not want to disappoint his 
 wife, who wished to wear the necklace at a forthcoming 
 Mayor's Ball, he would be obliged if the landlord would 
 endorse the cheque, which the latter willingly did, and 
 offered to place the jewels in his safe till the next 
 morning. 
 
 "Oh," said the purchaser, "I will put the necklace on, 
 under my shirt over my singlet, so that I can not only 
 carry it safely but also dodge the Customs. The land- 
 lord jokingly warned him that he had better look out 
 for Christie, if he was going to play that game. 
 
 "Oh, I'm not afraid of Christie," he answered, "be- 
 cause he is a good old friend of mine, and would not 
 suspect me." He then returned to the shop, got the neck- 
 lace and duly left next day by steamer via Hobart for 
 Melbourne, with the jewellery concealed as he intended. 
 
 So far so good. But it so happened that in the bar 
 parlor was sitting in an obscure corner, a man to all 
 appearance drunk or asleep, who heard all that was said 
 between the two. This man had himself been pre- 
 viously detected in smuggling in Melbourne and had been 
 convicted and fined; being a poor man, he was quite 
 ruined and reduced to the last extremity and was com- 
 pletely on his beam-ends. This man also knew the 
 name of the purchaser of the necklace. The Victorian 
 law allowed to informers a third of the sum netted by 
 the Department in cases of conviction for smuggling, 
 and it occurred to this man that here was an opportunity 
 to improve his financial position. He accordingly at 
 once wrote to Christie giving him a full account of what 
 he had heard, and wound up by saying he was "damned" 
 hard up, and would be glad to have the reward.
 
 210 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 The detective met the steamer and duly interviewed 
 the passenger, who produced the necklace from the place 
 where he had it concealed, and handed it over. At the 
 Customs House next morning, having elected to be dealt 
 with by the Minister instead of being prosecuted in Court, 
 he was fined a total sum of 616, which he promptly 
 paid. 
 
 All his troubles, however, were not ended yet. The 
 Melbourne Harbor Trust levy a wharfage rate on all 
 packages coming by sea, and, at that time, the Customs 
 collected these rates for the Trust as their agents. The 
 merchant was informed before the necklace could be 
 handed to him, that he must pay twopence wharfage rate 
 upon it. Although having parted with such a large 
 sum of money, he seemed much exasperated by this 
 demand, and said, "I'll be damned if I pay another 
 penny," but on finding that he would not get the neck- 
 lace without paying the trifle demanded, he threw down 
 a three-penny-bit, saying that the Department could "keep 
 the change." His manner was so offensive to the Col- 
 lector that he was informed that the correct sum must 
 be tendered as the cashier was not required to give 
 change. With that he went away and came back with 
 the necessary twopence, remarking that the other penny 
 would do to buy a Herald with, and added "fortunately 
 this affair will not get into the paper as it was dealt 
 with by the Department." 
 
 What was his disgust and annoyance when, on pur- 
 chasing a paper as he left the Customs House, he found 
 a report headed "The Merchant and His Diamonds" 
 "Great Bowl Out," and read a detailed account of his 
 trouble in its columns. In a towering rage, he rushed
 
 STORY OF A DIAMOND NECKLACE. 211 
 
 back to the office, and fiercely demanded of Christie 
 whether he had given the information to the paper. The 
 latter stated he had not. It may here be remarked in 
 conclusion that it was not the policy of the Department to 
 avoid publicity in such cases, the object of inflicting fines 
 was as much to warn others against smuggling as to 
 punish the actual offender, and consequently a full 
 account of such instances was always given to the daily 
 press. Since Federation the department adopts the 
 better system of prosecuting in the Court, when any 
 wilful evasion of the law is suspected or known.
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 MISCELLANEOUS CUSTOMS FRAUDS. 
 
 MARRIAGE PRESENTS. 
 
 A WELL-KNOWN Melbourne man was about to 
 be married to the daughter of a wealthy 
 squatter residing in a fashionable suburb of 
 that city. So far so good; but, when the Customs 
 detective was travelling to New South Wales a day or 
 so before the wedding, he engaged in conversation with a 
 fellow passenger. The conversation turned to smug- 
 gling, and the passenger, referring to the marriage, nar- 
 rated how the bridegroom-elect had been to Sydney, 
 where he had bought some valuable wedding presents, 
 and had smuggled these into Victoria. On hearing this, 
 Christie got out at Seymour and took train back to Mel- 
 bourne. On enquiry he found that the "smuggler" had 
 just gone off to be married. 
 
 The detective then drove off to the bride's residence, 
 where he found a large assembly of the rank and fashion 
 of Melbourne; marquees on the lawn, and everything in- 
 dicating a function of the most elaborate kind. He sent 
 in his card to the bridegroom who, however, returned a 
 message by the footman to say that he was too much 
 engaged at that time to see the detective. Christie then 
 sent for the master of the house. The latter came out 
 and smiling said, "There is nothing here in your line, Mr. 
 Christie. My daughter is to be married this afternoon, 
 but come in and tell me your business.' He then took 
 
 212
 
 Detective-Inspector J. M. Christie. 
 
 -'actHg fugf 21 2\
 
 A TALE OF A PIG. 213 
 
 Christie into the dining-room, where a bottle of cham- 
 pagne was opened and duly discussed. The detective 
 then informed his host what his business was. The 
 prospective father-in-law was much taken aback at the 
 revelation, and, on the jewellery having been described 
 to him, informed the detective that it had all been dis- 
 tributed in presents to the bride and the bridesmaids. He 
 then went and fetched the smuggler, who, after fencing 
 a little, finally owned up to everything. The detective, 
 with the sanction of the authorities, who did not wish 
 to cause a large number of innocent people to suffer for 
 the fault of one, accepted the guarantee of the squatter 
 that the jewellery should be duly produced by the 
 offender at the Customs House the next day. The cul- 
 prit was promptly fined 200, and required to pay the 
 full duty on the articles. 
 
 A TALE OF A PIG. 
 
 The Loch Vannacher was at one time a well-known 
 trader to Melbourne, in charge of Captain Bennett, who 
 was popular with all who knew him. In 1899 the vessel 
 arrived, and was duly berthed at the Victoria Dock. The 
 ship had on board two small well-bred Berkshire pigs, 
 which animals much took the fancy of the proprietor of 
 one of the Melbourne hotels, who had a farm in the 
 country and who became very anxious to secure one of 
 these animals for breeding purposes. The quarantine 
 laws of Victoria are very strict as regards animals, 
 especially swine, and the introduction of any such 
 animal involved long delay in quarantine, and many
 
 214 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 other rather vexatious though necessary formalities, 
 besides considerable expense. In order, therefore, to 
 avoid all this trouble and cost, it was determined to try 
 and outwit the Customs, and land the pig surreptitiously. 
 To that end the hotelkeeper's wife was taken into the 
 plot, and it was arranged that the pig was to be brought 
 ashore, having been previously dressed up as a baby in 
 long clothes, with hood and covering over the head and 
 carried in the lady's arms as an infant. 
 
 All went well up to a certain point, and the day chosen 
 for the attempt being Sunday, not many people were 
 about. Now Bennett had a parrot which, amongst 
 other things, had been taught to say, "Look out, here's 
 Christie," and, strange to say, just as the lady reached 
 the gangway, and was going down the ladder to the 
 wharf, the bird commenced to yell out these words. Pro- 
 bably startled by the bird, the lady slipped and her 
 stumble so alarmed the "infant" she was carrying, that 
 it squealed in a manner to raise the whole neighbour- 
 hood. A Customs watchman came running up, 
 attracted by the squeals, and on seeing him coming, the 
 would-be smugglers took the "baby" hurriedly back on 
 board the ship, divested it of its finery and replaced it 
 in its stye, where it was no doubt much happier than in 
 the lady's arms. 
 
 This story came to the ears of the authorities, and 
 Christie was instructed to make enquiries with a view to 
 gaining sufficient information for a prosecution which 
 would, if successful, have involved the parties in double 
 penalties, seeing that both customs and quarantine laws 
 would have been broken had the attempt been carried 
 out successfully. As, however, the act had not been
 
 BOGUS VALUE. 215 
 
 actually committed, though the intention was clear 
 enough, nothing could be done and the matter was 
 dropped. 
 
 BOGUS VALUE. 
 
 In one instance, in regard to the under-valuation of 
 goods, the Department was cleverly "put in the soup" 
 by a sharp importer. There is a provision in the Cus- 
 toms Act under which the Department has the power, 
 when there is a reason to suppose goods have been under- 
 valued for duty (and failing more severe measures), to 
 take over the goods at the importer's valuation for duty 
 with 10 per cent, added. Thus, if the importer repre- 
 sented the value of his importation to be, say 100, the 
 Department, by paying him 110, could acquire the 
 ownership of the goods and sell them. Usually, when 
 such a course was adopted, the Department made a con- 
 siderable profit on the transaction. 
 
 In the case to be recorded, certain goods were imported 
 about which the suspicion of the officers was aroused by 
 sundry hints from outside quarters. From the informa- 
 tion conveyed to them there seemed every reason to sup- 
 pose the value of the goods had been much understated, 
 and that it would be a safe thing to make use of the 
 power the law gave them in the case. Accordingly the 
 goods were duly taken over, and the importer paid for 
 them. When, however, the sale took place the result 
 was most disappointing, and a considerable loss was 
 incurred , much to the chagrin of the officers. Enquiry 
 at the bank had elicited the fact that the importer had 
 obtained advances upon his bills of lading which indi-
 
 216 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 cated the same values as the importer had declared to 
 at the Customs House, and this fact seemed to show the 
 importer's estimate of the proper value was correct. It 
 afterwards appeared, however, that the whole affair was 
 a "put-up job." The goods were not really worth 
 anything like the value attached to them by the importer, 
 and consequently both the Department and the bank 
 had "fallen in." The former in paying more than the 
 goods were worth, and the latter in advancing more 
 money than their value justified. 
 
 This fiasco, however, made the officials very careful 
 in subsequent cases of the same kind, and in future the 
 power was only exercised when a good profit would 
 accrue to the Treasury from the transaction. 
 
 A DETECTIVE PARSON. 
 
 On one occasion in 1894 one of the passengers tra- 
 velling in the overland express from Sydney to Mel- 
 bourne was a tall, somewhat severe-looking High Church 
 Anglican minister, who took his seat in the train 
 at Albury and forthwith became absorbed apparently in 
 a Church paper. At Albury, prior to Federation, the 
 Victorian Customs' officials overhauled the luggage, and 
 made enquiry of the passengers from New South Wales, 
 as to whether they had any dutiable goods in their pos- 
 session. Amongst the passengers in the carriage in 
 which the reverend gentleman had taken his seat, there 
 was an elegantly-dressed woman. The word went round 
 that the Customs' officers were coming, and that pas- 
 sengers should have bags, etc., ready for inspection.
 
 A DETECTIVE PARSON. 217 
 
 If any one, just at this time, had been looking at the 
 reverend traveller, the observer would have noticed that, 
 though apparently engrossed in reading his paper, he 
 was gazing over the top of it into the mirror fixed above 
 the opposite seat, and that what he saw there appeared to 
 interest him exceedingly. What the reverend gentleman 
 was looking at was this : The lady, on hearing the 
 officers were coming, immediately took some parcels out 
 of her bag and pushed them down the seat behind her, 
 but in such a manner as would not be observed by the 
 person alongside, though she had evidently forgotten the 
 mirror opposite, in which the parson was, however, able 
 to observe all her actions. 
 
 When the Customs officers had passed and the lady 
 had told him she had nothing dutiable, the clergyman 
 turned to his neighbour saying, "Madame, I regret to 
 trouble you, but you have just informed the Customs' 
 officers you have no dutiable goods in your possession. 
 May I ask what those parcels were that you have just 
 pushed down behind you?" 
 
 The lady was covered with confusion, but, relying 
 apparently upon the clerical character of her questioner, 
 tried to "bluff him off," but seeing this, the apparent 
 parson altered his tune, and to her astonishment and that 
 of all the other passengers in the car, and to the great 
 amusement of all but the lady herself, told her he was 
 Inspector Christie of the Customs. She then confessed 
 herself a would-be smuggler, and surrendered the 
 articles, with the usual result.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 "A CLOUD OF WITNESSES." 
 
 IN 1890 a number of 'cute Yankees formed themselves 
 into a company for the purpose of publishing and 
 selling in Australia a large lithograph picture 
 called "A Cloud of Witnesses." The picture was to 
 commemorate the opening of the Melbourne Exhibition, 
 and was to contain three hundred likenesses of the best- 
 known citizens, and most prominent men in the com- 
 munity, with the Governor (Lord Loch) and the Judges 
 in the centre. It was anticipated that each person whose 
 likeness was included, would subscribe for one or more 
 of these pictures. To subscribers, the price of the first 
 copy was to be ten guineas, and for subsequent copies 
 five guineas. Prior to publication, canvassers were 
 employed to go round inviting subscriptions, the can- 
 vassers being supposed to obtain a printed order. Many 
 orders were sent in; one canvasser being apparently very 
 successful, as he obtained three times as many orders as 
 all the rest of the canvassers put together, most of the 
 orders he sent in being for one picture and five copies, 
 the prices of which would total 36 15s. These orders 
 were all apparently properly signed by the person pre- 
 sumably giving the order. 
 
 The picture was produced in America, and was what 
 is known as a "photogravure." On importation into 
 Melbourne the consignment was duly passed through the 
 Customs, and the value of each copy declared to be two 
 shillings only. Soon after the arrival of the photos., 
 
 218
 
 "A CLOUD OF WITNESSES." 219 
 
 the canvasser called upon several of the principal 
 officials of the Department and informed them that the 
 picture was now available for distribution, and that he 
 had brought the six which each of them had ordered. 
 These officials declared that they had never given any 
 such order, though they remembered having signed a 
 paper which purported to be a kind of general approval 
 of the idea, and which document was also signed by a 
 considerable number of other well-known persons; and 
 that the person who had procured their names to this 
 paper had given them distinctly to understand that the 
 signatures were only intended to show the Company 
 that people were interested in the work it intended to 
 bring out and that no pecuniary liability was implied in 
 the fact of their signing, nor was any such liability ex- 
 pressed in the wording of the document to which they 
 had put their names. The officers, however, were 
 shown printed orders bearing their usual signatures for 
 the pictures and copies, and they could not deny that 
 these signatures had all the appearances of being genuine, 
 though they were certain they had never given any such 
 orders, and could not understand how the signatures 
 came to be attached to them. It was manifestly absurd 
 to suppose that whatever one or two from vanity or 
 recklessness might possibly have done, a number of 
 ordinarily careful men with limited incomes would have 
 each made himself liable for such an amount for a mere 
 picture. The canvasser, however, insisted on leaving 
 the pictures, saying as they had been ordered they would 
 have to be paid for, but as he was departing the pic- 
 tures were gathered up and pitched downstairs after 
 him. Proceedings at law for the recovery of the prices
 
 220 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 alleged to have been agreed on were then threatened by 
 the Company, and a consultation was held by those threa- 
 tened as to the best way of resisting the demands. 
 
 On enquiry, it was found that a large number of other 
 persons had been "had" in a similar way, and at a meet- 
 ing of those interested which was called, it was resolved 
 to fight the matter out and try and unravel the mystery, 
 it being evident that there was a swindle somewhere. 
 Detective Christie was accordingly requested to try and 
 ferre.t out the facts and it was not long before he came 
 to the conclusion that the various signatures had been by 
 some means transferred from the list of patrons to the 
 order-form which the canvasser had himself subse- 
 quently filled in, inserting in the orders what number of 
 copies he chose. Having arrived at this conclusion, it 
 occurred to the detective that it would be useful, first of 
 all, to endeavour to trace the previous history of the 
 canvasser with a view to ascertaining whether there were 
 in existence any records of his life which would indi- 
 cate that he would be a person likely to commit such a 
 fraud. After some trouble, it was elicited that this 
 man had before been twice convicted and imprisoned for 
 swindling, and was a very likely person to have com- 
 mitted the forgery. 
 
 Having found this out, Christie then called on one of 
 the leading stationers and lithographers of Melbourne, 
 and enquired if there were any known process by which 
 a signature could be transferred from one paper to 
 another, without the fact of its being a transfer merely 
 being apparent. Somewhat to his surprise, he found 
 such was the case, and in response to his request was very 
 kindly instructed in the method by which this result
 
 "A CLOUD OF WITNESSES." 221 
 
 could be obtained. He very soon became expert at the 
 trick, and was able to transfer any signature and repro- 
 duce it, so that its genuineness as a signature could not 
 be disputed. Having obtained this information his next 
 step was to have an interview with the canvasser. 
 Christie had a friend who had known this man in his 
 more reputable days, and this friend he asked to meet 
 him, as if by accident, at an hotel where he had found 
 out the canvasser and his associates were in the habit of 
 meeting nightly. It was arranged that the friend 
 should take an opportunity of introducing the detective 
 to the canvasser, Christie being in disguise. 
 
 All was arranged accordingly, and in the evening, 
 Christie appeared at the hotel got up with a black curly 
 wig, black moustache waxed and pointed at the ends, 
 eyebrows darkened, and carrying a small Gladstone bag 
 containing an order book and a copy of a book for 
 which he intended to profess to be canvassing ; the bag 
 also contained the transferring apparatus. He duly 
 met his friend who, however, so complete was the 
 detective's disguise, did not recognise him till he had 
 disclosed his identity. The two went into the room 
 where the canvasser and his mates were sitting, and 
 Christie then called for champagne, treating his friend as 
 if he were a new acquaintance. Whilst the liquor was 
 being imbibed, he told his friend in tones sufficiently loud 
 to be heard by the others in the room, that he was can- 
 vassing for orders for a book, which was then just 
 published, and asked his acquaintance to give him an 
 order for it in his order book, which he also drew from 
 the bag. 
 
 The friend then called the canvasser over to their
 
 222 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 table and introduced him to Christie, who invited him to 
 sit down with them and join them in a glass of wine. 
 He was then asked by Christie to give an order for the 
 book. 
 
 "Oh," he said, "I am in the same line of business 
 myself." Christie's friend then said he would have no 
 objection to sign his name to a list of patrons, but would 
 not undertake to buy any of the books. After signing, 
 the friend, according to previous arrangement, left 
 Christie with the canvasser, who had become much in- 
 terested and disposed to be "chummy," and enquired of 
 Christie how he managed to be so successful, seeing he 
 could afford to "shout" champagne, especially as he had 
 observed that no order had been got from the man who 
 had just left. 
 
 "Well," said the detective, "as you are in the business, 
 I don't mind telling you how I manage it. As you saw, 
 I got that man's signature to a list of patrons ; now that 
 was good enough for me, as by that means I can land 
 him with a good order. I have got that in my bag which 
 will do the rest, but how I do it is my secret." 
 
 After a little further desultory conversation, Christie 
 remarked that he was waiting for another man he was 
 expecting to meet at the hotel, and as he felt rather 
 tired, he would lie down on the sofa till his expected 
 visitor came. This he did, leaving his bag unlocked on 
 the table. He soon pretended to go to sleep, and then 
 the canvasser and his friends began to converse about 
 him, apparently thinking that he was a little overcome 
 by the wine he had imbibed. On hearing this, the detec- 
 tive began snoring, and the more he snored the less 
 notice they took of him.
 
 "A CLOUD OF WITNESSES." 223 
 
 At last the canvasser slipped over to the table and, 
 opening the bag, inspected the contents, the sight of 
 the apparatus giving him all the information he desired. 
 When he had got back to his seat, Christie pretended to 
 wake up. On observing that he was awake, the can- 
 vasser asked him to come with him into another room 
 where they would be alone. 
 
 On arrival there, he closed the door, saying, "I know 
 your little game now. If we go partners and trust 
 each other we can make our fortunes by working toge- 
 ther." 
 
 "That sounds all right," Christie answered, "but how 
 am I to know that I can trust you with my business and 
 the knowledge of my method of working." 
 
 "Well," the other replied, "the fact is, to be quite 
 candid with you, I am on the same 'lay' myself. I have 
 been canvassing for a picture called a 'Cloud of Wit- 
 nesses,' and unless I am mistaken we are both at the 
 same game." 
 
 "Right you are," said Christie, "show me how you do 
 it, and I will show you my method." Smith then pro- 
 duced his bag and explained his process, which was 
 much the same as that which Christie had been taught 
 by the lithographer. They then returned to the other 
 room, where Christie was introduced to the other can- 
 vassers, who put him up to various wrinkles and tricks 
 which were practised by them in the course of their 
 business. 
 
 The detective then took his leave, after agreeing to 
 meet him at the same hotel on the following evening. 
 He had closely observed his new friend's bag, which he 
 noticed had been placed behind the bar, and next day
 
 224 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 procured one of the same make and of the same size 
 and appearance in every respect. He then called at the 
 hotel in propria persona and asked the landlady, who 
 knew him well, to allow him to leave his 
 bag behind the bar for safety for a short time. To 
 this she civilly assented, and he placed it beside the 
 canvasser's, which was still there. 
 
 The landlady shortly afterwards left the bar to get 
 tea, leaving a barmaid in charge, and the girl was then 
 the only other person in the room. Christie then took 
 up ostensibly his own bag but actually the other man's, 
 and carried it into the next room. Nobody being there, 
 he had no difficulty in opening the lock, which was a 
 common one, and emptied all the contents out, returning 
 it empty to its place behind the bar; then, leaving by 
 the back entrance, unknown to the barmaid, he took the 
 contents over to the watch-house and put them into the 
 old bag he had left there. Then returning to the hotel 
 by the same back way, his absence not having been 
 observed in the interval by any one, he remained till the 
 landlady had come back from her tea and then requested 
 her to hand him his bag, and having received it, he sat 
 down awaiting the arrival of the man, who soon turned 
 up, but, of course, did not recognise Christie as the man 
 he had met the previous evening. 
 
 Christie was apparently busy but heard him ask the 
 landlady if the gentleman who was in the hotel last 
 evening and had shouted for him had yet come. On 
 her replying in the negative, he said he would do some 
 writing and wait for him. He then took his bag from 
 behind the counter and, placing it on the table, unlocked 
 it. He was evidently dismayed at finding it empty, but
 
 "A CLOUD OF WITNESSES." 225 
 
 thinking he had made a mistake and had taken another 
 bag instead of his own he went to look behind the bar, 
 but, seeing no other there, appeared thunderstruck, say- 
 ing in agitated tones, "I have been robbed ! Someone has 
 opened my bag and stolen what was in it." 
 
 The landlady said, "Nonsense, that is impossible; the 
 bag has never been out of the bar or been touched by 
 anyone since you put it there. If, however, you have 
 lost anything, you had better tell the detective sitting 
 over there in the corner," at the same time indicating 
 Christie, who feigned to be entirely unobservant of what 
 was going on. "You had better tell him all about it." 
 
 Hearing this, Christie jumped up, and, coming over 
 to the man, asked if he were certain it was his own bag. 
 "Oh, yes," said he, "I know it by the labels on the bot- 
 tom." Christie then told him enquiries would be made 
 for what he had lost, and then left. Going over to the 
 watch-house, he obtained the bag which contained the 
 missing articles and went home. He then carefully 
 examined what he had brought away, and found the 
 whole swindle exposed. Amongst the papers was the 
 original list of patrons with the authentic signatures, 
 about twenty forged orders, and a complete apparatus 
 for transferring signatures. He then immediately 
 returned to the hotel where he found the canvasser, whom 
 he completely astonished by telling him that all the 
 documents and articles he had lost out of his bag had 
 been recovered. He was evidently struck with admira- 
 tion at the wonderful promptitude and effectiveness of 
 the Victorian detectives, but his admiration was speedily 
 turned into dismay when the finder proceeded to say: 
 "On looking them over, however, I see you have been
 
 226 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 practising forgery and that you are a regular swindler. 
 I have, moreover, a statement in writing from a reputable 
 citizen, that you had confided to him the system you 
 practise of forging signatures and your methods in doing 
 it, and that you did so the night before last, at this 
 hotel." 
 
 With that the man was overcome with rage, exclaim- 
 ing excitedly, "I took that damned Yankee for a gentle- 
 man and not an informer ; however, if he has split on me, 
 the game is up." 
 
 "Yes," said Christie, "he has rounded on you properly 
 and more than that he is going to swear an information 
 against you to-morrow morning and take out a warrant 
 for your arrest." 
 
 Quite cowed and subdued, he answered, "I will not 
 give any further trouble, but will give myself up at the 
 Court in the morning," and then left the hotel. The 
 detective followed him in a cab to an hotel, where he 
 was apparently staying. He there paid his bill, took his 
 portmanteau and went straight to the Spencer Street 
 Railway Station, and, after waiting some time, took the 
 express train to Sydney. 
 
 No further trouble was taken about him, and though 
 the summons had been taken out by the Company against 
 several so-called subscribers yet, in the absence of the 
 prosecutor, they could not be proceeded with. This 
 was, perhaps, fortunate for them, as there would have 
 been considerable difficulty as regards any individual 
 order, in proving that the signature had been trans- 
 ferred, inasmuch as the signature itself was genuine, and 
 many other orders which were really genuine had been 
 given and no direct evidence could be produced in
 
 "A CLOUD OF WITNESSES." 227 
 
 defence to prove that any individual name had been 
 attached by the process. 
 
 As a wind-up to the affair, the Company came to a 
 compromise and agreed to accept a small sum from each 
 of the alleged subscribers in payment of all demands. 
 This settlement was cheerfully agreed to by the victims, 
 who were delighted at escaping so easily.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 THE "LANGUAGE" OF BIRDS. 
 
 AMONGST other duties committed to the Depart- 
 ment of Trade and Customs was that of adminis- 
 tering the Act of Parliament which provided for 
 the preservation of the native fauna, and Christie Avas 
 frequently engaged in this work. One day two elderly 
 ladies called at the Customs House and related the fol- 
 lowing circumstances. They lived in a northern suburb, 
 and said that their neighbours on one side next door 
 were the possessors of a magpie and a cockatoo, and sug- 
 gested that these birds should be seized, as the posses- 
 sion of such birds was understood to be contrary to the 
 Act. The ladies stated that their reason for asking was 
 that their owners had taught the birds to use the most 
 dreadful language. They said that none of their family 
 could appear without the birds giving utterance to a tor- 
 rent of bad language. They had applied to the Ser- 
 geant of Police, and he had told them he was unable 
 to do anything, as the birds were private property and 
 the place not public. 
 
 Christie called at the ladies' house. In order to show 
 what the birds were capable of, one of the ladies, who 
 was red-headed, went into the yard. Immediately, the 
 magpie and cockatoo hopped on their perches and com- 
 menced talking. 
 
 "Hullo, carrots," said the magpie, "where are 
 you off to? At it again?" When the cockatoo chimed 
 
 in with, "What the h are you going to do?" and 
 
 so on. 
 
 228
 
 THE "LANGUAGE" OF BIRDS. 229 
 
 After consultation it was decided to bring the birds 
 to the Customs House. They were placed in the base- 
 ment, when their language became so loud as to attract 
 a considerable audience of sailors and others who were 
 about the building. The "shell-backs" were experts in 
 language, but owned that the birds were past masters in 
 the art. 
 
 It was decided to send the birds to the Curator of the 
 Zoological Gardens. Accordingly a note was written to 
 Mr. Le Soeuf, the curator, informing him that the De- 
 partment had much pleasure in forwarding for his 
 acceptance two valuable birds, possessed of most extra- 
 ordinary linguistic attainments. But when the birds 
 were unveiled and restored to daylight, his pleasure soon 
 departed. In a few minutes they had run through their 
 extensive repertory. The horrified curator begged the 
 Inspector to take his infernal birds back again at once, 
 adding that so far from being an attraction they would 
 clear the Gardens of visitors in no time, especially as 
 most of the latter were women and children. There was 
 no alternative but to destroy the talented birds, lest, if 
 they were let loose, they might contaminate all the native 
 birds in Australia. 
 
 An amusing incident happened in a Melbourne auction 
 room, showing how "conscience doth make cowards of 
 us all." A talking magpie was offered for sale and 
 knocked down for 12/6 to a purchaser, who wickedly 
 gave his name as Dr. Wollaston. The purchaser, pur- 
 suing his little joke at the expense of the auctioneer, 
 inquired, "Is there any risk about this bird?" The auc- 
 tioner answered, "Well, you ought to know, doctor; 
 but here is Detective Christie coming in at the door,
 
 230 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 and he can settle the question." The effect was elec- 
 trical. The apocryphal Dr. Wollaston dropped the cage, 
 protesting that his bid had been mistaken. 
 
 On another occasion Christie received a present of 
 a magpie which, in a kerosene tin, was being conveyed by 
 him to his home at Brighton. The tin was placed under 
 one of the seats of the railway carriage, in which were 
 the late Mr. Richard Speight, then Commissioner of 
 Railways, and about half a dozen ladies. 
 
 When the train commenced to move hoarse cries were 
 heard to come from behind one of the ladies' petticoats 
 under the seat, and a strident voice yelled out, "What 
 the h 's that?" The lady gave a scream, and ex- 
 claimed, "Oh, there's a man under the seat!" The other 
 women passengers joined in the confusion and hubbub. 
 The bird continued to pour out a string of bad language 
 and remarks uncomplimentary to the fair sex generally, 
 with special reference to their personal appearance. 
 Christie kicked the tin to make the bird "shut up." 
 This, however, seemed only to incite it to more 
 vigorous language. The officer was overwhelmed by the 
 evident disfavour with which he was regarded, and en- 
 deavoured to explain that he was in no way responsible 
 for the bird or its language, as he had only just received 
 it as a present. 
 
 Before dismissing the subject of talking birds, it may 
 be mentioned that the ex-detective has now in his pos- 
 session a handsome parrot, which whenever he hears any 
 strong expression of language immediately yells out, 
 "Now then, pull up, pull up."
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 THE foregoing pages convey some adequate impres- 
 sion of Detective-Inspector Christie's varied 
 career and experiences. It is surely a unique 
 record for one man in his time to have played on the 
 world's stage such diverse parts as detective, champion 
 boxer and oarsman, Detective-Inspector of Customs, 
 entrepreneur, and Royal "Shadow." His numerous 
 trophies and testimonials are evidence too that he played 
 each part well. 
 
 It was undoubtedly a marked distinction for so young 
 a man as Christie to be chosen as "Shadow" to the 
 Duke of Edinburgh, and to have secured the per- 
 sonal esteem of His" Royal Highness. He was even more 
 successful in his experience as "Shadow" to Their 
 Majesties the King and Queen when, as Duke 
 and Duchess of York, they visited Australia in 
 1901 to open the first Parliament of the Com- 
 monwealth. He was in attendance upon their Royal 
 Highnesses throughout the Australasian tour on the H.M. 
 royal yatch S.S. Ophir, where he was the guest of Com- 
 mander R. E. Wemyss. 
 
 Autographed photographs, medals, and other valu- 
 able gifts testify to the regard which his loyalty and 
 diligence inspired. Nor were the authorities who se- 
 lected him for the special duties of Royal "Shadow" less 
 appreciative of his services, as the following letter 
 shows : 
 
 231
 
 232 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA. 
 Department of External Affairs, 
 
 Melbourne, 20th August, 1901. 
 Sir, 
 
 Your services in connection with the visit of Their 
 Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall 
 and York to Australasia being now concluded, I am in- 
 structed by the Right Honorable The Prime Minister 
 to convey to you the thanks of the Commonwealth Gov- 
 ernment for the very satisfactory manner in which you 
 discharged the responsible duties which were allotted 
 to you. The practical mark of Their Royal Highnesses' 
 appreciation of your services, too, cannot fail to be a 
 source of much gratification to yourself and to the Ser- 
 vice to which you belong. 
 
 I have the honor to be, Sir, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 (Signed) ATLEE HUNT, Secretary. 
 
 J. M. CHRISTIE ESQ., 
 
 Detective-Inspector, 
 
 Melbourne. 
 
 Mr. Christie's public services on behalf of charities 
 date from the earliest days of his career. He was instru- 
 mental in raising over 30,000 in 43 years and entered 
 heart and soul into any movement to succour 
 the distressed or to further a patriotic cause. His 
 work on behalf of the shipwrecked Dandenong Fund, 
 the Creswick Mining Disaster, the Patriotic Fund, the 
 Unemployed Fund, and various funds for the help of 
 hospitals and charities generally, has been conspicuous. 
 Four Mayors and Lord Mayors have at different times
 
 CONCLUSION. 233 
 
 made him public presentations on behalf of the citizens 
 of Melbourne. The last was upon his retirement from 
 the Commonwealth Public Service, "in recognition," as 
 the Address ran, "of your eminent services as Detective- 
 Inspector of Customs," and "an expression of our keen 
 appreciation of your valuable services in the Department 
 of Trade and Customs of the Commonwealth of Aus- 
 tralia and the State of Victoria for such a lengthened 
 period, during which time, in the performance of your 
 important duties, you enjoyed to the fullest extent the 
 confidence and esteem not only of the Government, but 
 also of the general public." 
 
 Mr. Christie's retirement was no doubt hastened by 
 the effect of a sensational attack made upon him when 
 in pursuit of opium smugglers. It was a most murder- 
 ous assault, in which a knife was used. He was ren- 
 dered unconscious, but fortunately was found in time 
 to receive prompt attention from Surgeon-Colonel Charles 
 Ryan, Surgeon-General Williams, and Dr. Barrett. 
 While he lay ill, daily inquiries were made as to his 
 progress from all quarters, Government House, Parlia- 
 ment House, official circles, and private citizens. He 
 made a complete recovery, and resumed duty, but did 
 not linger in the public service. Upon his retirement, 
 he received the following graceful letter from the Acting 
 Prime Minister of the day: 
 
 COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA. 
 
 Acting Prime Minister, 
 
 December, 24/10. 
 Dear Mr. Christie, 
 
 I feel that after a lifetime spent in the Service of the 
 State your retirement, rendered necessary through in-
 
 234 DETECTIVE CHRISTIE. 
 
 juries received while carrying out the responsible duties 
 of your office, calls for some brief reference from the 
 Government of the day to your many and great services 
 to this country. 
 
 And will you let me say too for myself how very much 
 I admire those qualities of courage, tact, tenacity of 
 purpose, unswerving devotion to duty, and unimpeach- 
 able integrity which have characterised you throughout 
 the whole of your career. 
 
 I hope you may be long spared, and that the effects 
 of the recent cowardly attack upon you may not prove 
 permanent. 
 
 The loss to the Department through your retirement 
 will be felt keenly. 
 
 Wishing you the happiest of New Years, I am, dear 
 Inspector Christie, 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 (Signed) W. M. HUGHES. 
 
 Similar letters to this might form a book in themselves. 
 Christie has had letters of appreciation even from 
 criminals, whom he has run to earth, thanking him for 
 his gentlemanly manipulation of their personal affairs, 
 which he had brought to a temporary halt. One of 
 these characteristic letters, written on the occasion of a 
 public testimonial to the famous Detective, is reproduced 
 in facsimile in this volume.
 
 :# 
 
 vu, x 
 
 An "Old Hand's" Tribute to Detective Christie. 
 ng page 2^.f\
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 
 Ah Kim 179 
 
 Ah Toon 175 
 
 Albury 216 
 
 Aldenham, The .... 179 
 
 "Alderman" 40 
 
 Alfred, Prince 73 
 
 Argyle, The 106 
 
 Arthur 121, 128, 130 
 
 Aspinall, B. C 34 
 
 Aubrey, Capt 91 
 
 Baker (alias Young) . . 31 
 
 Bank of Victoria .... 42 
 
 Barrett, Dr 233 
 
 Barwon Regatta 108 
 
 Belmore, Countess of ... 77 
 
 "Ben, the Carpenter" . . 29 
 
 Bendigo 50 
 
 Beresford, Lord Chas. . . 81 
 
 Berkshire Pigs 213 
 
 Bitson, Robt 47 
 
 Bitton, Ned 92 
 
 "Black Albert" . . . . 168 
 
 Blanche, H.M.S 77 
 
 "Blueskin" 164 
 
 Boggy Creek Bridge ... 131 
 
 Bolden's Station 12 
 
 Bowden, Detective .... 69 
 
 Branch, Bill 99 
 
 Brighton 102 
 
 Brookes, Ham* 27 
 
 Brooks, Joseph 42 
 
 Brown, Detective 30 
 
 Buncle, Mr. John .... 14 
 
 Buninyong 51 
 
 Butler, Mr. Walter .... 12 
 
 "Cabbage-Tree Ned" ... 81 
 
 Camper down 121 
 
 Canterbury 80 
 
 "Captain Scot" 81 
 
 Carl ton Gardens .... 20 
 
 Carter, P. J 103, 108 
 
 Page 
 
 Cassandra 164 
 
 Cazaly, James .... 103, 108 
 
 Cazaly, John . . . 103, 105, 108 
 
 Challenge Sculls 108 
 
 Chirnside, Mr 90 
 
 "Cho choo chum" .... 21 
 
 Creswick Mining Disaster 232 
 Christie, Capt. Jas. ... 9, 73 
 
 "Christie's Hotel" .... 9 
 
 Cleveland, Miss .... 83 
 
 Cleveland Bay 63 
 
 "Cloud of Witnesses, The" 218 
 
 Cobden 121 
 
 Cody, Jack 92 
 
 "Coffin" Trick, The ... 143 
 
 Colac I2i 
 
 Commodore Perry, The . 1 1 
 
 "Commotion" n 
 
 "Crimping" 160 
 
 Curran, Tom 13, 92 
 
 Dalmahony, Campbell & Co. 14 
 
 Dalton, Sergeant .... 23 
 
 Daly, Detective 49 
 
 Dandenong, S.S. . . .91, 232 
 
 Delaney, Tom 131 
 
 "Devil's Punch Bowl, The" 124 
 
 Devine, Ned 81 
 
 Duke and Duchess of York 
 
 84, 231 
 
 Duke of Edinburgh ... 73 
 
 Eastern Market 19, 55 
 
 Edwards (alias Brown) . 31 
 
 Edwards, Jas 103 
 
 Edwards, Sid .... 104, 108 
 
 Emmerson, Mr. J. D. . . 163 
 
 Ferguson, Lizzie 42 
 
 "Fighting Artilleryman" . 14 
 
 Fiji, The 151 
 
 Fitzroy Gardens .... 74 
 
 "Flash Jack" 164 
 
 Free, Mickey 13 
 
 235
 
 INDEX Continued. 
 
 Page 
 
 Galatea, H.M.S 73 
 
 "Ghost, The" 164 
 
 Gibson, Mr. Richd. ... 14 
 
 Gippsland Lakes .... 12 
 
 Haigh Bros 3S> 55 
 
 Halliburton 24 
 
 Harrington, Detective . . 30 
 
 Hartney, Detective ... 58 
 
 Hawthorn Bridge .... 138 
 
 Hicken, Abe 91, 99 
 
 Hopetoun, Earl of . . 84, 129 
 
 Hudson, Detective ... 42 
 
 Hughes, Hon. W. M. . . 234 
 
 Humlr-g Reach 105 
 
 Hunt, Mr. Atlee .... 232 
 
 "Jack the Lagger" ... 31 
 
 "Jack Sheppard" .... 164 
 
 Jones, Constable 131 
 
 Jones, Dick 55 
 
 Jones, William 37 
 
 Kato, Mr 50 
 
 Keera, S.S " 
 
 Kidney, Driver-Detective . 45 
 
 Kilmany Park II 
 
 "Lai Quan" Opium ... 175 
 
 Langham, Nat ..... 10 
 
 Lanyon and Bryant .... 117 
 
 "Larrikin" 23 
 
 Learmonth 5 1 
 
 Lennon, Mr. Hugh ... 15 
 
 Le Sceuf, Mr 229 
 
 Lindley, George 47 
 
 Loch Ard, The 115 
 
 Loch, Low 218 
 
 Long, Ben 27 
 
 Love, Jim 132 
 
 Lyee-Moon, S.S 109 
 
 Lyons, Mr 158 
 
 Lyster, Win. Saurin ... 54 
 
 Mace, Jem .... 22, 97, 109 
 
 Mainwaring, Detective . . 65 
 
 Manix, John 47 
 
 Manners, Sutton, Sir Hy. . 76 
 
 Maoris 78 
 
 Mary Jane, The .... 163 
 
 McEwan 32 
 
 Page 
 
 Melbourne Club 74 
 
 Melbourne Regatta . . . 108 
 
 Melville, Miss Emilie . . 104 
 
 Messenger, Charles . . 103, 109 
 
 Messenger, Jas. Arthur . . 103 
 
 "Mickey Free" 13 
 
 "Moonlighters" 117 
 
 Moore, Robt 84 
 
 "Mother" Waddle .... 30 
 
 Mount Pleasant 12 
 
 Murchison 51 
 
 Murphy 125 
 
 National Bank 50 
 
 New Zealand 77 
 
 Nichol, Capt 160 
 
 Nicholls, Mr. Arthur . . 108 
 
 Nicolson, Supt C. H.. . . 14 
 
 O'Brien 63 
 
 O'Brien, Dennis . . . . 115, 119 
 
 O'Callaghan, Inspector . . 134 
 
 O'Grady, Michael .... 47 
 
 Ophir, H.M.S 231 
 
 Opium 171 
 
 Otira Gorge 81 
 
 Owen, Wm 36 
 
 Paddy's (Eastern) Market 
 
 19, 55 
 
 Patrick, Capt u 
 
 Patriotic Fund 232 
 
 Pearson, Mr. A. C. . . . n 
 Pearson, Mr. Wm. . . . n, 13 
 
 Pigs, Berkshire 213 
 
 "Plausible" n 
 
 Port Melbourne 168 
 
 "Port Wine Mary Anne" . 164 
 
 Princess Theatre 91 
 
 Quong Sing 175 
 
 Renown, The 165 
 
 Reoch, Mr. Hugh .... n 
 
 Rodgers 63 
 
 Rogers 63 
 
 Rose, Alex 50 
 
 Ryan, Col. Chas 233 
 
 Sayers, Tom 10 
 
 Secretan, Detective ... 57 
 
 Seymour 212 
 
 236
 
 INDEX Continued. 
 
 Page 
 
 "Shanghaing" 160 
 
 Shannon, Jimmy .... 167 
 
 Sharp, John 104 
 
 Smallpage, Mr. M. . . . 13 
 
 Smith, Major A. K. . . . 105 
 
 Smith, Robt 42 
 
 Snoivbird, The 63 
 
 Snowden, Constable ... 131 
 
 Spann 23 
 
 Speight, Mr. Richd. . . . 230 
 
 Standish, Capt 74 
 
 Stout, Wm 109 
 
 Stawell, Chief Justice . . 13 
 
 Strathfieldsaye 12 
 
 Strike, George 14 
 
 Stringer's Creek 12 
 
 Summerhayes, Sergeant . . 20 
 
 Swears Island 62 
 
 Sydney 63, 76, 212 
 
 Theatre Royal 36 
 
 Thomas 31 
 
 Thompson, Jack . . 91, 99, 101 
 
 Thompson, Joe 91 
 
 Page 
 
 Treasury Gardens .... 73 
 
 Tzar of Russia .... 74 
 
 Tsinan, S.S 178 
 
 Unemployed Fund . . . 232 
 
 Walhalla Long Tunnel . . n 
 
 "Wandering Willie" ... n 
 
 Warhawk, S.S 106 
 
 Wemyss, Commander R. C. 231 
 
 Wellington 78 
 
 Western District .... 115 
 
 "Whiskey" Creek .... 130 
 
 "White-headed Bob" ... 47 
 
 Williams, H. A 106 
 
 Williams, Detective ... 35 
 
 William, Surg.-Genl. . . . 233 
 
 Wilson 126 
 
 Wilson, Jack 42 
 
 Wilson, Senr., Jas 102 
 
 Wilson, John 97, 109 
 
 Wollaston, Dr. (Sir Harry) 
 
 136, 148, 160 
 
 York, Duke and Duchess of 
 
 84, 231 
 
 237
 
 The " Told-by-the-Pioneers " Series. 
 Vol. I. 
 
 Some Excerpts from 
 
 Many Favourable Press Reviews 
 
 of 
 
 Recollections of a 
 Victorian Police Officer 
 
 by 
 
 JOHN SADLEIR, 
 Ex-Inspecting-Superintendent of Police, Victoria. 
 
 320 pages, with over 50 Illustrations. Cloth, 5s. Postage 2d. 
 
 "Mr. John Sadleir's qualifications are undoubted. His book 
 therefore may be accepted as authentic history. In addition to 
 these qualifications, he writes in a direct, convincing style, with- 
 out straining after effect. The events with which he deals are 
 in themselves sufficiently sensational, and, to use a journalistic 
 expression, he ' lets the story tell itself.' He has written in 
 regard to many episodes what no other man could write, and, 
 in producing this book in the evening of life, he has made a 
 very valuable contribution to Victorian history. . . . Mr. 
 Sadleir's is a book one would like to linger over, so full isit 
 of pleasant minor stories that help to make character in our 
 history. There are romantic episodes relating to the early 
 history of country towns, and a great deal of out-of-the-way 
 information respecting administration and social life has been 
 happily rescued from obscurity. The book is copiously illus- 
 trated." The Argus. 
 
 238
 
 "As yet Australia has no epic. The material is ready to 
 hand only the writer is required. The annals of our pioneer 
 days are packed full of stirring incident and romance, and when 
 some genius of the future comes to weave his story around the 
 legendary figures of the past he will surely owe much to such a 
 pioneer as John Sadleir for the quiet, faithful history of what 
 he himself saw and heard during the early days of our colony. 
 Forty years of active service have given him a store of 
 recollections, the publication of which must be of inestimable 
 value to the history of our State. With police organisation, 
 and with criminal outbreaks Mr. Sadleir had, of course, closest 
 connection, but his reminiscences embrace men and matters in 
 every walk of life." The Age. 
 
 "Mr. Sadleir's reminiscences are not only vivid and excit- 
 ing, but present a frank and critical, yet palpably fair, account 
 of the police force which in Victoria's early days bore almost 
 that importance to her existence which a standing army bears 
 to that of older and stronger civilisations. . . . Besides its 
 more graphic passages, the book contains a good deal of valuable 
 criticism on the police organisation of Victoria, past and present, 
 and is written in a simple and manly style which should com- 
 mend it to every kind of reader." Melbourne Herald. 
 
 "A book that will, we doubt not, have a large and appreciative 
 circle of readers now, and will also in time to come take rank 
 among the original sources of early Victorian history. It is 
 written with a straightforward simplicity that carries conviction. 
 No one who reads it can fail to feel its sincerity. The story 
 he has to tell is full of stirring incidents and his narrative gains 
 rather than loses from his restraint of language. Without any 
 attempt at literary embellishment he succeeds in stamping upon 
 a reader's mind picture after picture of bygone scenes and 
 vivid impressions of the men among whom he lived and moved." 
 The Australasian. 
 
 "His was a life full of incident and adventure, a life, more- 
 over, w'hich witnessed tremendous changes in the development of 
 Victoria and brought him into contact with many notabilities now 
 dead and gone. Its story is told in Recollections of a Police 
 Officer, a fascinating book, which gives a graphic picture of the 
 works and days of a member of the force in those far-off times. 
 . . . These interesting pages are the record of a varied and 
 exciting career." Sydney Morning Herald. 
 
 "There is certainly not a single dull page in the book, and 
 many are exceedingly interesting as clear-cut, unexaggerated 
 descriptions of incidents such as the sticking-up of the Mclvor 
 gold escort by 'Captain' Melville and the hunting and capture 
 of the Kelly Gang. But Mr. Sadleir does not only recount 
 remembered incidents of crime ; he made the acquaintance and 
 
 239
 
 often won the friendship of public men prominent in law, politics 
 and other pursuits, and these he recalls for us in some graphic 
 pictures, always telling us of their good qualities, yet often not 
 sparing them a record of their defects. Indeed, a noteworthy 
 characteristic of this book is its straightforward, almost daring 
 candour .... It is likely that Mr. Sadleir's book will 
 create some stir in political and legal dovecotes. ... As a 
 record it is of great value and interest, while its descriptions 
 of early days are exceedingly graphic and entertaining. . . . 
 It contains about fifty portraits and other illustrations, which 
 greatly enhance the value of the book and add to its attractive- 
 ness." Table Talk. 
 
 "There are a number of highly interesting narratives that prove 
 better reading than many modern novels and stories, and as 
 readers may be acquainted with the places, if not the circum- 
 stances, there is added interest in their relation." Ballarat 
 Courier. 
 
 "The author exhibits an impartiality that makes the authenti- 
 city of his writing most acceptable, and should stamp the 'Recol- 
 lections' as worthy and reliable." Benalla Independent. 
 
 "A very interesting book. . . . Valuable as a record, and 
 it should be valuable also to those in the police service through 
 Australia, in that it indicates a good many things which should 
 be avoided. But it must not be 'thought that Mr. Sadleir 'does 
 a growl' all through. Rather it is otherwise. He hits out 
 very straight at times, but he also gives many illustrations of 
 devotion and splendid courage on the part of the police." 
 Brisbane Courier. 
 
 "This interesting volume is one of the ' Told-by-the-Pioneers ' 
 series, published by George Robertson and Co., and the excellent 
 get-up of the book, which is well illustrated, reflects great credit 
 on these enterprising publishers. . . . There is much in the 
 book relating to prominent men connected with the police or 
 the law courts, and it will be read with interest by those who 
 care for information about the early days of Victoria." Adelaide 
 Mail. 
 
 B. R. GOWAN & Co., Printers, 492 Collins St., Melbourne. 
 
 240
 
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