September 26, 1803
The rat-a-tat-tat of the drums lures people to follow the prisoner cart slowly rolling
through the streets of Sydney.
Two condemned men are going to be executed this morning; thief James Hardwicke and 23
year old thief and murderer Joseph Samuel.
By the time the cart reaches the gallows near Brickfield Hill, a large crowd has gathered.
They don’t yet know that they are about to witness something unusual and that the
events of the day will long be remembered.
Reverend Samuel Marsden administers last rites to Hardwicke.
An elder of the Jewish community, Joseph Marcus, who would later become Australia’s first
rabbi performs rites for Samuel.
Then the men are asked if they wished to confess.
Samuel pleads his case, pointing out a man in the crowd, Issac Simmonds as the real killer.
Some people in the crowd are riled up after Samuel’s impassioned speech, but the execution
continues.
At 10:00 am, Samuel and Hardwicke step up into a cart, and have nooses placed around
their necks.
Here’s where accounts differ, some say that Harwicke received a last minute pardon and
Samuel was left to face his maker alone.
Others claim that Hardwicke was indeed executed and due to a bizarre twist of fate he was
the only one executed on this day.
Either way, standing on the cart, seconds from death, a terrified Samuel begins to quietly
pray.
The executioner slaps the horse’s rump, the horse trots forward and the cart pulls
out from beneath Samuel’s feet...
In 1795, at age 15 Joseph Samuel was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment for larceny
in England.
In 1801 he was transported to Australia to serve out the remainder of his sentence.
Samuel was imprisoned in the penal settlement at Sydney Cove in the Colony of New South
Wales.
In addition to the harsh security of the prison camp, it was purposely miles from town.
The guards figured that if a man was able to escape, the hostile Outback would take
care of him before he could make his way back to civilization.
However, Samuel did escape and survive.
Eventually he made it to Sydney and took up with a gang of thieves.
On the night of August 25, 1803 they robbed the home of a wealthy woman, Mrs. Mary Breeze.
Among other items, they stole 24 guineas and several silver dollars.
A constable on patrol in the area, Joseph Luker investigated.
The next morning Constable Luker was found stabbed to death; becoming the first police
officer killed in the line of duty in Australia.
The gang of thieves was quickly hunted down and captured.
Samuel had some of the stolen coins in his pocket when he was arrested.
Also, Mrs. Breeze identified him as one of the culprits.
When interrogagted, Samuel confessed to the robbery, but claimed to have nothing to do
with the murder.
Still, he was tried and convicted.
The other suspects were banished from the colonies or acquitted.
Even though they were caught with blood on their clothes, two other suspects Issac Simmonds
and William Bladders were acquitted due to insufficient evidence and their explanations.
Simmonds claimed that he was prone to nosebleeds and Bladders said that he had recently slaughtered
a pig.
The morning of the execution, Simmonds was escorted by police to watch the hanging, in
the hopes that he would be frightened enough to confess.
At this time in Australia, death by hanging was brutal.
The more merciful drop hanging where a convict drops through a hole and their neck is quickly
snapped hadn’t yet been instituted.
Instead a condemned person stands on a cart.
Once the noose is placed around their neck, the horse would pull away with the cart.
Thus, the condemned would be left dangling and slowly strangle to death.
As Samuels gets up on the cart, he’s scared--his accusation of Issac Simmonds has angered some
in the crowd, but not stopped the proceedings as he hoped.
Samuel prays as a noose is slid around his neck.
The executioner slaps the horse’s rump, the horse trots forward and the cart pulls
out from beneath Samuel’s feet...He painfully dangles for a moment and then the rope around
Samuel’s neck inexplicably breaks, causing him to drop to the ground, spraining his ankle.
Another rope is brought and for a second time Samuel stands on the cart.
Again a noose is placed around his neck.
This time when the horse pulls the cart away, the noose unravels, extending the rope enough
to allow Samuel’s boots to touch the ground.
By now the crowd is uneasy--not only has this man passionately proclaimed his innocence,
but mysteriously twice now, the executioner has failed to kill him.
Some people shout for Samuels to be released, claiming that divine intervention is saving
him.
Nevertheless, a third rope is fetched.
This time the authorities quickly inspect the rope before making a noose.
It’s a standard rope made of five thick cords of hemp, it should be able to hold around
1,000 pounds without breaking.
For a third time Samuel is placed on a cart, a noose around his neck.
The horse is slapped and pulls the cart away.
Incredibly, the rope breaks again.
Samuel falls face first onto the ground and is briefly knocked unconscious.
By now the crowd is rowdy.
They clamor for Samuel to be released.
The Provost Marshal orders the execution be delayed and gallops off on horseback to report
the unbelievable series of events to Governor King.
He comes back with a stay of execution, the Governor had granted Samuel a reprieve.
You would think that after his crazy brush with death, Samuel might straight up and become
a model citizen.
But no, he didn’t.
Samuel was taken to the doctor for injuries he received during the botched execution.
He fully recovered.
His sentence was converted to life in prison and he was sent to Kings Town which later
became Newcastle, to work in the coal mines.
In 1806, Samuel and 7 other men escaped the settlement, sailing off in a boat during a
storm.
They were never heard from again; all were presumed lost at sea.
Isaac Simmonds was convicted and hung for the murder of Constable Luker.
However, today Constable Luker’s murder is considered to be Australia’s oldest cold
case with no definitive proof as to the murderer.
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