33:
375:
There seemed to be no doubt that Rowles had committed three murders, and on 19 March 1932, the jury found him guilty of the wilful murder of Louis Carron after only two hours of deliberations. Asked if he had anything to say, Rowles said "Only this. I have been found guilty of a crime that has never
333:
were well known, and detectives were soon aware of the murder method outlined. They found the remains of Carron's body at the 183-mile (295 km) hut on the rabbit-proof fence. Among other items found was a wedding ring that would later be positively linked to Carron by a New
Zealand jeweller and
262:
He mentioned this difficulty to a colleague, George
Ritchie. Ritchie devised a disposal method: burn the victim's body along with that of a large animal, sift any metal fragments out of the ashes, dissolve them in acid, pound any remaining bone fragments into dust, then discard the remains into the
274:
On 5 October 1929, Upfield, Ritchie, Rowles, the son of an inspector of the fence, and a north boundary rider for the fence, were all present at the Camel
Station homestead when the murder method for Upfield's book was again discussed. Upfield was clear that Rowles knew of the murder method before
344:
Rowles was only tried for the murder of Carron. Following the murders of Ryan and Lloyd, Rowles had strictly followed
Upfield's fictional method for the disposal of evidence, leaving a total lack of physical evidence that could be used in a court. In the case of Carron, he had omitted one of the
364:
ring, which the jeweller would normally have rectified, but had been too busy to do so. The result was a distinctive mark on the ring from the different-coloured solder, which made the ring unique and identifiable as Carron's. (Upfield used the "mended ring" device in a later novel
286:
Several days later, Ritchie arrived at Camel
Station claiming he had met a prospector named James Yates. Yates had told Ritchie that he had seen Rowles driving a car; Rowles told Yates that Ryan and Lloyd were walking through the scrub, though Yates did not see them himself.
321:
Carron had kept regular correspondence with his friends, and it was for this reason that his disappearance was noticed. The area at the time had a large transient population, and for a man to appear or disappear from the area was in no way remarkable.
270:
The plot of the novel hinged on this point and
Ritchie one day met Rowles, whom Upfield also knew. Ritchie mentioned the problem to him. All of Upfield's friends and colleagues were soon aware of Upfield's difficulties with his plot.
312:
Rowles cashed Carron's pay cheque at the town of
Paynesville, east of Mount Magnet. Carron's friend sent a reply-paid telegram to Rowles at Youanmi asking for information about Carron, but Rowles did not reply.
325:
Indeed, it was not until police detectives started investigating Carron's disappearance that it was noticed that Lloyd and Ryan were also missing, and like Carron, had last been seen in Rowles' company.
267:(Upfield's fictional detective) with no way to detect or prove the murder. Upfield challenged Ritchie to find a flaw in the method and offered him £1 if he could. Ritchie, however, was unable to do so.
372:
Evidence was provided to the court regarding Carron's items, Rowles's behaviour, his knowledge of the fictional murder method, and the various lies that Rowles had told about his movements.
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771:
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Detective-Sergeant
Manning was sent to arrest Rowles, and immediately recognised him as John Thomas Smith, a burglary convict who had escaped from the local lock-up in
255:
Upfield had already written three novels, but was working as a fence boundary rider on the rabbit-proof fence in
Western Australia. He had decided to write another
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718:
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In
December 1929, Rowles was in the company of two men, James Ryan and George Lloyd. On 8 December 1929, Rowles, Ryan and Lloyd departed from Camel Station.
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Like Rowles, Carron had assumed a new name, previously having been known as Leslie George Brown. His wife, Mrs. Brown, had attended a jeweller in
259:, but with a plot difference; there being no body for the detective to find. Unfortunately, he could not think of a way to dispose of a body.
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in 1928. Rowles was sent back to prison, giving Manning more time to investigate. While awaiting trial, Rowles attempted to commit suicide.
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steps – destroying all metal remains with acid – thereby allowing several items which belonged to Carron to be found and identified.
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this date, but the meeting and discussion were later used as evidence in court to prove that Rowles was aware of the method.
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with a friend. He'd found a job at Wydgee Station. In May 1930, Carron left his employment in the company of Rowles.
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been committed." He was sentenced to death, and his attempts to appeal his conviction were rejected. Rowles was
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247:. His original name was John Thomas Smith. Prior to the murders, Rowles served three months in jail for theft.
232:
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and had lent him his truck. Rowles later told another person he had purchased Ryan's truck for £80.
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during the early 1930s. Rowles used the murder method that had been suggested by author
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38:
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Murder on the Rabbit Proof Fence: The Strange Case of Arthur Upfield and Snowy Rowles
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353:
231:, in which he described a foolproof way to dispose of a body and thus commit the
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wind. But Upfield then had a problem; the method was too efficient as it left
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60:
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On Christmas Eve, 1929, Upfield was with a colleague in the small town of
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when he met Rowles, who told him that Ryan had decided to stay in
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672:. Westprint Heritage Maps (www.westprint.com.au). Archived from
519:
Arthur Upfield Biography – List of UK and US first edition books
356:
recut. The jeweller's assistant had accidentally used a 9 carat
700:
37:
Snowy Rowles standing beside James Ryan's car, photographed by
462:"John Thomas William Smith / Rowles – Biographical Dictionary"
414:
produced a telemovie based on the Murchison Murders, starring
213:
known as "Snowy" Rowles (born John Thomas Smith), near the
209:
were a series of three murders, committed by an itinerant
648:. Sydney, New South Wales: Midget Masterpiece Publishing.
396:, Upfield wrote a book about the real-life case entitled
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A New Zealander named Louis Carron had arrived in the
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118:
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67:
45:
23:
329:Upfield's attempts to find a plot for his novel
657:(First published ed.). London: Hutchinson.
644:Upfield, Arthur (1934). Bernard Cronin (ed.).
712:
8:
502:""Snowy" John Thomas William SMITH / ROWLES"
719:
705:
697:
403:In 1993, author Terry Walker wrote a book
31:
20:
453:
629:. Western Australia: Hesperian Press.
7:
1054:20th-century executions by Australia
549:
547:
545:
529:
527:
412:Australian Broadcasting Corporation
670:"Murder on the Rabbit Proof Fence"
16:1930s murders in Western Australia
14:
1064:Murder convictions without a body
1059:Missing person cases in Australia
442:List of serial killers by country
279:Ryan, Lloyd, and Carron disappear
250:
864:Indigenous Australians and crime
405:Murder on the Rabbit-Proof Fence
305:area in 1929, having come from
987:List of massacres in Australia
561:. 10 February 1932. p. 13
245:North Perth, Western Australia
57:North Perth, Western Australia
1:
225:in his then unpublished book
86:Fremantle, Western Australia
1074:Serial murders in Australia
1069:Murder in Western Australia
587:. 21 March 1932. p. 16
251:Upfield's search for a plot
243:Rowles was born in 1905 in
1090:
1044:1930s missing person cases
1039:1930s in Western Australia
610:. 28 May 1932. p. 11.
490:. 13 June 1932. p. 9.
428:was directed by filmmaker
360:to rejoin the ends of the
1049:1930 murders in Australia
1029:1929 murders in Australia
585:The Sydney Morning Herald
559:The Sydney Morning Herald
538:. 21 May 1932. p. 5.
521:accessed: 24 January 2010
199:
114:
30:
653:Upfield, Arthur (1931).
317:Investigation and trial
735:States and territories
625:Walker, Terry (1993).
534:"Sentenced to Death".
407:documenting the case.
78:13 June 1932 (aged 26)
996:Crime internationally
977:Convicts in Australia
874:Immigration and crime
646:The Murchison Murders
398:The Murchison Murders
101:Execution by hanging
655:The Sands of Windee
488:The West Australian
486:"Rowles Executed".
466:www.carnamah.com.au
394:The Sands of Windee
331:The Sands of Windee
228:The Sands of Windee
169:Span of crimes
97:Cause of death
728:Crime in Australia
410:In June 2009, the
392:Besides his novel
215:rabbit-proof fence
1034:1930 in Australia
1024:1929 in Australia
1011:
1010:
869:Human trafficking
859:Police misconduct
690:In Search of Bony
384:on 13 June 1932.
219:Western Australia
207:Murchison Murders
203:
202:
194:Western Australia
50:John Thomas Smith
1081:
1003:Crime by country
849:Illicit drug use
786:Cities and towns
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536:Kalgoorlie Miner
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477:
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425:3 Acts of Murder
382:Fremantle Prison
190:
145:Criminal penalty
131:
107:Other names
82:Fremantle Prison
77:
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35:
21:
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1080:
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961:Private prisons
909:
900:Law enforcement
883:Law enforcement
878:
854:Organised crime
832:
781:
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679:
677:
676:on 18 June 2005
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619:Further reading
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418:as Upfield and
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334:Carron's wife.
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257:detective novel
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837:Crime dynamics
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663:External links
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581:"Snowy Rowles"
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416:Robert Menzies
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233:perfect murder
223:Arthur Upfield
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606:"No Appeal".
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135:Wilful murder
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129:Conviction(s)
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895:Criminal law
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678:. Retrieved
674:the original
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589:. Retrieved
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563:. Retrieved
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469:. Retrieved
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367:The New Shoe
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354:wedding ring
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296:Mount Magnet
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110:Snowy Rowles
18:
982:Bushrangers
608:Cairns Post
430:Rowan Woods
25:John Rowles
1018:Categories
905:Punishment
844:Corruption
680:16 January
448:References
422:as Snowy.
352:to have a
339:Dalwallinu
74:1932-06-13
818:Melbourne
420:Luke Ford
303:Murchison
182:Australia
173:1929–1930
90:Australia
61:Australia
808:Canberra
803:Brisbane
793:Adelaide
591:25 March
565:25 March
555:"Rowles"
506:carnamah
471:25 March
436:See also
388:In media
362:18 carat
350:Auckland
211:stockman
189:State(s)
970:History
914:Prisons
292:Youanmi
178:Country
160:Victims
155:Details
890:Courts
828:Sydney
813:Darwin
633:
378:hanged
358:solder
239:Rowles
119:Motive
823:Perth
307:Perth
149:Death
139:Theft
682:2006
631:ISBN
593:2022
567:2022
473:2022
265:Bony
205:The
68:Died
53:1905
46:Born
951:ACT
946:Tas
931:Qld
926:Vic
921:NSW
772:ACT
767:Tas
752:Qld
747:Vic
742:NSW
692:dvd
380:at
369:.)
217:in
1020::
956:NT
941:SA
936:WA
777:NT
762:SA
757:WA
583:.
557:.
544:^
526:^
504:.
464:.
432:.
400:.
235:.
88:,
84:,
59:,
720:e
713:t
706:v
684:.
639:.
595:.
569:.
508:.
475:.
163:3
76:)
72:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
