The Demise of Thomas Pengilley – Old Geelong Gaol
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| Main Street Birregurra 1907 - Royal Mail Hotel |
Thomas
Pengilley had been a successful prospector in Victoria. In 1855 he established
the firm of Pengilley and Childs, general storekeepers in Mercer Street,
Geelong. He later had business’ at Morrison and Stieglitz gold diggings, before
buying a hotel at Sebastopol near Ballarat
In 1880, Thomas Pengilley was the publican at the Royal
Mail Hotel, Birregurra, in which he lived with his wife and young family. The 47-year-old
publican had become unhinged, and over a four-year period had begun to attack
his wife making her feel unsafe in her own home.
Mrs Pengilley, afraid for her children
contacted the local police and had Thomas detained. He was sent to the Kew Lunatic
Asylum. Pengilley spent time in and out of Kew over a span of a few years. His
erratic and unpredictable behaviour caused problems for the hotel’s income.
Often Pengilley would become unfriendly and hostile toward patrons, causing his
wife to shut the doors.
Eventually, Mrs
Pengilley had enough and being abused by her husband and had him arrested. He
was taken to the Birregurra Police Court where he was charged to keep the peace
with his wife for six months. Pengilley could not meet the requirements of the
securities of his sentence and was instead sent to Geelong Gaol to serve a short
term.
Pengilley was placed in a cell away from other
inmates. He arranged to have his meals provided by an outside source.
On the night of his death, a warder
brought him a glass of water around 6pm. The Warder noticed that Pengilley was
morose and slightly unhinged. He left him be and returned at 9pm. The warder
pushed the cell door open and discovered Pengilley had hung himself by tying a
valise strap around his neck and attaching it to a gas bracket above the door,
hanging himself.
It is believed
that Pengilley became addicted to hard liquor, which eventually led to him physically
and mentally abusing his wife and family. That alcoholism also led to his
insanity and eventual suicide.
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| Yarra Ben Asylum - Victoria |
The tragedy of the Pengilleys does not
end there. Thomas's oldest son, Thomas junior was accused in 1889 of not paying maintenance
of a child he had had out of wedlock. In the same year, Thomas, like his father
before him, found himself admitted to Kew Lunatic Asylum.
In 1890, Thomas Jr. Was formally
charged with deserting his child. The child’s mother, Phillis Labatt stated in
court that Pengilley had fled to Broken Hill, she also stated that he was a
frequent resident of the Yarra Bend Lunatic Asylum. Pengilley died at the age
of 38 in 1899.
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| Victoria Police Gazette - May 21 1890 |
Researched and written by Allen Tiller ©2019
Bibliography:
'BIRREGURRA NEWS.', Geelong Advertiser, (2 September 1889), p. 3.
'BIRREGURRA.',The Colac Herald, (11 July 1882), p. 3.
'Family Notices', The Argus, (9 October 1899), p. 1.
'Family Notices', Geelong Advertiser, (6 February 1880), p. 2.
'GEELONG.', The Age, (5 February 1880), p. 3.
'POLICE COURT.', Geelong Advertiser, (9 November 1889), p. 4.
'SUICIDE IN THE GEELONG GAOL.', The Ballarat Courier, (6 February 1880), p. 3.
'TOWN TALK.', Geelong Advertiser, (23 May 1890), p. 2.
Victoria, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1855, 1864-1924 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.
Original data: Victoria Police Gazette Indexes. CD-ROM. Ridgehaven, South Australia: Gould Genealogy and History, 2009.
