Sam Lazenby and Joe Murray

Samuel Wells Lazenby (Sam)was born in 1844 in Perth to George Lazenby and Mary Ann Wells. He had nine siblings, one of whom died in her fourth year. Sam’s father was an immigrant from Yorkshire, England via the Cygnet. He married Mary on the day she arrived via the Brothers. Once he arrived in West Australia, he became a pioneer and settler farmer and grazier. He was a methodist pay preacher, a city councillor and road board member and a carpenter-cabinet maker. His accomplishments and hard work passed onto his two sons who set out in the farming and pearling industries.

It was not always easy for Sam. Newspapers show he and his brother John were insolvent in 1868, and they were involved in court cases pursuing money owed to creditors.

In a change of fortune Sam made a good living in pearling, building a fleet of luggers to service his mother boat, Venus. He based his operations in Port Walcott. He employed Aboriginal crew members. Unlike many pearlers he befriended local Aboriginal people and found them helpful in finding food and water in the remote places that pearling took him.

Sam adapted to life in the northwest. He was the secretary of the Roebourne Annual Races and Athletic Sports, a popular social break for pearlers and their families. He also entered social boat races and other social events. He lived aboard Venus during the pearling seasons.

Sam’s crew on Venus consisted of Master Thomas Robertson (Tom), Joe Murray, a Yindjibarndi man from Yule River, and three Thalanyji men from Ashburton River country – Johnny, Charcoal Mullandaridgee and Tommy Mullandee. Each of Sam’s 12 luggers had six men aboard. By 1871, he had built a sizeable pearling outfit.

His brother-in-law, William Shakespeare Hall and brother John had built their own pearling outfits. William had come from an affluent family. His family chartered a ship and emigrated via the Protector in 1830.He had failed to make his own fortune at the Victorian goldfields and had moved to the northwest to invest in pearling. He financed the Venus and her luggers. He was a JP, explorer and pastoralist.

On 5 August 1872 Sam took Venus to Bedun Creek, 9 miles from the Ashburton River. Leaving Tom with Venus, he took the other men in the boat’s dinghy and headed for Bedun Island, five miles north of the creek. Sam told Robertson he would be back on 7 August. The men were hunting turtles before they headed out into the pearling grounds again to re-stock the food supplies for the lugger crews. Sam was dressed in white cord trousers, a plain crimson undershirt and a blue serge overshirt. He took a blanket and a rug for comfortable sleeping. He carried his loaded revolver and an axe.

When the men did not return as planned, Tom became worried and began to ask local Aboriginal people if they had seen the men. A boy told him that the dinghy had overturned, and Sam and Joe had drowned. Two days later Johnny came to see Thomas on Venus with a detailed story.

He said the dinghy overturned when it was caught in a squall while tacking.

It overturned. Apparently, Sam swam a short way and then sank and did not surface again. Joe reached the shore before drowning. Tom believed this story as the weather and tide details were accurate and it seemed plausible.

Tom remained in Bedun Creek until help arrived. Master Fraser on Fortescue and two crew from the Weery assisted Tom to get the Venus back to Port Walcott. He reported the story to police as he knew it at the time. Word spread fast in pearling settlements and camps, since new news was unusual and welcome, even if it was tragic.

On 2 September the Weery anchored at Port Walcott. Aboard were two men, Howard and John Tagg, who knew Sam and had been aboard Venus when Tom took her out of Bedun Creek. They saw Johnny and Charcoal when they went ashore. The Aboriginal men said nothing to arouse suspicion. Howard and John still boarded Gamecock bound for Bedun Island. They had decided to look around. Why was there no trace of Sam or Joe, the dinghy or any of the men’s belongings.

On Bedun Island Howard and John went separate ways to search the shore of the small island for any trace of Sam, Joe or the dinghy. Howard had not gone far before he stumbled across a camp site. He became aware of an overpowering putrid smell. That led him to a partially covered rug. He called to John.

Together they pulled the rug up. Underneath was a male body in advanced decomposition, laying face up on a blanket underneath the rug. The body had white cord pants, a crimson undershirt and a blue overshirt. The left side of the skull was shattered and there was a crack

from the forehead to the crown. Sam’s hands were tied together with string, and both feet were mutilated. A missing front tooth and the colour of the hair was the final identifying feature.

Howard and John looked further. They found no trace of Joe or the missing dinghy. They covered Sam’s body and left to report their grisly finding to police.

Police Corporal Richard Vincent left Port Walcott in chartered cutter Edward James to execute warrants for the murder suspects. Between 24 and 30 October 1871 PC Vincent found Aboriginal camps in the area, waiting until midnight and then raided the camp. With him were George Foskill, James Jackson, William Hall, John Payne and an Aboriginal assistant Curlywig. They walked into a camp, surrounded camp residents and asked about the men they were seeking. When they found them, the men were arrested and when they tried to run, they were chained.

In the first camp Johnny tried to run. Curlywig shot him, striking him in the back. He ran to the sea and started swimming. PC Vincent and Curlywig followed him. He kept swimming, and then suddenly sank. The men on the beach waited for three hours, but Johnny did not emerge from the water again. PC Vincent thought he must have drowned, and he and Curlywig returned to the Edward James. A search of the camp revealed a blue serge shirt and an axe and pieces of sail cloth from Venus.

On 4 November the arrest party sailed to Bedun Island. PC Vincent took Charley and Tommy with him to the island camp. He easily discovered Samuel’s remains 20 yards from the beach.

Samuel was lying face-up with his hands together on his abdomen. The skull fractures were obvious. The body had the feet cut off. PC Vincent, William Hall and there were at the examination of the body at Roebourne on 7 November. At that stage the matter was reported to Mr Robert Sholl, Resident Magistrate.

Sam’s brother-in-law identified the remains as those of Samuel Lazenby. They buried Sam at Beadon Creek. With the identification confirmed, PC Vincent put Samuel in a coffin. They rode the 9.3 miles [15 kms] to Beadon Creek (Onslow) to report to authorities.

Sam’s family erected a memorial in the family plot in the wesleyan section of the East Perth Cemetery. His parents were buried there. Sam died at the age of 30 years. He was not married and had no children.

Sadly, there was no trace ever found of Joe Murray. PC Vincent, and the search party went to look for the men from Venus who were the main suspects for Sam’s murder. He took Curly Wig and searched the Ashburton River area, located and arrested Charcoal. PC Vincent found more canvas, a sheath knife and an axe. Charcoal confirmed they belonged to Sam. In another camp he found a 16-foot spear with an English Ash shaft, pieces of canvas from a boat’s sail and two oars. They were recognised by Tom.

Charley was the last man arrested, and he was charged with being an accessory to murder. It was proven he arranged for the other men to kill Sam, but did not participate in the killing himself.

The dinghy was found on the coast. The gunwale and sternpost were gone, and it looked like the boat had been bumped on rocks. There were water breakers and a broken oar from the Venus in the dinghy, confirming the dinghy belonged to Sam.

Charcoal and Tommy were charged with murder. They were transported to Perth in the charge of PC Vincent. In Perth they were held in chains and dressed in prison clothes. Both plead not guilty in court on 7 February. There was a Supreme Court sitting before the Chief Justice and a common jury on 7 July 1872 at 10am.They took 15 minutes to turn a verdict of guilty. Tommy and Charcoal were sentenced to death.

On 15 February 1872, at 7.30am the jail bell tolled at Perth jail and at 7.57am Tommy Mullandee was taken to the scaffold and died within four and a half minutes. At 8.15 Charcoal Mullandaridgee was hanged. He died instantly.

The 14-foot Venus continued to take pearl until 1878.She was lost at the Forestier Islands with a cargo of pearl shell. She was not registered, so her dimensions are not clear. The Edward James was built in Perth by John Mews for Edward Chapman in Roebourne. The same year a cutter called Venus was built in Perth by William Lawrence. That was 45.75 x 10.75 x 4.95 feet. Her official number was 52238.Registration for this vessel was cancelled in 1874.