John Gavin (convict)
John Gavin (or John Gaven) (1829 – 6 April 1844) was the first European settler to be legally executed in Western Australia.[1] He was executed for murder at the age of fifteen.[2]
Life
Born in 1829, John Gavin[3] was convicted of an offence while still a juvenile, and was transported to Western Australia as a Parkhurst apprentice, arriving on board the Shepherd in October 1843.
On 3 April 1844, he was tried for the murder of his employer's son, 18-year-old George Pollard. He confessed[4] to killing the sleeping victim with an adze.[5] but he seemed unaware of a rational motive. Three days later he was publicly hanged outside the Round House in Fremantle. After a death mask had been taken and his brain studied for "scientific purposes" he was buried in the sand hills to the south without ceremony.[4]
References
- ^ "A Very Old Resident - The Late Mr George Pollard". The South-Western Advertiser and Murray Wellington Times. 1929-04-05. p. 8. Retrieved 2014-08-03.
- ^ "Fremantle Prison Timeline". Retrieved 2014-08-03.
- ^ "The Old Court House Law Museum". The Law Society of Western Australia. Retrieved 2014-08-03.
- ^ a b "Confession of the murder of George Pollard". The Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal. 1844-04-06. p. 3. Retrieved 2014-08-03.
- ^ "Quarter sessions". The Inquirer. 1844-04-10. p. 2. Retrieved 2014-08-03.
- 1829 births
- 1844 deaths
- Convicts transported to Western Australia
- Australian people executed by hanging
- People executed for murder
- History of Western Australia
- People executed by Western Australia
- Australian people convicted of murder
- Australian murderers of children
- People convicted of murder by Western Australia
- People executed by Australian Colonies by hanging