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[highway robbery] R. v. G. Bowerman R. v. S. Bowerman R. v. J. Bowerman R. v. Carter Court of Criminal Jurisdiction Wylde J.A., 26 November 1820 Source: Sydney Gazette, 2 December 1820[1] George Bowerman, Solomon Bowerman, James
Bowerman, and Martha Carter, were indicted
for robbing Mr George Bowman, and Miss Ann Bowman, his cousin, on
the King’s highway on the night of Friday the 15th of September,
near the 18 mile stone on the The trial commencing with the evidence of Mr George Bowman, he deposed, that conveying some goods to Richmond in his cart for the consumption of his farm, and preferring travelling by night, which is a common practice, he left Parramatta after sun-set; and the moon not shewing herself it became very dark: he could nevertheless perceive moving objects at a short distance. From the forest that skirted the road he saw a man come out, and then another. One stopped the horse, and the other with an uplifted bludgeon commanded him to stop with the most terrifying menaces. A third appeared and occupied the other side, while the man at the horse's head, with a long black barrelled gun, which, though too dark to distinguish features at five or 6 feet distance, impressed Mr Bowman with the idea of its having no ramrod, he kept constantly levelled, with as constant threats of shooting him, expressed with frightful imprecations. While ransacking the property, always aiming to keep Mr Bowman in a state of inconceivable trepidation, one of them said they had murdered a man that day already, and they did not wish to kill any more, while the man on the left side was engaged in plundering his cousin. These two men approaching so very near, their faces became perfectly distinguishable, and were as perfectly regarded by Mr and Miss Bowman, though repeatedly commanded not to look at them on pain of death. Mr Bowman used expressions of commiseration to calm their apprehensions: he assured them he considered them as unfortunate men, driven by necessity to that unhappy course of life: to which one replied, "We are unfortunate fellows, and I suppose that this will be our ruin." At this juncture a cart was heard coming up; and with all the haste they could make they made off with their booty, consisting of calico's, wearing apparel, sundry articles of family consumption, and two jars of spirits. Mr Bowman described George Bowerman
as the man upon the left hand; and the one upon the right, whom
he had most attentively regarded, he swore positively to have been
Solomon Bowerman, who did not appear at
all tenacious of his being looked at. The other cart was unable
to afford Mr Bowman any assistance. Information was without delay
forwarded to the chief constable of Mrs Anne Bowman deposed to all the previous account of the robbery, and also identified most of the property produced; and swore particularly to George Bowerman being the man who had seized her by the shoulder, and demanded whatever property he might have about her person. Mr Sherwin, chief constable of Parramatta, deposed, that in consequence of the information he had received, he took two constables with him, Murray and Dillon, to search for the delinquent; and recollecting the circumstance of hearing two voices among the North Rocks, bounding Parramatta, on the Saturday morning after the robbery upon the Friday night, the distance from the scene of the robbery three miles, he repaired thither, and sent one of his attendants into the house of George Bowerman, on Sunday morning the 15th of September, he being unknown. George was so much inebriated as to be wholly insensible: his wife was there, and articles of property visible, wholly unsuitable to so poor a habitation. A search immediately was made, and the greater part of the property found that was now produced and sworn to by Mr and Miss Bowman; and the gun found slung, loaded, and the ramrod upon a shelf. At the prison and James’s he found two of the pieces of muslin concealed among some dirty coarse bags. These the female prisoner at the bar claimed as her own, saying that she had purchased them during that life-time of her late husband, not being then aware that being matched with the pieces found at George’s; Solomon lived in the same house with James and being equally implicated, were directed to attend at an examination before the Bench of Magistrates next day. Murray and Dillon, constables, corroborated the foregoing testimony; both adding that they had found articles of Mr Bowman’s apparel concealed on James’s out-grounds, they cultivating small detached allotments of ground. The evidence for the prosecution terminating, the prisoners went upon their defence, which was chiefly confined to George Bowerman; who called witnesses in its support; but all was incongruity; the facts were incontrovertible. It was in evidence however that George Bowerman had sold small bits of tobacco, and that the female prisoner lived at James’s, at the George a feeble effort was made to the sustentation of an alibi. The defence concluding, His Honor, the Judge delivered his charge, which was plain, perspicuous,
emphatical, and convincing. All the prisoners
at the bar, His Honor commenced by observing, stood charged with
a capital offence; and the duty that devolved upon the Court was
of a truly serious nature, as was the charge against the prisoners.
One had attempted the proof of an alibi, in which too great caution
could not possibly be observed; it should be always such as to leave
no doubt behind: but here all was contradiction, and was only calculated
to affect the minds of a Court in a most extraordinary manner, as
the proof against all the prisoners had been very strong, and the
more especially against George Bowerman.
Both the prosecutors had sworn positively to his person. They had
had perfect opportunity of seeing his face, being close to them,
and they were from five to ten minutes looking at him. Again and
again they had declared him to be the person as soon as they had
seen him; and now, before the Court, they still persisted in their
declaration made under the awful solemnity of their oaths "that
is the man;" yet had there been nothing else to come in
support of this their positive declaration, but their own personal
observation made at such a time, and under such circumstances of
terror; notwithstanding that two persons had agreed in the identity
of the person, yet the judgement would have been extremely embarrassing
to the Court: but here the case was very different; for in support
of this identity of the person, the greater part of the property
of which the prosecutors had been robbed was found in possession.
The prisoners are of one family; they lived in close connexion with
each other; and they were three in number, the very number by whom
the crime had been effected. It was impossible
to say whether they had had any previous information of the prosecutors
going that night; they lived near Note [1] See also the report of R. v. Geary and others, 1821, particularly the comments of Geary on the day of his execution; and see Court of Criminal Jurisdiction, Informations, Depositions and Related Papers, 1816-1824, State Records N.S.W., SZ792, p. 121 (no. 5).
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