The New Farm Murder. January 3, 1870.

A quiet, early morning row down the river by two men intending to go to New Farm and look for lost keys was shockingly interrupted by the sighting of a dead body on the riverbank. They notified the ferryman, who called in the Kangaroo Point police.

A young man was lying dead on the rocks on the muddy riverbank at low tide. He was naked, had been severely beaten about the head, and had a large stone and fire bar attached to his right thigh by a rope.

The body was taken to the morgue for examination. In a sign of the changing times, the Police engaged Mr. Marquis, a photographer, to take a photograph of the dead man’s face, which was largely unmarked. In the sub-tropical January heat, and in the era before refrigeration, the photograph would record the man’s features should it be necessary to bury him before he could be formally identified.

Image: The New Farm reach of the Brisbane River, SLQ.

Dr. Bell’s post-mortem revealed head injuries so horrific that it was at first assumed that more than one murderer had been at work on the man.

Before long, the news spread about town, and the body was identified. His name was Patrick Hartnett, 26, a carpenter who had been staying at the Brunswick Hotel. Hartnett had been in Gympie for some time and was reputed to have property in Gympie and Brisbane. He was said to be tight with a quid, and didn’t trust banks to hold his precious money, preferring to keep it about his person.

The Colonial Secretary advertised a reward of £300 for information that would lead to the conviction of the killer or killers.

Publicly, there had been apparently no progress in the case between January 3 and January 20 when William Prendergast and his wife Mary were charged with Hartnett’s murder. Due to the amount of gossip about town, only the police, reporters and the magistrates were allowed to be present in court. 

Dame Rumour was able to pry from the police the intelligence that Mr and Mrs Prendergast had fought bitterly about Mr Hartnett and his interest in Mrs P, and as a result Mrs Prendergast may have, to put it elegantly, dropped her hubby in it. It was all rumour, though. The hearings had been in private.

At Christmas Prendergast said, “I’ll knock his brains out if I catch him about the house;” his wife said, “If you are able,” and he replied, “You’ll see if I’m able or not.”

Depositions

“If a man killed a man through jealousy, of which he had no certain proof, but only suspicion, do you think he would be forgiven?”

William Prendergast to Robert Woodcraft, workmate, 4 January 1870.

“Do you know that this old fool is trying to persuade me that a murderer can be forgiven by going to the priest, confessing and repenting?”

Patrick Scanlan to Robert Woodcraft.

Then, two weeks after the arrests, William Prendergast confessed to the murder in a written statement. The charge against his wife was dropped, and the Courier, to its evident delight, was given permission to print extracts from the confession.

“In the name of God, Bill, if you have committed this murder, confess it, and die for it like a man.”

Patrick Scanlan to William Prendergast.

William Prendergast’s confession was rambling, and clearly made by a very troubled individual. He admitted crippling jealousy, having seen Hartnett near his home, and come to the worst conclusion. The murder was described in brutal detail, as was his deteriorating state of mind. Mrs Prendergast knew about the murder and theft from the morning of January 4 and had gone into town with some of Hartnett’s money, having quietly hidden the rest.

A Supreme Court trial followed swiftly, as did a guilty verdict. The sentence of death was pronounced and carried out on 28 March 1870, less than four months after the murder. Prendergast went to the scaffold penitent and “fearfully careworn and much emaciated.” His parting visit with his wife had been heart-rending. I should think so – she was lucky not to be convicted as an accessory after the fact.

The old Convict Barracks stood in for the Supreme Court at the time of the Prendergast trial. (State Archives.)

• The Brisbane Courier (Qld.: 1864 – 1933) Tuesday 4 Jan 1870, Page 3. 
• The Brisbane Courier (Qld.: 1864 – 1933) Thursday 20 Jan 1870, Page 2.
• The Brisbane Courier (Qld.: 1864 – 1933) Friday 4 Mar 1870, Page 2.
• The Brisbane Courier (Qld.: 1864 – 1933), Thursday 13 January 1870, page 1.
• Dalby Herald and Western Queensland Advertiser (Qld.: 1866 – 1879) Saturday 22 Jan 1870, Page 3.
• The Brisbane Courier (Qld.: 1864 – 1933) Tuesday 29 Mar 1870, Page 2.
• Brisbane Courier (Qld.: 1864 – 1933), Tuesday 15 February 1870, page 2.