Filler from yesterdays trip to New Norcia.
Apart from being the place where my Aunt & Uncle's farm was, years later we discovered that Mum's Great Grandfather James Samuel Taylor & family had also lived in the area for some time. James worked at the mill owned by the Clunes family & in 1878 was shot & killed by his son George. Today we tried to find the abandoned mill where he worked as it is believed James is buried somewhere nearby, we didn't find it but we did find this very interesting ruin. It is the Victoria Plains Agricultural Hall.
The local newspaper of the time reported the following description of what happened.
"Shocking Murder at the Victoria Plains"
On the evening of the 5th inst. The following particulars of a son shooting his father were reported to Constable Troy, the officer in charge of the Victoria Plains Police Station.
Five Persons- named Patrick Golding, James Dhu, William Jones, George Taylor and his son George were partaking of some rum they had procured from Perth. Subsequently an alteration took place between Taylor and his son who, inflamed with drink, it is supposed, became rather argumentative and then obstreperous. Upon his father, who was a servant of J & J Clune & Co; remonstrating with him as to his behavour, the young man seized hold of and leveled a loaded rifle at him, and firing, lodged the contents in his fathers breast, smashing the first rib and shattering the right lung, the charge ultimately lodging in the back bone and the muscles of the right shoulder. Death was almost instantaneous. The rifle was loaded with shot, but as the distance was so short the wound was as well defined as if made by a ball. An inquest was held upon the body by Mr. R Fairbain, acting coroner, and a verdict of willful murder against the lad recorded. The unhappy young man is now in the custody of the police awaiting his trial." Inquirer 11 Dec 1878.
