John Gavin (or John Gaven) (1829 – 6 April 1844) was the first European settlerand childto be legally executed in colonial

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. He was executed for

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

at the age of fifteen.

Life

Born in 1829, Gavin was convicted of an offence while still a juvenile, and was

transported ''Transported'' is an Australian convict melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It is considered a lost film. Plot In England, Jessie Grey is about to marry Leonard Lincoln but the evil Harold Hawk tries to force her to marry him and she ...

to Western Australia as a Parkhurst apprentice, arriving on board ''Shepherd'' in October 1843. On 3 April 1844, he was tried for the murder of his employer's son, 15-year-old George Pollard. He confessed to killing the sleeping victim with an

adze An adze () or adz is an ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. Adzes have been used since the Stone Age. They are used for smoothing or carving wood in ha ...

, but he seemed unaware of a rational motive. Three days later he was publicly

hanged Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...

outside the Round House in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

"on a gallows erected north of the Round House entrance." After a death mask had been taken and his brain studied for "scientific purposes" he was buried in the sand hills to the south without a ceremony.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gavin, John 1829 births 1844 deaths Convicts transported to Western Australia Children executed by the United Kingdom People executed by Western Australia Australian people executed for murder Australian murderers of children People convicted of murder by Western Australia People executed by Australian colonies by hanging People executed by public hanging