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A SOUTH MELBOURNE TRAGEDY
The following pages have been extracted from a booklet written by Tony
Satchell in 1994
INTRODUCTION
One warm evening in January 1894 a young woman named Hannah McLennan
stood on Kerferd Road Pier, Albert Park. She placed a small phial to
her lips and drained its contents. With an impatient gesture she threw
the bottle towards her male companion and cried out hysterically
"Good-bye Alf; I am gone!" She immediately jumped off the pier into the
sea and, as will be explained later, was drowned in sensational
circumstances.
A young man, William Robert Satchell, who was on the pier at the time,
heard her cries of distress and being informed that the woman was
drowning, took off his hat, coat and waistcoat, and plunged in to
rescue her. It appears that he caught her at the first attempt, and
raised her to the surface, but the struggling woman threw her arms
around his neck and pulled him beneath the water. Both lost their lives.
This tragedy happened 100 years ago. It therefore seems appropriate to
mark the centenary by publishing an account of the events leading to,
and ensuing from, the deaths of these two people. The dramatic
newspaper journalism of 1894 appears to give a more realisitic picture
of the event than any independent account prepared subsequently. Thus
much of this story is based on articles contained in Melbourne and
South Melbourne newspapers of the day.
William Satchell and the author are descendants of James Satchell who
arrived at Melbourne with his family from Leicester, England in
1855. For further information about this family see "Satchell Family
History" published in 1988.
CHAPTER ONE
HANNAH MCLENNAN
Hannah McLennan was born on 16th March 1867 in Warmambool the second
child of Kenneth and Sarah McLennan (nee Alsop). This couple had a
number of children over a fifteen year span. Their names were:
Sarah-Ann Bom 5th February 1866 - Died 24th April 1866
Hannah McLennan was born on 16th March 1867
William Bom 20th January 1869
Zipporah Born 2nd November 1870 (Zipporah married James Stretton Jones)
Charles James Born 22nd March 1872
Ernest Kenneth Bom 16th April 1875 - Died 7th January 1877.
Kenneth Penfold Bom 19th April 1878
George Augustus Bom 14th March 1881
Hannah came to Melbourne when she was about sixteen and obtained work
as a cook. While living in East St Kilda, she met a Scotsman named
George Bailey. She married him at age eighteen on 31st December 1885,
with the written consent from her father. The service was held at the
Westbury Street Church, East St Kilda. Bailey was aged twenty eight,
and apparently had received little education, as both his Christian
name and surname were spelt incorrectly in his signature on the
marriage certificate. He was described as a bachelor.
The couple went to live in Williamstown where George was employed as a
painter. Their life on the whole seemed quite happy, although Bailey
demonstrated on a number of occasions that he had a violent temper.
In 1886, a child Ernest Kenneth was born, and shortly after the pair
began to quarrel.
Affairs reached a climax when Hannah discovered amongst her husband's
papers, a document which revealed that he had been married previously
in Scotland. Confronted with this evidence. Bailey admitted that he had
left his wife in that country. Hannah decided to leave Bailey, and fled
with her child to the home of her former employer in
St Kilda. She resumed her position as a servant, but was ultimately
hunted out and harassed by Bailey who was infatuated with her. He was
heard to remark mat she would never re-marry.
Suddenly Bailey disappeared, and Hannah thought that he may have moved
to another state. She obtained a domestic position in Coventry Street,
South Melbourne, and believed herself to be safe from him.
One day when she was standing on the verandah, Hannah caught sight of
her husband talking to a stranger on the opposite side of the street.
It seems that she attempted to hide, but Bailey noticed her and before
she could seek refuge of the house, he raced across the street, seized
her and struck her quite violently. He then disappeared again, but
Hannah remained apprehensive that he would return and beat her.
About September 1892, Hannah met Ronald Alfred Birtles, a storeman aged
29. Birtles had been friendly with Hannah's brother "Brusher" McLennan,
a well known Warmambool footballer who also played with Essendon.
An intimacy developed between them. Hannah told Birtles the story of
her bogus marriage to Bailey and his subsequent violent behaviour
towards her. Birdes seemed to be quite affected by her story, and
swayed by the opinions of her girl friends that Bailey was dangerous.
At first the couple got on well, but Hannah began to reveal that she
also had a bad temper, and an increasing number of quarrels took place
between them.
Because of this, and the possibility that Bailey might return and
confront him, Birtles decided to terminate the relationship. Hannah now
threatened suicide if he left her, and Birtles would later tell an
inquest that he had had to take a bottle of poison from her on more
than one occasion. They saw each other mtermittenuy for some months,
and their last quarrel arose because he refused to take her to the
Melbourne Cup. Hannah did not see Birties for three weeks prior to the
evening of the tragedy. During this period she had repeatedly spoken of
suicide to her friend Janie Carter, who did not believe that she would
carry it out.
CHAPTER TWO
KERFERD ROAD PIER
At 7pm on 2nd January 1894, Hannah McLennan was watering flowers in the
back garden of the house belonging to her employer Mr A T Craven, a
chemist of Bridport Street Albert Park, who had engaged her as a
domestic servant about one month before. She asked Mr Craven if she
might go out, "Certainly" he replied. Hannah left a little later and
met her friend Janie Carter at her home nearby in Faussett Street, and
after having spoken to Janie's parents for some time, the two of them
left at about 8pm.
The couple went for a walk towards the beach and presently saw Alf
Birtles. He was with some friends and Hannah said "Lefs go on the pier,
and we'll see him there." The pier was crowded with promenaders who
were seeking some relief from a breeze after a very hot day. Others
were being entertained by a fireworks display and a musical program
from a band seated in the rotunda near the Hotel Victoria.
About 9.30pm the music and fireworks display ceased. The crowd had
begun to disperse and shortly after only about a dozen or so people
remained. They were seated along the pier chatting in groups of two or
three, Hannah McLennan and Janie Carter being among them. A little
later Birtles walked past them without speaking. Hannah appeared hurt
and turned to Janie and said, "Here Janie, take my watch and chain and
send it to my mother at Warrnambool. They will do for my little boy. I
am going to drown myself, and there is no use in jumping into the water
with the watch and chain on." Janie Carter refused to take these items
as she did not believe that Hannah was serious in threatening to drown
herself.
A few minutes laters Birtles came along again. Hannah called to him and
he stopped. She spoke with him for a considerable time and appeared
quite calm and certainly more friendly than Janie had anticipated. She
had expected a quarrel but instead she saw smiles and apparent good
will.
Believing that Hannah and Dirties had made up and having become tired
of being alone, Janie called to Hannah that it was time to go. Hannah
replied "Alright I am coming." Hannah said something to Birtles which
was not overheard and he moved away after raising his hat and saying
"Goodnight Miss McLennan, Goodnight Miss Carter." Birtles then said "I
must be going now," and she replied, "Yes I suppose you want to get rid
of me." He remarked that he had to get home and that her friend Miss
Carter was waiting for her. He said "Goodnight Annie" and turned away.
It was then about 10.30pm.
Hannah looked towards him for an instant, and then taking a small
chlorodyne bottle from her pocket drank its contents. She threw the
empty bottle towards Birtles crying out hysterically" Goodbye Air, I am
gone." She then jumped off the unprotected south side of the pier into
the sea.
For a moment there was a hush upon the jetty. It was broken by a wild
exclamation from Birties" Oh my God! Help! Help!" Then he ran to the
life buoy which hung on the pier, tore it loose and cast it into the
sea. It fell wide of the struggling woman. Panicking he then unfastened
a grappling hook and threw it towards her. He did not jump because he
could not swim. There was no other life saving equipment on the pier,
and as it was quite impossible to regain possession of the buoy in the
water, the spectators were in a dilemma.
One spectator was a young man named William Satchell, who was walking
along the pier with Miss Minnie Milton. He had not witnessed what had
happened, but arriving at the scene now saw Hannah McLennan in the
water. He threw off his hat, coat and vest, and handing them to Janie
Carter dived off the pier. He was a good swimmer and in a stroke or two
caught hold of Hannah, and began calling to the people on the pier
asking where the buoy was. No one could tell him, because it had
floated away in the darkness and could not be seen.
He struggled desperately to free himself from the dutches of the
drowning woman but soon became exhausted. He feebly called "Goodbye
Phoebe" before disappearing beneath the surface of the water.
(Presumably 'Phoebe' was William's companion described by the Press as
Minnie Milton.)
In the meantime someone had run to the Hotel Victoria for rope, and the
proprietor Mr McGregor cut down his clothes line hoping that it would
be of use. But it was too late because both Satchell and Hannah
McLennan had disappeared. The stunned spectators now turned their
attention to the recovery of the bodies. News of the terrible event
spread fast and Constable Halpin was quickly on the scene.
Mr McCarthy who was a dose friend of Satchell, set out in a boat and
began to drag for the bodies. Critisisim was subsequently levelled at
the water police who did not arrive at the pier until Sam the following
day. There was a telephone at the nearby Hotel Victoria, but constant
efforts to get in touch with them were unsuccessful. For some four
hours Mr McCarthy and a friend dived repeatedly into the deep water in
search of the bodies. They were assisted by Mr John McGregor and two
young labourers, Charles Mathews and a man named Johnson. At 2.30am
they saw a dark object floating on the surface of the water a few paces
from the shore. Mr McCarthys friend waded in knee deep and found it was
the body of Hannah McLennan. Froth was coming out of her mouth and it
was suspected that poison had done its work before she had drowned.
The following letter from Mr McCarthy was published in "The Herald" on
4th January 1894:-
"With regard to the conduct of the police on the night of the fatal
occurrence at Albert Park, allow me to say that I was on the pier at 11
o'clock and during the only beat present from 12 o'clock to 3.30.
During all that time the police made no apparent effort to recover the
bodies. Most certainly they never once entered the boat engaged to
dragging for them. The boat was manned by civilians only." I am etc. CF
McCarthy, 30 Kerferd Road, 3rd January.
Early the following morning crowds swarmed to the scene of the
accident. At 10am the water police discovered Satchel's body. It was
lifted to the pier, placed on a vehicle and conveyed to a room in one
of the outbuildings of the Hotel Victoria. Following requests from a
large number of Satchell's friends, his corpse was not removed to the
morgue as was customary. His body was clothed in his shirt, collar and
tie, trousers and boots, showing how promptly he had attempted to
rescue the woman. His arms were rigid and extended as if he was
catching at something, and his legs were drawn up. Family folklore has
it that William's face had been severely scratched from the fingernails
of the drowning woman.
Mr Craven, Hannah's employer, made the following statement at the pier.
"During her service Miss McLennan had conducted herself becomingly and
had given no evidence of weakness or deficiency of intellect. She
apparently extracted as much enjoyment from life as most people in her
circumstances, and except under impulse or sudden insanity, would not
be deemed as one who would be likely to take her own life." He added
that it was utterly impossible for Hannah to have obtained any poison
in his establishment. The bottle of chlorodyne that she had was a
common and harmless medicine. Mr Craven disclosed that a young man had
come into his shop on the morning of the tragedy to see Hannah, but no
special significance was attached to that. He could not say whether her
visitor was the young man who was speaking to her that evening on the
pier.
The sad event was front page news in the Melbourne Herald that evening.
CHAPTER NINE ERNEST BAILEY
"Mother, look after my child. God spare you to see him grow up, and may
he prove a blessing to you - Never let him know his mother's fate."
These words were included in Hannah's suicide note which was produced
at the inquest.
Had she been able to return to this world 100 years later, Hannah would
have been pleased to discover that her child had lived to the ripe old
age of 87, and in 1994 had 80 descendants, whose names are included on
charts at the end of this chapter. She may not have been so pleased to
leam that her grandchildren knew that something tragic had happened to
her, although the secret was apparently kept from subsequent
generations of the family.
In accordance with his mother's wish, Ernest was brought up by his
grandparents Sarah and Ken McLennan in Warmambool. Ken died in 1901
aged 74 and Sarah in 1909 aged 67. Sarah's will prepared shortly before
her death bequeathed the following:- "I give unto my son George
McLennan my black pony and the picture of his father. I give all the
rest of my personal estate unto my son William McLennan. I devise all
my real estate unto my grandson Emest Kenneth Bailey, subject to the
payment by him of all my just debts funeral and testamentary expenses -
I appoint the said Ernest Kenneth Bailey sole excutor of this my will"
Civil Registration records reveal that Emest Bailey married in 1913,
and died in 1973. His death certificate indicated that he had six
children, five of whom were living at the time of his death. A
subsequent check of directories and electoral rolls, ultimately put me
in touch with three of Ernest's children, who gave me details of their
father's life which I have summarised below:
Young Ernest cleaned stables at Warmambool for some years . The pay was
poor, and he subsequently joined the Navy, where he worked mainly as an
electrician for six years.
He left the Navy when he was about 27 and in 1913 married Lillian Duff.
They settled
in Brunswick and had me following children;"
Alec Born 5th June 1914
Isabell Born 27th October 1915
Esmeralda Born 16fh May 1917
Beryl Bom 4th September 1918 - Died 1969
For some years he utilised his skills as an electrician, wiring houses
locally, and working at his father-in-law's bakery in Lygon Street.
About 1919 he bought 130 acres at Koondrook, which is situated on the
River Murray near Kerang. He chose this location because his
brother-in-law Les Duff lived nearby. Ernest grew oranges, and
tomatoes, had some cows, and did electrical wiring in the town. A
further two children were born at Koondrook:- Alma Born 27th August
1927 Leslie Bom 4th January 1932
Ernest was a kind and generous father, and seems not to have been
affected by the unfortunate events of his early life.
In 1960 he and his wife retired from the farm, and went to America to
visit their married daughter Esmeralda or Esme as she was called. They
stayed there for three months, before coming to Melbourne, where they
lived with their eldest daughter Isabell. In 1962 they bought a house
in Newport and remained there for the rest of their lives. Lillian died
in February 1973, and Ernest in August the same year. Both are buried
at Koondrook Cemetery.
Towards the end of his life Ernest suffered from dementia. It is
typical of this disease that many sufferers can at times vividly recall
events that happened many years before, although their short term
memory is generally diminished. A recollection of an event apparently
told to him by his grandparents astonished his daughter Isabell. One
day when she was taking her father for a drive along the beach front at
Albert Park, Ernest pointed to the Kerferd Road pier and exclaimed:-
"That's where she died!" Up to this time he had never mentioned to his
children what had happened to their grandmother. He had kept the secret
from them for so long, and now refused to elaborate on what he had
said, when pressed by Isabell to do so. A faded press cutting of his
mother's suidde was found among his possessions after his death.
On the other hand the family knew about his father George Bailey.
George had been married three times, once in England and twice in
Australia. His previous two wives found out about the third, and each
wrote to Hannah informing her of George's deceit. The letters were kept
by the family, but were discarded when the farm at Koondrook was sold.
A picture of George resplendent in military uniform remained with the
family for many years but its whereabouts is now unknown. George never
tried to get in touch with his son after the fatality, and nobody knows
what happened to him.
The descendants of George Bailey and Hannah McLennan through their son
Ernest are shown on the following pages.
Tombstone - William Satchell
THIS MEMORIAL
WAS ERECTED
BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION
To the Memory of
WILLIAM ROBT SATCHELL
AGED 21 YEARS.
SON OF JAMES & ALICE SATCHELL
ALBERT PARK.
WHO SACRIFICED HIS LIFE IN A BRAVE
ATTEMPT TO RESCUE THAT OF A DROWNING
WOMAN, OFF THE KERFERD ROAD JETTY,
SOUTH MELBOURNE, ON THE NIGHT OF THE
2ND JANUARY, 1894
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