HORRIBLE MURDER

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 289, 23 April 1889, Page 3

HORRIBLE MURDER

NEAR THE MAHIA. A MAN KILLED AND THE BODY AND HOUSE BURNED. ALL OVER A MAORI WOMAN. 808 GOLLAN THE VICTIM. Another terrible tragedy, which on the face of it appears to be even worse than that for which Haira te Peri now lies doomed to death, has occurred along the Coast in an opposite direction to Gisborne to the scene of the Book tragedy. This horrible affair took place on the Mahia Peninsula.

A shepherd named Gollan, known as Bob, had living with him a Maori woman, and a half - caste named McQuarrie had a desperate passion for the woman, who was therefore the cause of a bitter feeling between the two men.

McQuarrie, it seems, did his best to win the woman over to being a party to his own desires, but without success, and his failure naturally intensified the feeling of jealousy. By all other people but his rival in the affections of the Maori woman, Bob was well-liked, and so far as is known had no other enemies. He was a shepherd on Mr Ormond's station, and on Friday morning he did not turn up to work as he was expected to do. This gave cause for some apprehension as to what had come over him, and on going to his place of residence (a tworoomed cottage with lean-to) it was found to be burnt down.

Mr Orinond instituted a search aud 161bs of the charred remains of the body were discovered, but at the time the head could not be found. Subsequently a portion of it was found, and this led to grave suspicions of foul play. The Wairoa policeman arrived on Saturday, and Mr Ormond, accompanied by some of the station hands, immediately went out and arrested McQuarrie. Immediately on the arrest being made, it led to a— CONFESSION FROM McQUAR* RIB’S BROTHER-IN-LAW,

a lad of fifteen years of age. He said that at about 7 o'clock on Thursday night he and McQuarrie rode up to Gollan’s house. McQuarrie then dismounted, giving the informant his horse to hold, which the lad did without quitting his own seat. McQuarrie went up close to the house, and called on G-ollan to come out, which the latter did, and he immediately fired three shots at him. Gollan fell to the ground, and then McQuarrie dragged the body into the house and set fire to the place. The lad says that on McQuarrie returning he threatened him (infornmantj with a similar fate if he did not keep his mouth shut, which the lad had done until he got too frightened to maintain secrecy any longer. When McQuarrie was arrested blood was found upon his clothes, so that the boy’s story seems to be well substantiated.

The assumption is that the head must have been blown off by the force of the powder at such close quarters, and that the night being dark McQuarrie neglected and then forgot to cleanse his clothes of the blood stains.

The Maori woman was at the Murewai when the tragedy occured. She came into Gisborne yesterday and afterwards returned” to the Murewai.

Goll an was in Ormond a few days previous to the murder. McQuarrie has always been regarded as a black sheep.

Mr Large (Coroner) proceeded to the district in which the murder was committed, and an inquest was held yesterday, but sufficient time has not elapsed for the result to be made known in Gisborne.

Detective Grace was also at the Wairoa, and he went on with Mr Large. Later. The inquest had to be adjourned owing to some of the witnesses not being at hand. Constable Hansen was to leave at 5 this morning, going first to the Murewai. THE POOR MURDERS. We have received information from Wellington to the effect that the sentence in Haira te Peri's case is to be carried out without any further delay that can be avoided. We understand that the impediment now is the difficulty of obtaining a suitable executioner. If Haira were sent back to his own people there would not be much difficulty ou this point.