On the 29th
March, 1863 Thomas Langham and Thomas Charles Robson stole two horses (a
gelding and a mare), plus two saddles and two bridles from James Brown of
London Street, Dunedin. They rode these horses to the Dunstan and stayed with a
Mrs McGuire. They said that their horses had run away and left the saddles and
bridles with the McGuire’s. Robson later returned and picked up the more
expensive saddle and bridle, saying that Langham’s horse had been found. The
pair went to Moke Creek and sold the bridle and saddle and another (stolen?)
horse to Robson’s father. Mr Robson paid some money to Langham as his son owed
him money for a gold claim.
Thomas,
who gave the name of Frederick Smith, was arrested on a steamer bound for
Melbourne. He said he was returning home to his family.
The court
case, for horse stealing, took place on 10th June. Both ‘lads’
blamed the other and Langham’s lawyer said he could not be charged with horse
stealing as the horse sold did not belong to Brown. Only when they were charged
were the ages of the pair revealed, Robson was 16 and Langham 15. Along with
being given a sentence of one month’s hard labour they were to be privately
whipped. Robson was also sentenced to 5 months for several larcenies he had
committed.
One of the
concerns of judges sentencing young lads was that they would be corrupted while
in prison. Although it was almost impossible to achieve, the Gaoler endeavored
to keep the young men separated from the rest of the inmates.
Robson was
released in December 1863. On the 10th February 1864 the pair robbed
Julius Heyne, near Oamaru. They assaulted him and stole several items including
money and jewellery. They threatened him with pistols on the road, so the
charge was highway robbery. Both pled guilty. The Otago Police Gazette
called Julius a hawker and stated that he was leaving Schulter’s Accommodation
House (Pukeuri) and was going towards the Waikato River (this should read
Waitaki). Heyne had his hands tied with flax and one of his packs was tied to
his legs so he could not escape.
The Judge
spoke first to Robson saying he had been given a light sentence before due to
his youth, but he was ‘a very bad boy’. Before he was ‘silly’ in his actions,
but now he was ‘dangerous’. He could be transported [New Zealand was the last
country to send criminals to Tasmania] or sentenced to penal servitude for
life, but instead the judge passed a sentence of 6 years penal servitude.
Langham,
who now was said to be 17, was assumed to have been led astray by Robson. The
Judge thought him ‘a very guilty boy’ and ‘very foolish’. He was sentenced to 4
years penal servitude.
On the
24th August 1866 both ‘ruffians’ escaped. In the newspaper report detailing the
escape their criminal career was recounted and said both had been unwell.
Langham was said to be suffering from palpitations of the heart, so he was on
light duties. Robson, who had been working for a blacksmith until he stole his
watch, was being trained as a blacksmith and was working on Bell Hill as such.
He too has been declared unwell and had been working in the carpenter’s shop
within the prison and undertook small jobs there.
The
newspaper stressed that they had been kept apart from the old prisoners as much
as possible but that they associated with each other often. The report went on
the say that since work on Bell Hill commenced (and most of prisoners were out)
only one warden was on duty and he was stationed near the debtor’s wing. He was
unarmed as no criminals should have been about.
Robson had
been sent to the sergeant’s rooms to repair something, and Langham was also
there cleaning. Robson asked Warden Birt to inspect the work he had done on the
chimney and as he was looking, Robson hit him on the head with a heavy mallet. Robson
continued hitting Birt until he dropped. Robson stole the keys and Langham
found two pistols, fully loaded. Although they had the keys and could have
unlocked the front gate, they decided to scale the buildings, threatening
debtors and fellow prisoners alike. George Henry a West Indian, [sentenced to
two years for bestiality], who was acting as cook, tried to subdue Robson, but
he too was threatened. Some Debtors came out to see what the commotion was,
while others hid.
The pair
got to Cumberland Street and started running. The prisoners and wardens from
Bell Hill were recalled and the chase was on. The pair made it to the Town Belt
and managed to evade their hunters. Both Robson and Langham were wearing
clothes marked with the Broad Arrow (it was assumed they would rob some lonely
house to get new clothes). Langham was described as 5 foot 4 and stout, brown
hair grey eyes and spoke with a noticeable impediment.
The
following morning, they were spotted rowing a boat across the harbour and were
found in a brick works in Andersons Bay. A warden was wounded in the fiery
exchange and after a second volley Langham was found in a ditch dead – shot
through the neck. Justifiable homicide was the verdict of the inquest.
Thomas
Langham is buried in Southern Cemetery, and it was recorded he was a native of
Hobart and had been in New Zealand for four years.
Robson
received three years hard labour for shooting with intent. He became a
storekeeper. t appears that he may have become a storekeeper. Apart from a
charge of sly grogging in 1875, for which he received 2 months he did not
appear before the Court again.
Julius
Heyne
He was
born in Friedrichstadt Germany in 1835. When he was 18, he went to America. Four
years after he came to New Zealand. His 1911 obituary does not mention that he
was a hawker, but instead says he started a draper’s business on the West Coast.
Certainly, he was listed as being a storekeeper there in Hokitika in 1869. It
was said that he had customers throughout the goldfield there and in Otago. When
he retired, he moved to Amberley, North Canterbury. Electoral rolls list him as
a miner., although he also called himself a dealer. He was involved in several
groups in the area, including the Caledonian Society offering prizes for races,
including in 1882 an opera glass for a race for unmarried women over 16. He is
buried in Balcairn Cemetery. He was naturalised in 1881.
