Murderer fingered by Fisher’s Ghost
Andrew Nicholson / August 24, 2012
A successful farmer disappears in the dark of night. The missing man’s neighbour and close associate claims he has left the country and immediately begins taking over all his business affairs. Suspicions turn to foul play. Four months later, a ghostly encounter leads to the discovery of a man’s body buried in a boggy creek. The victim’s neighbour is tried and convicted of murder and sentenced to hang.
This is the story of Fisher’s Ghost.
Fishers ghostThe small village of Campbelltown, 34 miles from Sydney, consisted of a church and a courthouse, the Forbes Inn, and not much else in 1826. Back then, the district was populated mostly by ticket-of-leave settlers [freed convicts] making a living on small farms, along with a number of gentlemen farmers, who had taken up grants of two or three thousand acres.
Among the ticket-of-leave settlers was Frederick Fisher. Through hard work and thriftiness, Fisher had accumulated a considerable amount of both land and livestock. Unmarried, he was often in the company of neighbour and fellow farmer, George Worrell. Worrell, although less educated than Fisher, acted as Fisher’s agent and overseer.
In fact, Worrell appeared to be master of Fisher’s affairs, and knew to a penny Fisher’s worth. He was often considered by neighbours as Fisher’s man of business. Soon, Worrell would see Fisher as being an unnecessary intrusion, and regularly suggested to Fisher that he should take a trip back to the old country to visit with friends. Fisher, however, made it clear that he had no desire to return to England.
But in June 1826, Fisher disappeared from Campbelltown. He was last seen on the night of the 17th. Neighbours began asking questions of Fisher’s whereabouts, and Worrell explained to them that Fisher had left suddenly, in the dark of night, for Sydney with the intention of sailing to England.
Worrell now took over all of Fisher’s business dealings. He attempted to sell a young mare that had belonged to Fisher for 300 pounds. When the buyer asked to see an authority, Worrell produced a receipt that he claimed showed that he had bought the horse from Fisher. The buyer, a neighbour who knew Fisher well, observed that the receipt was not in Fisher’s handwriting. He and other neighbours soon became suspicious, and suspected that Fisher had met with foul play.
https://weirdaustralia.com/2012/08/24/murderer-fingered-by-fishers-ghost/