Brutal crimes revisited
Nelson’s most infamous murders have been revisited in a book the author hopes will spark interest in New Zealand’s early history.
Writer John Evan Harris, formerly a journalist and founder of production company Greenstone TV, is launching The Physician’s Gun on Tuesday at Nelson’s Page and Blackmore Booksellers.
The novel covers the true story of five murders in Nelson by Richard Burgess and his gang in 1866; brutal crimes that gained worldwide attention, not only for their violence but also the investigation.
The trial that followed and the executions, came to the attention of Mark Twain at the time.
The story has captivated Kiwi imaginations for over a century and a half, most recently becoming the subject of a play, a short film and a museum exhibition.
Burgess was from London and was sent to Australia because he was a ‘‘pickpocket, and a very successful one’’ at that, Harris explained.
‘‘He fell in with a bad lot right from when he was a teenager, went to Australia, did some nasty things there, and also nasty things were done to him in prison,’’ he said.
‘‘If ever he was going to go straight, that chance was removed when he went to prison – they lashed his back, and it was scarred and horrible.’’
Arriving in New Zealand with his friend Tom Kelly, the pair set out on a crime spree beginning in Hokitika, working their way up to Nelson. It’s assumed that they killed 20 men along the way.
‘‘They robbed people then killed them, because dead men tell no tales,’’ Harris said.
Once in Nelson, Burgess and his accomplices were planning a bank heist, but found there were too many police in the area.
Instead, they decided to head to the Maungatapu hills and lay in wait for gold miners, rich travellers and businessmen coming across from the gold fields.
After brutally killing a flax cutter who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, they ambushed and killed four men who were carrying gold and money.
Burgess and his mates spent a few days in Nelson waiting for a boat, living it big. This made them incredibly obvious, and they were arrested.
Joseph Sullivan, one of the gang, turned and confessed and told the authorities where the bodies were hidden. Some years afterwards Mark Twain did a speaking tour of New Zealand.
‘‘He read Richard Burgess’ story, his confessions, and he concluded that Richard Burgess was a pretty darn good writer and he obviously had a very keen brain, and if he’d decided to go the way of righteousness and good, he could have been a famous, successful author, and probably other things,’’ Harris said.
‘‘He was a real achiever in lots of ways, but he just chose the wrong path and continued that way.’’
Harris’ protagonist in The Physician’s Gun is 15, though most of the other characters in the book are older. He’s prepared materials on his website for the use of the book in schools.
Included in the back of the book are a list of places readers can find out more about early New Zealand history, and Harris hopes that that and the book will inspire readers to learn more through libraries and websites like Papers Past.
He thoroughly enjoyed the investigative process himself, and referenced Nelsonian researchers Hilary and John Mitchell heavily.
Harris’ book is available in bookstores and online.