The Murchison Murders

In 1929, Upfield was working on the Number One Rabbit Proof Fence in Western Australia. While riding the fence he was thinking about the plot of his next Napoleon Bonaparte mystery, The Sands of Windee. He was stuck on how to completely dispose of a body. One of his fellow inspectors gave him the means.

1. Burn the body, including clothing.

2. Shift through the ashes, removing any bone fragments, metal (like shoe eyelets), etc. Crush the bone to powder, dispose of the other items.

3. Burn the carcase of a couple of kangaroos on the same site to disguise the purpose of the fire.

The topic was much discussed and a likable fellow by the name of Snowy Rowles was present at the discussions. Later, after Snowy had left the area, three men disappeared and Snowy became the lead suspect. Snowy tried to follow the Upfield's plot device for his story but failed to follow through in the disposal of his victims leaving too much evidence behind.

This short account is interesting on two accounts. First, it is a case where an author's fictional plot was used in a real crime and the author was called upon to testify that the accused was familiar with the method from his book.

Second, the description of the investigation is interesting. The methods are the same as we we currently read in police procedurals but hampered the distances involved in developing a time-line (Australia is huge) and lack of quick communications. Part of the investigation involved people in New Zeland. The investigator traced watch repairs, dental plates, and wedding ring repairs to piece together the evidence against Rowles.

In addition to the murder case, this small book includes a chapter on "Patrolling the World's Longest Fence" and "Trapping for Fur". These chapters will be interesting to readers of the Napoleon Bonaparte stories because they add to the reader's understanding about the bush and outback.

Upfield writes non-fiction with his usual florid and awkward sentence constructions.