Murder in the Colony: South Australian homicides, 1836-1886

When South Australia was first established in December 1836, it was meant to be the perfect colony. Barely six months after proclamation, the state’s first murder was recorded.

Murder in the Colony presents the details of all 391 reported murders in South Australia from 1836 to 1886, and is a fascinating account of the proudly free province’s dark history, and the implications of bringing English laws to a land already governed by the laws and customs of its original inhabitants. From stabbings to shootings, to shipwreck massacres and the case of Elizabeth Woolcock, the only woman executed for murder in South Australia, Murder in the Colony is a book to enthral, appal and inform readers from far and wide.