133 years ago in Daylesford, From the Argus, 31 May 1892
On Saturday evening between 5 and 6 o’clock, an alleged attempt to commit murder occurred at Bullarto about six miles from Daylesford.
It appears that a man named James Taylor, after leaving Coghlan’s store, Bullarto, with provisions in a bag slung across his shoulder, proceeded in the direction of his hut, and when about a mile and a half away he was fired at, several small shot entering his arm, grazing his head, and otherwise disfiguring his face and ear.
On turning round Taylor saw a man named Peter Smith with a double barrelled gun. He asked Smith why he wanted to murder him, whereupon Smith replied “I thought you was a rabbit ‘
Taylor then proceeded on his way and immediately another shot was fired, and then Smith rushed Taylor and tried to fell him with his weapon.Taylor managed to keep off the blows with a stick until he got to Lynche’s place where he was taken in.
The police from Bullarto, having been apprised of the occurrence, brought the injured man to the Daylesford Hospital, when it was found that the provision bag was probably what saved the man’s life as it was riddled with shot. The man’s arm also had a number of shot in it, and his head and face were injured slightly.
Senior-constable Love and Constable Rogers went out the same evening in a buggy from Daylesford and at Daylesford broke the fastening of Smith’s hut. On being charged with the offence he denied all knowledge of it, and said that he had not handled a gun for some time.
He was arrested and lodged in the Daylesford lockup, and today was brought before Mr. Barkas, J.P., on the charge of shooting with intent to do grievous bodily harm and on the application of the police was remanded till Wednesday as Taylor is too ill to give evidence. Another remand for a week will probably be appliedfor. At present there seems an absence ofmotive for the crime.
Editor’s note: Smith was committed to stand trial in Bendigo. He was found found guilty by a Jury on June 17 and sentenced to death for the attempted murder. The sentence was later commuted to 15 years in prison by the State Executive Council. Apart from the unlikely possibility that Smith thought Taylor was a rabbit, the motive for the shooting is unclear in the public records of the time.
