Sir Francis Smith(1809-1909) was Tasmania’s Chief Justice and also its fifth Premier. He lived in a grand home in prestigious Holebrook Place, which formed part of Hobart’s Davey Street.
The area of Hobart where the events of this story took place.
On May 24, 1870 Sir Francis and his wife Sarah hosted a party to celebrate Queen Victoria’s birthday.
GRAND HOMES IN DAVEY STREET
A little girl employed by Sir Francis, Margaret Oswald, told her mother that a basket of silver plate had been left unattended in the pantry. The mother, Catherine Kennedy, lived nearby in Macquarie Street, She tipped off an acquaintance; a hardened criminal called Richard McCabe. McCabe was an ex-convict with a long record. He had spent several stints at infamous Port Arthur for horse stealing among other offences.
As the royal birthday festivities continued upstairs, MacCabe sneaked into the pantry at Holebrook and stole the basket.
Here is what was in it; 11 silver tablespoons, valued at £1 each; 9 dessert spoons, 6 egg spoons, 4 salt spoons, 2 sauce ladles, 1 soup ladle, 1 fish slice and fork, 1 salad fork and spoon, 11 large forks, 11 small forks, 5 dessert knives and 6 dessert forks. Quite a haul!
MacCabe took the silver to Mr and Mrs O’Brierne (there were various spellings), rather shady publicans at the Red Lion Inn, Liverpool Street. The couple were to sell the plate on his behalf, and to receive a substantial cut. Each piece of silver was engraved with Sir Francis’ initials and crest; a man holding a dagger. Naturally these identifying marks presented a big problem when it came to disposal. However, one of the young O’Brierne boys managed to file them off. They were so deep that an ounce of the filings was collected and sold separately.
Richard MacCabe was quickly arrested over the theft. And where did the police find him? At the Red Lion Inn! While awaiting trial he had a letter sent to Patrick O’Brierne from gaol asking the publican to help pay for his defence. When this was ignored he pleaded guilty and informed against Kennedy, Margaret Oswald and the O’Briernes, who were all charged with ‘receiving’.
Patrick O’Brierne blithely denied knowing MacCabe, describing him as a vile vagabond he would never associate with. 😎 Since MacCabe’s bad character was so well known, his evidence carried little weight and O’Brierne and the others were acquitted. Meanwhile, Richard MacCabe was sentenced to ten years in prison to be served at Port Arthur. There was definitely no honour among thieves in this case.
Police patiently waited for the stolen silver to reappear, while the O’Briernes waited for the heat to die down.
I should add something here about poor little Margaret Oswald, who gave the head’s up about the silver plate being in the pantry. Her father, John Oswald, died in 1862 and a few months afterwards Margaret was placed in The Queen’s Orphanage at Newtown. She was five years old. Where her mother Catherine was at this point and how long Margaret was at the orphanage is unknown. Catherine later formed a relationship with Patrick Kennedy and Margaret went to live with her in Macquarie Street. It was a very unhealthy environment, with criminals coming and going. We can only hope life eventually improved for the poor child, although it seems unlikely.
Years went by, but the stolen silver was not recovered. The Red Lion Inn became a butchers shop run by a Mr Forster. What was once the Inn’s skittle alley became Forster’s stables.
In early January 1881, one of Forster’s employees was working in the stables and saw the glint of what he first thought was a coin. When he investigated he discovered it was a silver fish knife. He dug around and uncovered a fork and a small spoon. The fish knife had somehow worked its way to the surface over the years. Publican O’Brierne had buried the cache about eighteen inches deep in the dirt floor, then covered it with ashes. Except for a couple of items, the rest of the stolen silver was also found. Because a fragment of Sir Francis’ crest had escaped the file the hidden silver plate was soon identified as the Chief Justice’s property.
No-one was ever charged over the matter, This was because Maria O’Brierne died of tuberculosis in 1874 while a prisoner in the former Cascades Female Factory (then still operating as a gaol). She had been incarcerated over another robbery. Her husband Patrick had died twelve months earlier. The couple had a family of nine, which may have driven the widowed Maria to commit further crime.
Cascades Correctional Institution
Richard MacCabe completed his ten year prison sentence. By the time the silver plate was recovered he was employed as a labourer on remote Bird Island, collecting guano (bird excrement) to be used as fertilizer. It doesn’t sound that much better than gaol!
Sir Francis finally got his silver back, though somewhat tarnished and minus his initials and crest. I doubt it graced his table again. This is a story of theft, but also a sobering insight into a society where power and privilege contrasted so sharply with poverty. Like Richard MacCabe, Catherine Kennedy was also an ex-convict, as was her daughter Margaret’s father, John Oswald. Transportation cast a long shadow.
Sir Francis retired to England in 1883 and died in 1909. He left property valued at over a thousand pounds in Tasmania (I wonder if this included Holebrook House?). His English estate amounted to a massive one hundred and sixteen thousand pounds.
FOR MORE ON THE LIFE OF SIR FRANCIS SMITH, CLICK HERE.
