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Stephen Harris ex journalist, ex AFL club president and broad community participant taking the meeting through the sober story of "Solomon Blay" a 19th century hangman in Tasmania.
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Introduced by Chairman and long term neighbor/friend David Rush, we heard of Steve Harris's research into Tasmanian history and how a generic enquiry lead into a detailed and fascinating study of one man Solomon Blay.
Prior to his retirement (a necessity to give him the time to do his research and write his book) Steve had a varied and highly successful journalistic career with senior positions at the Age, Herald & Weekly Times, and Sunday Age. Doubtless equally diligent as an AFL footy president with the Demons, success was limited (on field anyway) there, but then a role at the Swinburne Centre rounded a wonderful career.
He remarked that a great story often flows from simple perseverance of questioning, i.e the how, what, where, who and when, of an often apparent straightforward limited statement, fact or observation. Such was the origins of his book.
Solomon Blay was transported from England in 1837 for the crime of counterfeiting. He was sent to Van Diemen's Land.
After serving time at hard labour he applied for the most hated position in the colony, the job of hangman.
Blay dispatched more than 200 people who'd been found guilty of crimes including murder, bush ranging, rape and theft.
He served in the role for nearly 50 years, making him the longest serving hangman in the British Empire. He died in 1897.
Steve's address told of the life of the former Oxford bargeman who, like many others of the time in England was poor and resorted to petty crimes, such as stealing food to survive. Caught and sentenced ultimately for counterfeiting coin, Blay was sent to Tasmania as a young man. In contrast his father has been transported to Sydney years earlier.
Mingled with Blay's life story in Tasmania, and the craft of a hangman, were descriptions of the brutal regime and hard life there in the 19th century. Blay still a convict sought refuse from the indentured life, and chain gangs of the time by applying for and getting a job as Sheriff's Finisher...the Hangman. A despised role within the community Blay persisted with it for 50 years. There was a small stipend and an extra fee for each hanging and right to take the deceased prisoners clothes. He was Queen Victoria's most active hangman, a dubious honour but understandable in view of the harsh nature, and severe crime and punishment ethic of the Van Diemen's Land (later Tasmania) colony.
Tasmania at the time was an isolated colony, and accordingly independent in many ways and yet at times progressive....it boasts many firsts in social progress. Life was tough, many administrators/law makers in power were Draconian and spiteful, often extracting extreme punishments on various criminals. It was a Police State in effect. Convicts who coexisted in the community showed a like spread of behaviors, some were meaningful caring citizens other were brutal self-centred power brokers. The absence of regular policemen and officials (there being little money in the colony to pay them) meant that convicts took on many of the roles...akin to Blay's hangman one.
Steve related that in some ways past history is really a continuous slant on society and many of the issues of the past are being replayed now. Most of the issues in Tasmania in the 19th century are topical now, the rights of women, gays, violence, care of the environment, security and treatment of minority groups. Sounds familiar doesn't it?....
Questions flowed from the audience uncovered further interesting facts . We heard of Irish political prisoners in Tasmania and their antics and how one became Governor of Montana! The spread of Blay's clients ranged from teenagers to the old.
An interesting address and fascinating insight into his book "Solomon's Noose", thanks Steve.
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