David Murrells was 36 years old when he was convicted of stealing at the
Essex Quarter Session in January 1835. He had no prior convictions and
was sentenced to 14 years transportation. He was assigned to the
Australian Agricultural Company and issued with a ticket of
leave for the district of Port Stephens in 1841 and for
Murrurundi in
1845.
In 1847 he was convicted
of Cattle stealing. Following is an account of the trial:
David Mars (Murrells) was indicted for stealing a
bullock, the property of Francis Little at Scone on the 8th September
Mr. Purefoy appeared on behalf of the
prisoner.
It appeared that about two years back a
man named
Job Hatherall, a stockman in the employment of Captain Dumaresq, sold
a bullock to Mr. Francis Little. It was a red bullock inclined to brindle, brand
FS off rump JH with D under of off ribs and 68 on off shoulder and an indistinct
brand on the off rump apparently DNI. It was a working bullock called Captain.
In September last Hatherall met the prisoner on Doughboy Hill having the bullock
in his team on the off side . He asked prisoner where he got the bullock and
prisoner replied that it was his own. Hatherall then said that it was Mr.
Francis Little's property, when prisoner said that he was only bouncing.
Hatherall then went to look at the bullocks brand, when prisoner told him that
he was only a poor man, and begged him to say nothing about it; that one of his
team had died and he was obliged to get another to carry him on the road.
Hatherall told him that the bullock was the property of Mr. Francis little of
Invermein and unless it was given up there and then other steps would assuredly
be taken. Prisoner said he could not get on without the bullock and would not
give it up.
Mr. Purefoy urged for the defence that
there was no felonious taking in as much as there was no intention on prisoners
part to make away with the bullock, but merely to use it to take him on the road
for a time, when he afterwards intended to return him. He also questioned the
identity of the bullock not being fully proved by the witnesses.
The Chairman, in summing up said that if
the jury were convinced that the prisoner had taken the beast off the road
merely to have a turn out of him they certainly could not find him guilty of
stealing, but the evidence went to rebut such a presumption inasmuch as he had
claimed the bullock as his own, when first taxed with stealing it
The jury after a short deliberation,
returned a verdict of guilt and the prisoner was sentenced to be worked in irons
for three years.