[assault, civil – domestic violence]

Currie and wife v. Allen

Supreme Court of Van Diemen’s Land

Pedder C.J., 18 March 1842

Source: The Hobart Town Courier and Van Diemen’s Land Gazette, 25 March 1842[1]

            By this, an action for assault and battery, damages were sought to be recovered to the amount of £100.

            For the plaintiff, the Solicitor-General, with Mr. Rowlands; for the opposite party, Mr. Macdowell and Mr. Perry.

            The principal witness was a servant to the plaintiffs, who stated, that on the day in question (in November last) she saw the defendant coming from the bush, driving before him a number of goats; on reaching a certain spot near Mr. Currie’s premises, a goat belonging to the plaintiffs ran in amongst the others, and was instantly belaboured by Allen with a large horsewhip, and set on by two dogs which he had in his rear. Mrs. Currie ran to the gate and interceded on behalf of her quadruped, but was met by a threat, that if she did not hold her tongue she would receive the same treatment, besides sundry very “vulgar” epithets, of which the bare recollection seemed to shock the witness - an unsophisticated looking country girl - most amazingly. After he had driven the goats a distance of fifty or sixty yards from the farm, Mrs. C. again went up to Allen and repeated her request that he would let her goat go into the yard, but he, without further ado sized her by the hair, of which he extracted sundry locks, and struck her over the temple with his whip, and was in the act of repeating his summary argument, when by the intervention of her wrist, the blow was warded off, though her arm had, for several days after, shown a swelling as large as a walnut.

Several other witnesses having corroborated the preceding testimony, the jury awarded £15 damages.

Notes