Henry Alford and “The Tiers”

Henry Alford and “The Tiers”

 

Mount Lofty Ranges, 1912
Image courtesy of the State Library of South Australia, SLSA: PRG 280/1/16/278, Public Domain

 Long before the Adelaide Hills became one of the favourite holiday destination of residents in Adelaide, trying to escape the heat, and enjoy the scenic beauty of iconic locations such as Handorf, Mount Lofty, Stirling and Balhannah. The Adelaide Hills, known in the early days of South Australian settlement as “The Tiers” was home to “Duffers”, vagabonds, ruffians and other nefarious people.
 

 South Australia, in particular, Adelaide, was the only South Australian settlement not founded on the back of convict labour. It was a colonial utopia, designed for good, hard-working, salt of the earth people. It didn’t take too long before it was overrun with the escaped convicts, army and navy deserters, runaway sailors and opportunists.
 This “underclass” of people needed to hide away from the Police Force which was starting to establish itself, and to do so, hid in the Adelaide Hills, in log cabins, hidden away in nooks and crannies, caves and lonely gullies…
 These underhanded criminals could plan their raids, plunder the city, and return to their mountain caves, knowing the likely hood of being caught by the fledgling police force would be minimal.

 Duffers (cattle rustlers) would hide in the hills, steal cattle from local farmers and slaughter them in hidden pockets in the hills. The hides would be burnt and the meat pickled, taken to Port Adelaide, or other seaports, and sold to Sea Captains, who would turn a blind eye to where the meat came from.

 The establishment of the South Australian Police Force in 1838 saw Henry Inman selected as the Superintendent. The South Australian Police Force is the oldest in Australia and the 3^rd oldest in the world.
 One of the first constables was Henry Alford, who had come to South Australia on-board the schooner John Pirie in 1838 in the employ of the South Australia Company. Alford would go on to work for the SA Police for 16 years. Within his duties, he once escorted 33,763 ounces of gold from Victoria to South Australia. He was also crucial in arresting a lot of bush-rangers which raided Adelaide from “The Tiers” in the early days of the colony.

 One of Alford's most written about conquests were the arrest of a rogue known by the name of “Spearman”.

 Spearman was a bushranger with a predilection for highway robbery, and holding up farmers. One farmer a masked bushranger held up happened to recognise the voice of his assailant from an earlier legitimate business transactions, and reported to Alford that the masked bushranger he was looking for was Spearman.

 Alford and two troopers assigned to him, went into the Adelaide Hills looking for Spearman, they were pointed in the direction of where Eagle-on-the hill stands today.
 The three police officers found a shanty hut, and snuck up too it quietly, and listened to the conversation between the occupants.
 The conversation inside the house between Spearman and his wife went something like this:
 Spearman; “What did you do with the plunder?”
 Spearman’s Wife; “I have sewn it up in my stays”

That was enough evidence for Alford and his men, they snuck away and rode up the next morning to Spearman’s hut. Spearman, who was readying to leave for Mount Barker was taken by surprise and was arrested, along with his wife.

 Both Mr & Mrs Spearman took offence to being arrested and asked for what reason was Alford doing so, his reply “For having stolen plunder in your possession!”
Mrs Spearman protested the arrest and asked if she could change her dress before being taken to gaol.
 Alford, with a wry smile, said “No, I prefer you as you are!”

 Both were sentenced to gaol, with Mr Spearman being sentenced to transportation and hard labour in Van Diemens Land (Tasmania). Henry Alford would eventually become an Inspector in the Police Force, and after 16 years of service, retired to become the publican of the Glynde Hotel until his death in February 1892. He was buried at the West Terrace Cemetery.

YOUNG CRIMINAL GANG IN MAKING

YOUNG CRIMINAL GANG IN MAKING

Port Adelaide, long has this seaside city been fraught with an image of being seedy and full of criminal activity. Just like most seaside ports, where the sailors from around the world would come from afar and cause a ruckus, sweet talk the ladies and fight any local willing to defend his ladies honour.

By 1934, Port Adelaide had changed dramatically, although it was still a shipping port, the crime rate had dropped off, people had become more refined, sailors more civilised and respectful, but there was always that criminal element,. And in 1934, that criminal element was a very young one!
Six boys, ranging from the ages of ten years old to fourteen years old were on a crime spree throughout the town.
The boys had scaled a six-foot barbed wire fence at the back of Mrs Dunn's shop on Military Road in Largs Bay. There they had stolen 4 glass half-gallon flagons valued at 2/6, they returned again later and stole four more bottles, this time empty ones valued at 4d. - Along with the bottles, they stole a syphon and other cool drink bottles, some of which had been stored in cupboards in the rear of the shop.

The boys would often be seen by Mrs Dunn, trying to sidle their way along the side of the shop to the rear fence without being seen, she would scare them off, and they would run away.
It was known that these young lads were the cause of other thefts and acts of vandalism in the Largs Bay area and when they were eventually caught by a plains clothes Constable, A.L. Mitchell, the prosecution was not lenient on the boys....or their parents, as you will see in the following excerpt from a newspaper story at the time:

“Six boys,, whose ages ranged from 10 to 14 years, admitted charges of larceny, and of having been unlawfully on premises, before Messrs. J. H. Richards and F. A. Elix, in the Port Adelaide Juvenile Court yesterday.
Plainclothes Constable A. L. Mitchell, who prosecuted, said that three of Of boys, aged 11, I2, and 14, were jointly charged with having, on January 21, Access to the spot was gained either through her shop or over a six-foot barb -wire fence. On one occasion she was attracted to the side of the premises by a noise, and she chased away four or five small boys.
 Constable J. Allen, of Largs Bay, said that he questioned all of the boys, who admitted the offences.
 Mr Richards said that the boys were members of a criminal gang in the making. The court wished to impress upon the parents that it was their duty to look after their boys.
 It was no good allowing them to be out at all hours of the night and day. The parents were still responsible, even when the children were out of sight. Parents who refrained from looking after their charges were assisting them to be the criminals of the future. 
The 14-year-old boy, who was regarded by Mr Richards as the ringleader of the gang, was ordered two years' detention at the Reformatory on two charges of larceny and one of having been unlawfully on the premises.
 The father of the 11-year-old boy, who had been bound over in a 12 months 'bond to be of good behaviour, in May 1933 for "having unlawfully used a bicycle", was ordered to enter into another bond of £20 for his son to be of good behaviour for a further 12 months. 
The parents of the other four boys were required to enter into bonds of £10 each for their sons to be of good behaviour for 12 months.” - The Advertiser - Thursday 1 February 1934

© 2013 Allen Tiller

www.eidolonparanormal.com.au