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Bendu case
Jay4283: Added categories
The '''Bendhu case''', also called the '''Bendhu Atrocity''', took place at Bendhu cattle station in the [[Pilbara]] district of [[History of Western Australia|Western Australia]] in [[1897]]. The station owner and his brother were prosecuted for flogging to death three Aboriginal workers who had fled the station.
=== The incident ===
In September 1897 six Aboriginal workers ran away from Bendhu station, apparently because sheep had run away and they were afraid of being punished.<ref name=":0">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref> Having walked for over 25 miles without water, they were recaptured by Ernest and Alexander Anderson, who proceeded to severely flog them.
One elderly man (Spider) and two women (Biddy and Polly) died later that day. Another man (Kandy) and two children (Louie, aged about twelve; and Minnie, aged about eight) were also flogged.<ref name=":0" />
A post-mortem examination concluded that Spider, Biddy and Polly had died of shock from injuries sustained from the flogging (which included broken bones), possibly exacerbated by dehydration and exhaustion.<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref>
=== Prosecution and aftermath ===
Ernest and Alexander Anderson were initially fined £2 and issued with a warning about their behaviour.<ref name=":1">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref> After public outrage, the police upgraded the charge against them to one of [[murder]]. Alexander Anderson died of typhoid fever in Fremantle Prison whilst awaiting trial.<ref name=":2">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref>
Ernest Anderson was tried for murder but found guilty on the lesser charge of [[manslaughter]]. The [[Alexander Onslow|Chief Justice]] was dismayed at the jury's verdict, and considered Anderson to be guilty of a "particularly hideous and atrocious murder".<ref name=":3">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref> He sentenced Anderson to life imprisonment (a uniquely severe sentence for a manslaughter case at this time).<ref name=":2" /> Anderson was thought to be the first white man to be convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of an Aboriginal person under Western Australia's legal system of self-government.<ref name=":1" /> Anderson was ultimately released from prison after serving only six years of his sentence.<ref name=":1" />
The case was reported widely in the Australian press (and in some British newspapers), many of which condemned the verdict of manslaughter as excessively lenient.<ref name=":3" /><ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref>
=== References ===
[[Category:History of Indigenous Australians]]
[[Category:1890s crimes in Australia]]
=== The incident ===
In September 1897 six Aboriginal workers ran away from Bendhu station, apparently because sheep had run away and they were afraid of being punished.<ref name=":0">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref> Having walked for over 25 miles without water, they were recaptured by Ernest and Alexander Anderson, who proceeded to severely flog them.
One elderly man (Spider) and two women (Biddy and Polly) died later that day. Another man (Kandy) and two children (Louie, aged about twelve; and Minnie, aged about eight) were also flogged.<ref name=":0" />
A post-mortem examination concluded that Spider, Biddy and Polly had died of shock from injuries sustained from the flogging (which included broken bones), possibly exacerbated by dehydration and exhaustion.<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref>
=== Prosecution and aftermath ===
Ernest and Alexander Anderson were initially fined £2 and issued with a warning about their behaviour.<ref name=":1">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref> After public outrage, the police upgraded the charge against them to one of [[murder]]. Alexander Anderson died of typhoid fever in Fremantle Prison whilst awaiting trial.<ref name=":2">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref>
Ernest Anderson was tried for murder but found guilty on the lesser charge of [[manslaughter]]. The [[Alexander Onslow|Chief Justice]] was dismayed at the jury's verdict, and considered Anderson to be guilty of a "particularly hideous and atrocious murder".<ref name=":3">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref> He sentenced Anderson to life imprisonment (a uniquely severe sentence for a manslaughter case at this time).<ref name=":2" /> Anderson was thought to be the first white man to be convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of an Aboriginal person under Western Australia's legal system of self-government.<ref name=":1" /> Anderson was ultimately released from prison after serving only six years of his sentence.<ref name=":1" />
The case was reported widely in the Australian press (and in some British newspapers), many of which condemned the verdict of manslaughter as excessively lenient.<ref name=":3" /><ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref>
=== References ===
[[Category:History of Indigenous Australians]]
[[Category:1890s crimes in Australia]]
August 12, 2019 at 07:20PM
