The Gold rush Crooks
By Alan Hassell using pen name Hastings Smith
? Published G&T April 1986
During the gold rush days, ships from many nations arrived in Hobson's Bay bring with them adventurer's and gold seekers from many places like England, America, China and many other countries.
Once ships were put at anchorage, the crewmembers were given shore leave and usually went to the waterfront pubs or the whorehouses where they would spend their money. Some crewmembers deserted ship and headed for the goldfields themselves in search of instant wealth and riches.
Desertion was at one stage so rife that legislation had to be introduced to stop individuals from getting Miner's Rights unless they had a reference from their last employer.
This did nothing to stop those determined enough to break the law. Although Melbourne had a police force it was under manned, crime and violence was commonplace.
Diggers who struck it rich on the goldfields were easy targets once they had a few drinks under their belts. If they were lucky enough to have escaped the bushrangers, they also had to outwit the rouges villains and con men, looking for an easy way of obtaining gold without going to the trouble and effort of digging for it themselves.
The Melbourne waterfront was full of dens of iniquity where crooks met and planned their evil deeds. One such location was the notorious "Ocean Child" situated in Williamstown, where it is claimed one of the biggest gold thefts was planned.
It was a well known fact that a great deal of gold was being loaded into the ships lying at anchorage, with only a skeleton crew left in charge to guard the valuable cargo, while the rest of the crew were ashore boozing and fornicating. Such a combination would make a tempting target for a determined gang of thieves.
Not only was it planned, but it was also carried out. It was a calm warm night in April of 1853 when a large gang stole two rowing boats from Williamstown beach.
Using rags to muffle the sound of the oars they rowed across Hobson's Bay towards the barque Nelson.
Upon reaching the Nelson, they silently boarded the vessel and overpowered five men including the mate who was sleeping below. No watch had been posted that night, as they were safe at anchor.
Having beaten the mate into submission, the gang used him to direct them to where the valuable cargo had been stored; it was simply a matter of transferring the raw gold
To the rowing boats which had been tied up alongside the Nelson.
Having securely bound and gagged the crewmembers, the thieves left as silently as they came and disappeared into one of the dark and noisy harbours of Port Phillip Bay.
By the time the mate freed himself and the crew and raised the alarm, all efforts by the water police to trace the thieves ended in failure. By daybreak it was realised that 8,000 ounces of gold worth ?25,000 had been taken from the Nelson. Rewards of ?250 was offered by the Victorian Government and also the shipping agents Jackson & Rod, for information leading to the arrest of the criminals.
Rumours spread around the bars of Melbourne and the goldfields naming the culprits and ringleaders. Within 15 days, 15, men, three of them from the "Ocean Child" had been arrested and were being questioned about the crime.
Eventually 3 men were convicted of conspiring to rob the Nelson. None of the gold was ever recovered; it is generally believed that it had been split up into shares between the gang members.
Some of it is believed to have been secreted onto the beaches and even in Williamstown graveyard. Ironically, a Melbourne storekeeper suspected of receiving some of the gold made a daring and successful escape from justice.
It is generally believed that the thieves had mistaken the Nelson for the Admiral, which was at anchorage nearby and carrying a gold shipment. As a result of this crime new laws were introduced for better security.
As a result all gold shipments were not allowed to be loaded until within a few hours of the ships departure time. Also the gold had to be locked up into one of Chubb's patented safes. As a further precaution the value and quantity of each shipment was not allowed to be published in the "Shipping Gazette", until departure.
Despite new regulation ships were prime targets for gold thieves, although the new regulations did reduce the rouges chances of success.
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