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Forgotten Australia is written and produced by

0:54

me, Michael Adams, in the Blue Mountains

0:56

of New South Wales, on land traditionally

0:58

owned by the Darug and Gundungurra people.

1:01

I pay my respect to Aboriginal elders,

1:03

past and present. This

1:05

podcast episode contains descriptions of

1:08

murder and violence. Listener discretion

1:10

is advised. It's

1:16

Sunday 24th September 1893 and

1:19

in a paddock on the outskirts of

1:22

Cowra in western New South Wales, a

1:24

young man named Bertie Glassen is writing

1:26

a letter to his wife, May Sommerbel,

1:28

well known in Sydney as a

1:31

talented pianist and musical composer. Bertie

1:34

and May have been married since the start of

1:36

this year, but the honeymoon

1:38

is well and truly over. Not

1:41

that she knows it yet. All

1:43

that lies ahead in their marriage is a

1:45

nightmare. Bertie addresses

1:47

this letter to my darling

1:49

wife, room 198, Hotel Metropole, Sydney.

1:56

He continues, Oh,

1:58

my precious Queen, I Am going to...

2:00

mad and felt it coming on for

2:02

some time. I came to myself today's

2:04

Sunday in one of stem fields paddocks

2:06

and I had on a black suit

2:08

of clothes all covered in blood. What

2:11

I've done, I have no idea. I

2:13

remember lazing Sydney to go to Orange.

2:15

I don't know if I've been there

2:17

or not. I suppose I have a

2:19

feel so terribly strange down darling that

2:21

I don't know where I want to

2:23

go. If. I get lost in die

2:25

in the bush. I hope I will be

2:27

sound and you get this Knows better for

2:29

me to be did than few to have

2:31

a mad husband. He. Finally to get

2:33

back to the hotel metropole. On never leave

2:35

you a day I will try to walk

2:37

to cower to catch a train. Talking

2:41

his lizard into a pocket. Boutique.

2:43

Lesson continues: Walking to camera.

2:50

On. Michael Adams and this is the

2:52

second and final parts of The Forgotten

2:54

Is Ready Episodes: The Citibank acts motors.

3:01

Just. After three o'clock that morning in

3:03

the little town of Car Cool joseph

3:05

do and had been sleep in his

3:07

bedroom next door to the City Bags

3:09

where he worked as an accountant. It.

3:12

Has only been a few hours since. He

3:14

bless those premises. Last night

3:16

Joseph had enjoyed a late supper with

3:18

Jack Phillips outgoing City Bank Manager Us

3:20

and Jax was any and he gets

3:23

from Sydney and he sister Susan Stutter

3:25

Arts and they close friend Sending Cavanaugh.

3:28

Now. In the dead of night. Yanking.

3:31

Him from a did sleep came

3:33

screaming and begging. Rushing

3:35

to his back door, Joseph was confronted

3:37

by Susan and by Jack in any

3:39

servant. Go Agnes Mexica. The

3:42

two women was frantic and terrified. Words

3:45

tumbled out: Burglary, Robbery Mode

3:47

Us Mr. Do and you

3:49

must help. Justice.

3:51

It would for the place and rushed to get

3:53

the doctor. When Joseph

3:55

and Tacos Doctor Alford Hawthorne hurried

3:57

into the City Bank, it was.

4:00

Though they entered a slaughterhouse.

4:03

Jack. Phillips was on the floor of the

4:05

dining room. He lie in

4:07

a pool with his own blood spilled, we

4:09

strips of face and fragments of bone. Checks

4:12

he'd had been hacked open in

4:15

numerous places. Has had his

4:17

arms and torso. Jack

4:19

was breathing his last and there was

4:21

nothing of the Hawthorne could do for

4:23

him. His was any.

4:25

It's like nearby on a sofa. See

4:28

to was frightfully wounded. Any

4:31

spice had been split open with an axe

4:33

and she'd lost a lot of blood. Doctor.

4:36

Hawthorne attended to her. While

4:39

Jack had just died and he might

4:41

still be saved, On.

4:44

The landing up the stairs below

4:46

the window sunny Kevin are lay

4:48

dead. Her. Throat had

4:50

been hacked open. Beside.

4:52

Her laid jack in any two year old daughter

4:54

Gladys. The little girl was bloodied,

4:57

but she was breathing. Mercifully,

4:59

Gladys was unconscious and who wounds

5:01

were not life threatening. One.

5:04

Of the thing is had been severed. To

5:06

others had been caught and she had

5:08

a superficial scalp wound. It'd. Be

5:11

established that Sunny had run here

5:13

from the upstairs bedroom tearing Gladys

5:16

the attack us had been coming

5:18

up the stairs treating any. In.

5:21

The Dampness: He'd swung the axe at

5:23

the shadowy figure on the landing. The

5:25

bladed cut through the little girl's hand

5:28

before slicing deep into Fannies neck. Funny

5:30

would have died almost immediately from

5:32

blood loss as he crumpled to

5:34

the floor, still grasping Gladys in

5:36

her arms. Upstairs in the

5:39

children's bedrooms Jack in any other

5:41

baby months old dorothy like unharmed

5:43

on the bed just have to

5:45

and went into the bank offices

5:47

are joining the residents and there

5:49

he checked his size. As

5:51

he accounts and it was his duty

5:53

to protect his employers' interests Even at

5:55

a time like this. The. Safe

5:57

was locked and on damaged. Returning.

6:00

To the residents, Joseph saw the dazed

6:03

any on the couch. She turned her

6:05

guest face to him and said i

6:07

missed the dough and. Is

6:09

Jack did. He thought

6:11

quickly and he lied. Know.

6:14

He said he's doing well. There.

6:16

Was no point telling her the truth Now. The

6:19

shock might kill any. Any.

6:22

Soon after lapse into unconsciousness.

6:25

So. Pseudo and helped Caicos Police

6:27

constables to search the premises. Downstairs.

6:31

They saw that the rear kitchen window was raised

6:33

and new. A boot prints on the seal. This.

6:36

Was how the intruder had gotten in

6:38

and gotten out. Doctor

6:40

Hawthorne took any Philips upstairs to her

6:43

bedroom. They. He dressed to

6:45

wounds, made her comfortable, and cared for

6:47

her as best he could. The.

6:50

Bodies were to remain in the City

6:52

Bank until the inquest, which would be

6:54

opened. So seeing on Monday morning. As

6:58

the sunrise as a taco, townsfolk

7:00

awoke to the terrible news. They

7:03

were horrified, saddened, and angry.

7:05

Determined to honor the jade,

7:07

support the survivors, and do

7:09

what ever they could to

7:11

catch the maniac responsible. Police.

7:14

Interviewed Susan and Agnes. Boast.

7:17

We're in deep shock, but they gave

7:19

descriptions of the attacker. He

7:21

was about twenty five years old, of

7:23

medium height and build with the darkness

7:25

dos. Reverend. Clock

7:27

believed in a property behind the city

7:29

banks. Discovered that he stables had been

7:32

broken into. They will boot

7:34

marks in the soil and bloodstains on a

7:36

railing. Reverend. Clock had

7:38

two horses. one was young and

7:41

strong, the other old and tired.

7:44

The. Murderer had taken the best one.

7:46

Maybe. It was a lucky guess in the

7:49

dark. Yet. He'd also unerringly

7:51

taken the best saddle and bridal.

7:54

This. Suggested that the killer new the

7:56

horses and that he knew the stables.

7:59

Host. track sleep in the direction of

8:01

Blaney, but this might have been

8:03

a faint to throw off pursuers. Karkor's

8:06

police officer sent a telegram to Sydney

8:09

headquarters and telegrams were also sent to

8:11

all stations in the western districts warning

8:13

to be on watch for the suspect

8:16

and for the horse he'd stolen. Senior

8:19

police officers left Sydney for Karkor on

8:21

the Sunday night mail train. Another

8:24

detective inspector was inbound from

8:27

Dubbo. But local

8:29

cops and citizens weren't sitting by. On

8:32

Sunday they were doing their damnedest

8:34

to find the diabolical fiend. Despite

8:37

the work of search parties around Karkor,

8:39

Blaney, Trunkie, Cowra and other western towns

8:41

there was no sign of the murderer

8:44

by the end of the day. But

8:47

that night in the city bank from

8:49

her tortured sleep Annie Phillips cried out

8:51

words to the effect of, oh

8:53

Bertie has it come to this? Bertie.

8:57

Did she mean Bertie Glassen? Edwin

9:00

Hubert Glassen, known as Bertie, was

9:02

born in October 1866 in Karkor.

9:07

A family tree photograph found

9:09

at ancestry.com.au shows a cheerful

9:11

looking young man with dark

9:13

eyes, dark curly hair and

9:15

a dark moustache. Bertie

9:17

stood five ten or so and was

9:20

described as muscular. He

9:22

was well known and well liked around

9:24

Karkor. Bertie was the

9:26

son of a well respected pastoralist who'd passed

9:28

away in 1891. Bertie's

9:31

mother still lived a few miles from town

9:33

and he had several brothers living in

9:35

the district. Bertie

9:37

had, as a privileged son of

9:39

the land, attended Newington College in

9:41

Sydney and had received a first-rate

9:44

education. Someone who

9:46

knew him then described him in

9:48

the bulletin as a quote rather

9:50

nice and refined looking young fellow

9:52

who so far as appearances went

9:54

might be anybody or anything. Was

9:57

Annie Phillips in her delirium now saying

9:59

that he was the murderer. Bertie

10:02

hadn't even been around these parts for a few

10:04

months. But hearing

10:06

his name mentioned caused the penny

10:08

to drop the Citibank accountant Joseph

10:11

Derwin. He,

10:13

like a lot of people, knew

10:15

that Bertie's sister had married Reverend

10:17

Clark, and so Bertie knew the

10:19

horses and knew the stables. But

10:23

thanks to his job, Joseph knew more than

10:25

that. He confided his

10:27

information to the police. Joseph

10:30

said he'd last encountered Bertie

10:32

and Carcourt around July. He'd

10:35

then been staying in a hotel in

10:37

town with his lovely new wife May

10:39

Sommerbell. May was a

10:41

real catch. Born in

10:43

1867, she was a raven-haired beauty.

10:46

May had passed her Trinity College musical

10:48

exams in 1885 with honors,

10:50

and since then had been a fixture

10:53

in Sydney's artistic and musical circles. May

10:56

had studied with Madame Kellerman, performed

10:58

numerous concerts, and even seen one

11:00

of her clever musical compositions selected

11:02

for the 1892 exhibition in Chicago.

11:07

May was also known in Carcourt, having performed

11:09

at a concert there in June of 1892.

11:14

May and Bertie had become engaged in

11:16

December that year, and had married in

11:18

January 1893. Six

11:21

months later, they'd been back in Carcourt.

11:24

Bertie had rented them a fine house, but

11:26

had soon been evicted for non-payment of rent.

11:29

Then the couple had stayed a while in a

11:31

hotel. The country life didn't

11:33

suit May, and she returned to Sydney.

11:36

Bertie had stuck around a little

11:39

longer, financing a new butcher's shop,

11:41

before he too returned to Sydney.

11:44

Subsequent letters that Bertie wrote to the

11:46

Citibank branch in Carcourt showed that he

11:48

and his wife were staying at the

11:50

hotel metropole. So why

11:52

had Bertie been writing to the bank,

11:55

writing to Jack Phillips and Joseph Derwin?

11:58

It was because Bertie's account was over the years. drawn

12:00

by about 50 pounds and his

12:02

new butcher's business was already failing.

12:06

Bertie hadn't paid his employees their

12:08

wages and he also had debts

12:10

relating to a racehorse that he'd bought.

12:13

The young man might have been from

12:15

a wealthy family but he'd quickly proved

12:17

himself a financial black sheep. Joseph

12:19

Durban told the police that Jack had

12:22

several times called on Bertie to pay

12:24

off his bank debt. Bertie

12:26

had repeatedly said that he would

12:28

but had repeatedly failed to keep

12:30

these promises. So Jack

12:32

had gone to the Supreme Court to

12:35

get an order against Bertie that allowed

12:37

him to sell the butchering assets to

12:39

recover debts. The final

12:41

sale had gone through just

12:44

yesterday, Saturday, realising about 19

12:47

pounds for the bank. All

12:49

of this, Joseph Durban told police,

12:51

gave Bertie plenty of motive. He

12:53

reckoned it had been Bertie who'd

12:55

broken into the bank to steal

12:57

the contents of the safe and

12:59

that he'd killed Jack in a

13:01

frenzy of revenge. Joseph

13:04

Durban urged the police to check

13:06

the hotel metropole in Sydney. If

13:09

Bertie was there, then he was wrong. Sydney's

13:12

Inspector General of Police directed that

13:14

inquiries be made at the hotel.

13:17

Bertie's wife May was still in

13:20

their room, but Bertie was

13:22

not. All May

13:24

knew was that her husband had gotten the

13:26

train from Sydney yesterday. He said

13:29

he was going out to Orange to get

13:31

money from a man who owed him 800

13:34

pounds. May would

13:36

say that Bertie had seemed alright.

13:39

His last words to her had been, God

13:41

bless you, by which he

13:43

meant God bless May and

13:45

also God bless their unborn

13:47

child. For May was now

13:49

in her third trimester, the

13:52

baby due at Christmas time. Late

13:55

on Sunday, around midnight, Annie

13:57

Phillips recovered consciousness. As

14:00

she wasn't expected to survive long

14:03

enough to attend the inquest, let

14:05

alone any trial, Carcourt's police magistrate

14:07

took her dying deposition. In

14:10

it, Annie recounted the horror of

14:12

the attack. She

14:14

said that when she tore off the Axman's

14:16

mask, she'd recognize the murderer, Bertie

14:19

Glassen. She was sure of it. The

14:22

man that Susan and Agnes had described

14:24

also was a match for Bertie. By

14:27

late Monday morning, police had no doubt

14:29

who they were after. But

14:32

where was Bertie? After

14:59

Bertie's bloody rampage in the Citibank

15:01

branch of Carcourt, he'd made his

15:03

getaway on Reverend Clark's best horse.

15:06

He'd ridden the animal some 35 miles

15:08

across the countryside until he reached the

15:10

outskirts of Cowra. There,

15:12

he unharnessed the exhausted horse and

15:15

turned it loose. Bertie

15:17

hid the saddle and bridle. Bertie's

15:20

black suit was soaked with blood. He

15:23

took off the coat and the trousers. During

15:26

his rampage in the bank, Bertie had accidentally

15:28

cut himself with the axe. Carrying

15:32

the lining out of his bloody coat, he

15:34

used the material to bind this minor wound.

15:36

He hid his bloody clothes in a rock

15:39

cleft, and he also hid the mask that

15:41

he'd made from a soft black felt hat,

15:43

cutting holes for his eyes and mouth and

15:45

attaching a string that he could tie around

15:47

the back of his head. Now

15:49

Bertie put on the clean, light-coloured suit that

15:52

he'd stashed along his escape route as part

15:54

of his planning for the bank robbery. He

15:57

also wrote that letter to his wife, May, and

15:59

put it in his pocket. Looking

16:02

fairly presentable, Bertie ambled into Cowra

16:04

and took a room for the

16:06

night at Tasker's hotel. On

16:08

Monday morning, he came down to the dining

16:10

room for breakfast. The murder was

16:13

the only thing that any of the guests

16:15

and diners were talking about. Bertie

16:18

sat down and joined in the conversation.

16:21

One of his tablemates was Cowra's

16:23

comfortable Roger Meagher. This officer

16:25

knew Bertie, and they chatted amiably.

16:28

As police in

16:30

Carcourt were still piecing together the evidence,

16:32

Comstable Meagher didn't know that he was

16:34

sitting and talking with a double murderer.

16:37

The Comstable told Bertie that search parties were

16:39

out looking for the killer. Bertie

16:42

said, I'd like to help. But

16:44

he wanted to go alone and search

16:46

the surrounding bush. He said,

16:48

quote, I should like to have

16:50

a horse if you can get me one and

16:53

must have a revolver as it would be very

16:55

dangerous to meet a man like that unless fully

16:57

armed. Of the killer, Bertie

16:59

said, the man who committed that

17:01

murder is the most bloodthirsty scandal I

17:03

have ever heard of. Comstable

17:06

Meagher had to agree with that, but

17:09

he declined Bertie's offer of help. He

17:11

wasn't about to give this man a horse and a

17:13

gun and send him off as a one-man posse. It

17:16

was a pretty odd request, but

17:19

the police officer didn't think too much

17:21

about it. He had plenty else on

17:23

his plate after breakfast. Leaving

17:27

the hotel, Bertie mooched around town.

17:30

He stopped into a business owned by a man

17:32

that he knew. Bertie claimed that

17:34

he'd been in town for a few days already,

17:36

having come up for a holiday. Haven't

17:39

you seen me knocking around? He asked. The

17:41

man said he hadn't. He asked, why

17:43

didn't you call if you had nothing

17:45

to do? Bertie replied, well, the truth of

17:48

the matter is I have not much money

17:50

and did not want to let you know

17:52

I am hard up. Just

17:54

as his conversation with the Comstable had

17:56

seemingly been aimed at getting himself another

17:58

horse and a gun. and again, Bertie

18:01

stopping in with this man and trying to get

18:03

him to agree that he'd been in Cowra for a

18:05

couple of days, appeared a crude

18:07

attempt to establish an alibi for the time

18:10

of the murders. But why he

18:12

next went to a barber's shop? That

18:14

was anyone's guess. In

18:16

any event, Bertie chatted amiably with

18:18

the hairdresser and other customers. While

18:22

Bertie had been playing his curious games

18:24

around town, the Reverend's horse had been

18:26

found on the Cowra Common. Its

18:28

markings were distinct. This was

18:31

definitely the murderer's getaway animal. Around

18:34

the same time, a member of a

18:36

search party found the bloodstain clothes and

18:38

black mask that Bernie had hidden outside

18:40

of Cowra. It was

18:42

clear someone wicked had this way come.

18:46

Soon after, Constable Meagre received

18:48

word from Carcourt by telegraph.

18:51

Bertie Glassen had been identified as the

18:53

murder suspect. The police

18:55

officer didn't have to go far to

18:57

collar the suspect. He

18:59

just walked into the barber's shop and

19:02

confronted Bertie. Where

19:04

were you on Saturday and Sunday? The

19:06

police officer wanted to know. Bertie

19:09

denied being in Carcourt. Constable

19:12

Meagre then said, From information

19:14

I have received, I arrest you for

19:16

murder. The officer

19:18

slapped the handcuffs on the suspect. Bertie,

19:22

who'd been so calm and chatty all

19:24

morning, suddenly seemed to take leave of

19:26

his senses. His face

19:28

went pale, his eyes dilated, and he glared

19:30

around wildly as he grabbed at his hair

19:33

with both hands and said, I must have

19:35

been mad. I never did it. I am

19:37

mad. Bertie collapsed and

19:39

cried, Oh, where have I been

19:41

and what have I done? If I could only

19:43

think, what will my poor wife say?

19:47

The Constable took Bertie to Cowra police

19:49

station. A search of

19:51

his clothing revealed evidence of his financial

19:53

problems. There were several porn tickets

19:56

and a summons to appear at Carcourt

19:58

in October on a date of... Bertie

20:02

was also in possession of a £5 banknote

20:05

from the Citibank. This

20:07

presumably one stolen from Jack's trouser pockets

20:10

when he'd been searching for the keys

20:12

to the safe. Bertie's

20:14

letter to May Sommerbell was also found

20:17

and read. This was

20:19

the one in which he'd written to his

20:21

precious Queen to say he was going mad

20:23

for some time and had just then found

20:25

himself in a paddock with his clothes covered

20:27

in blood and no idea of what he'd

20:29

done. Except of course

20:31

Bertie hadn't been wearing those clothes when

20:34

he'd been arrested. He was

20:36

wearing fresh clothes that he'd stashed. When

20:39

he was made to take these clothes off

20:41

his minor injuries were noted. The

20:44

position of these matched some of the blood

20:46

stains on the discarded suit of clothes. Bertie's

20:49

minor axe wound was still wrapped in

20:51

the lining that he'd ripped from that

20:54

blood-stained black coat. There

20:56

was no doubt the clothes that had been

20:58

found outside Cara belonged to him. At

21:01

Cara police court Bertie was formally charged

21:04

with the murders. Handcuffed

21:06

and in leg irons he was that

21:08

evening taken by Constable Meager on the

21:10

mail train to Carcaw. The

21:13

Australian star newspaper was to report, quote,

21:16

On arrival at the station a large

21:18

crowd had assembled and it was expected

21:20

that the prisoner would have been hooted,

21:22

but the wild haggard look of the

21:24

man as he made his appearance handcuffed

21:27

under the charge of police sent a

21:29

thrill through the excited spectators. When

21:32

Bertie saw the crowd he glared

21:34

in all directions, struggling with his

21:37

leg irons, which the Australian star

21:39

characterized as him apparently feigning madness.

21:42

My God, my God, he was heard

21:44

to exclaim. Bertie

21:46

was handed over to a sergeant. Hello,

21:49

sergeant, he said, before pausing,

21:51

holding up his handcuffs and shouting, What

21:53

are these for? Why did they

21:55

put these on me? The sergeant said,

21:57

didn't they tell you? Bertie Returned.

22:00

Clyde know I know nothing. What have

22:02

I done? Looking. At his

22:04

leg irons he said these hurt me what they

22:06

put them on. Looking. Wildly the

22:08

crowd, but saying nothing else, thirty was led

22:11

to the lock up. Car. Cause

22:13

entire population providing an escort

22:15

for him and the police

22:17

officers. In

22:19

the police station, thirty was put into a

22:21

line up with a dozen men. Susan.

22:24

Stood out was brought in. She

22:26

walked straight after Bertie and screamed,

22:28

this is a Man who said

22:30

before, I want money. She.

22:33

Glared at him. That. He say say

22:35

it again I must have money site

22:37

Now Speak as you said it to

22:39

me on Saturday nights. Now say it

22:42

again. Oh my sister I have had

22:44

my revenge. Booty.

22:46

Reeled as a hysterical witness was

22:49

led away. Who. Is that

22:51

lady He said three? See? What does she

22:53

mean. Jack. In

22:55

any servant go, Agnes mugsy cuff

22:57

was still far too disturbed to

22:59

view a lineup of suspects. But.

23:01

She identified busy from a photograph.

23:04

Next. It was burgess turn

23:06

to view the carnage he'd roared. Or

23:09

had allegedly road. He

23:12

was matched up Tacos Main Streets and

23:14

taken into the City Bank premises. Via

23:17

he was shown Jax body. Those

23:19

he was aghast saying Murder Mr. Phillips

23:22

I know Mr. Phillips. I did not

23:24

murder him. On being

23:26

shown Sundays body he said. Who.

23:28

Is this lady? The.

23:30

Inquest, which has been formally

23:32

opened on Monday morning, was resumed

23:35

on Tuesday at ten am.

23:38

To. Juri was taken to the City Bank to

23:40

view the bodies. Back. At Tacos

23:42

Courthouse they heard the deposition given

23:44

by any Phillips that named those

23:46

eat and I heard of the

23:48

positive identification made of him by

23:50

Susan and Agnes. Joseph.

23:53

Dough and testified about Jack and his dealings

23:55

with those he on behalf of the bank.

23:57

a man named steven wright from tower

24:00

told of finding the bloodstain closed and

24:02

the mask. Dr Hawthorne

24:04

testified about the hideous nature of the

24:07

wounds to the victims and

24:09

how the various minor wounds on Bertie

24:11

matched bloodstains on the clothes that had

24:14

been found. Thomas Ferner,

24:16

who'd been employed by Bertie as a

24:18

butcher in Carcourt, told of how he

24:20

hadn't been paid his wages and of

24:23

how Bertie had frequently spoken of the

24:25

money troubles he'd been having and had

24:27

asked for cash. Constable

24:30

Meager testified about the arrest in Cowra

24:32

and how Bertie had suddenly acted strange

24:34

and what he'd said about being mad.

24:38

The policeman told the court, quote, he

24:40

looks alright while in the cell but

24:42

when anyone attempts to speak to him

24:44

he assumes the utmost violence like a

24:46

lunatic. From his

24:48

place in the Carcourt court Bertie

24:50

watched the inquest proceedings with interest

24:52

but also with his mouth hanging

24:55

open the entire time. As

24:57

the golden evening penny post reported he

25:00

quote, seemed to be adopting the facial

25:02

expression of an idiot. He

25:04

pretends to be or is mad

25:06

but Dr Hawthorne who has examined him

25:09

will not yet say whether the

25:11

suspect is sane or insane. The

25:14

police in the Crown's case was and

25:16

would be that Bertie was not mad.

25:19

He'd planned the robbery carefully as was

25:21

shown by him stashing a change of clothes,

25:24

by him coming to Carcourt under cover

25:26

of darkness, by him breaking into the

25:28

bank quietly and by him taking the

25:31

precaution of making and wearing a mask.

25:34

He'd brought an axe with him to the

25:36

bank and he'd used it savagely to murder

25:38

Jack and Fanny and to try to kill

25:40

Annie. His demand for the

25:42

keys to the safe showed his mercenary

25:44

motive rather than one simply

25:47

born in the heat of the

25:49

moment by mad ungovernable passion. He's

25:51

Determined to escape demonstrated he had a

25:54

guilty mind as did the way he

25:56

conducted himself in Carra in trying to

25:58

cover his tracks. In

26:01

short, he'd shown a great deal

26:03

of cunning as a same killer

26:05

one who is convicted would deservedly

26:08

hang for his crimes. The.

26:11

Inquest Juri foundation guilty. it's and the

26:13

judge can be to seem to stand

26:15

trial for murder in Best in October.

26:18

The. Cock or Tragedies as it was

26:21

known from coast to coast across

26:23

the Colonies was a sensation to

26:25

rival the previous years Melbourne murder

26:27

case that resulted in the execution

26:30

of Frederick Daily damning the man

26:32

many say was also Jack the

26:34

Ripper. The. Concorde

26:36

Tragedy coverage including reports that recalled

26:38

that Jack Phillips had lost his

26:40

father in Iraq fishing accidents in

26:43

their home town of Clamor when

26:45

the boy was fourteen and that

26:47

he been traumatized it seems. As

26:50

well as a barrier minor reporting

26:52

that Jack had actually been the

26:54

one to accidentally kill his father.

26:56

Newspapers characterize Jack as a new

26:58

this nellie who'd been unable to

27:00

find a revolver and says himself

27:02

and his family. The. Newspaper

27:04

said that incoming Cockle Bank manager

27:07

Mister Healy with an altogether tougher

27:09

individual and he would likely have

27:11

stopped the assailant in his tracks.

27:14

In. The lead up to the

27:16

trial newspapers also widely reported that

27:18

May summer Bill had predicted sunny

27:21

Kevin Us face and her own

27:23

in that strange fortunetelling session at

27:25

the German Fair at Sydney's Prince

27:27

Alford part in September. I say

27:30

Ninety Two. Did.

27:32

That actually happened. The.

27:34

Answer is maybe. I.

27:36

Have been able to verify from

27:39

September eighteen ninety two newspaper articles

27:41

that my summer built indeed was

27:43

telling fortunes at that fair. Weather.

27:46

Fan he consulted her wasn't and

27:48

recorded. She did live

27:50

pretty close nearby, so it's very

27:52

likely she attended the fair. If.

27:55

It wasn't true my some a bill

27:57

might have denied the story. Certainly.

28:00

She corrected other reports she deemed

28:02

is false. One. Scurrilous

28:04

article in the Sunday Times had claimed that

28:06

she was penniless did she only owned one

28:08

dress? she had to pawn her rings to

28:11

support herself, and that she'd been duped by

28:13

bushy and so on. Incensed.

28:16

May publicly refuted these claims.

28:18

And went into detail to

28:21

explain her circumstances. So.

28:23

Perhaps as unlikely as the

28:25

fortunetelling story sounds, it wasn't

28:27

a fabrication. Thirty.

28:30

Glasses trial began at the Best decisions

28:32

of the Circuit court on the morning

28:34

a Thursday, the nineteenth of October. I

28:36

say Ninety Three. Before. Nine

28:38

Am. Some two or three hundred people

28:41

had gathered outside the courthouse and they

28:43

stampeded into the public gallery as soon

28:45

as doors were thrown open. Many.

28:48

Were disappointed at not being able to get

28:50

in and get a seat. Among.

28:52

Them was my son, a bell who

28:55

traveled from Sydney to support her husband.

28:58

The. Judge Sir George in his To

29:00

Birdies play of Not Guilty which he

29:02

delivered in a from Korea voice. Any

29:05

Phillips had survived her wounds, but

29:08

she was still in no condition

29:10

to testify. She. Had

29:12

made a second deposition also identifying

29:14

Bush and this was reading to

29:17

evidence. For. Sister Susan did

29:19

testify and she pointed Birch he out

29:21

as a man who killed her brother

29:23

in law Jack her best friend senate's

29:25

and to drift any fighting for her

29:28

lies. The jury

29:30

heard Constable make his testimony about the

29:32

search, the arrest and duties, immediate erratic

29:34

behavior and the claims that he must

29:37

have been mad. On.

29:39

The second date may some a

29:41

bell testified in her husband's defense.

29:44

She. Was described in the newspapers

29:46

is being in delicate health. This.

29:49

Was reference to her pregnancy. My.

29:52

Told the court she'd known their seats her

29:54

whole life. That. Gotten married on

29:56

the eighteenth of January I say ninety

29:59

three. She knew that he was

30:01

a squatter son and that he had a station.

30:03

My. Sit. Her husband had always been

30:06

very gentle and amiable. As

30:08

the Golden Evening Penny Post characterized

30:10

her evidence quote. He

30:12

was always most kind in attentive

30:15

to men, women, children, and animals.

30:17

That things she said had changed around

30:20

march of I'd say Ninety Three. From.

30:22

Then on my said her husband used to

30:25

cry and saw the great deal. Though.

30:27

She she said had told her that he

30:30

was having trouble getting eight hundred pounds from

30:32

a man who voting this money. It

30:34

does seem to triple him greatly, it's and

30:37

whenever he referred to the matter he would

30:39

burst out crying. Thirty.

30:41

She said suffered terribly from

30:43

insomnia and studying head pains.

30:46

He's to clutch cities head for to

30:48

his knees and cry out, I'm going

30:50

mad. One. Time She said

30:52

during one of these attacks he had

30:55

to be confined to a darkened room

30:57

with he was given injections of cocaine.

31:00

Then. On the seventeenth September I

31:02

say Ninety Three. That. Is just

31:05

to wait. Before the murders had

31:07

suffered heatstroke in the Sydney Botanic

31:09

Gardens. She. Had to take

31:11

him back to the hotel metropole and bandages

31:13

head. But. He torn off

31:15

his dressing in his agony and

31:17

delirium. Yet. The last time May

31:19

had seen him before the tragedy, this he

31:21

had seemed to be all right. She.

31:24

Told the port quite. On.

31:26

Says a twenty third September When he left

31:28

me at the Hotel Metropole, he said he

31:30

was going to Orange to collect some money

31:32

owing to him. He was kind and gentle

31:35

then, and appeared to be in he's ordinary

31:37

state of mind. His last words

31:39

to me were God bless you. My.

31:42

Sister Lc corroborated her accounts of

31:44

those his Head Pines or the

31:46

hide yes and recent sunstroke. If.

31:49

My is evidence was to be

31:51

believed and it was described as

31:53

being straightforward incredible in this heat.

31:55

may have suffered a mental disturbance

31:57

right when he was dealing with.

32:00

He quit Financial stress is that would

32:02

ruin him and perhaps in his eyes

32:04

at least render him worthless to his

32:06

wife. But was. Is

32:09

insanity? The. Jury had

32:11

more to ponder when it's heard startling

32:13

evidence from comfortable Charles Prior of Double.

32:17

He told the court he'd had charge

32:19

of busy into court during the inquest.

32:21

they're. Comfortable. Pricey that

32:23

on several occasions the accused and

32:26

told a scary called convoluted stories

32:28

about being accosted by two men

32:30

in Sydney. One. He

32:32

described as being a doc man. the

32:34

other was described as being an Irishman.

32:37

These two thugs had threatened his life

32:39

and that also threatened to kill his

32:41

wife made unless he did their bidding.

32:44

Be. Beating was as he procure an

32:46

axe and make them in blinds in

32:48

three weeks time. That was the twenty

32:51

third of September. When. He

32:53

did this they got him drunk and forced

32:55

him to walk to car pool. One.

32:58

Of the men had gone inside the city

33:00

bank. To. Seats had waited outside

33:02

in the darkness with the other man. Inside.

33:05

Third thing: screens. presumably.

33:08

This was Jack and funny being slaughtered.

33:11

The. Man standing with dirty had ordered him

33:13

to go inside and upstairs to wield the

33:15

axe into minutes Any and Susan and demand

33:17

they give him the keys to the safe.

33:20

When. He did this. He saw that any

33:22

had already been axed in the face. Saying.

33:25

Him She thought he'd been the one to

33:27

do it and it said I burst. He

33:29

has it come to this. She.

33:31

Asked if he'd killed her husband.

33:33

thirty. said he hadn't. He hadn't

33:35

done anything. Then he'd

33:38

left and outside. The two men had put

33:40

thirty on a horse and told him to

33:42

write off. Booed. He

33:44

had come to his senses in that pedic

33:46

outside tower us, and that's when he'd written

33:48

his resume. It

33:51

was a crazy story. The

33:53

constable told the court. he also

33:55

said he could see that he'd been a full and the

33:58

men only wanted to make a tool of him that

34:00

they had worked things so that he should be

34:02

caught and punished for what they had done. The

34:06

constable testified that Bertie had

34:08

told this story in disjointed

34:10

and hysterical fashion. Whether

34:13

it was something that he actually believed,

34:15

whether it was evidence of his insanity,

34:17

well, that was for the jury to

34:19

ponder. Three doctors

34:22

also gave evidence about insanity, the

34:24

development of mental disease and the

34:26

sudden onset of mania for the

34:28

jury to consider. One

34:30

of these doctors said he had seen

34:32

Bertie in June on several occasions, this

34:35

being around the time of those

34:37

head pains and his supposedly strange

34:39

behaviour. But this doctor

34:41

said there was nothing that had led

34:43

him to believe that Bertie was irresponsible

34:45

for his actions. And this

34:48

was the crux of the matter, whether

34:50

Bertie had been able to tell right

34:52

from wrong. On

34:55

the third day of the trial, Bertie's barrister

34:57

gave his concluding address. He

35:00

wasn't claiming that Bertie had not been in

35:02

the Citibank, but if he had been there,

35:04

he was mad at the time and not

35:06

responsible for anything he'd done. The

35:09

barrister reminded the jury of Bertie's

35:11

previous good behaviour and his kind

35:13

disposition, and the barrister dwelled on

35:15

the theory the experts had put

35:17

forward that it was possible for

35:19

an ordinary sane man to snap

35:21

at any moment. But

35:24

the Crown Prosecutor wasn't having any of

35:26

it. Bertie had wanted to

35:28

rob the bank because he was financially

35:30

desperate, and he'd killed anyone who

35:32

got in his way. Summing

35:36

Up, his honours said that while the

35:38

car court tragedy was one of the

35:41

most horrible and heartbreaking crimes in the

35:43

colony's history, the jury must put their

35:45

horror and pity aside and restrict themselves

35:48

to the crucial questions. Right

36:00

from wrong. Then they must acquit him.

36:03

Otherwise, he was guilty of murder.

36:06

The. Jury retired attend to for that

36:08

afternoon. And I will back in

36:10

just twenty five minutes. Thirty. Glass

36:13

and was guilty of murder. He

36:16

trembled. As he's on us is

36:18

it was anything he had to say. Dirty.

36:21

Responded I have to say this although the

36:23

jury have acted according to their consciences and

36:25

done the best they could according to the

36:27

evidence, I am not guilty. I have made

36:30

my peace with my God. That is true

36:32

as God is my Make us. My conscience

36:34

is clear of the terrible crimes of which

36:36

I had been found guilty as that of

36:39

any man who has told the earth. His.

36:42

Honor pronounced a sentence of death.

36:45

Thirty. Glass and was to hang by the

36:47

neck until he was dead. Those

36:50

he took his calmly and spoke

36:52

to his legal counsel immediately. It's

36:54

about launching a petition for a

36:56

reprieve. On the next

36:59

day the Sunday May some a bell

37:01

was allowed to see her husband in

37:03

Bath as child. thirties.

37:05

Com had dessert is him. He

37:07

sobbed and he tried hysterically. As

37:10

The Sydney Morning Herald reported quite,

37:12

she showed him as a conviction

37:14

of his innocence and she grew

37:17

more composed and hopeful. My

37:19

said she'd do what ever she could

37:21

to see that he sentence was commuted

37:23

on the grounds of insanity. Disguise

37:26

Bertie Hope as the Sydney Morning

37:28

Herald told rate is quite the

37:30

condemned Mans has since become karma

37:33

and fully believe that his wife

37:35

will be successful. Just

37:38

as any Philips plot in Battling

37:40

Bernie in the Dark and Bank

37:42

had been celebrated in the newspapers,

37:44

so too was my summer Bill

37:46

Praised Standing by Her Man. Despite.

37:49

What he'd done. The.

37:51

Sunday Times reported quite she refused

37:53

to believe that dirty glass and

37:55

any so the senses could have

37:58

committed the Concorde tragedy. The

38:00

poor child wife is another

38:02

wonderful illustration of womanly devotion.

38:05

My. Petition The New South Wales

38:07

Gov and Executive Council. Those.

38:10

He wrote a lot of letters on his

38:12

own behalf to pleadings that he didn't remember

38:15

the details of the horrible crime. This.

38:17

Was similar to the play that had

38:20

been made by his fellow murderer, Friedrich

38:22

by early gaming. Those.

38:25

He also wrote to my telling her

38:27

he was now at peace with what

38:29

ever happened and he was prepared to

38:31

make God. He. Wanted me

38:34

to save herself from same.

38:36

As the Sunday Times told weight is

38:38

quite She bakes his wife to leave

38:41

New South Wales and live in some

38:43

countries with a misfortune will not be

38:45

known and when no one will remind

38:47

her of the sight of her busy.

38:52

My. Summer Bills valiant attempt to

38:55

save thirty glass and were

38:57

unsuccessful. The. Same as

38:59

Sydney hang man Robert Howard. I K.

39:01

Eight nosy bulbs was sent out to

39:04

best this jail. On. The

39:06

morning of Wednesday, the Twenty ninth of

39:08

November Eighteen ninety Three thirty class and

39:10

went to the gallows. He

39:12

was described as walking certainly onto the

39:15

platform where he gave a com speech

39:17

to the twenty or so jail police

39:19

and justice officials who were two witnesses

39:22

End. Quote. I

39:24

say as I stand here during the

39:26

last few seconds at a given me

39:28

to leave and I said before my

39:30

dogs that I am an innocent man

39:32

an innocent of the crimes for which

39:34

I am suffering. Was.

39:36

Dirty Protesting innocence due to

39:39

insanity. Know he was

39:41

not. He city Solicitor

39:43

had preceded with that defense against his

39:45

wishes That he did not blame them

39:47

for these. He said they would truce

39:49

and statements that had not been made

39:51

known. He was that one day they

39:54

would be made public. Suffice to say,

39:56

quite. I. am dying for the

39:58

sin of another my last thoughts of

40:00

my Maker and God, whom I love and

40:02

adore. It is with the utmost comfort and

40:04

assurance that I now go to meet him.

40:07

My last word is of my beloved

40:09

and devoted wife, and now, goodbye."

40:14

Nosy Bob pulled the bolt, Bertie

40:16

Glaston dropped, and mercifully

40:19

appeared to die instantly. It

40:23

seems clear to me that Bertie Glaston

40:25

was in awe of May Summerbell, and

40:28

that he was most likely amazed that

40:30

he'd been the one to woo and

40:32

to marry this beautiful, talented woman who

40:35

so many admired. It

40:37

would follow that Bertie was deathly

40:40

afraid of losing her. He'd

40:42

sold himself to her as a rich,

40:45

young pastoralist, but from

40:47

the time of their marriage, his

40:49

fortunes, like so many fortunes

40:51

during the economic depression, had founded.

40:53

Would she leave him when he was

40:56

exposed as a financial fraud? How

40:58

would he support their child? Hence

41:01

his plan to rob the bank, and

41:04

his fearful frenzy when disturbed. That

41:07

he was misguidedly doing it for

41:09

May seems clear from the fact

41:11

that he wrote to her immediately

41:13

after committing the crime, that

41:16

after his arrest his first thought was

41:18

what would she think, and

41:20

that his last words on this earth were

41:22

about her. Thing

41:24

was, May Summerbell seemed like a very

41:26

staunch individual who would have stuck by

41:28

him even if he was a pauper.

41:31

Certainly, she stuck by him after

41:34

he committed a double murder. We

41:37

began this episode with May Summerbell's

41:39

life before she married Bertie Glaston,

41:41

and the strange prediction she reportedly

41:43

made about the fate she and

41:46

Fanny Cavanaugh were to share. So

41:48

I think it's fitting that we end with

41:51

May's life after Bertie, for it

41:53

was truly remarkable. She

41:55

didn't move away and hide, as he'd advised

41:57

in that letter. On

42:00

May 8th, 1893, just four weeks after

42:03

Bertie was hanged, Mae gave birth to

42:05

their daughter, who she named Noella. For

42:08

a year or so, Mae kept to herself and

42:10

looked after the baby. But

42:12

in 1895, Mae relaunched her music

42:14

career with a new composition that

42:17

was well received by critics and

42:19

the public. Professionally,

42:21

Mae would from there go from

42:23

strength to strength. Personally

42:26

though, she would suffer more

42:28

marital woes. Her second

42:30

husband left her with twin sons, fled

42:32

to South Africa, faked his own death

42:34

and then came back to Australia in

42:37

1911 and begged Mae to take him

42:39

back. She rightly

42:41

divorced the cad. On

42:44

the outbreak of the First World War,

42:46

Mae's fame became fused with her patriotism.

42:49

Her song, So Long, was written for the

42:52

men who'd volunteered to fight and it was

42:54

played as they marched to the ships that

42:56

would take them to Gallipoli. From

42:59

2000 copies of So Long were

43:01

distributed among Australian soldiers so it

43:03

could be played and sung wherever

43:05

they went. One

43:07

of Mae's subsequent songs, Wanted for the

43:10

Fighting Line, would be widely used on

43:12

the home front for recruiting. While

43:15

Mae Sommerbell was a single mother

43:17

of three and a prolific musical

43:19

composer and performer, she somehow also

43:21

found time to be a pioneering

43:24

Australian newspaper woman. During

43:26

the pre-war and war period, she was

43:28

the music critic for the Sunday Times

43:30

and later edited the women's pages for

43:32

the Times and the Evening News. Given

43:36

these interests, Mae later had plenty

43:38

to talk about with her daughter's

43:41

husband, the journalist Kenneth Slessor, who

43:43

was to become Australia's most famous

43:45

poet. After

43:48

her own long and storied life, Mae

43:50

Sommerbell died in 1948. Some

43:54

55 years after her first husband went

43:56

to the gallows as an axe murderer.

44:00

was 81. I'm

44:05

Michael Adams, and you've been listening to Forgotten

44:07

Australia. If you've enjoyed the show,

44:09

I'd love it if you could leave a rating

44:11

or review at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get

44:13

your audio. I'll be back

44:16

with another episode as soon as I can. As

44:18

always, thanks for listening and thanks for

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supporting. Tired

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44:45

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