James Scobie (29 November 1826 – 7 October 1854) was a Scottish
gold digger
Gold digger is a term for a person, typically a woman, who engages in a type of transactional relationship for money rather than love. If it turns into marriage, it is a type of marriage of convenience.
Etymology and usage
The term "gold ...
murdered at
Ballarat, Victoria
Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.
Within months of Vic ...
, Australia. His death was associated with a sequence of events which led to the
Eureka Rebellion
The Eureka Rebellion was a series of events involving gold miners who revolted against the British administration of the colony of Victoria, Australia during the Victorian gold rush. It culminated in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, which ...
.
At the later
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
trial in Melbourne, gold-miner Peter Martin gave eyewitness testimony regarding the death, as published in ''Bell's Life in Sydney and Sporting Reviewer''. He stated that he and Scobie went to Bentley's Hotel "to get something to drink", but found "the house was shut up". When Scobie went up to one of the front windows, a hand broke through the window and struck him. Scobie then tried to get into the hotel, but Martin managed to get him to go "100 or 150 yards" away in the direction of Scobie's tent. Some men and a woman followed the pair. The woman told the men that Scobie had broken the window. Martin was knocked down, and one of the men struck Scobie with what Martin thought "resembled a battle-axe". Martin fetched a doctor, but Scobie was already dead.
An inquest into Scobie's death was held the same afternoon. At the inquest, the hotel keeper, James Bentley, and his staff denied taking part in the death, despite a sound case against them. The magistrate found that there was not enough evidence against Bentley and as a result the matter was adjourned.
Miners felt that justice had not been served and made a plan. The diggers had a meeting that grew out of control and ended with a riot outside Bentley's Hotel. This resulted in it burning to the ground on 17 October because of the miners' anger. Three men were arrested, and extra troops were sent from Melbourne.
These actions caused more frequent license inspections, and with rumours of the death of a drummer boy, soldiers were pelted with rocks and more arrests were made.
A petition was sent to His Excellency Sir
Charles Hotham
Sir Charles Hotham, KCB, RN (14 January 180631 December 1855)B. A. Knox,Hotham, Sir Charles (1806–1855), '' Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 4, MUP, 1972, pp 429-430.
was Lieutenant-Governor and, later, Governor of Victoria, ...
, Lieutenant-Governor of the Colony of Victoria regarding the investigation of the death of James Scobie.
New evidence came to light and a trial was held in Melbourne's Supreme Court commencing 18 November: ''Queen v. James Francis Bentley, Catherine Bentley, William Henry Hance and Thomas Farrell in the murder of James Scobie''. Judge
Redmond Barry
Sir Redmond Barry, (7 June 181323 November 1880), was a colonial judge in Victoria, Australia of Anglo-Irish origins. Barry was the inaugural Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, serving from 1853 until his death in 1880. He is arguably ...
presided over the case. James Bentley, William Hance and Thomas Farrell were all found guilty of manslaughter and were each sentenced on 20 November to three years hard labour on the roads; Catherine Bentley was found not guilty.
On the afternoon of 20 November, Judge Barry presided over the trial of the Bentley's Hotel rioters. Thomas Fletcher, Andrew McIntyre, and Henry Westerly were respectively sentenced to three, four, and six months imprisonment.
Scobie's death and the acquittal of the hotel keeper at the inquest were part of the catalyst of the events leading to the Eureka Rebellion.
Scobie is buried in the