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]
[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.
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