William Bannon

Bannon was born in Ballymahon in the County Longford, Ireland in c. 1826. He had two brothers, John and Thomas. His mother's name was Margaret, and the family was Catholic. Bannon was recruited into the 65th Regiment of Foot and travelled on the Java merchant ship to New Zealand to fight in the New Zealand Wars that were taking place between the Māori people and the British Colonial Government. Bannon departed Woolwich in May 1846 on the Java, arriving initially in Hobart Town Van Diemen's Land on 5 October 1846, before travelling to Sydney, and then on to New Zealand in November 1846.

While serving at Whanganui in January 1849, Bannon was found guilty of desertion and was sentenced to four months. In December 1849 Bannon was tried in the Supreme Court for the theft of a number of items from the property of Captain James Lewis Smith at Te Aro. The theft included £25, a gold chain, a breguet key, and two gold pins. He was found guilty of the crime and sentenced to seven years to be served in Van Diemens Land.[1]

Newspaper reports around the time of Bannon’s crimes noted that a private in the 65th Regiment had purportedly committed several robberies with the intention of being transported to Van Diemen’s Land due to the favourable reports of previously transported soldiers.[2]

Bannon traveled from Wellington on board the Sisters ship, arriving in Hobart Town via Sydney on 23 January 1850. There were two other prisoners on board .[3]

He was 23 years old at the time and, according to convict records, Bannon was unable to read or write.[4]

Bannon was moved to the Cascades Probation Station, a penal institution on the Tasman Peninsular near Port Arthur. Bannon was able to escape to the mainland through the infamous 'dog-line' at Eaglehawk Neck.[5] The dog-line was a line of savage dogs guarding the small isthmus between the Tasman Peninsular and the mainland that Thomas J. Lempriere, a commissary officer at Port Arthur, declared as 'impassable‘. The 15 October 1850 Government Gazette declared a reward was available for Bannon's capture. Bannon was eventually captured and was sentenced to 18 months hard labour to be served on Norfolk Island. Bannon sailed on the ‘Franklin’ arriving at Norfolk Island on 9 December 1850.[6]

At the time of Bannon's arrival Norfolk Island had been reopened for the second time as a penal settlement and was under the governorship of John Giles Price. Price was well known for his brutal and somewhat extreme management of prison discipline. While on Norfolk Island Bannon was sentenced to numerous infringements relating to disobedience, resulting in months of hard labour while chained.

The Lord Auckland arrived at Port Arthur, Tasmania in April 1853, returning Bannon to Van Diemen's Land along with 61 other male convicts.[7] Bannon was subsequently moved to the Prison Barracks at Hobart, prior to being allowed into private service. While in private service Bannon was found guilty of seeking to extort additional wages and was sentenced to 14 days solitary. He was returned to gaol for an additional offense in December 1853, ultimately settling near Table Cape.

Bannon's Ticket of Leave was issued 9 January 1855, and a Conditional Pardon was issued 20 March 1856.

Samuel Oaks was found murdered on 5 May 1858 on what was then known as "New Road" at Table Cape Tasmania. The man had been shot, brutally beaten and partially burned.[8] William Bannon was known to be on disagreeable terms with the murdered man and was subsequently tried for Oaks' murder. Bannon was found 'Not Guilty' and was released. The location of the murder is close to what is now called "Murdering Gully Road".[9] No one else was ever charged with the murder.

During the 1860s the local police continued to have an interest in Bannon. In February 1866 he was held in Launceston Gaol prior to trial, accused of wounding horses, before the charges were dismissed and Bannon was released.[10] In April 1869 the local police accused Bannon of stealing four small pigs, again without a prosecution.[11]

In July 1870, Bannon was once again imprisoned at Launceston Gaol. The charges were for 'illicit distillation' and unlawfully aiming a firearm at the police. On 21 July 1870, at the Torquay Police Court, Bannon plead not guilty to the distillery charge. The co-accused on the distillation charge, William Foster, plead guilty. Bannon and Foster were found guilty. Bannon was fined £200 and Foster £50.[12] Both were unable to pay their fines and were kept at the Launceston Gaol until the fines could be paid.

At the subsequent court case on the firearm charge the jury did not believe the police testimony and Bannon was found not guilty of the firearm offence.[13] As Bannon was still unable to pay the £200 fine for the illegal distillery he remained in custody.

The Governor of Tasmania Sir Charles Du Cane visited the prison and Bannon appealed directly to his Excellency for his release.[14] Bannon was subsequently released by order of the Governor in December 1870.[15]

A number of letters were sent to local papers about the injustice of Bannon’s case and concerns about police behaviour. A letter from ‘Justitia’, a reference to Lady Justice, written while Bannon was still in gaol, called for him to be released, pointing to the ‘not guilty’ verdict and the impact on Bannon’s young family.[16] Bannon himself wrote a letter to the press following his release detailing accusations of poor police behaviour. The editor called for a ‘more rigid sort of investigation’ into the complaints raised, indicating a pattern of poor behaviour by the local police.[17] Bannon wrote a second letter in February 1871 noting that the police refused to return his clothing that had been taken at the time of his arrest.[18]

It is noteworthy that a reward of 100 pounds had previously been approved for the Torquay Chief District Constable John Reynolds for the conviction of William Bannon on the distillery. This reward further brought into question the motivation of the police involved.[19]

In 1879 Bannon was charged with stealing a pair of bullock yokes, and a pair of bows, together valued at ten shillings. Edward Hancox, also an ex-convict and the local blacksmith, appeared as a witness for Bannon, testifying that he'd made Bannon the yokes that had been found in his possession. Bannon was found not guilty.[20] Hancox's son (John Hancox) would later marry Bannon's daughter (Sarah Jane Bannon).

In October 1880 Bannon still remained the focus of local police and was considered a suspect in the theft of a number of sheep.[21]

William and Harriet Bannon, with Florence and Mary Hancox (grandchildren)

William Bannon married Harriet Shattock in 1857. Harriet was a servant, originally from Somerset, who travelled from Plymouth with a family on board the Blackwall Clipper ‘Sussex' via Port Phillip Bay, arriving October 1855.

Harriet and William had nine children, including Sarah Jane Hancox (née Bannon). Sarah, his first child, was born within months of his acquittal for the murder of Samuel Oaks in 1858. According to her grave headstone, Harriet Bannon, his sixth child, died on Christmas Day 1870, which was within a week of his release from Launceston Gaol on the distillery issue. Harriet Bannon was one year old at the time of her death. Bannon also had a small dog named Jack.

Harriet and William were understood to have separated for a period, with Bannon placing advertisements in the local press cautioning storekeepers not to extend credit to Harriet.[22] Bannon died within a year of this 'caution' notice, with Bannon family records indicating the couple reconciled prior to Bannon's death. On her death in 1915 Harriet chose not to be buried with Bannon.

Bannon went on to become a widely known and respected farmer.[23] The distinctive “Stone House" at Sassafras, said to be one of the better known landmarks in the area for over 70 years, was built for Bannon using sandstone quarried near his property. The "Stone House", also referred to as the "Haunted House", was torn down in 1948.[24] The Bannon family folklore is that the property was built over a well, causing strange sounds from debris falling into the well.

Bannon passed away at his residence in Latrobe, Tasmania on 27 February 1904. He was buried at the Latrobe Cemetery (Catholic). His wife Harriet was buried at the Railton, Tasmania Cemetery (Anglican).

Bannon's grandson, John Hancox, was Sarah Jane Hancox’s son. He died at Gallipoli on 19 May 1915 while fighting for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps in the Gallipoli campaign.[25]

Christine Milne, an Australian politician, recognises John Hancox as her grandmother's brother [26] making William Bannon Christine Milne's great-great-grandfather.

One of Bannon’s great great great grandchildren is a Catholic Priest in Australia.