What do you know about Henry Baylis, the man whose name graces Wagga Wagga’s main street?
His story goes back to the very early days of the village of Wagga Wagga and includes encounters with bushrangers and striking shearers, all the way through to national education and RSL Clubs.
Henry was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1826 and arrived in Sydney with his family aboard the City of Edinburgh in 1832 (1). On 1 January 1858 he was appointed as the first Police Magistrate for the Police District of Wagga Wagga.
What did a police magistrate actually do?
Previously, the magistrate had been an honourary position, filled by a couple of local “upstanding” citizens who had the support of their neighbours and the Governor and had the sufficient means to dedicate their time.
In our area, these magistrates were (more often than not) members of the squattocracy, such as George and William Macleay, John Peter, Frederick Anslow Tompson, and John Church.
These men would preside over the Wagga Wagga Bench, directing the police force, issuing hawking and liquor licences, and dealing with minor criminal cases like drunks, soliciting, vagrancy, indecent language, thievery, etc. (anything more serious, such as murder, would be sent by the magistrates to the jurisdiction of the Quarter Sessions). They would also be the ones to decide on property rights, the non-payment of wages, ill-treatment of employees, etc. – a situation in which they would be very obviously biased, since they were among the largest employers in the district.
Henry Baylis’ role, as the new Police Magistrate, a paid position, was to take over the charge of the police force in Wagga (such as it was!), preside over magisterial enquiries into suspicious deaths, to lead the Bench of Magistrates and their deliberations in the Court of Petty Sessions (theoretically, he would be much more impartial in his judgements), and generally be the foremost government official in town.
While Henry was only in his late twenties when he was given the appointment, thankfully he did have some legal training and experience as a clerk of Petty Sessions under his belt (1).
There were at least two very memorable events in Henry’s career as magistrate – his run in with Mad Dog Morgan, and his reading of the Riot Act during the shearers’ strike at Brookong.
Baylis vs the bushrangers
In August 1863 Henry was travelling to Urana when he was accosted by the bushrangers, Daniel “Mad Dog” Morgan and his associate Clarke. When they discovered who he was and that he Henry had very little of value, the bushrangers allowed him to continue on his way, with the suggestion that he forget the incident. (3)
After midnight on Wednesday night, the 26th of August, Henry returned with police troopers to the area and found the bushrangers’ camp where shots were exchanged. The shootout resulted in Clarke and Henry Baylis both being injured. It appears that Morgan was uninjured, whilst it is believed that Clarke died of his wounds at a later point. Dr Morgan of Wagga Wagga was sent for to attend to Henry’s wounds at the Davidson family’s homestead at Bullenbong. (3)
Even though Henry suffered the rest of his life as a result of the shoulder injury that he sustained, he wore the actual bullet on his watch chain to remind him of his close encounter with the bushrangers. This bullet, believed to have been made in a clay mould, can be viewed at the Museum of the Riverina, along with the medal Henry received for his actions.
There is an entertaining account of Henry’s run in with Morgan on the Museum of the Riverina’s website, written by Michelle Maddison).
The Brookong Riot
The second major incident occurred when William Halliday, owner of Brookong Station between Lockhart and Urana, asked the police to assist him during a shearer’s strike on his property in August 1888. The ‘Brookong Disturbance‘ made national headlines and is still remembered in unionist histories today.
To make very long story short, Halliday was a staunch member of the Pastoralists’ Union and was not happy to comply with the demands of the Amalgamated Shearers’ Union when their members tried to prevent him from hiring non-union shearers in his woolshed in August 1888 (4).
There appears to have been some level of violence committed between the Unionists and non-unionists. The police arrived, armed and ready to quell any disturbances, and Henry Baylis was called from Wagga to (literally) read the Riot Act to them (5). Following the reading of the Act, nine shearers were arrested and tried on 19 October at a sitting of the Supreme Court in Wagga Wagga (6).
The arrested shearers were:
- John Parker
- Bryan Lee
- William Jackson
- Alfred Collins
- J. Casey
- William Blair
- William Tyson (alias Pincher)
- Alexander Armstrong (alias Snowy)
- John James Woodcock (alias John Jones)
- W.W. Head (6)
The Riot Act meant that the law would be applied somewhat differently than in other cases and thus all bar one of the men (Head) was found guilty. Justice Windeyer said they “have been found guilty on the clearest evidence of a most dangerous attack upon society” and he sentenced them to between one and three years hard labour in the Albury and Goulburn gaols.
Prominent Citizen
Henry Baylis contributed an enormous amount of time and enthusiasm to the development of Wagga.
In 1858 he was instrumental in getting help from the National Board of Education for establishing a National School in Wagga (2). On 21 June 1859 he laid the foundation stone of St John’s Church of England. He was also an early member of the Murrumbidgee Turf Club and a member of the Murrumbidgee Pastoral Association (2). His civic pride and service to the people of Wagga ensured he was very highly respected throughout the entire district.
After 38 years as Police Magistrate, Henry retired in July 1896 and went to reside in Sydney. He had reared a family of eight sons and one daughter in his family home known as “Goonigul” which is now the site of the Wagga RSL Club (2).
Henry Baylis died on 5 July 1905 after he was accidentally hit by a train whilst walking across the railway tracks at Homebush. On his death, the Sydney Mail described him as a man “possessed of indomitable courage and great endurance”. Rolf Boldrewood (of Robbery Under Arms fame) wrote the following, rather romantic, eulogy:
“Full of years and honors – honored even by those upon whom the judicial hand occassionally fell heavily – he died… but wherever there is question in his old district of the administration of justice, there will always be recalled the name of one magistrate, concerning the purity and legality of whose decisions there was neither question nor appeal, and the name that will be upon all men’s lips will be that of Henry Baylis.”
References:
(1) K. J. Swan, ‘Baylis, Henry (1826–1905)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/baylis-henry-2955/text4293, published first in hardcopy 1969.
(2) Morris, Sherry (1999) Wagga Wagga, a history; Council of the City of Wagga Wagga Wagga, NSW.
(3) Bushranging Atrocities, The Sydney Morning Herald, 1 September 1863, page 5: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/13083753
(4) Ruth Teale, ‘Halliday, William (1828–1892)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/halliday-william-1086/text5793, published first in hardcopy 1972.
(5) The Shearing Troubles at Brookong, Wagga Wagga Advertiser, 18 August 1888, page 2: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/101949777
(6) Supreme Court Circuit Sittings, Saturday, Oct. 20., The Brookong Riot, Wagga Wagga Advertiser, 23 October 1888, page 2: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/101950707
On Record @ CSURA 
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