George David Silva
Encyclopedia
George David Silva who was of Cingalese descent, worked as a farmhand on a property owned by Charles Ching at Alligator Creek, about 20 miles from Mackay, Queensland
.
On 16 November 1911, Charles Ching told Silva he was travelling to town for supplies and money for Silva's wages. While he was away Silva murdered the six Chings after the eldest daughter Maud had rejected his advances.
The bodies of Agnes, Maud, Hugh and Winnie were found in the house. Mother and eldest daughter had been shot while the boy and baby had their skulls smashed in. The bodies of Teddy and Dolly Ching were found a mile and a half away; both had been shot and their skulls smashed in.
Police and aboriginal trackers inspected the crime scene, and after the trackers stated that there was no trail to follow the police homed in on Silva. Silva, fearing a lynch mob from Mackay, eventually confessed to police.
Tried only for the murder of Maud Ching, Silva was hanged at Boggo Road Gaol
in Brisbane on June 10, 1912 and buried in South Brisbane Cemetery.
Mackay, Queensland
Mackay is a city on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's cane sugar....
.
On 16 November 1911, Charles Ching told Silva he was travelling to town for supplies and money for Silva's wages. While he was away Silva murdered the six Chings after the eldest daughter Maud had rejected his advances.
The bodies of Agnes, Maud, Hugh and Winnie were found in the house. Mother and eldest daughter had been shot while the boy and baby had their skulls smashed in. The bodies of Teddy and Dolly Ching were found a mile and a half away; both had been shot and their skulls smashed in.
Police and aboriginal trackers inspected the crime scene, and after the trackers stated that there was no trail to follow the police homed in on Silva. Silva, fearing a lynch mob from Mackay, eventually confessed to police.
Tried only for the murder of Maud Ching, Silva was hanged at Boggo Road Gaol
Boggo Road Gaol
Boggo Road Gaol was a notorious Australian prison located on Annerley Road in Dutton Park, an inner southern suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The site is the only surviving intact gaol in Queensland that reflects penological principles of the 19th century...
in Brisbane on June 10, 1912 and buried in South Brisbane Cemetery.
Victims
- Agnes Ching, wife of Charles Ching
- Maud Ching, 17 daughter of Charles Ching
- Teddy Ching, 10 son of Charles Ching
- Dolly Ching, 8 daughter of Charles Ching
- Hugh Ching, 4 son of Charles Ching
- Winnie Ching, 20 months daughter of Charles Ching
External links
- Tragedy at Mackay, The Sydney MailThe Sydney MailThe Sydney Mail was an Australian magazine published weekly in Sydney. The weekly edition of The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, it ran from 1860 to 1938....
(November 22, 1911) - A terrible tragedy, Northern Territory Times and Gazette (December 15, 1911)
- Fearful tragedy, Poverty Bay Herald (November 20, 1911)
- Queensland murder case, Poverty Bay Herald (November 21, 1911)
- The Ching tragedy, Poverty Bay Herald (November 20, 1911)
- The Ching tragedy, Poverty Bay Herald (November 30, 1911)