With the number of Lawlesses in my family tree, it was only a matter of time until I found one that truly lived up to the name. At first, I was incredulous at the discovery of this man's litany of 'drunk and disorderly' and obscene language charges, incurred far and wide. But upon closer reading of a handful of his convictions, I realised there was a darker and more disturbing side, and that this was perhaps a very troubled individual.
A search of historical newspapers online revealed many details of a Thomas Lawless offending not just in New South Wales, but in his home state of Victoria and also South Australia. Closer inspection of the nature of the offences showed them to be almost always identical, and from the dates they occurred, it looked very likely that it was just the one Thomas Lawless - my relative. As his occupation was only ever listed as 'labourer' he probably travelled to find work, as many did at those times, but his frequent movements were also very likely to have been influenced by the poor reputation he gained wherever he went!
So with the assumption that all this offending was by 'my' Thomas Lawless, let's take a look at the rap sheet I've uncovered so far (dates and locations given are that of the court hearings):
27 September 1861, Hawthorn. A Thomas and James Lawless were fined for not having lights on their drays. Thomas did have a brother James, they would have been about 17 and 15 and the family were living at Nunawading around this time.
13 October 1864, Ballarat. Thomas and James Lawless were among four wood-carters charged with threatening behaviour in a public place, at Soldiers Hill on 1 October (Patrick and Kitty and family had recently moved to Dead Horse, near Ballarat). Thomas was arrested at the scene but slipped away due to an assault on the policemen carried out by James. Each fined 5s or one month's imprisonment.
7 November 1864, Ballarat. Thomas was charged with threatening to take the life of Edward Hankard when travelling on the road to Dead Horse, on 29 October. The article in the Ballarat Star mentions that the prisoner had previously been fined for the same offence and for stoning police. He was ordered to be bound over to keep the peace for six months (Ballarat Star, 8/11/1864).
4 December 1866, Ballarat. Four men including Thomas Lawless were charged with assaulting and robbing a Chinese man named Ah Sing near Mopoka on 27 October, Lawless doing the thieving. The prisoners were remanded on bail, but there was insufficient evidence to support the charges against the other three men. The article does not say what happened to Lawless (Ballarat Star, 11/12/1866)
30 April 1867, Ballarat. Thomas, James and another man were charged with a violent assault and threatening conduct at Dead Horse. The wife of the victim claimed that her husband was now on his death-bed as a result. The police said this was an exaggeration and there was no proof of the assault, but the men were 'bound over' to keep the peace for three months towards the woman.
29 May 1869, Ballarat. Lawless was fined 5s for drunkenness and 2s 6d for a cab to convey him to the station.
13 December 1869, Ballarat. Thomas was charged with wilfully damaging a stable, the property of George Dibden, and using obscene language when taken to the watchhouse. He expressed willingness to pay for the 5s worth of damage and was fined 5s for the language.
27 January 1870, Ballarat. Fined another 5s for drunkenness.
A few years later, we see some very familiar behaviour, just over the border in South Australia!
5 September 1879, Penola. 35-year old Thomas Lawless 'made the town lively' on the 4th. He 'knocked about' the police 'like ninepins' and required a 'whole crowd' to escort him to the lock-up. He received three months in the Mt Gambier Gaol, one for being drunk and disorderly, two for assaulting police (Naracoorte Herald, 9/9/1879). It was noted during this trial that he had twice been convicted of a similar offence, and also that he had a family (which I have yet to find any record of).
Anyone wanting to read an amusing account of the above incident should read the article in Mt. Gambier's Border Watch newspaper (https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/78699124?searchTerm=%22thomas%20lawless%22)
26 January 1880, Mt Gambier. Having not long emerged from gaol, Thomas found himself drunk again on the 24th. He was apprehended but resisted and kicked the trooper, for which he was also charged. He was fined 5s or default three days imprisonment for the drunkenness, and £10 or two months for the assault. Lawless chose to return to gaol.
26 May 1880, Mt Gambier. Having been released from two months imprisonment on the 25th, Thomas celebrated by getting drunk, and once his violent disposition began to take hold the police sergeant required two helpers to take him in. Lawless was fined £5, but once again, preferred two months imprisonment. In the reporting of this case, it was noted that Lawless used the alias 'Tommy Roundhead' (which appears appropriate, looking at the photo above). (Border Watch 29/5/1880)
4 April 1881, Bordertown. A letter to the editor in the Naracoorte Herald expressed frustration at the leniency shown towards 'one of the most notorious scoundrels of the South-east' (12/4/1881). Despite his notoriety, Lawless had apparently only been given two days in gaol for disorderly conduct back in February. Then, with Lawless being again charged with being drunk and disorderly and disturbing the peace at two hotels in Bordertown, he was given only a 20s fine or three days in gaol. The fine was paid by the man who was currently employing Lawless. The letter writer refers to Lawless's 'convictions here and in other colonies' being 'past counting' (although I'm doing my best).
21 April 1882, Bordertown. Tommy Roundhead was again brought up for drunkenness, was fined £5 or 14 days for that charge, but was also charged with being a habitual drunkard, having been convicted three times in the previous twelve months. This resulted in a sentence of two months' imprisonment at Mt Gambier Gaol yet again, this time with hard labour.
17 July 1882, Penola. This time it was for using insulting language in a public place, and resisting the constable when being placed in a cell. Back again to Mt Gambier Gaol, to serve one month and 14 days for the two offences.
12 March 1883, Mt Gambier. Fined 5s for being drunk in a public place, and 10s for indecent language. For a change, Lawless paid both fines.
21 May 1883, Mt Gambier. Lawless failed to appear on a charge for indecent language and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
It appears our scoundrel then made his way back to Victoria. We next find him to the east of Melbourne...
26 July 1884, Melbourne. Thomas Lawless, a 'middle aged man of disreputable appearance', was charged with 'grossly misconducting himself' in a railway carriage while travelling on the Gippsland line from Bunyip to Melbourne. He was removed to the brake car, where he again 'misbehaved himself'. It was noted that he had been previously convicted of a similar offence, and was sent to gaol for three months.
27 May 1888, Healesville. It was alleged that Thomas Lawless carried out an unprovoked assault on a man at the Healesville Hotel on the 25th, leading to a fight which saw three other men arrested. This included a Patrick Lawless - Thomas did have a much younger brother Patrick, born in 1862 (therefore Thomas would have been 44 and Patrick 26). Patrick resisted arrest, escaped, and when tracked down later, resisted again. Thomas Lawless was fined £2 or 48 hours in the lock-up, Patrick Lawless two fines of £2, one for resisting police, one for insulting behaviour. The Bench apparently took into consideration the good character given to all four prisoners by their employer. All fines were paid by their companions (the report does not state who these 'companions' were). The reference to 'good character' makes me wonder if these are the same Lawless brothers. Or perhaps Healesville was just not yet aware of Tommy's history!
8 August 1889, Lilydale. Thomas had to answer to three familiar charges: drunk and disorderly, obscene language (within the 'hearing of some ladies') and resisting police. His fines totalled £3 5s, or alternatively 23 days imprisonment.
19 December 1889, Carlton. Having come down from the country a few days earlier, Thomas found himself with another obscene language charge, this time at the Prince Alfred Hotel. He had been brought up on a similar offence the previous week. The Bench advised Lawless to return to the country and imposed a 40s fine in default of 14 days' imprisonment.
21 June 1890, Melton. Lawless was charged with obtaining goods under false pretences in Healesville on 8 April, but was discharged on the grounds of mistaken identity.
18 July 1890, Melton. A charge of insulting behaviour, with a fine of £1 or 3 days in prison, was run-of-the-mill offending. But this time Lawless had also been arrested on warrant and charged with something far more disturbing, i.e. committing an unnatural offence against a child. He was remanded for three days, and on the 21st, the father of the child asked for the case to be heard with closed doors, and all aged under 16 were ordered to leave the court. Thomas pleaded not guilty, and police asked to change the charge to criminal assault. Lawless was discharged and ordered to leave the district within an hour.
27 July 1891, Lilydale. Yet another charge of insulting behaviour and obscene language, Lawless was established as an 'old offender'. He chose 21 days in gaol rather than pay the fines.
29 December 1892, Korumburra. The 'redoubtable' Thomas Lawless was up again for obscene language in a public place and resisting police, and again accepted gaol rather than pay the fines, this time for three months.
12 January 1894, Warracknabeal. Thomas served one month in Ballarat Gaol for obscene language. A Police Gazette entry for this offence describes Lawless as 5'5" tall, with a sallow complexion, black hair and hazel eyes, and notes that he had been 'repeatedly convicted', referring to earlier Gazettes dated 21/6/86, 11/7/88, 1/10/88 (I have still to look these up).
We now find our serial offender in New South Wales, at the remote outpost of Broken Hill with a string of repeat offending, impressive even for our Thomas (incidentally, a note in these NSW gaol books record Thomas' birthplace as Macedon, Victoria, which is solid evidence that we are still dealing with 'our' Thomas Lawless). He was now about 52 years old.
30 June 1896, Broken Hill. Indecent language; sent to gaol for one week.
20 July 1896, Broken Hill. Drunk; locked up for 24 hours. Used an alias of Stephen Lawless.
23 July 1896, Broken Hill. Drunk and disorderly and indecent language; gaoled for one week.
31 July 1896, Broken Hill. Drunk and disorderly and indecent language; sentenced to one month's gaol.
7 September 1896, Broken Hill. Drunk; 24 hours in gaol.
10 September 1896, Broken Hill. Drunk and disorderly and indecent language; three weeks in gaol.
2 October 1896, Broken Hill. Drunk and disorderly; one week's imprisonment.
10 October 1896, Broken Hill. Charged with vagrancy: being an idle and disorderly person and a habitual drunkard. For this, Lawless was sentenced to three months in prison.
It would be easy to assume that Thomas would have been hard up for money, meaning he was forced to serve so many of his sentences in custody, however to me it almost appears that Thomas was wanting gaol. Perhaps it gave him some form of certainty. I also wondered if he was trying to save himself from himself, particularly when I read about his next transgression, which occurred just three days after his release from prison.
15 January 1897, Broken Hill. Lawless faced court on this occasion for an 'assault with intent to commit buggery'. He was brought to trial on 7 April, the offence listed in the Criminal Court Records as 'indecent assault on a male person', but newspaper reports record that it was actually a nine-year old boy. The case was heard with closed doors, the evidence given was 'of a most revolting character, entirely unprintable' (Barrier Miner, 15/1/1897). Thomas pleaded not guilty but the Bench did not agree, sentencing him to be imprisoned for 2 years with hard labour in Broken Hill Gaol. On 19 October, Thomas was moved to Bathurst Gaol, where he served out the remainder of his sentence. After gaining his freedom on 12 November 1898, any thoughts that he might seek a new path were dispelled within two days.
14 November 1898, Bathurst. Lawless claimed he was about to go back to Broken Hill, where he stated his family were, when he was arrested. He had been up to his old tricks though, and was charged for indecent language and resisting arrest. He was given sentences of £2 or one month in gaol, and £1 or seven days. The sentences were to be concurrent. After serving his month in gaol, Thomas was given a free pass to leave (and go to Cobar) but decided to drink again instead...
14 December 1898, Bathurst. This time, on top of the usual indecent language, and assault on a policeman, Lawless was also accused of 'wilfully destroying a pair of constable's trousers'. He claimed to know nothing about what had happened to the officer's uniform, but he 'supposed that he might as well be saddled with it all'. The prisoner was referred to as a 'formidable-looking individual' in the newspaper account, with Senior Sergeant Morris describing him as a 'desperate man' with a 'terrible character. He was more like a wild beast than a human being.' Lawless claimed he was 'willing to work and wanted to get back to Broken Hill' (National Advocate, 15/12/1898) but for the three offences was sentenced to two months, two months and seven days - this time to be cumulative.
21 April 1899, Bathurst. Incredibly, on the day he was discharged from prison, Lawless was arrested again on the usual drunk and disorderly and obscene language charges, resulting in the familiar sentence of another one month.
22 May 1899, Stuart Town. After serving his last sentence, Thomas had evidently decided to move on, and began what would be a gradual journey northward. But, unsurprisingly, his troubles followed close behind. In Stuart Town, a small locality between Orange and Wellington, he is done for obscene language once again and serves another month in prison.
22 June 1899, Wellington. Obscene language in the bar of the Royal Hotel led to a £5 fine or three months in Dubbo Gaol. Another charge of refusing to pay for liquor was withdrawn by the licensee.
28 September 1903, Dubbo. Having used the alias Thomas Bell, Lawless was again convicted of being drunk and disorderly and using obscene language. He was offered a fine of £5 or two months' imprisonment.
19 January 1904, Wellington. A different name this time,Charles Hall, but same old offences: obscene language and assaulting police. Thomas was given two sentences of two months in Bathurst Gaol, to be served concurrently.
Within a few years, Thomas had made his way to northern New South Wales.
20 April 1910, Copmanhurst (just outside of Grafton). Now 65, Lawless was accused of being on licensed premises during prohibited hours, when at the Cangai Hotel on 3 April, and further charged with being drunk and disorderly (of course). For this he received two weeks at Copmanhurst Gaol.
11 November 1910, Grafton. More drunkenness and disorderly conduct, and a second charge of indecent behaviour.
28 December 1910, Grafton. Drunkenness saw Lawless fined 5s or a mere 24 hours in prison.
20 June 1911, South Grafton. Another drunk and disorderly charge with the same penalty.
27 December 1911, Grafton. Indecent language incurred a 20s fine or 14 days hard labour at Copmanhurst.
19 February 1913, Copmanhurst. Just for variety, this charge was reported as 'riotous behaviour'.
2 April 1918, Murwillumbah. While the specific charge is not listed in the newspaper report, the fine was only 2s 6d or three hours of detention.
7 June 1918, Coolangatta. Lawless was charged with drunkenness but received only a caution and was discharged. Now in his 70s, he was perhaps finally slowing down. While still finding trouble, these penalties were not severe.
Thomas Lawless was now in his fourth state, Queensland, and on 10 December 1918 he entered the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum on North Stradbroke Island. He would have been about 74 years old. Asylum records confirm his parents as Patrick Lawless and Catherine Mulhall, so I feel confident I have traced the right man all this time. The Dunwich Benevolent Asylum had been set up in 1866 for the poor and destitute. Many inebriates were sent here, either by family, hospital or police order. There were about 1000 inmates present at any one time with a male-female ratio of six to one. Thomas was discharged on 29 August 1919 but readmitted just 12 days later. Three years later, on 3 November 1922, he left the asylum again and made his way to Gympie. After nearly three years there he was readmitted to Dunwich on 15 October 1925.
Finally, on 28 March 1929, at about 84 or 85 years of age, the extraordinary life of Thomas Lawless aka Tommy Roundhead came to an end. His final resting place was the Dunwich Asylum cemetery. It is incredible to think he had such a long life given his history of drinking. We will never truly know just what led Thomas into such a torturous cycle of alcohol abuse and violence, but as his more serious offences would suggest, he must have been battling terrible demons throughout. The nineteenth century was a bleak time to suffer with poor mental health, there was neither the medical understanding nor the means of support individuals like Thomas Lawless required. As enthralling as it was to make these discoveries, I find it - at heart - an incredibly sad tale.
Thomas Lawless was my first cousin, 4x removed
Dunwich Asylum information courtesy of North Stradbroke Island Museum (https://stradbrokemuseum.com.au/dunwich-benevolent-asylum/)
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