The Victorian Trooper - Dedicated Site Now Live.

Now that I've completed my series of articles tracing the life of my great great grandfather, Joseph Ladd Mayes, I'm pleased to announce that I've launched a dedicated website that contains all of the articles I've presented here in a revised and updated form (always trust an author to pepper the first iteration of anything with grammatical flubs!).

The site is located at The Victorian Trooper

This series is designed to be a living document - that is - a document that I will add to or subtract from as new information comes to hand. Already, in the week since the site went live, I've come across new information that I've been able to add to the site, which is really exciting. I've also been in contact with some great people who are closely associated with efforts to bring more stories about the Victorian Police Force and its officers during the 1850's - 1900's forward. So that's been exciting as well. 

For years, many descendants of good and honest police officers have been ignored and treated with antipathy by many who have perpetuated a myth that the Constabulary in Victoria, Australia was a corrupt and evil one, while bushrangers like Ned Kelly were elevated to something akin to Robin Hood status.

It is my hope that my great great grandfather's story and others like him will be given the chance to be reviewed in a new light - that there were many principled and dedicated policemen during that era whose primary motivation was to uphold the law and protect the community.

I hope you can visit this tribute to my great great grandfather and explore the turbulent historical events he was immersed in.

DFA.

The Victorian Trooper #10 - Legacy & Tapestry: John Adolph Mayes.

(From an original recollection by Allen Mayes - John's Grandson & JL Mayes' Great
Grandson).

Perhaps the most comprehensively documented of Joseph Ladd & Marian Mayes' children, their first, John Adolph was born in Ballarat on the 23rd January 1860, during the period that Joseph Ladd was stationed at Pitfield.

John Adolph was present with the family through the period in the early 1870's when Joseph Ladd was on secondment for the Victoria Police Force overseas, then later at Marysville.

Looking through some photocopies of hand written letters, we find the correspondence between John Adolph and his sister Rebecca. We also find a brief letter from his mother Marian, which is undated. The text of that letter reads as follows;

My Dear Son, 

I see in today's Age that (----) Middleton and C Ward Callan married.

I am glad that your confirmation class is to be open again. Everything is quiet here at present and I hope will continue to. 

Good bye, dear son. God bless and keep you. 

Your Mother. 

His most tangible presence is recorded in March 1878 when, as an 18 year, he was the recorded witness on the death certificate of his mother Marian at Broadmeadows. Sometime afterwards, John Adolph's adventurous spirit saw him leave Victoria for Wilcannia in the south west of N.S.W.

In 1835, explorer Major Thomas Mitchell was the first European to visit the region, in which he traced the Darling River to what is now Menindee. In June 1866, the township of Wilcannia was proclaimed. In 1871, the population was 264, and grew to 1,424 by 1881. During the 1880s, Wilcannia reached its peak, and had a population of 3000 and 13 hotels and its own newspaper, the Western Grazier. It was, with Wentworth, Echuca, Mannum and Goolwa, one of the major Murray-Darling river ports which played a vital part in the transport of goods, notably wool and wheat, in the days of the paddle-steamers.

It is not immediately clear what occupation John Adolph initially pursued in Wilcannia District. In 1888, aged 28, he was awarded a gold medal by the Wilcannia Rowing Club as crew member for winning the “rowing scratch fours” race.

Wilcannia Rowing Club.

He married Julia O’Grady at Wilcannia on 23 June 1895. She was aged 31 and he was 35. A son, John Joseph was born in Wilcannia on 9 September 1896.

(Julia O'Grady (Mayes), date unknown).

(John Adolph Mayes c. 1890's) 

Apart from the medal, his marriage and the birth of his son, no other information is on hand to tell us what sort of life style John Adolph and his family had in Wilcannia.

Between 1896 and 1898 John Adolph moved his family to White Cliffs where he worked an opal mine on Turley’s Hill in partnership with D. Cowan. The pair was said to have barely scratched a living from the mine. In 1898 he purchased two blocks of land at White Cliffs, though no houses were ever built on the land.

A second son Leslie was born at White Cliffs on 6 March 1899. John Adolph was 39.

Julia died at White Cliffs from Brights ( kidney) disease on 14 December 1901. She was aged 36, John Adolph was 41, John Joseph was 5 and Leslie 2.

We can only image the difficult task for John Adolph in raising his two boys. They were cared for during the day by nuns at the Catholic Nunnery. John Adolph never remarried.

A short time after Julia’s death, John Adolph had an accident chopping wood. A chip flew up into his eye causing severe damage. He was taken to a Sydney hospital for a major operation but unfortunately he lost the sight in that eye.

During his mining venture, an alarming incident was recorded when the opal mine John Adolph was working caved in and he was buried alive. The townspeople and miners, with shovels and bare hands worked desperately to dig him out, not sure if he would have survived. Miraculously, he was still alive. His hat had slipped over his face, creating a pocket of air that saved his life.

We do not know if John Adolph or either of his boys journeyed to Melbourne, for the burial of Joseph Ladd in 1902. It is not clear what the relationship with the extended family was at that time.

John Adolph loved his sport and in 1915 aged 55, as a member of the White Cliffs Rifle Club won a gold medal for the 300, 500 and 900 yards shoot.

His two sons eventually left White Cliffs, worked in New South Wales for a time then moved to South Australia where they spent the rest of their lives.

Between 1915 and 1926 John Adolph returned to Wilcannia and started a saddlery business in the main street. The business became a resounding success and, it seems, John Adolph became a prominent member of the Wilcannia community. He was elected the honorary secretary of the Wilcannia Hospital Board. During this period he discovered fraudulent activities by two board members and reported this to the Administration. Unfortunately the word of the members protesting their innocence was such that John Adolph was branded a liar.

John Adolph Mayes' saddlery business, Wilcannia.

This did not deter him from gathering indisputable evidence of their guilt and within a year the two members were charged and found guilty.  

In 1929, aged 69, he  wrote a “History of White Cliffs”. The document is held by the White Cliffs Historical Society.

Bowls at Quorn, South Australia, 1935.

In 1935 he traveled to see his eldest son John Joseph, who was married with a family and living in Quorn South Australia. Two years later he died in Wilcannia on 30 May 1937, aged 77.

Next: Legacy & Tapestry: Joseph Ladd Mayes Jnr...

DFA.

The Victorian Trooper #9 - Twilight By The Sea.

After 35 years of service in the Victoria Police, Sergeant 1st Class, Joseph Ladd Mayes retired in December of 1895. His service record shows he was discharged on a full pension and superannuation payments allowing him to live a comfortable life in retirement. His pension alone was calculated at 138 pounds, nineteen shillings and sixpence annually.

Joseph Ladd, Eugenie and their younger children Joseph Ladd Jr, Edward, Mary and Norman moved to the leafy seaside suburb of Brighton in Victoria.

They lived at a house in Union Street, curiously named - "Toronto". Union Street is a particularly lovely street off the Nepean Highway, South East of Melbourne. At that time, most of the houses there faced onto a parkland and small creek - the evidence of which, still exists, providing a quiet sanctuary for the residents. I've had this vision of Joseph Ladd Mayes taking an early morning walk along that creek, perhaps with a Cocker Spaniel in tow for company, to a local corner shop or newsagent to fetch the newspaper the way my grandfather George used to do when he was still alive.

How did Joseph and Eugenie spend their days? Quiet walks along the beach? Joseph sitting on the porch of the house with a pipe and that newspaper while Eugenie knitted or crocheted? What were the lives of Edward, Mary and Norman like at Union Street? Were the elder Mayes children a fixture in their lives? All grown up with families of their own and living their own lives in various parts of Victoria, South Australia and NSW?

It is known that Joseph Ladd was involved in raising funds for his countrymen back in Ireland who were still struggling with the remnants of the Potato Famine. Now retired one wonders whether he involved himself more in the fund raising side of this charity.

The Mayes family saw in a new century, saw the federation of their country and perhaps celebrated the birth of the nation.

Joseph Ladd Mayes died on the 11th July 1902 at their Union Street home after a stroked. He is reported to have lingered for two days. I certainly hope that he did not suffer.

Meticulous to the end, Joseph Ladd Mayes ensured his affairs were in order before he died. Among the family collection, is his last Will & Testament, dated July 4th 1898. It is a fascinating, if simple document, written by Joseph Ladd himself in which he sets out clearly, what his wishes are. He request that the sum of 25 pounds be set aside for his daughter Rebecca Mayes "of Brighton, aforesaid Spinster". Joseph Ladd also made a request that the sum of 20 pounds - but not more than 25 pounds - be set aside for a headstone to be erected for his first wife, Mariann at Bulla just north east of Melbourne. His signature, effected with a frail hand at the end of the document, is a poignant reminder of the man.

Together 'til the end, it would remiss of me not to include Eugenie's signature - written a few days after his death - beside her late husband. 

Eugenie dutifully carried out his last request traveling to the town of Bulla herself to see that Mariann was given a fitting memoriam - one that exists to this day.

Joseph Ladd Mayes' body was ferried from the Union Street house on Saturday, July 12th, 1902 at 3.30PM and was interred, after a small service, at the South Brighton cemetery. His death was recorded in an obituary that appeared in the Brighton Southern Cross newspaper on the 19th July 1902.

Joseph Ladd Mayes, decorated Constable, Senior Constable then, Sergeant 2nd & 1st Class. A loving husband to Mariann Henrietta Piquet, then Eugenie Rebecca Burke. Father of 12 children.

Eugenie lived on for another 37 years - a loving mother and grandmother to a growing family which no doubt enriched her life. I get the sense of a proud and loving woman in the New Years Day 1918 photographs that came into our possession in the early 2000's. No doubt, her family sustained her and, at least partially, filled the void her husband had left.

Eugenie moved from the Union Street residence to New Street, Brighton.  Eugenie Rebecca "Jane" Mayes died after a short illness in 1939 at the Oakwood Avenue home of her son Norman Hector. A love story, spanning twenty years of life while they were alive, continues on into forever. Eugenie Rebecca was buried with her husband.

Joseph Ladd Mayes 1833-1902.

For all intents and purposes, their family might have assumed the memory of their parents might well fade into distant memory. They might further have wondered what the future for the Mayes family would hold. Time tends to weaken the bonds of memory. But, chance discoveries decades later often bring these stories back from the distance and allow them to live and breathe once more.

Next: Legacy & Tapestry: John Adolph Mayes... 

DFA.

The Victorian Trooper #8 - Family Ties.

Joseph Ladd Mayes' career trajectory was already on the rise, even as the events of the Kelly Affair were still playing out. He received his first promotion just prior to the capture of the Kelly Gang in April 1880. At the recommendation of Superintendent Francis Hare, Joseph Ladd was promoted to the rank of Senior Constable in mid 1879 - not long after his secondment to the Police parties and just after his posting to Lancefield north west of Melbourne.

Despite the protestations of Constable Alexander Fitzpatrick and the two reported petitions from the townsfolk of Lancefield urging his reinstatement, his dismissal by Joseph Ladd Mayes seems not to have affected Joseph Ladd's position at Lancefield. He remained the Senior Constable in charge from 1879 to 1885.

In May 1885 Joseph Ladd received a second promotion - that of Sergeant 2nd Class. On this occasion the recommendation for his promotion came from the Bench of Magistrates in Lilydale, Victoria and they forwarded their testimonial to the Chief Commissioner in Melbourne. Joseph Ladd's police record shows the Magistrates expressed;

"their high appreciation of the zeal, skill and activity displayed by Senior Constable Mayes".

Service Record of JL Mayes 1885.

In September that same year Joseph Ladd transferred to Kyneton to take take charge of the station there. The posting was a brief one, however, for it was not too long before he was drawn back to Lancefield and he saw out the remainder of his career there.

In their private life Joseph Ladd, his wife Eugenie and Joseph's three children from his first marriage John Adolph, Rebecca and Sara seem to have prospered.

Though Joseph and Jane were approaching middle age, they enjoyed a rather prolific second round of parenthood, welcoming their first child Florence Marion in 1881. Florence was followed by Dorothy Susan (1882), Eugenie Douglas (1884), Joseph Ladd Jr (1885), Edward Burke (1888), Mary Madge (1890) and Norman Hector (1893).

While we assume the family experienced their most happy period - and we have no evidence to suggest it otherwise - we have a fragmentary picture of what their life was like.

The eldest child of Joseph Ladd and Mariann Mayes, John Adolph, appears to have had a thirst for adventure, such that by 1888, he had been living far from his birth place in the town of Wilcannia in NSW. John Adolph is the subject of an article of his own, penned by his descendant Allen Mayes.

Rebecca Mayes - the second child of Joseph & Mariann provides us with the most tangible piece of their life in the 1870's. A letter, written by Rebecca to her brother John Adolph, dated 1877 gives us an insight into the life of the Mayes family. It also shows a glimpse of the man Joseph Ladd was - meticulous (pointing out errors in Johnny's grammar), and his dedication to service. 

(Letter from Rebecca Mayes to her brother John Adolph Mayes, written from Broadmeadows, dated 1877. 

Click on each to open a larger version in a new window.)

The following is the text of the letter, as best as we have been able to translate;

Dear Johnny

We received your letter in time; Papa said it was a capital one; you made two slight mistakes; you put two ls~ in holidays and only one h’ in whether. Papa showed your drawing to Mrs. Rodda, she said it was very good. Mr. Rodda gave it out in church on Sunday evening, that he was going to commence a Confirmation class on Sunday the 12th inst. Harriet Dutton, Sarah and I had our names put down. I do not know if there will be any more from here. Papa was at the Williamstown races on Saturday, he was not home till after nine o’clock, he was at the Flemington races today and he will have to attend there on Thursday and Saturday.

Papa left Rhoan in the Depot today as he is quite lame, the horse Papa has now is smaller than Rhoan and is a pretty grey.

We had Mrs. Shannon washing here today, and I had to shut Rhoan in the stable nearly all day because he kept pushing her and flying at her. Momma says that when you buy a hat, get one that will not lose it’s shape the first wetting it gets.

I am getting on very well with my music now, I got a lesson today. Sarah is a good player now, Miss Eliza says she can play the "Reaper’s Polka" and the "Cornflower Valse” very well.

We have given away four of xxnxxx ‘s kittens, there is only one left now, I had to bring it down from the loft, it was meowing so often, its little brother, xxxx won’t make friends with it at all, he spits at it and slaps him in the face. I have no more to say at present so I send our best love to you from,

Your Affectionate sister

R J Mayes.

  (A guess has been made of the name of Joseph Ladd's horse - Rhoan. The name of Rebecca's cat is much harder to decipher therefore x's have been left in it's place).

No photos currently exist of Rebecca. So far as we know she did not marry. It is apparent that Rebecca worked as a post mistress at Pakenham in Victoria but for how long is unclear. In Joseph Ladd Mayes' will he specifically set aside 25 pounds for Rebecca Mayes who was, at the time of his death, living at Brighton, probably at the Union Street residence of her parents. Rebecca died in 1929 at Pakenham.

Sara Mayes, Joseph & Mariann's third child Sara was barely 16 years old when her mother died in 1878. Some time around 1885 Sara began a courtship with a young mounted Constable named Peter O'Shannassy who - it is believed - was stationed at Kyneton, Victoria and may have even been under Joseph Ladd's command when he was stationed there. Sara and Peter O'Shannassy were married at Boondara in Victoria on 11th November 1885 and eventually moved to the Tarwin Lower District of South Gippsland, Victoria. Peter and Sara had three children, Marian Cicely born in 1886 at Lancefield, Victoria, Barbara born 1889 at Tarwin Lower, Victoria and Allen Neil born 1895.

(Sara Augusta Mayes & Husband Peter O'Shannassy - dates unknown.)

(Sara & Peter O'Shannassy - date unknown.)

Sara O'Shannassy (Mayes) with grandson Harold Mountain, c.1930's.

Peter O'Shannassy died in 1919 and was buried at the Tyabb cemetery near Hastings in Victoria. Sara O'Shannassy (Mayes) died on August 8th 1940 and was buried with her husband at Tyabb. Apparently no headstone was erected.

Florence Marion Mayes - the first child of Joseph Ladd & Eugenie Mayes was born at Broadmeadows in 1881 though the exact date is unknown. Florence Marion spent much of her early life at Lancefield.

(Florence Marion Mayes - date unknown).

She married a divorcee Augusta Sandford in January of 1909. Sandford was a Lieutenant Colonel in the British military who signed up at the outbreak of WW1 and seems to have gained some notoriety. At the very beginning of the 1914 - 1918 conflict Sandford was commander of a fort at Queenscliff on the western tip of Port Phillip Bay in Victoria. A German steamer called the "Pfalz" which was docked in Melbourne attempted to leave upon hearing of the outbreak of war. Sandford urgently requested an order to fire on the "Pfalz" to stop it from escaping through Port Phillip heads and was given it. Thus Augusta Sandford was regarded as having fired the first Australian shot of the war.

(The German steamer Pfalz - rebadged as an Australian ship after it was captured at the outbreak of WW1).

Augusta and Florence had no children of their own. Two son's from Sandford's previous marriage, Horace & Arthur probably gave Florence a mothering role.

Florence Marion was recorded as 21 when her father died in 1902 and she was 58 when her mother died in 1939. At this stage it is unknown when Florence Marion died.

Dorothy Susan was born in 1882 around the time when Joseph Ladd was participating in the Police Royal Commission. Very little is known of Dorothy other than she was 20 when her father died in 1902 and was 57 when her mother died in 1939. Dorothy married a Lewis Coates. We don't know if they had children, nor do we know when Dorothy died.

Dorothy Mayes - date unknown.

Dorothy Mayes on ladder with Mary holding their mother Eugenie. These photos were taken on New Year's Day 1918 at Brighton, Victoria by Cicily O'Shannassy.

Eugenie Mayes was born in 1884 probably at Lancefield. Eugenie married one G. McLeod but we don't know when that occurred. She was 18 years old when her father died in 1902 and she was deceased by the time her mother died in 1939.

(Eugenie Mayes - date unknown).

Joseph Ladd Mayes Jr. was born in 1885 at Kyneton in Victoria. Joseph Mayes is the subject of his own article, which can be found here.

Joseph Ladd Mayes, taken New Year's Day, 1918 at Brighton, Victoria.

Joseph Ladd & Eugenie's 5th child Edward Burke Mayes was born sometime in 1888, however the exact date is unknown. As with others in his family Edward's life is mostly a mystery. He was 14 years old when his father died in 1902 and 51 when his mother died in 1939.

Mary Madge Mayes was born in 1890, probably at Brighton in Victoria. She was 12 years old when her father died in 1902. Mary was known affectionately as Mollie. She is known to have married a Harry Coles but no other information exists. She was listed as 48 years old on her mother's death certificate however this should read 49.

Mary Mayes posing with her husband Harry Coles on New Years Day, 1918 at Brighton, Victoria.

The last of Joseph Ladd's children, Norman Hector was born in 1893 making him only nine years old when his father passed away in July, 1902. Norman Hector was known the Mayes family currently residing in Gippsland, Victoria. Dorothy Mayes, wife of Joseph Ladd Jr's son George, recalls Norman Hector being a kindly bachelor who almost always wore a suit, was very well spoken and who looked after his mother in her later years. Norman Hector lived nearly all of his life in Brighton, Victoria. He died in 1955.

(Norman Hector Mayes - date unknown.)

The Mayes family certainly grew exponentially, even as Joseph Ladd was approaching his 60th year of life. Their presence in the Lancefield district was a constant - aside from the brief posting to Kyneton, east of Lancefield - from the period of 1879 until Joseph Ladd retired from the Police Force in 1895. 

Next: Twilight by the Sea...

DFA.

The Victorian Trooper #7 - The Police Royal Commission.

In the aftermath of the siege of Glenrowan, the Victorian Police found themselves in the sights of an angry public - egged on by a vociferous media. There was a significant outcry from Victoria's media for a far reaching inquiry into the Victorian Police Force; the actions of it's officers and it's hierarchy.

The Force hadn't anticipated the groundswell of sympathy for the Kelly gang by the wider public - particularly in the North East nexus of what became known as Kelly country. Stories of police brutality abounded, the incompetence of senior officers was a great cause for concern and the practices of the Force were called into question.

In most of the articles I have presented thus far in this series, I have referred to the testimony given by my great great grandfather in these hearings.

(Engraving of the Royal Commission c.1881. State Library of Victoria).

Royal Commissions were nothing new. In fact the first inquiries into the Police Forces date back to 1855 - a mere three years after the inception of the force in Victoria. The commission dealing directly with the Kelly gang began taking evidence in March 1881 & continued through until October 1881.

It isn't clear how prominent a role Joseph Ladd had in the 1881 examination of the events of the Kelly Affair. However his former subordinate Constable Alexander Fitzpatrick was there. On July 6th 1881 the commission questioned Fitzpatrick at length about his involvement with the Kelly family (he was considered to be a suitor for the affections of Ned Kelly's sister Kate), the events surrounding his being shot during an attempt to arrest Dan Kelly for horse stealing - an attempt which failed. He was also questioned about the 9 month period he served at Lancefield under Senior Constable Mayes before he was eventually sacked from the police force. 

Joseph Ladd was called upon during in May, 1882 under the auspices of the "Present State and Organization of the Police Force" commission hearings

On the 31st of that month Joseph Ladd was sworn in and examined by the commission. He was questioned at length on what he thought about the current state of police recruitment and training, uniforms, rates of pay and promotion.

(Testimony of Joseph Ladd Mayes - click to download a pdf copy).

He was damning of the culture of fear that existed in the force, highlighting his Ballarat experience when he was persecuted relentlessly in the aftermath of the Burke murder at Pigoreet near Pitfield. until he as forced to leave the district. He drew the commission's attention what he perceived as a bitter rivalry between the detective branch and the mounted police - a rivalry that had become toxic and dangerous.

Joseph Ladd gave accounts of his involvement in the hunt for bushranger Harry Power during the period his was stationed at Marysville. These were given in the context of what he thought was poor prospects for promotion in the force as it stood presently. Joseph Ladd had been in the Police Force some 24 years by the time of the Commission and he had not progressed any further than a Senior Constable.

Joseph Ladd was critical of the application and training process saying that he did not think candidates were vetted thoroughly enough before being admitted to the force. Of police training he was particularly damning;

'I have known instances of recruits, young mounted men, going into that depot, being kept there for a couple of weeks, until such time as they get their uniform, and never hardly had a revolver or gun in their hands and perhaps be in the riding school not more than half a dozen times ... they are sent out raw, red handed and knowing no more about the police duty than a man from North Africa'

JL Mayes, 1882.

The case of Constable Alexander Fitzpatrick was highlighted during his appearance.

"I found him such a worthless character that the men who recommended him and gave him a character to join the police force I consider committed a grave offence against the public".

JL Mayes, 1882.

Joseph Ladd Mayes possibly around the time of the Royal Commission in 1882. 

(Mayes Collection).

He went onto provide his recommendations on what he thought should be the appropriate training for a recruit;

"...they should be properly drilled before they are allowed out of the yard ... they should be experienced in the use of the revolver, also in the use of a rifle ... they should also be taught to ride and fire on horseback. He ought not to be sent until he is thoroughly disciplined and understands something of police duty ... I consider no mounted man should be allowed to leave that depot in less than six months, and that he should get instruction during that time".

JL Mayes, 1882.

Joseph Ladd also gave some insight into what he thought should be the rank structure in the force.

"Now as regards to rank. I consider that the position of senior constable should be done away with, and that there should be three grades of sergeants. The should be third-class sergeants, with two stripes, second-class sergeants, with three stripes; and first-class sergeants with three stripes and a crown; and that they should receive remuneration accordingly."

JL Mayes, 1882.

The evidence Joseph Ladd Mayes gave during his testimony, along with the recommendations of many others who gave evidence had a far reaching effect on the Victorian Police Force. Throughout the pages of an 1883 General Report that was handed to the Victorian Parliament, application and training processes were strengthened, remuneration and rank advancement was reexamined and restructured, recommendations and changes were implemented to harmonize relations across departments and large areas of Police operations were extensively overhauled. 

Joseph Ladd is mentioned prominently in an 1883 Special Report that was handed to both houses of Parliament. His evidence on the 1867 Thomas Burke murder investigation and the difficulties he encountered with the detective branch at Ballarat were singled out. The Special Report recommended a root and branch review of Detective operations throughout Victoria.

(Reports like these were handed to the Victorian Parliament in 1883 for consideration.)

The 1881 - 1883 Royal Commission into the operations of the Victorian Police Force was bruising affair. Senior Police and Administrators were removed from their positions - among them three of Joseph Ladd Mayes' most ardent supporters - Captain Frederick Standish, Superintendent Charles Nicholson and Superintendent Frances Hare. The Force itself underwent a seismic shift and the landscape for law enforcement in the colony of Victoria transformed. The effects of this have been long lasting - they are still being felt today. 

For Joseph Ladd Mayes, the Royal Commission was the concluding chapter on a turbulent decade that had seen him travel around the world, spend long periods away from his ailing wife and three children during the height of the Kelly Affair and experience the intense scrutiny of a legal apparatus of a Commission of Inquiry. 

Career wise, Joseph Ladd's appearance at the Commission had a positive effect. His reputation was enhanced and his career trajectory saw a noticeable upswing in the years following 1883. 

Personally, Joseph Ladd would experience some of the happiest years of his life in the aftermath. And it is to here that I shall turn next.

Next: Family Ties...

DFA.

The Victorian Trooper #6 - Ned Kelly & The Cave Parties.

In the history of Victoria's criminal past, one figure stands out above all others - Edward "Ned" Kelly. The bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and police murderer is revered and reviled in equal measure and it is clear that he holds an enduring fascination in the cultural lexicon.

(Edward "Ned" Kelly - Australia's most notorious outlaw.)

As a school kid, it was hard to figure out whether Ned Kelly was a folk hero or a murderous criminal - the narratives seemed to come to us in a way that made him seem like some sort of Robin Hood. There always seemed to be a sort of aura surrounding him. With time and a more nuanced reading of the history, only then can one arrive a clearer view of who he was.

In the early 2000's, when my father Stephen made the first significant discoveries about Joseph Ladd Mayes, we had no idea just how pivotal a role he had in the Kelly affair. As Dad delved deeper, we were somewhat shocked at just how central Joseph Ladd Mayes came to be in the pursuit.

In the aftermath of the murders of 3 police troopers at Stringybark Creek in October, 1878 by Ned Kelly, his brother Dan and Joe Byrne, the colony of Victoria had been shocked into agonized attention. It seemed that the Kelly Gang had declared war on what they saw as a corrupt constabulary and initiated an increasingly brazen crime spree across Victoria's North East. In December of 1878, the gang conducted an audacious bank hold up in the Victorian town of Euroa and it became clear that the Police Force had to channel all their resources to hunt down the gang and put an end to their 'reign of terror'.

The Stringybark Creek Police Party. Clockwise from top left: Constable Lonigan, Sergeant Kennedy, Constable McIntyre and Constable Scanlon.

Backed by new legislation known as the Outlawry Act, in January 1879 the Victoria Police under the command of Captain Frederick Standish, Superintendent Francis Hare, and Officer Sadlier began a coordinated operation, arresting all known Kelly friends and purported sympathizers, a total of 23 people and held them without charge in Beechworth Gaol.

In February, 1879 the Kelly Gang had crossed the border into New South Wales where they raided the town of Jerilderie. The incident prompted the NSW Government to offer a reward of 4000 pounds for their capture - dead or alive - which, when matched with Victoria's own 4000 pound reward, became the largest ever reward to date in Australia.

In the aftermath of the Jerilderie raid, the Kelly Gang went into hiding, sparking off a man hunt of epic proportions. During the early months of 1879, Francis Hare came into contact with Aaron Sherritt - a lifelong friend of Kelly Gang member Joe Byrne. Whilst Sherritt was a peripheral associate of the Gang, he was encouraged - financially - to act as a police informant and report to Hare, all the goings on at the property of Joe Byrne's mother. Thinking that the Kelly Gang would emerge at some point, Hare concocted a secret operation that would see him assemble some of his most trusted officers into what became known as the Cave Parties.

Now a senior constable, Joseph Ladd Mayes answered the call from Superintendent Hare, who had come to greatly admire Mayes as one of the most capable officers and bush men he had ever known, and traveled from Broadmeadows on horseback to Benalla, where Hare and Standish were assembling the police parties.

(Troopers in pursuit of the Kelly Gang - artists Alfred May and Alfred Martin Ebsworth).

(Police Party photographed at Benalla, Victoria June 20 1879. Joseph Ladd Mayes is standing 4th from left and Frances Hare is standing on his right in the center of the picture. The members in order L to R are O'Loughlin, Kirkham, Mills, Mayes, Sup. Hare, Canny, Faulkiner, Lawless; kneeling are Barry and tracker Moses.)

From Benalla, the parties traveled into the Woolshed Valley near Beechworth. Having secured an agreement from Aaron Sherritt, Hare and Standish were able to establish a rudimentary base of operations at Sherritt's property. The plan was to strike out from Sherritt's at night and ensconce themselves in a series of caves that overlooked the neighboring Byrne farm - owned by Joe Byrne's mother. The hope was that the Kelly Gang would appear from the wilderness and they could be arrested.

Francis Hare put Joseph Ladd Mayes in charge of one group of officers, while the Superintendent lead the other group. As March became April, then May and then June, these Cave Parties conducted the mother of all stakeouts, rotating through day and night, surveilling the Byrne property while the other party rested at the Sherritt home. Aaron Sherritt was said to be feeding them intelligence, suggesting the Kelly Gang would indeed emerge from the wilderness. This kept Hare motivated throughout the long months the Cave Parties operated in the area.    It is not clear whether Joseph Ladd maintained a consistent presence in the Woolshed Valley during the period from February to June or whether he was rotated back to Broadmeadows to enjoy a period of respite with his family.

In the 2003 edition of "The Fatal Friendship", author Ian Jones recalled the reminisces of Francis Hare, who described the operation of the Cave Parties during early 1879;

"Hare decided that he and six men would camp in the clearing, while four men, under Senior Constable Mayes, occupied the upper cave." 

"Hare and his men waited, listening to the night sounds of the Valley, humbled by the great pergola of the Milky Way arched from range to range, momentarily chilled by the shriek of a plover, tension easing to boredom as the hours passed. Then, at 12 or 1 o'clock, Aaron (Sherritt) came ambling up the slope to settle on the ground by Hare and wait another four or five hours for the first lightening of the sky behind the blackness of the peak."

"The Fatal Friendship: Ned Kelly, Aaron Sherritt & Joe Byrne", page 114, Ian Jones, 2003, Copyright © Ian Jones, 2003, Lothian Books.

The uneasy alliance with Aaron Sherritt continued over the course of the next month with Sherritt reportedly going to visit his girlfriend Kate Byrne - the elder sister of Joe Byrne. The aim was to gather intelligence on the possible movements of the Kelly Gang and report back to Hare.

(Aaron Sherritt - friend of The Kelly Gang who became their enemy.)

Concerns were raised in the constabulary about Aaron Sherritt as to whether he was playing both sides - the police and the Kelly Gang but, it seems Francis Hare maintained his trust in Sherritt as a reliable informant. 

Joseph Ladd was singled out during the operation for his conduct and meticulousness as Hare's 2IC. Referencing Hare, Ian Jones cites a passage from the Superintendent's memoir in the footnotes of his 2003 revised edition of "The Fatal Friendship."

"A total lack of debris suggests that Senior Constable Mayes and his four men were a far more responsible and disciplined group than those in the lower camp, who probably relaxed their standards after Hare's departure - by then knowing that the location of the site was almost common knowledge in the Woolshed."

"The Fatal Friendship: Ned Kelly, Aaron Sherritt & Joe Byrne", page 222, Ian Jones, 2003, Copyright © Ian Jones, 2003, Lothian Books.

(Joseph Ladd was described as a proven and well tried man with whom Frances Hare had the utmost confidence.)

Things began to unravel when leaks around the the existence of the Cave Parties emerged back in Melbourne. The costs of resourcing them caused alarm among the top brass. Meanwhile, back in the Woolshed Valley, the viability of the Parties was thrown into doubt when one of the constables was actually discovered by Kate Byrne as he was collecting water from a creek.

While it's safe to guess that Joseph Ladd's participation in the Cave Parties lasted from their inception to at least June of 1879, it is doubtful he stayed on through the second half of that year until the eventual disbanding of the Cave Parties in April 1880. The Cave Party operation suffered from being an increasingly expensive operation - for little return. That it's existence became an open secret among the Police and those in the Woolshed Valley who were sympathetic to the Kelly Gang 

In June 1879 Joseph Ladd, then aged 46, took command of the Lancefield Police Station, north east of Melboure. A month later, on the 19th of July, he remarried - to Eugenie Rebecca Bourke, the 26 year old daughter of a farming family originally from NSW. The marriage was solemnized in Keilor. The marriage certificate states that Eugenie Rebecca Bourke was residing in Broadmeadows at the time. 

By June of 1880, circumstances began to unravel for the Kelly Gang. Having discovered the treachery of his best friend - Aaron Sherritt was murdered by his friend Joe Byrne for conspiring against the Kelly Gang. And the Gang themselves made their last stand at Glenrowan in a fierce gun battle with police. Joe Byrne was shot and killed,  Dan Kelly & Steve Hart were both incinerated in a hotel fire and Ned Kelly himself, severely wounded, was captured. We are certain that Joseph Ladd Mayes was not at Glenrowan during the last stand of the Kelly Gang.

Writing in his memoir much later, Francis Hare singled out Joseph Ladd's conduct during the Cave Party operation. He described the Senior Constable as a proven and well tried man with whom he had the utmost confidence.

In amongst the saga of the Cave Parties - another piece of the Kelly Affair had a direct impact on Joseph Ladd Mayes. During the height of the Cave Party operations, Joseph Ladd took charge of Constable Alexander Fitzpatrick - who had been stationed at Benalla in the north east of Victoria.

(Constable Alexander Fitzpatrick).

A prominent figure in the Kelly saga, Alexander Fitzpatrick has been regarded as the catalyst for the Affair. In April,1878 - acting on a notice that had been posted in the Police Gazette - Fitzpatrick had attempted to arrest members of the gang at the property of Kelly matriarch Ellen. During a confrontation with the family, Fitpatrick was shot and wounded by Ned Kelly himself. Accounts of this incident vary greatly and there is a healthy amount of skepticism towards those accounts from both sides of the often charged Kelly debate. But most agree, the incident at the Kelly property marked a significant escalation in the war between the Kelly's and the police.

Alexander Fitzpatrick remains a controversial figure in the history of the Victorian Police Force. Opinion about his character has almost, always been in the negative with him being cast as a drunkard and a less than reputable individual.

When he came to the notice of Commissioner Standish and Superintendent Hare at the height of the Kelly Affair, they formed the view that Fitzpatrick was on a hiding to nothing in the constabulary. He was either considered too close to the Kellys or he was responsible for all out war between the police and the Kellys. There were allegations of his being drunk on the job, of associating with the lowest of individuals, even the attempted rape of Ned Kelly's sister Kate.

And yet, following the events at the Kelly homestead and the Stringybark Creek murders, Fitzpatrick was dispatched to Sydney - tasked with looking out for and apprehending Kelly Gang members in case they arrived there to escape the country via ship. Given that he had identified Ned Kelly, Dan Kelly, Joe Byrne and Steve Hart at the Kelly homestead, it was thought Fitzpatrick would be best placed to spot them, should they arrive in Sydney.

Accounts of his poor conduct in Sydney dogged Fitzpatrick however and he was ordered back to Victoria by senior police who feared he was casting the Victorian Police into disrepute. 

Alexander Fitzpatrick was sent to Lancefield in September of 1879, apparently as a last resort where he served 9 months under Joseph Ladd Mayes - until the now decorated Senior Constable could no longer tolerate the insubordinate officer. 

Evidently, he had formed the view, having studied the constable in-situ, whilst gathering information on Fitzpatrick from his previous postings. Joseph Ladd reflected on Fitzpatrick's conduct in 1882.

"he was not fit to be in the police force ... he was associated with the lowest persons in Lancefield  ... he could not be trusted out of sight and ... he never did his duty"
JL Mayes, May 1882.

In recent times, there has been some reconsideration around the history and conduct of Alexander Fitzpatrick and a theory has emerged suggesting the Constable was more a victim of circumstance than a poor officer.

In a 2015 essay titled "Redeeming Fitzpatrick", historian Stuart Dawson presented a minority view of the Constable, arguing that, up until the events at the Kelly homestead in 1878, Alexander Fitzpatrick had an unremarkable service record, with no evidence of poor conduct. In fact, he had been described in a positive light by his superiors in Sydney. The accounts of the incident at the Kelly homestead appear to have relied too heavily on the Kelly side of the incident, where Kelly himself was known to fabricate and misreprsent the truth. The account of Fitzpatrick seem to have been ignored or dismissed because he, too, was regarded as unreliable. It is after the Kelly homestead incident, that Fitzpatrick's career takes a downward turn. 

Dawson argues that the constable's posting to Lancefield was a concerted effort to rid Fitzpatrick from the Force in the aftermath of his Sydney posting. By putting Fitzpatrick under the command of a "strict disciplinarian in Joseph Ladd Mayes - who was said to have already formed a view of the Constable as worthless character - the senior ranks of the Victorian Police Force would achieve that end. As Mayes testified in 1882, Fitzpatrick was charged with derilection of duty at Lancefield and associating with disreputable individuals. Fitzpatrick was to last 9 months before Joseph Ladd Mayes recommended the Constable be sacked from the Force.

2 seperate petitions were raised by 100 prominent residents of Lancefield and Romsey following Fitzpatrick's dismissal, calling for his immediate reinstatement. Both petitions were rejected by the Police and Fitzpatrick was dismissed from the Force in 1880.

Was Joseph Ladd over zealous in calling for Fitzpatrick to be sacked? Did senior police - including Standish & Hare - use Mayes as an "instrument" to facilitate Fitzpatrick's removal from the Force, knowing they had a reliable man they could count on? Was Fitzpatrick made a scapegoat for the Kelly Affair? 

There is documentary evidence suggesting that Joseph Ladd Mayes had genuine concerns about Fitzpatrick during his time at Lancefield. One catalyst for Fitzpatrick's removal was the sustained harassment and threats of harm towards a Lancefield man, Maurice Casey and his family. While the details of this incident are sparse, they are recorded on the police record of Alexander Fitzpatrick and in the reports submitted by Joseph Ladd Mayes to the Commissioner of Police in Melbourne. Fitzpatrick was notably cagey about the Casey incident during his own testimony in 1881 and refused to entertain any detailed examination of it. We know Joseph Ladd was a thorough investigator, who would have left no stone unturned in pursuing the truth in any matter that came before him. While his reputation might have been strict, he was also fair and did not stray from proper process.

During Fitzpatrick's Sydney posting, he was said to have befriended a woman named Edith Graham (or Edith Jones), who had been accused of stealing jewellry from her employer, a hairdresser named Pogonowski. Pogonowski had suggested to police that Fitzpatrick (who was married at the time) had more than a casual association with Edith Graham and the two may have even been co-conspirators in multiple instances of theft. The case of the stolen jewellry was resolved when Fitzpatrick directed police to the residence of Edith Graham herself and the stolen goods were recovered. Yet no charges appear to have been laid. It was as a result of this curious incident that Fitzpatrick was recalled to Victoria. The view of the hierarchy there was that his conduct had brought the Force into disrepute.

It was apparent that others agreed with this view. During the Royal Commission, a letter of complaint was tendered from the Inspector General in Sydney, attesting to a litany of complaints over the course of Fitzpatrick's entire career and not just the period from the Kelly incident forward.

The true facts surrounding Alexander Fitzpatrick may never be fully illuminated. He remains a divisive identity whose conduct, revealed in numerous pieces of documentary evidence, was questionable at best. What I do think is fair however, is to question the existing narratives, which do seem to be unfairly skewed in one direction. I do believe the case of Fitzpatrick is more complicated.

By the end of 1880, with the execution of Ned Kelly, Victoria effectively saw the end of one of the most fraught periods in its fledgling history. For Joseph Ladd Mayes, the end of the Kelly Gang marked a turning point in his professional and personal life. Approaching his fiftieth year, Joseph and his new wife Eugenie would see the growth of their family begin, while Joseph would contribute to one of the watershed moments in the history of the Victorian Police Force.

Next: The Royal Commission...

DFA.