The ghost and the magistrate

Ghost stories, particularly those about the righting of wrongs, have always been popular, regardless of how unlikely they might be. Such is the story of David Parry-Okedon who, in the 1860s, was the justice and magistrate for the South Burnett, specifically the area around Proston.

Parry-Okedon was also the manager of Burrandowan Station and had arranged cheques to pay a travelling hawker for some household goods. The cheques failed to be deposited in the hawker’s bank account in Brisbane so the hawker contacted Parry-Okedon.

Surprised by the hawker’s contact, Parry-Okedon checked his accounts and found that three cheques had been presented and paid at the Boodooma Hotel. They had been altered, with tiny strips of paper covering the ‘not negotiable’ lines meant to ensure that correct payment was made.

The licensee at the Boodooma Hotel identified the overseer at nearby Strathdee Station as the person who had presented the cheques and received payment. The police arrested him and then issued a warrant for the arrest of his supposed accomplice, a man with unlimited access to the mail, postman ‘Humpie’ Williamson.

Humpie was something of a local legend and was easily recognised by the prominent hump on his back, the result of a childhood disease. He was popular and well respected; the locals found it hard to believe that he was involved. The police scoured the countryside for weeks, but could find no trace of Humpie. His mail run had stopped after deliveries to stations in and around the Wondai area, and it was assumed that he had fled to New South Wales to avoid arrest. Parry-Okedon, his son Will (later a commissioner of police), and a jackaroo were going to Gayndah and had set up camp for the night near Cave Creek, not far from the present site of Proston. David Parry-Okedon was stretched out on his swag in the tent while the others got the meal ready.

Suddenly, a strange ghostly figure appeared in the tent—it was like mist in human form, and swayed and lurched and pointed outside. There was no mistaking the shape—it was Humpie Williamson. The ghost pointed outside and tried to speak, only to vanish as quickly as it had appeared. Parry-Okedon ran outside and asked the others if they had seen the ghost. They had not, but Parry-Okedon knew what he had seen.

A few weeks later, some men from Burrandowan Station were sent to the area of Cave Creek to set up a lambing yard. One of the men was hunting duck for fresh meat, and waded into a billabong to retrieve his catch. He picked up the bird and noticed a boot just below the surface of the water. He called for help and with some mates they pulled the partially decomposed body of a man from the water—the body of Humpie Williamson. He was not the accomplice, but rather the victim of the crime.

Murder was added to the charges of the overseer’s indictment but at trial he was acquitted for lack of evidence.

Parry-Okedon continued his work in the South Burnett for many years and went to his grave believing that Humpie’s ghost had come to him, as the local representative of the Queen’s justice, seeking redress from the wrongs for which he was unjustly accused.