Jimmy Governor
Encyclopedia
Jimmy Governor was one of the Governor brothers, two Indigenous Australian men who committed a series of murders in the Central West region of New South Wales
around the turn of the twentieth century.
Governor had held various jobs, including that of an Aboriginal tracker
, and he was continually discriminated against. He married a white woman, who had to endure criticism from other people for having married an Aboriginal man.
In April 1900, Governor was employed by John Mawbey, fencing the Mawbey's property at Breelong, near Gilgandra
. After a dispute with his employer, Jimmy and his friend Jacky Underwood (aka Charlie Brown) murdered most of the members of the Mawbey family, including the children, on the night of 20 July. A surviving witness, a little boy, raised the alarm, resulting in a large manhunt. Jacky Underwood was quickly caught, but Jimmy teamed up with his brother Joe, and the two fled Breelong, committing a further four murders as they moved east towards the coast.
Jimmy Governor was shot in the mouth on 13 October, and was subsequently captured on 27 October 1900, several months after the massacre. Joe Governor was shot dead four days later "outside of Singleton". Convicted of murder, Jimmy was hanged the following year.
The police cell in which Jimmy Governor was detained can be seen in Wingham
. This cell is on display at the Manning Valley Historical Society Museum opposite Central Park and The Log in the centre of Wingham.
The life of Jimmy Governor was the basis for Thomas Keneally
's novel The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
.
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
around the turn of the twentieth century.
Governor had held various jobs, including that of an Aboriginal tracker
Aboriginal tracker
In the years following British settlement in Australia, aboriginal trackers or black trackers, as they became known, were enlisted by settlers to assist them in navigating their way through the Australian landscape...
, and he was continually discriminated against. He married a white woman, who had to endure criticism from other people for having married an Aboriginal man.
In April 1900, Governor was employed by John Mawbey, fencing the Mawbey's property at Breelong, near Gilgandra
Gilgandra, New South Wales
Gilgandra, is a town and Local Government Area in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the junction of the Newell Highway, Oxley Highway and Castlereagh Highway. It can be reached in about six hours by car from Sydney. Like Coonabarabran, Gilgandra can be...
. After a dispute with his employer, Jimmy and his friend Jacky Underwood (aka Charlie Brown) murdered most of the members of the Mawbey family, including the children, on the night of 20 July. A surviving witness, a little boy, raised the alarm, resulting in a large manhunt. Jacky Underwood was quickly caught, but Jimmy teamed up with his brother Joe, and the two fled Breelong, committing a further four murders as they moved east towards the coast.
Jimmy Governor was shot in the mouth on 13 October, and was subsequently captured on 27 October 1900, several months after the massacre. Joe Governor was shot dead four days later "outside of Singleton". Convicted of murder, Jimmy was hanged the following year.
The police cell in which Jimmy Governor was detained can be seen in Wingham
Wingham, New South Wales
Wingham is a town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia in the City of Greater Taree north of Sydney. At the 2006 census, Wingham had a population of 4,812.- History :...
. This cell is on display at the Manning Valley Historical Society Museum opposite Central Park and The Log in the centre of Wingham.
The life of Jimmy Governor was the basis for Thomas Keneally
Thomas Keneally
Thomas Michael Keneally, AO is an Australian novelist, playwright and author of non-fiction. He is best known for writing Schindler's Ark, the Booker Prize-winning novel of 1982 which was inspired by the efforts of Poldek Pfefferberg, a Holocaust survivor...
's novel The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith is a 1972 Booker Prize-nominated novel by Thomas Keneally, and a 1978 Australian film of the same name directed by Fred Schepisi. The novel is based on the life of bushranger Jimmy Governor....
.
Victims
- Sarah Mawbey, wife of John Mawbey (Breelong, 20 July)
- Helen Kerz, schoolteacher (Breelong, 20 July)
- Grace Mawbey, 16-year-old daughter of John and Sarah (Breelong, 20 July)
- Percival Mawbey, 14-year-old son of John and Sarah (Breelong, 20 July)
- Hilda Mawbey, 11-year-old daughter of John and Sarah (Breelong, 20 July)
- Alexander McKay, property-owner (near UlanUlan, New South WalesUlan is a small village in eastern New South Wales, Australia. Ulan Post Office opened on 1 September 1893.There is a coal mine at Ulan. The Sandy Hollow - Ulan Railway was built to serve this coal mine...
, 23 July) - Elizabeth O'Brien (near MerriwaMerriwa, New South WalesMerriwa is a town in the far west of the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia, in Upper Hunter Shire. It is located on the Golden Highway, 273 kilometres northwest of Sydney and about half way between Newcastle and Dubbo...
, 24 July) - "Poggie" O'Brien, baby son of Elizabeth O'Brien (near Merriwa, 24 July)
- Keiran Fitzpatrick, property-owner (near Wollar, 26 July)