"About 100 Years Ago by Harvey Bryce" Murder at the Waterhole"

The continuing story of Joseph Dixon as he settled the Sunshine Coast and developed the sugar industry, built churches and schools.   Here is an early encounter with the aboriginals.  Many later worked for him and many benefited.  Though attitudes have changed and people are more tolerant to each other, it is still our heritage

In coming along the track, Grigor pointed out a dark tree covered waterhole.  A tragedy had occurred here about three years before.  A botanist was sent to find out new plants in the thick vine shrubs on Buderim Mountain.  He was returning and wanted some blacks to guide him out.  He showed them some money, which excited their cupidity, and they agreed to take him out.  There were three of them.   The leader was named Tommy Piper.  When they got to the waterhole he thought he would have his lunch and sat on a log beside the water.  Tommy Piper came behind him and chopped him on the back of the neck and killed him.  He made the other blacks chop also to implicate them.  Also he got the money and threw the body into the hole with some logs on the top.  They spent the money.  The black women knew about it and they could not keep the secret so it leaked out and the timber getters were much alarmed and they got the body of Stephens out and buried it.

It was the habit of the blacks to get large sheets of bark off the trees and sell them to the few whites about for twenty shillings per 100 sheets.  Tommy Piper had been getting bark for a timber getter and the whites laid a trap for him to catch him.  So the whites got inside the hut behind the door while the others invited him inside to pay him and he was very suspicious but at last came in and the others banged the door shut and the fight began.  As he was greasy they could not hold him.  Also he was naked, blacks did not wear clothes and in cold weather had possum rugs.  They got him by the hair and the feet and it is said the fight he put up was titanic but numbers told and eventually they bound him and put him on a horse with his legs tied underneath and took him to the steamboat “Gneering”, a timber boat that came to Mooloolah Heads monthly.   It brought stores and returned with logs.

They first tied him to a flagpole and wanted to know from the timber men what they were going to do with him, said one “hang him alonga neck till he was dead”.   The blackfeller turned green with fright and wanted go the Maroochy by buy timber.   Word was sent to Brisbane and the steamboat came up bringing an officer to take charge of the prisoner.   He was taken on board in handcuffs and these were put inside the anchor chain and it was supposed that he was quite safe.   Tommy Piper ran his handcuffs along the chain till he came to a point in the chain and unscrewed it and the first notice the detective had was a plunge overboard.   He shot his revolver in vain as Tommy made short dives to the shore and he ran up the bank and disappeared.   He stole a file and filed off the handcuffs.   The file was stolen from a timber getters camp.

Tommy Piper disappeared and camped on the lonely waters of OBI Obi Creek, living on fish, possums and other food.  He was not seen for fifteen years when he thought it was forgotten.   He was caught again but the witnesses were dead, so it was thought better to let it pass.   I saw him afterwards and he did not like to be reminded of the Stephens episode.   Some whites used to say to him “my word close up hang time that time” much to his annoyance.