Glenelg Riots - part three -  Guy Fawkes Day 

Remember, remember, the 5th of November,

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason

Why gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, 'twas his intent

To blow up the King and the Parliament

Three score barrels of powder below

Poor old England to overthrow

By God's providence he was catch'd

With a dark lantern and burning match

Holler boys, holler boys, let the bells ring

Holler boys, holler boys

God save the King!

 

 

Way back on January 24^th, 2023, I published the first part of this series ‘The Glenelg Riot.’ I decided it would be more fitting to publish this post on the 5^th of November - Guy Fawkes Day.

 

 Guy Fawkes Day (also known as Cracker Night, Bonfire Night, and Fireworks night) was an annual celebration in Great Britain and in some Commonwealth countries such as Australia. The day memorialised the attempted assassination of King James 1, a protestant King, by Catholic conspirators.
 On November 5^th, 1605, Guy Fawkes was arrested while guarding explosives that had been placed under the House of Lords. He was part of a plot to blow up Parliament led by Robert Catesby. The other conspirators were captured and executed on 31 January 1606, but not before Edward Montagu, a Member of Parliament proposed that the King had been saved by Divine Intervention, and therefore the day should be celebrated as a day of thanksgiving.

 The 5^th of November became a day for the burning of effigies of Guy Fawkes. In its early incarnations, the day celebrated the Protestant King by defiling Catholic Church symbols, such as the pope, by burning effigies. The holiday remained in Australia until circa 1982 when the Government banned all sales of fireworks.

In 1910 Glenelg celebrated Guy Fawkes night with a riot![1] Crowds had gathered at Mosely Square and Jetty Road to celebrate the evening. All was going well, until around 10pm that evening, an apparent signal went up and firecrackers from every direction were thrown at police.
At around 11pm a large stone was thrown from a lane adjoining Jetty Lane at Constable Harrold. The stone missed him but hit Mounted Constable Clark inflicting a deep wound into his skull which later had to be stitched.[2]A plain-clothed officer arrested the rock thrower, assisted by Constable Keene, who was promptly despatched by a bottle thrown at his head, knocking him out.[3]
The police retreated to the station, but the crowd followed. After a short time, the police came outside and confronted the crowd with their batons drawn. The crowd soon dispersed, and the riot ended.[4]

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2023

[1] 'CRACKERS AND CONSTABLES.', Evening Journal, (7 November 1910), p. 4.

[2] 'SOUTH AUSTRALIA.', The North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times (8 November 1910), p. 3.

[3] 'RIOT AT GLENELG.', The Sydney Morning Herald, (7 November 1910), p. 9

[4] 'RIOT AT GLENELG.', The West Australian, (7 November 1910), p. 8