Elizabeth Lillian Woolcock
The First Woman Hanged in South Australia
In January 1852 John Oliver left his dugout home at the Burra Creek for the goldfields at Ballarat. Initially he did well and in October arranged for his wife and two daughters to make the trip by ship and join him at the diggings. No sooner was the family complete again then things started to go horribly wrong. His little daughter Catherine died from dysentery aged only two years and eight months. Soon after his wife Elizabeth deserted him and returned to South Australia, leaving their seven year old daughter Elizabeth, born at Burra on 20 April 1848, with her husband.
Following the Eureka Stockade rebellion in 1854, Elizabeth was traumatised after witnessing the death of her father’s friend, Henry Powell, at the hands of police.
The following year seven year old Elizabeth, left in the tent by herself while her father was digging, was raped and left for dead. This left her both psychologically disturbed and unable to have children due to gynaecological damage. Her doctors gave her opium for the pain to which she subsequently became addicted. To make matters even worst, her father, John Oliver died of consumption on 2 February 1857 leaving 9 year old Elizabeth to fend for herself.
Eventually Elizabeth found her way to Melbourne where she entered into service with the family of a pharmacist. At the age of 15 she left the household and moved into the Ballarat township, along with a large quantity of opium she apparently had accumulated at her old work place. In Ballarat she obtained work in a guest-house. According to a journal written by her friend Hannah Blight during this time, Elizabeth, who was addicted herself, also supplied opium to prostitutes for use as revenge on their more abusive clients in order to punish and rob them.
In 1865 Elizabeth learned that her mother was still alive and looking for her. She now travelled to Moonta and moved in with her mother and stepfather. To support herself she got work as a housekeeper. On weekends she taught Sunday school. In 1866 a relative of the family she worked for arrived from England and after moving into the household took over her job which led to Elizabeth's dismissal.
During this time Thomas Woolcock, who had emigrated from Cornwall in 1865, had settled in Moonta with his wife and two children. His wife and one son contracted a fever and died the following year. With a young son also named Thomas to care for he advertised for a housekeeper. Elizabeth applied and gained the position. Elizabeth's stepfather disliked Woolcock and considered the live in arrangement scandalous. Woolcock, to avoid the local gossip, married her in the front parlour of his cottage on 2 October 1867.
Woolcock turned out to be a heavy drinker, a bully and a wife-beater. Elizabeth attempted to leave him several times but failed and eventually attempted suicide by hanging herself in the stable but the rafter broke sparing her life. She became addicted again, this time to morphine. The situation improved somewhat when Woolcock took in a boarder whose presence lessened the abuse she suffered but eventually the two men had a dispute and the boarder left. Not long after he left the family dog died after being poisoned and the boarder was suspected.
A month after the dog died, Woolcock became ill with stomach pains and nausea, Elizabeth called in three doctors over the following weeks who each diagnosed different illnesses and prescribed different medications. Dr Bull prescribed syrup and pills laced with a third of a grain of mercury each, for a sore throat but Woolcock became considerably worse and Elizabeth then called in Dr Dickie who diagnosed a gastric disorder and prescribed Rhubarb tablets and cream of tartar which had no effect.
Finally Dr Herbert treated him for a sore throat with excessive salivation. Dr Herbert's treatment worked and Woolcock was improving but two weeks later he decided Herbert's treatment was too expensive and went back to Dr Dickie who resumed the treatment for a gastric problem. When his condition failed to improve Elizabeth suggested returning to Dr Bull but, according to neighbours and friends who were present and later testified at her trial, Woolcock replied: "I certainly don't want Dr Bull again, as it was his medicine that made me bad in the first place".
Around this time Elizabeth ran out of morphine and began suffering from severe withdrawal symptoms, the chemist refused to prescribe anymore and she resorted to sending her stepson to pharmacies with notes and claiming she needed it to "get stains out". Her desperation to acquire drugs became common knowledge in the community. Thomas Woolcock died on 4 September 1873.
Dr Dickie initially stated his patient had died from "pure exhaustion from excessive and prolonged vomiting and purging". However rumours were already spreading that Woolcock had been poisoned with morphine and his cousin, Elizabeth Snell, suggested to the doctor that as everyone knew Woolcock's wife had been getting "Morphia" she could have poisoned him with it. Dr Dickie ordered an inquest largely to quash the rumours as he still believed his original diagnosis was correct.
The inquest was opened in the front parlour of Woolcock's cottage with 14 jurors. Dr Dickie testified on the drugs taken by the deceased and the chemist, Mr Opie, testified regarding Elizabeth's attempts to get morphine. Elizabeth also testified. An autopsy was ordered and performed in the cottage that night while Elizabeth waited outside.
The next day the inquest resumed at the Moonta courthouse where Dr Dickie described the state of the body and suggested that Mercury poisoning was a strong probability, Dr Herbert concurred. Dr Bull admitted prescribing pills with Mercury but insisted Woolcock only took one. Police told the inquest that they had found a mercury rich powder used to treat the dog's Ringworm. The jury decided that Woolcock was poisoned by his wife and Elizabeth was arrested.
Elizabeth pleaded not guilty and the trial in Adelaide was a sensation with crowds filling Gouger Street outside the Supreme Court. The Crown Solicitor argued that Elizabeth had poisoned the dog as an experiment, the ringworm powder was the means and that motive was an affair with the boarder. Defendants at this time were barred from testifying on their own behalf so Elizabeth was unable to answer the accusations. Following a three day trial the jury, after deliberating for 20 minutes, found her guilty with a recommendation for mercy and she was sentenced to death.
No mercy was shown however and on 30 December 1873, Elizabeth gave a letter to be opened after her death to her minister, the Reverend James Bickford, and then walked calmly to the gallows. Only 25 years old she became the first, and only, woman to be hanged in South Australia. Her crime, the wilful murder of her husband Thomas Woolcock. Alexander S. Paterson, Colonial Surgeon, declared that she 'was hanged by the neck until her body was dead. The letter, describing her life, was badly written with poor spelling and inaccuracies including even getting her own age wrong.
Following the Eureka Stockade rebellion in 1854, Elizabeth was traumatised after witnessing the death of her father’s friend, Henry Powell, at the hands of police.
The following year seven year old Elizabeth, left in the tent by herself while her father was digging, was raped and left for dead. This left her both psychologically disturbed and unable to have children due to gynaecological damage. Her doctors gave her opium for the pain to which she subsequently became addicted. To make matters even worst, her father, John Oliver died of consumption on 2 February 1857 leaving 9 year old Elizabeth to fend for herself.
Eventually Elizabeth found her way to Melbourne where she entered into service with the family of a pharmacist. At the age of 15 she left the household and moved into the Ballarat township, along with a large quantity of opium she apparently had accumulated at her old work place. In Ballarat she obtained work in a guest-house. According to a journal written by her friend Hannah Blight during this time, Elizabeth, who was addicted herself, also supplied opium to prostitutes for use as revenge on their more abusive clients in order to punish and rob them.
In 1865 Elizabeth learned that her mother was still alive and looking for her. She now travelled to Moonta and moved in with her mother and stepfather. To support herself she got work as a housekeeper. On weekends she taught Sunday school. In 1866 a relative of the family she worked for arrived from England and after moving into the household took over her job which led to Elizabeth's dismissal.
During this time Thomas Woolcock, who had emigrated from Cornwall in 1865, had settled in Moonta with his wife and two children. His wife and one son contracted a fever and died the following year. With a young son also named Thomas to care for he advertised for a housekeeper. Elizabeth applied and gained the position. Elizabeth's stepfather disliked Woolcock and considered the live in arrangement scandalous. Woolcock, to avoid the local gossip, married her in the front parlour of his cottage on 2 October 1867.
Woolcock turned out to be a heavy drinker, a bully and a wife-beater. Elizabeth attempted to leave him several times but failed and eventually attempted suicide by hanging herself in the stable but the rafter broke sparing her life. She became addicted again, this time to morphine. The situation improved somewhat when Woolcock took in a boarder whose presence lessened the abuse she suffered but eventually the two men had a dispute and the boarder left. Not long after he left the family dog died after being poisoned and the boarder was suspected.
A month after the dog died, Woolcock became ill with stomach pains and nausea, Elizabeth called in three doctors over the following weeks who each diagnosed different illnesses and prescribed different medications. Dr Bull prescribed syrup and pills laced with a third of a grain of mercury each, for a sore throat but Woolcock became considerably worse and Elizabeth then called in Dr Dickie who diagnosed a gastric disorder and prescribed Rhubarb tablets and cream of tartar which had no effect.
Finally Dr Herbert treated him for a sore throat with excessive salivation. Dr Herbert's treatment worked and Woolcock was improving but two weeks later he decided Herbert's treatment was too expensive and went back to Dr Dickie who resumed the treatment for a gastric problem. When his condition failed to improve Elizabeth suggested returning to Dr Bull but, according to neighbours and friends who were present and later testified at her trial, Woolcock replied: "I certainly don't want Dr Bull again, as it was his medicine that made me bad in the first place".
Around this time Elizabeth ran out of morphine and began suffering from severe withdrawal symptoms, the chemist refused to prescribe anymore and she resorted to sending her stepson to pharmacies with notes and claiming she needed it to "get stains out". Her desperation to acquire drugs became common knowledge in the community. Thomas Woolcock died on 4 September 1873.
Dr Dickie initially stated his patient had died from "pure exhaustion from excessive and prolonged vomiting and purging". However rumours were already spreading that Woolcock had been poisoned with morphine and his cousin, Elizabeth Snell, suggested to the doctor that as everyone knew Woolcock's wife had been getting "Morphia" she could have poisoned him with it. Dr Dickie ordered an inquest largely to quash the rumours as he still believed his original diagnosis was correct.
The inquest was opened in the front parlour of Woolcock's cottage with 14 jurors. Dr Dickie testified on the drugs taken by the deceased and the chemist, Mr Opie, testified regarding Elizabeth's attempts to get morphine. Elizabeth also testified. An autopsy was ordered and performed in the cottage that night while Elizabeth waited outside.
The next day the inquest resumed at the Moonta courthouse where Dr Dickie described the state of the body and suggested that Mercury poisoning was a strong probability, Dr Herbert concurred. Dr Bull admitted prescribing pills with Mercury but insisted Woolcock only took one. Police told the inquest that they had found a mercury rich powder used to treat the dog's Ringworm. The jury decided that Woolcock was poisoned by his wife and Elizabeth was arrested.
Elizabeth pleaded not guilty and the trial in Adelaide was a sensation with crowds filling Gouger Street outside the Supreme Court. The Crown Solicitor argued that Elizabeth had poisoned the dog as an experiment, the ringworm powder was the means and that motive was an affair with the boarder. Defendants at this time were barred from testifying on their own behalf so Elizabeth was unable to answer the accusations. Following a three day trial the jury, after deliberating for 20 minutes, found her guilty with a recommendation for mercy and she was sentenced to death.
No mercy was shown however and on 30 December 1873, Elizabeth gave a letter to be opened after her death to her minister, the Reverend James Bickford, and then walked calmly to the gallows. Only 25 years old she became the first, and only, woman to be hanged in South Australia. Her crime, the wilful murder of her husband Thomas Woolcock. Alexander S. Paterson, Colonial Surgeon, declared that she 'was hanged by the neck until her body was dead. The letter, describing her life, was badly written with poor spelling and inaccuracies including even getting her own age wrong.
According to the 'Hue & Cry' newsletter of the SA Police of July 2004, this is what she wrote.. (broken into paragraphs for easy reading)
"Sir i was Born in the Burra mine in Provence of South Australia in the year 1847 my parents names were John and Elisabeth Oliver they were Cornish they came to this Couleney in 1842 but they went to Victoria in 1851.
I was left without the care of a Mother at the age of 4 years and i never saw her again until i was 18 my father died when i was 9 years old and i had to get my living until i was 18 and then i heard that my Mother was alive and Residing at moonta mine she wrote me a letter asking me to come to her as she had been very unhappy about me and she was very sorry for what she had done i thought i should like to see my Mother and have a home like other young girls so i gave up my Situation and came to Adelaide
My mother and my stepfather received me very kindly and i had a good home for 2 years my Mother and Stepfather were members of the Wesleyan Church and i became a Teacher in the Sunday school for 2 years at the End of that time i first saw my late husband Thomas Woodcock i believe my stepfather was a good man but he was very passionate and determined my late husband was a widower with two Children his Wife had been dead about 8 months when i went to keep house for him against stepfathers wishes i kept house for him for 6 Weeks when some one told my stepfather that i was keeping Company with Thomas Woolcock he asked me if it was true and i told him it was not but he would not belive me but called me a liar and told me he would Cripple me if i went with him any had not been with the man but i would go with him now if he asked me if the Divel said i should not
This took place on the Thursday morning I saw my husband in the evening and he asked me what was the matter and i told him what had taken place the following Sunday he asked me to go with him for a walk instead of going to Chapel i went and my stepfather missed me from the Chapel and came to look for me and found us both to gether so i was afraid to go home for has he had said he would break both of my legs i was afraid he would keep his word as i never knew him to tell a willful lie so i went to a cousins of my husbands and stoped and my husband asked me if i would marry him and for my words sake i did
We were marride the next Sunday morning by lience after the acquantance of 7 weeks i was not married long before i fownd out what sort of a man i had got and that my poor stepfather had advised me for my good but was to late then so i had to make the best of it i tried to do my duty to him and the children, but the more i tried the worse he was he was fond of drink but he did not like to part with his money for any thing else and god onley knows how he illtreated me i put up with it for 3 years
During that time my parents went to melbourn and then he was worse than ever i thought i would rather die than live so i tried to put an end to my self in severl different ways but thank the Lord i did not succied in doing so as he did not treat me any better and I could not live like that i thought i would leave him and get my own liven so i left him but he would not leave me alone he came and feched me home and then I stoped with him twelve months and i left him again with the intention of going to my Mother
I only took 6 pounds with me i came doun to Adelaide and i stoped with my sister i was hear in Adelaide 6 weeks when he came an fetched me back again but he did not behave no better to me i tried my best to please him but i could not there is no foundation at all for the story about the young man called Pascoe he was nothing to me nor i did not give the poor dog any poison for i knew what power the poison had as i took it my self for some months and i was so illtreated that i was quite out of my minde and in a eviel hour i yealded to the temptation
He was taken ill at the mine and came home and quarreled with me and satan tempted me and i gave any poison for i more and i being very self willed i told him that i knew what power the poison had and i gave him what i ought not but thought at the time that if i gave him time to preapre to meet his god i should not do any great crime to send him out of the World
But i see my mistake now i thank god he had time to make his peace with his maker and i hope I shall meet him in heaven for i feel that god has pardoned all my sins he has forgiven me and washed me white in the precious blood of Jesus i feel this evening that i can rejoice in a loven Saviour i feel his presence hear to night he sustains me and gives me comfort under this heavy trial sutch as the world can never give.
Dear friend if i may call you so i am mutch obliged to you for your kindness to a poor guilty sinner but great will be your reward in heaven i hope i shall meet you their and i hope that god will keep me faithfull to the End o may be abl to say that live is Christ but to Die will be gain Bless the Lord he will not turn away any that come unto him for he says come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest I feel i have that rest i hope to die singing Victory through the Blood of the lamb I remain sir Yours truly a sinner saved by grace Elizabeth Woolcock.”
Some interesting observations published in the SA Police Journal online of August 2004,
Experts agree that Elizabeth's "confession" was religiously inspired and prompted by a desire for salvation with an exaggeration of her sins. Police historian Allan Peters says she was "more interested in impressing the Reverend than setting the record straight".
It is unlikely that Elizabeth was having an affair. She had nothing to gain from Woolcock's death. That she cared for him while he was ill was evidenced by his lack of bed sores.
The dog was treated for ringworm with mercury laced powder and could have died from mercury poisoning after licking the powder on its body.
Woolcock's symptoms were consistent with Tuberculosis and Dysentery, both of which were found at autopsy, and Typhoid, although this was not found. Woolcock's organs, removed at autopsy, had been left unattended and exposed to the air for 24 hours before they were examined which could have compromised the diagnosis.
It was never proven at trial that Woolcock had died of mercury poisoning or that Elizabeth had administered it.
Dr Bull prescribed mercury laced syrup and tablets which would have killed Woolcock if he had taken more than Bull testified to. Dr Bull was committed to a psychiatric hospital after the trial and committed suicide several months later.
Bull had been a drug addict himself for 30 years and consumed atropine, sulphuric ether, chloroform and opium in large and frequent doses. He was reportedly in a "drug be-fuddled state" when treating Woolcock.
Two recently discovered letters sent by Samuel Way to relatives in England shortly before he was appointed Chief Justice of South Australia were commentaries on the now lost report into the hanging commissioned by the government of the day and headed by his brother Dr Edward Way. Edward he wrote, concurred with the analytical chemist that the evidence on administration of the poison was "unreliable" and the "medical evidence mistaken". The implication is that she did not poison Woolcock and that even if she had been guilty she did not receive justice based on the available evidence.
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