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On 16 November 1911, Charles Ching told Silva he was traveling to town for supplies and money for Silva's wages. While he was away, Silva murdered the six Chings. The bodies of Agnes, Maud, Hugh, and Winnie were found inside the house piled under a rug. Mother Agnes and eldest daughter Maud had been
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Silva wanted to marry the Chings' oldest daughter, teenage Maud Ching. He told a neighbour that he would get a plot of land from
Charlie Ching by Christmas and he would build a house to start a family. The neighbour replied "You can't marry. You got no money. You got no blanket. No decent trousers.
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Police and
Aboriginal trackers inspected the crime scene, and after the trackers stated that there was no trail to follow the police homed in on Silva. Silva, fearing a lynch mob from Mackay, eventually confessed to police. He claimed that two neighbours had helped him murder the family, but the
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Tried only for killing Maud Ching, Silva admitted to being present, but denied personally killing anyone. It took the jury only 20 minutes to find him guilty of murder. Silva was given a mandatory death sentence and hanged at
228:, to Sri Lankan parents. He became a passionate attendant of the local church and often led prayers. He became known as a preacher and a "pet" of the church. As an adult, Silva found work as a farmhand on a property at
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in an attempt to delay his execution until prison authorities told him to stop. Silva tried to keep talking as the noose was slipped around his neck, but was hanged before he could finish. He was buried at
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home with a dirt floor. The kitchen was in a separate structure, away from the main home. However, in comparison to Silva, who had almost nothing, they were wealthy.
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Silva's employer was a property owner named
Charlie Ching. Ching was a man from Hong Kong who was married to English-born Agnes. They lived in a
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A Cavalcade of
Queensland's Crimes and Criminals: Scoundrels, Scallwags & Psychopaths – The Colonial Years and Beyond 1859–1920
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Silva's marriage proposal was rejected by the Chings as he had nothing to offer their daughter. Maud also rejected his advances.
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Plaque at the burial site in South
Brisbane Cemetery of those hanged at Boggo Road Gaol. Silva's name is third from the bottom.
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389:"George David Silva responsible for one of Queensland's worst mass murders in Mackay"
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445:. News Corp. Daily Mercury. The Ching family massacre - 1911
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police found no evidence of him having any accomplices.
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descent, worked as a farmhand on a property owned by
443:"REVEALED: The atrocious crimes that shocked Mackay"
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324:Winnie Ching, 20 months, daughter of Charles Ching
243:How would a girl like to marry you like that?"
192:(1884 – 10 June 1912) was an Australian
526:— Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search
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391:. Queensland Newspapers. The Courier-Mail
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318:Dolly Ching, 8, daughter of Charles Ching
312:Maud Ching, 17, daughter of Charles Ching
721:People convicted of murder by Queensland
726:People executed by Australia by hanging
686:Australian people of Sri Lankan descent
498:. Council of Law Reporting. p. 200
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736:20th-century mass murder in Australia
681:Australian people convicted of murder
315:Teddy Ching, 10, son of Charles Ching
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666:20th-century executions by Australia
591:Northern Territory Times and Gazette
417:"On top of their bodies sat a bible"
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466:"Farmhand faced six murder charges"
341:Alternatively spelt Maud or Maudie.
321:Hugh Ching, 4, son of Charles Ching
170:Alligator Creek, Mackay, Queensland
691:Burials at South Brisbane Cemetery
492:Queensland. Supreme Court (1912).
464:McKean, Bruce (18 November 2011).
415:Kyriacou, Kate (11 January 2015).
387:Kyriacou, Kate (22 January 2015).
309:Agnes Ching, wife of Charles Ching
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676:Australian murderers of children
542:. Boolarong Press. p. 183.
441:Miley, Jacob (11 January 2018).
16:Australian murderer (1884–1912)
208:, about 20 miles (32 km) from
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731:People executed by Queensland
250:Murders, trial, and execution
359:Alternatively spelt Hughie.
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696:Executed Australian people
671:Australian mass murderers
350:Also reported as aged 15.
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232:, 20 miles out of town.
701:Executed mass murderers
495:Queensland Law Reporter
290:South Brisbane Cemetery
204:-born Charles Ching at
99:South Brisbane Cemetery
716:Massacres in Australia
610:Queensland murder case
536:Jarvis Finger (2012).
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65:10 June 1912 (aged 28)
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522:13 June 2012 at the
261:muzzle-loading rifle
196:. Silva, who was of
89:Execution by hanging
47:Homebush, Queensland
85:Cause of death
642:(30 November 1911)
639:Poverty Bay Herald
630:(20 November 1911)
627:Poverty Bay Herald
618:(21 November 1911)
615:Poverty Bay Herald
606:(20 November 1911)
603:Poverty Bay Herald
594:(15 December 1911)
586:A terrible tragedy
582:(22 November 1911)
517:Silva George David
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226:Mackay, Queensland
220:Silva was born in
210:Mackay, Queensland
190:George David Silva
711:Massacres in 1912
634:The Ching tragedy
622:The Ching tragedy
574:Tragedy at Mackay
549:978-1-922109-05-7
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25:George Silva
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661:1912 deaths
656:1884 births
277:Dutton Park
165:Location(s)
79:, Australia
49:, Australia
650:Categories
426:25 January
367:References
255:shot by a
216:Early life
77:Queensland
61:1912-06-10
202:Hong Kong
198:Sinhalese
159:Australia
520:Archived
281:Brisbane
257:revolver
222:Homebush
109:Executed
73:Brisbane
555:18 June
502:18 June
477:20 July
449:18 June
395:18 June
296:Victims
224:, near
156:Country
143:Details
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259:and a
176:Killed
329:Notes
285:Bible
137:Death
557:2021
544:ISBN
504:2021
479:2023
451:2021
428:2022
397:2021
148:Date
55:Died
43:1884
40:Born
275:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
