George David Silva (1884 – 10 June 1912) was an Australian

mass murderer Mass murder is the violent crime of murder, killing a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. A mass murder typically occurs in a single location where one or more ...

. Silva, who was of Sinhalese descent, worked as a farmhand on a property owned by

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

-born Charles Ching at Alligator Creek, about 20 miles (32 km) from

Mackay, Queensland } Mackay () is a city in the Mackay Region on the eastern or Coral Sea coast of Queensland, Australia. It is located about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is described as being in either Central Queensland or North Queensland ...

Early life

Silva was born in

Homebush Homebush is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Strathfield. The name o ...

, near

, 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 Alligator Creek, 20 miles out of town. 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

corrugated iron Corrugated galvanised iron (CGI) or steel, colloquially corrugated iron (near universal), wriggly tin (taken from UK military slang), pailing (in Caribbean English), corrugated sheet metal (in North America), zinc (in Cyprus and Nigeria) or ...

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. 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. How would a girl like to marry you like that?" Silva's marriage proposal was rejected by the Chings as he had nothing to offer their daughter. Maud also rejected his advances.

Murders, trial, and execution

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 shot by a

revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

and a

muzzle-loading rifle A muzzle-loading rifle is a Muzzleloader, muzzle-loaded Small arms and light weapons, small arm that has a rifled barrel rather than a smoothbore, and is loaded from the muzzle of the barrel rather than the breech. Historically they were developed ...

, while the boy and the baby had their skulls smashed against the wall. The bodies of Teddy and Dolly Ching were found a mile and a half away; both had been shot and their skulls smashed in. 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 police found no evidence of him having any accomplices. 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

Boggo Road Gaol H.M. Prison Brisbane, commonly known as Boggo Road Gaol, was Queensland's main prison from the 1880s to the 1980s. By the time it closed, it had become notorious for poor conditions and rioting. Located on Annerley Road in Dutton Park, Queenslan ...

Dutton Park Dutton Park is an inner southern Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Dutton Park had a population of 2,134 people. Geography Dutton Park is located about south of the Brisbane ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, on 10 June 1912. In his final moments, Silva repeatedly quoted passages from the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

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

South Brisbane Cemetery South Brisbane Cemetery, also known as Dutton Park Cemetery, is a heritage-listed cemetery at 21 Fairfield Road and Annerley Road, Dutton Park, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, adjacent to the Brisbane River. It was built from 1870 to 1 ...

, Dutton Park.Silva George David
— Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search

Victims

*Agnes Ching, wife of Charles Ching *Maud Ching, 17, daughter of Charles Ching *Teddy Ching, 10, son of Charles Ching *Dolly Ching, 8, daughter of Charles Ching *Hugh Ching, 4, son of Charles Ching *Winnie Ching, 20 months, daughter of Charles Ching

Notes

References

External links

Tragedy at Mackay
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The Sydney Mail ''The Sydney Mail'' was an Australian magazine published weekly in Sydney. It was the weekly edition of ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' newspaper and ran from 1860 to 1938. History ''The Sydney Mail'' was first published on 17 July 1860 by J ...

'' (22 November 1911)
A terrible tragedy
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Northern Territory Times and Gazette ''The Northern Territory Times'' was a newspaper in Darwin established in 1873 and closed in 1932. The paper was called the '' Northern Territory Times and Gazette'' from 1873–1927 and then ''The'' ''Northern Territory Times'' from 1927–1932 ...

'' (15 December 1911)
Fearful tragedy
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Poverty Bay Herald ''The Gisborne Herald'' is the daily evening newspaper for Gisborne and environs. It was one of only four independently owned daily newspapers in New Zealand but was bought by NZME in 2024. History Established in 1874 as the ''Poverty Bay Hera ...

'' (20 November 1911)
Queensland murder case
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'' (21 November 1911)
The Ching tragedy
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'' (20 November 1911)
The Ching tragedy
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'' (30 November 1911) {{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, George 1884 births 1912 deaths 20th-century executions by Australia Australian murderers of children Australian people of Sri Lankan descent Burials at South Brisbane Cemetery Executed Australian mass murderers Family murders 20th-century murderers People convicted of murder by Queensland People executed by Queensland People executed by Australia by hanging