Gatton murders
Unsolved 1898 family murders
The Gatton Murders, also known as the Gatton Tragedy, the Gatton Mystery, and the Murphy Murders, refer to an unsolved triple homicide that occurred 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the town of Gatton, in the Colony of Queensland, present-day Australia. Michael Murphy, aged 29, and his younger sisters, Honora (Norah), aged 27, and Theresa (Ellen), aged 18, were murdered between 10 pm and 4 am on 26–27 December 1898 while returning home from a cancelled dance. All three siblings had been bludgeoned; in addition, Michael had been shot and Norah strangled.
Background
The Murphy family owned a farm at Blackfellow's Creek, some 8 miles (13 km) from the town of Gatton and 61 miles (98 km) west of Brisbane, capital of what was then the Colony of Queensland. The 1901 census listed Gatton's population as 449. In the late 19th century the town was a major stopover point on the road between Brisbane and the Darling Downs, and with two major bridges and a railway line the town was a rapidly expanding service centre for the district.
Michael Murphy and his brother, Daniel, had both left Gatton; Michael was working on a government farm near Westbrook while Daniel was a Brisbane police constable. Michael had returned home for the Christmas holidays and on 26 December 1898 (Boxing Day) had taken his sister Ellen to the Mount Sylvia Races in nearby Caffey. At 8pm, Michael, Ellen and another sister, Norah, left home to attend a dance due to be held at the Gatton Hall. Arriving at 9pm, they found that the dance had been cancelled and began to journey back but failed to arrive.
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