We learn by private telegram from Lyell that Rosanna Boyle, a well-known woman, was found dead in a tent on the 10th instant, and was buried on the following day. -Westport Times, 18/9/1883.
"A well-known woman" was Rosanna Boyle. Well known for what? Well, as it turns out, a number of things.
On Thursday morning last between five and six o'clock, a most diabolical outrage was committed on a woman named Rosanna Boyle, who occupies a house close to the firewood tramway. It appears that these men (brutes they might be more properly termed) went to her house partly drunk and demanded liquor. She went out and got some for them, and it was after drinking this the outrage was committed. They attempted to take liberties with her, which she at once resented, when one of the wretches held her while another attempted to perpetrate his horrible purpose. Being a very powerful woman, she struggled so successfully that they were unable to accomplish what they premeditated; and then commenced a scene that almost defies description. While one held his hand over her mouth to stifle her cries, the other beat her with bottles about the legs, thighs, and body, as well as jumping on her and kicking her, the man with his hand over her mouth beating her about the head with his fist. Her groans and cries now aroused those about, and although some few persons had already collected, they did not like to burst in the door, which was locked while this was going on. At last a man burst it open, when the ruffians rushed out and ran away. On entering a beastly sight met the eye, the poor woman rolling amongst broken bottles, and covered with blood and dirt. She was lifted to her bed and Dr Scubert came at once to attend upon her. Her eyes in a very short time became completely closed, and she was unable to open them until Saturday. Her face was also greatly swelled, owing to the hammering she received. She is still in her bed, from which she will not be able to move for some time. She knows the name of one of the party, and the others were recognised by those who saw them rush from the hut. The police are now on their track, and it is to be hoped that it will not be very long before they are taken. When will outrages on the Greenstone come to an end? -Grey River Argus, 27/5/1869.
The men who committed the outrage on Rosanna Boyle are not yet in the hands of the police, although strong suspicions are entertained that they have not left the Greenstone yet; indeed, one man has already been taken up for using threatening language to her, and warning her "not to say anything, or else it would be worse for her." -Grey River Argus, 3/6/1869.
The Greenstone has acquired an unenviable notoriety for rowdyism, find disturbances of different kinds. The latest occasion was on the 25th of May, when two men, who are well known, brutally assaulted a woman named Boyle. They have not yet been arrested, and in their case the usual intelligence that is characteristic of our police appears to be at fault. -West Coast Times, 11/6/1869.
I have found no record of the men responsible for the Greenstone "outrage" being brought before a court.
WARDEN'S COURT, AHAURA.
Thursday, April 11. (Before Mr Warden Whitefoord.)
Rosanna Boyle was summoned for, a breach of the Gold Field Regulations, by occupying a business site without a license at Granville. The defendant did not appear. Senior-Constable Dorrin and the Clerk to the Court proved the offence, and the defendant was fined L3 with costs. -Grey River Argus 13/4/1872.
LYELL
Rosanna Boyle was charged with drunkenness. She denied the charge, but notwithstanding the very ingenious defence set up by her counsel, Mr Staite, his Worship fined her 10s. -Westport Times, 16/5/1876.
DISTRICT COURT.
(Before His Honor Judge Weston) Saturday, Feb. 20.
His Honor took his seat at 9 a.m. Upon the list of jurymen being called, Thomas Jephcoate did not respond. Constable Hobson stated that he had served the summons upon Jephcoate's wife, within twenty yards of his residence. His Honor pointed out to the constable that he must either serve summonses on the individual personally or at his residence. In this case he had done neither, and thus the defaulting juryman escaped. All constables should be acquainted with the law in this matter.
Regina by Police v. Elizbeth Martin
Charge of unlawfully cutting and wounding one Rosnna Boyle, at Lyell, on Dec. 18th.
The Crown Prosecutor appeared for the police and Mr Cowan for the defence.
Prisoner pleaded not guilty.
The following jury were empannelled: — N. Blaxall, T. Brock, P. McEnroe, J. McCormack, J. Shaw, T. Geary, H. Carey. W. Struthers, J. Stitt, D. McNamara, E. Quigley, J. Duggan.
W. Struthers was chosen foreman.
H. Neil and A. Grant were challenged by counsel for the defence.
The Crown Prosecutor said that there were two counts in the indictment, one for cutting and wounding and the other for inflicting grevious bodily harm. He admitted that the case did not present any very serious appearance, it seemed to have become the custom of late to disregard the old fashioned system of settling difficulties by fisticuffs, but to resort to the knife. This the law must put down. Mr South's brief showed that on Dec. 8th last the prisoner went to the house of the prosecutrix, at Lyell, some words arose, and the prisoner took up a knife and stabbed the prosecutrix in the thigh. Evidence for the prosecution was then taken: —
Rosanna Boyle: On the morning of the 8th December last was in bed, at her residence, Lyell. Prisoner came to witness' door at 6 o'clock, and called to be let in, no auswer being given she went away, but again came back again. As it was raining the witness let her in, and again turned into bed in another room. Prisoner followed witness and wanted to go to bed with her. This witness refused, and asked her why she did not go to her own bed. Witness offered her a blanket to lay on the floor, and on turning to get the blanket, prisoner took up a knife (produced) from the dressing table and stabbed her below the thigh. Witness took the knife out of prisoner's hand, and put her out. Witness could not see the wound, but could see the blood which flowed from the cut. Showed the wound to Mr Rowbottom and Mr Pringle. Have known the prisoner three years and a half. She was drunk when she committed the assault. Witness did not think the prisoner assaulted her viciously.
By Mr Cowan: Have no desire to prosecute the prisoner. It was Constable Brown who laid the information. Did not loose a quarter of a pint of blood. Suffered a little inconvenience, but was able to work during the week, the wound could not have been the result of an accident. The only reason witness knew for the prisoner taking up the knife was that witness would not let her come into bed. Prisoner appeared as if she had been out all night in the rain. Witness did not give information to the police, as she knew that prisoner had been drinking, in company with Constable Brown, on the previous night.
Witness was briefly cross-examined by the Crown Prosecutor.
William Rowbottom: Saw the prisoner, on the morning in question, standing and knocking at prosecutrix's door. After knocking a few minutes the prosecutrix let prisoner in. Prisoner was, in witness's opinion, "after a bit of a booze." [His Honor severely reprimanded witness for using slang.] When coming back at five o'clock m the evening, Rosanna Boyle called witness and showed him a scratch above the thigh, she was in bed at the time, and had on a chemise.
There was no cut in the garment. All the wound witness saw a mere scratch, and not a drop of blood was about. The scratch presented the appearance as if a nail had lifted the skin. The scratch was between an inch and a half and an inch and three quarters in length.
By Mr Cowan: Did not notice any blood about the bed. Am sure that my own finger nail could have caused the wound.
His Honor said that if the jury wished to see the wound it must be shown. His Honor did not want to see it.
Cross-examination resumed: Never heard any person say anything against Rosanna Boyle's character. She is like everybody else at Lyell. She will take a glass when she can get it, like her neighbors.
At this stage the Crown Prosecutor said that he had never beard of a witness exhibiting a wound on the portion of the body as that on which injury to prosecutrix was situated. A medical man should examine the wound and give evidence.
His Honor said that there was no person who had greater respect for females, in either high or low society than himself, but feelings of delicacy should not bear weight against the liberty of the subject.
Henry Pringle: Two days after the occurrence took place prosecutrix showed a scratch on her right thigh to witness. The wound was rather of a half moon shape, and could not have been more than the sixteenth of an inch in depth. The knife produced might have caused the wound. When prosecutrix shewed the wound to witness he laughed at it.
By Mr Cowan: Considered the wound too frivolous to look for blood about the bed or proseoutix's clothes. Witness had seen the prosecutrix drunk three days out of the seven, and he believed she was a person ot ill fame.
Constable Brown gave evidence. When he saw the wound on the second day of its infliction, and it was then covered with an encrustation of blood, he aid not think that it could have been caused by a nail or pin. The prosecutrix refused to haud over the knife with which the wound had been caused, but he had subsequently found it. The reason that witness did not lay the information for some considerable time after the infliction of the wound, because he had reported the affair to the Inspector of Police and awaited his instructions.
His Honor commended the Constable for the judgment he had displayed in waiting for and acting upon the orders of his superior officer.
This was all the evidence.
The Crown Prosecutor did not wish to address the jury.
Mr Cowan, in addressing the jury, asked them to disabuse their minds of any influence that might have obtained by reading a moralising paragraph printed in an inconsiderable paper called the Lyell Times and republished by the editor of the Westport Evening Star. He continued at length, stating that the case could easily have been settled by the Magistrate at Lyell, and thus saved the expense which would be necessary, it was his opinion that the police wanted a job; perhaps they desired a trip to Westport, to enjoy the beautiful sea breeze. At any rate if the constable had important business to attend to the case would not have been brought.
His Honor had been considering during the hearing of the case if it was necessary for him to address the jury, but there were one or two points which required notice. If the case had not arisen in auy other but the Lyell perhaps it would be his place to say that the police had exhibited il-judgement, but in considering the case he would have to also consider the circumstances of the country. Iu referring to the plea that the prisoner should not be prosecuted owing to the prosecutrix desiring to withdraw, his Honor quoted the practice of the renowned Sergeant Cox, showing that the commiseration of the prosecutrix or prosecutor should not be taken into account. His Honor asked the jury to discard the two major counts and say whether a common assault had or had not been committed, in doing this they would respect their oaths and could then leave the case in the hands of the gentlemen whose duty it was to mete out punishment.
The jury retired for five minutes, and upon returning the Foreman said that they had decided upon a verdict of "Guilty of common assault."
Prisoner had nothing to say why sentence should not be passed upon her.
Mr Cowan addressed the Court with a view to mitigation of the sentence.
In reply to his Honor Constable Brown said that the prisoner had served three months in Nelson Gaol for assault She had no family.
His Honor addressed the prisoner in a very kind and commiserating manner. It was lamentable, he said, to see women so abandoned as the evidence proved the parties in this case to be. If his Honor were to follow his just feelings he would send the prisoner on her way, in the hope that the scene she had taken part in to-day would prove of beneficial influence upon her. But if the prisoner were discharged, and returned to her old haunts at the Lyell, the scene she had passed through would harden her, and the result would be that she would again be found in this or some other Court charged with, some more serious offence. His Honor was of opinion that the only hope of reform for the prisoner would be to send her to some other portion of the Colony, in the hope that, upon her liberation, she would lead a better life. His Honor found that a prisoner could not be sent away from unless the sentence was for more than one month, therefore he would commit the prisoner to Nelson Gaol for six weeks, with hard labor, and hoped that when she was released she would not return to her old haunts.
The prisoner was then removed.
His Honor remarked that the jury's verdict was a very sound one, thanked the jurors, and discharged them. -Westport Times, 24/2/1876.
Referring to the case of Police v. Eliza Martin, heard at the last sitting of the Magistrate's Court at Lyell, and in which the accused awas committed to the District Court, the Lyell Times moralises thus: Defendant was charged with stabbing one Rosanna Boyle. The evidence in this case was totally unfit for publication. The prisoner was in a partial state of intoxication, and the prosecutrix was in a miserable plight, and the evidence disclosed anything but a flattering state of morality at Lyell. There was, perhaps, to those who like nasty things, a spice of grim humour in the evidence given, but we confess it, and that without shame, that the sight of an abandoned wretched woman, standing in the dock, causes far other feelings in our mind but those of pleasure, and could some of those gay young woman who throng the streets of Melbourne, Sydney, and Wellington, but see themselves 20 years hence, standing trembling before a Judge, we should have fewer of them outcasts on the outlying gold-fields. -Westport Times, 24/2/1880.
Rosanna Boyle's rapid burial after her death would indicate that she was buried in the local cemetery at Lyell, but she is not recorded as lying there.
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