Pistols at Dawn - a deadly duel in NZ history
Can we imagine the cool-headed lawyers of today being impassioned enough to participate in a duel? No, not really, so we must transport ourselves back to the year 1844 ...
note: not THE duel in question, but a depiction of pistol duelling
image source
... the story begins:
full article here
Interestingly, William Brewer had been involved in a previous duel (elsewhere in the country) about four years before this incident; but that time his luck was better and he shot his opponent's wig, without himself being injured in the challenge.
The players in this tragedy:
Hugh Cokeley Ross - originally from Scotland, spent some years in Australia before settling in New Zealand after being caught embezzling funds while working as a Crown solicitor no less. He eventually set up practice, as a lawyer, in Wellington.
image source and full article
William Vitruvius Brewer - along with his brother Charles, were two of the earliest lawyers to set up practice in New Zealand after emigrating from England. Incidentally, their father was a prominent barrister, and their sister Catherine - who also emigrated to New Zealand - was married to a Supreme Court Judge, Henry Samuel Chapman, and who would later take in Brewer's widow Isabella nee Harrison.
image source
Arthur Edward MacDonogh - (various spellings of surname found) was an Irishman who emigrated to New Zealand and became a Police magistrate; and the man at the centre of the dispute around which the challenge was issued. By all accounts, as a policeman, his judgment was sound and sensible.
as signed, from a published newspaper letter
image source
At the Wellington County Court Hugh Ross was defending MacDonogh on a charge of ‘illegally retailing … a certain quantity of spirituous liquors’1 and disputed with William Brewer over whether he had agreed to 'waive a notice' at the trial. A dispute which clearly escalated to the point where a duel was agreed upon, attendee's confirmed, and a place set.
Ross, his 'second' Maj. David Stark Durie, Brewer, and Dr. Dorset (the attending surgeon) were all known to have been on-site for the duel, which took place near Pimble's brickyard - one of the businesses situated along Sydney Street, in the Wellington suburb of Thorndon. (I believe this is the same street as the court building was situated on.)
looking down Sydney St., Thorndon, Wellington (c. 1900)
image source
Apparently, William Brewer discharged his pistol wide of his opponent, so likely never intended to wound or kill him, but was not so lucky in the exchange as he took a bullet to the groin. For a time it seemed he might have been recovering, but gangrene set in and he finally passed away seven days later.
This incident sparked some speculation in the newspaper over the practice of duelling itself, which can be read in full here; while an extract of which reads:
Because duelling was banned by law, no one involved was willing to step forward and tell the whole truth of the matter; so we will never know the full and accurate account of what occurred that day.
Sadly, this wasn't the end of tragedy for the two remaining players. Hugh Ross's daughter Ann Eliza married Arthur McDonogh later that same year, but Arthur had a gambling problem and a long history of stealing funds. One day, eight years after the duel, fearing discovery of his escalating crimes, he took one of the duelling pistols - which Ross had gifted him as a wedding present - and killed himself with it.
Wellington cemetery record
He left behind a shocked friend, and a heartbroken wife and child.
Endnotes
(Incidentally, Catherine Brewer would later have her own tragic story.)
References
Bibliography
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/186241535/hugh_cokeley-ross
http://mp.natlib.govt.nz/detail/?id=4285&l=en
https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/duel-at-20-paces/
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/pistols-at-dawn-deadly-duel-in-wellington
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZGWS18440306.2.5
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZGWS18440309.2.5.1
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZGWS18440309.2.5.1?query=duel
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZCPNA18421007.2.7?query=hugh%20ross
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZCPNA18430421.2.7?query=macdonogh
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZCPNA18430721.2.13?query=macdonogh
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZGWS18410731.2.6?query=brewer
https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/duels
https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1m34/mcdonogh-arthur-edward
https://wellington.govt.nz/services/community-and-culture/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
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Interesting read and well researched :) followed and upvoted
I appreciate that you enjoyed it. Makes me happy when I create articles that others find interesting to read. :)
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As always, I really appreciate this. Thank you. :)
Omg, what an article, quite leanthy and very informative post, we must recognise your effort for writing, it must havr taken very long time to write, i am very much impressed from your article and it have motivated me to write for my self as long as possible, and hope you earn quite handsome money from this post 😊😊
Thank you, I appreciate your kind and supportive words. I'm sure you could find many interesting things to write about too. :)
I like post @ravenruis
Thank you for saying so. :)
This is quite interesting, haven't heard this part of NZ history before.
A great way to document our past that may have been forgotten.
Yes, I bet we would find no end of fascinating things. More than enough for a lifetime of Steemit posts, at least lol. :D
Might have to go searching now :D
Liking history, I thank you for your efforts in writing this story.
will be following for more stories like it.
Thank you. I think there will be many interesting stories to be dug up and brought to light. :)
Some of the gold rush stories my Grand Dad told me as a kid were very interesting.
I hope you've at least thought about writing all these down to pass on down the generations - personal stories are as much like searching for gold nuggets for us family historians. ;)
60 years later it is only a vague memory.
I am slowly doing the RNZAF with as much info as I have found,
Brilliant! A possible out-cousin from Sunderland and Ross with a name such as that. 😂
Attempting resteem, but may be morning -bandwidth.
You never know what surprises the family tree has in store, that's for certain. :D
Laugh at what the future think of me¡¡ 😑
Such interesting History most of which I was unaware of
I stumbled across a snippet of information on it while looking at something else, and it intrigued me enough to delve into it. Down the rabbit hole .... lol.
Lol glad you did 😎
A fascinating read @ravenruis If duelling (with pistols) were a way with dealing with disputes these days, you'd like to think that disputes would get settled well before the alarm went off at the crack of dawn wouldn't you? The one punch retaliation and road rage (and ever other kind of rage) phenomenon that inflicts our modern society today is just another method of duelling without the benefit of sleeping on the problem first. I was interested to see pictures of Sydney Street in Wellington as it was back then. Great research. Resteeming. And have a great day.
Thank you, Trudee. :)
I tried to find a picture closer to the 1840s but that one was earliest I could manage. I love seeing the 'then' photos.
I think your observation is spot-on. I read a book, which if I remember correctly was by Gerald Durrell, who observed that (men) playing sports was the current form of their 'hunting & gathering' inclinations. Which I could very well believe, too. I wonder what he would have said on the subject of duelling vs. today's outlets. :)
It is an interesting subject @ravenruis Fighting for one's honour (or the honour of someone dear to you) was and is, an act of great chivalry but is it really worth loosing your life over? I'm not talking about war and fighting for your country. I'm referring to personal issues. The odds of being shot and killed were pretty high when duelling was the chosen method of settling a score with an adversary. Pride (mixed with gallantry) cometh before a fall, when a woman's honour was fought for but if her hero died in the process, he made it very difficult for her to show her appreciation didn't he? Intervening in a situation where a life is in danger is another thing altogether. I couldn't stand by and watch that happen and I have found myself in a very precarious position when put to the test a few years ago.
Blimey, that must have been an awful situation to be in.
I think that we (as a society) have a martyr complex, in that if someone martyrs themselves in an act of supposed heroism then that somehow still gives them one-up against their opponent. I agree that it is simply a wasted loss of life, and an act of 'ego'.
The scary thing about the situation I found myself in @ravenruis was that I had no fear when confronting a very angry guy beating another one to a pulp. Luckily the victim got away whilst the attacker concentrated his efforts on me. 🤨 I was reasonably safe in my car but the window was wound down with the abusers face and fist uncomfortably close to mine.
I can’t think of a positive thing to say about ego........and true heroes are hard to find. Or are the good stories all too often smothered by the dramatic ones by the media in favour of the attention grabbing ones?
I suspect it is a case of the media running with something they can sensationalise, much of the time - but we have become a cynical world, too.
Very true @ravenruis The older I get, the more cynical I am inclined to be and I need to keep that in check because overall.......there is much to appreciate all around us if we have the right attitude. Have a superb day. 😊