The Shooting Death of E. Beckmann

 On Sunday 29 December 1850, E. Beckmann (sometimes published as Breckmond in local newspapers) was passing a house on the Gawler Plains, between Smiths Creek and Salisbury (in what would be Elizabeth today). As he passed one of the only houses on the plains, a hostile ferocious dog set upon him.
 Beckmann went for his gun. Instead of shooting the dog, he attempted to keep it away by swinging the butt of the gun at it. Beckmann was holding the gun by the barrel end, he swung the gun meaning to slam it down onto the dog, smashing it into the ground. As the gun hit the ground it fired, sending its contents directly into Beckmann’s abdomen, shredding his insides.^[1]

 

The gunshot alerted nearby workers who found Beckmann. He lasted just half an hour before he died from the severity of his injuries.

 The following day he was taken to Smith’s Hotel (now the Smithfield Hotel) for an inquest. Mr Bromley acted as chairperson, with members of the public acting as jury. It was discovered that Beckmann had on his person £1 5.s in money, a pocketbook, and a watch, so robbery was ruled out. After a short deliberation, Beckmann’s death was ruled ‘accidental’.^[2] His remains were taken to Gawler where he was buried in the Gawler Cemetery (now Pioneer Park).^[3]

 There remains a mystery as to who Mr Beckmann was, with nothing found on his body to identify next of kin.

© Allen Tiller 2022

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[1] 'Local News.', South Australian, (3 Jan 1851), p. 2., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71685742.

[2] 'The German Constituencies in South Australia.', South Australian Register, (2 Jan 1851), p. 2.,  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38442071

[3] Pioneer Park – Gawler Old Cemetery Name List, Gawler History Team, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-BRCBQFhkf0PR6W9FosfFmaJDAn3PpBm/view.