Robert Palin
Encyclopedia
Robert Thomas Palin was a convict
transported
to Western Australia
. His execution in 1861 was the only time in the convict era of Western Australia that Ordinance 17 Victoria Number 7
was used to secure the capital punishment
of a convict for a crime not normally punishable by death.
Born around 1835, nothing is known of Robert Palin's early life except his criminal record. In 1851, he was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for housebreaking
; in 1853, he was tried but acquitted of murder; and in March 1856, he was convicted of "burglary from the person" and sentenced to penal servitude for life. At the time of his sentencing, he was described as a shoemaker
by trade.
Palin was transported to Western Australia
on the Nile, arriving in January 1860. His behaviour was good both during and after the voyage. In April 1860, he was appointed a probationary constable and received his ticket of leave in January 1861. At that time he had a house in Fremantle
from which he worked as a shoemaker and took in lodgers.
On 29 May 1861, Palin was charged with having broken into the home of Samuel and Susan Harding. Susan Harding gave evidence that her husband had been away and that she had woken during the night to find a man standing at the side of her bed. The man seized her by the arm and demanded money. When she said she had none, "he pulled the bedclothes down and felt about the bed... I thought he was going to commit some assault." Harding then gave the man a number of valuables and he left. The following morning, the police followed a set of footprints to Palin's house, where they found some wet boots whose tread matched the prints. They also recovered a number of the valuables that had been stolen.
Palin claimed to have been set up by William Cockrane, another ticket-of-leave man whom Palin said had a grudge against him. However, he was not believed and the jury found him guilty of robbery with violence
, the violence being the "battery on the person of Mrs. Harding by seizing her by the arm while she was in bed." Chief Justice
Archibald Burt
passed a sentence of death and Palin was hanged three days later on 6 July 1861.
Convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
transported
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
to Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. His execution in 1861 was the only time in the convict era of Western Australia that Ordinance 17 Victoria Number 7
Ordinance 17 Victoria Number 7
Ordinance 17 Victoria Number 7, entitled Ordinance for the Suppression of Violent Crimes Committed by Convicts Illegally at Large, was an ordinance that permitted capital punishment for escaped convicts who committed violent crimes while on the run in Western Australia. It was given royal assent...
was used to secure the capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
of a convict for a crime not normally punishable by death.
Born around 1835, nothing is known of Robert Palin's early life except his criminal record. In 1851, he was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for housebreaking
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
; in 1853, he was tried but acquitted of murder; and in March 1856, he was convicted of "burglary from the person" and sentenced to penal servitude for life. At the time of his sentencing, he was described as a shoemaker
Shoemaking
Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand. Traditional handicraft shoemaking has now been largely superseded in volume of shoes produced by industrial mass production of footwear, but not necessarily in quality, attention to detail, or...
by trade.
Palin was transported to Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
on the Nile, arriving in January 1860. His behaviour was good both during and after the voyage. In April 1860, he was appointed a probationary constable and received his ticket of leave in January 1861. At that time he had a house in Fremantle
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
from which he worked as a shoemaker and took in lodgers.
On 29 May 1861, Palin was charged with having broken into the home of Samuel and Susan Harding. Susan Harding gave evidence that her husband had been away and that she had woken during the night to find a man standing at the side of her bed. The man seized her by the arm and demanded money. When she said she had none, "he pulled the bedclothes down and felt about the bed... I thought he was going to commit some assault." Harding then gave the man a number of valuables and he left. The following morning, the police followed a set of footprints to Palin's house, where they found some wet boots whose tread matched the prints. They also recovered a number of the valuables that had been stolen.
Palin claimed to have been set up by William Cockrane, another ticket-of-leave man whom Palin said had a grudge against him. However, he was not believed and the jury found him guilty of robbery with violence
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
, the violence being the "battery on the person of Mrs. Harding by seizing her by the arm while she was in bed." Chief Justice
Chief Justice of Western Australia
The Chief Justice of Western Australia is the senior judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia and the highest ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of Western Australia. The Chief Justice is both the judicial head of the Supreme Court as well as the administrative head...
Archibald Burt
Archibald Burt
Sir Archibald Paull Burt Kt QC was a British lawyer from the colonies of the West Indies, and was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia, which is the highest ranking court in the Australian State of Western Australia.-Biography:Archibald Paull Burt was born in 1810, in...
passed a sentence of death and Palin was hanged three days later on 6 July 1861.