Murder, Misadventure and Miserable Ends: Tales from a Colonial Coroner's Court

By: Dr Catie Gilchrist

Narrated by: Emma Grant Williams

Murder, manslaughter, suicide, mishap - the very public business of determining death in colonial Sydney.
Murder in colonial Sydney was a surprisingly rare occurrence, so when it did happen it caused a great sensation. People flocked to the scene of the crime, to the coroner's court and to the criminal courts to catch a glimpse of the accused.

Most of us today rarely see a dead body. In nineteenth century Sydney, when health was precarious and workplaces and the busy city streets were often dangerous, witnessing a death was rather common. And any death that was sudden or suspicious would be investigated by the coroner.

Henry Shiell was the Sydney City Coroner from 1866 to 1889. In the course of his unusually long career he delved into the lives, loves, crimes, homes and workplaces of colonial Sydneysiders. He learnt of envies, infidelities, passions, and loyalties, and just how short, sad and violent some lives were. But his court was also, at times, instrumental in calling for new laws and regulations to make life safer.

Catie Gilchrist explores the nineteenth century city as a precarious place of bustling streets and rowdy hotels, harbourside wharves and dangerous industries. With few safety regulations, the colourful city was also a place of frequent inquests, silent morgues and solemn graveyards. This is the story of life and death in colonial Sydney.

PRAISE

'Catie Gilchrist draws back the veil on death in nineteenth-century Sydney to reveal life - ordinary, tragic and hopeful' David Hunt, author of Girt and True Girt

Interesting and Elightening

The author and narrator are very good and loved hearing the Australian vernacular. Made the lives of ordinary people in 18th and 19th century Australia real and put today's happenings into perspective and gave me even more respect for the work of coroners.

very interesting and enlightening

lead a lot about how new laws are made and how Unconcerned some officials can be about public health

Australian historical true crime… Awesome!

I was a bit worried when I saw the author of the book also read the book, but usually doesn’t work out well. In this case the doctor had a pleasant wonderful relaxing voice and her tone and delivery was perfect for the genre. The stories are interesting and will be to anyone who likes just Storico true crime as I do. I read this in a couple of days and will probably read it again in a few months there isn’t much in this book left up to conjecture, except your own as most of it or rather all of it is based on facts and Connor reports and Connor inquest transcripts. They do have a little bit of bio which I love. So all in all I really think this was an excellent book.

Fascinating!

A wonderful collection of historical true crimes and a fascinating window into Victorian-era Australian coronial inquiry.

Quick note: the narrator is noted in the credits as Emma Grant Williams. A job very well done, especially considering the challenging topics and content.

More than I expected

This would have been interesting if it had only been an account of some of the more gruesome or unusual cases of a nineteenth-century coroner, but it is much more. Inquest records are just the starting point for fascinating examinations of medical practices, social mores, living conditions, hazards of life, civic history, and crime and law of that era, all deftly knit together. The author starts with murders, moves on to other crimes (including the sometime crime of suicide), work hazards, bad food, perilous childhood, poverty, domestic violence, botched abortions and the social conditions that made them seem necessary, and more – all connected by the thread of death (because of the coroner's involvement). It was unexpectedly absorbing and satisfying.

The reader, Emma Grant Williams (not Catie Gilchrist), was perfect for this book. As a bonus, I learned the right way to say "Bondi Beach" and the world's cutest place name, Woolloomooloo.