Max Stuart

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Rupert Maxwell (Max) Stuart (c. 1932 - ) is an Australian Aborigine who was convicted of murder in 1959. His conviction was controversial, subject to several appeals to higher courts, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and a Royal Commission, all of which upheld the verdict. Newspapers campaigned successfully against the death penalty being imposed. After serving his sentence, Stuart became an Arrernte elder and from 1998 - 2001 was the chairman of the Central Land Council.[1] In 2002, a film was made about the Stuart case.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Jay Creek in 1947
Jay Creek in 1947

Stuart was born in 1932 at Jay Creek in the MacDonnell Ranges, 45 kilometres west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. It was a government settlement which for a time in the late 1920s and early 1930s included 45 children from a home named 'The Bungalow' (37 of whom were under the age of 12) temporarily housed in a corrugated shed with a superintendent and matron housed separately in two tents.[2] Jay Creek was home to the Western Arrernte people. In 1937, Jay Creek was declared one of three permanent camps or reserves for the Alice Springs Aboriginal population. It was intended as a buffer between the semi-nomadic people living in far western regions and the more sophisticated inhabitants of Alice Springs and environs, in particular for the non-working, aged and infirm around Alice Springs.[3]

As a teenager, Stuart had worked as a bare-knuckle boxer [4][5] and for Jimmy Sharman's boxing tents.[6] In late 1958, he was working on the sideshows of a travelling fun fair. He was mostly illiterate and had problems with alcohol.

In the late 1950s, Stuart had been convicted of indecently assaulting a nine-year-old girl in Cloncurry, Queensland. In that case, he confessed to police that he "knew this was wrong" but he did not "know any big women" and that when he had liquor he could not control himself.[7]

[edit] The Stuart Case

On 20 December 1958, Mary Hattam, a nine-year-old girl, was raped and murdered near the South Australian town of Ceduna. After playing on the beaches between Ceduna and Thevenard, she did not come home. Her parents alerted the police, and a community-wide search took place. Hattam's body was found at midnight, bloodied and mangled, with her face smashed in. The local police brought in two 'blacktrackers' (Aboriginal trackers) who then traced the crime to Stuart.[8] The travelling funfair, "Fun Land Carnival", which Stuart was working with, was visiting the town at the time. Following his confession, Stuart was brought to trial in the Supreme Court of South Australia, with the case opening on 20 April 1959. The Judge presiding was Sir Geoffrey Reed, an experienced judge; Stuart's lawyer was J.D. O'Sullivan, assigned to him by the Law Society of South Australia.

O'Sullivan advocated that police had forced Stuart into the confession, due to Stuart's poor command of the English language. However, the jury was unconvinced by the argument and Stuart was convicted. In line with the law, Judge Reed sentenced Stuart to death on April 24, 1959. Two appeals were filed but neither was successful; an appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London failed.[8]

A prison chaplain, Catholic priest Father Tom Dixon was suspicious about the sophisticated language used in the alleged confession. Stuart could hardly speak or write English; his native language was Arrernte. The anthropologist Ted Strehlow, who had studied the Arrernte people of central Australia, also had doubts and was called as a witness in the case. Ken Inglis, then a lecturer at Adelaide University, wrote in July 1959 of the doubts of Father Dixon and Ted Strehlow in the Nation, a fortnightly magazine.[9] There was further reporting on the case in the Sydney Morning Herald and then Adelaide afternoon newspaper, the News, took up the issue.

[edit] Royal Commission

In late 1959 a Royal Commission, the Royal Commission in Regard to Rupert Max Stuart, was convened by the South Australian government. The Commission was appointed to enquire into matters raised in statutory declarations regarding Stuart's actions and intentions, his movements on 20 December 1958, why the information in the declarations was not raised in the Supreme Court or another authority before the declarations were made, and the circumstances in which the declarations were obtained and made.[1] The Commission concluded that Stuart's conviction was justified. However, the Playford Government commuted his sentence to life imprisonment.

[edit] Newspaper campaigns against death sentence

The News, edited by Rohan Rivett and owned by Rupert Murdoch, campaigned heavily against Stuart's death sentence. Because of the campaign through the News, Rivett, as editor, and the News itself were charged in 1960 with seditious and malicious libel, but were acquitted. A few weeks later Murdoch dismissed Rivett. Rivett had been Editor-in-Chief of the News since 1951.[10] It has been suggested that in Black and White, a 2002 film of the case, the role of Murdoch was magnified, and the part of his editor, Rivett, was minimised.[9] However, it was noted in the Royal Commission that Murdoch wrote editorials, headlines and posters for the campaign.[11] Stuart says of Murdoch that "He done a good one in my case"[11] and also "He wanted the truth, you know. I could see him out in the court. I was with the policemen; my lawyer told me it was him."[12]

[edit] Imprisonment

Stuart was released on parole in 1973.[13] He was in and out of jail until 1984, when he was paroled for the sixth and final time[14] from Adelaide's Yatala Labour Prison. During his time at Yatala Prison, Stuart learned proper English, became literate, began painting in watercolours and acquired other work skills. In between being returned to prison a number of times for breaches of his parole between 1974 and 1984, he married and settled at Santa Teresa, a Catholic mission south-east of Alice Springs.[15]

[edit] Publications on the case

Books on the case were written by Ken Inglis, one of the first to publicise the doubts about the case; Sir Roderic Chamberlain, the Crown Prosecutor; and Father Tom Dixon, the priest who raised concerns about Stuart's confession.

  • Inglis, K. S. (1961 (2nd edition 2002)). The Stuart case. Melbourne, Australia (both editions): Melbourne University Press (2nd edition Black Inc.). Bib ID: 2479503 (2nd edition ISBN 1-86395-243-8). 
  • Chamberlain, Roderic (1973). The Stuart affair. London: Hale. ISBN 0-7091-4097-5. 
  • Dixon, Thomas Sidney (1987). The wizard of Alice : Father Dixon and the Stuart case. Morwell, Victoria, Australia: Alella Books. ISBN 0-949681-18-0. 

[edit] Film: Black and White

Image from the film
Image from the film
Main article: Black and White (2002 film)

The 2002 feature film Black and White, directed by Craig Lahiff, was made about his case, and featured David Ngoombujarra as Max Stuart; Robert Carlyle as Stuart's lawyer David O'Sullivan; Charles Dance as the Crown Prosecutor Roderic Chamberlain; Kerry Fox as O'Sullivan's business partner Helen Devaney; Colin Friels as Father Tom Dixon; Bille Brown as South Australian Premier Sir Thomas Playford; Ben Mendelsohn as newspaper publisher Rupert Murdoch; and John Gregg as Rohan Rivett. The film won an Australian Film Institute award in 2003 for David Ngoombujarra as Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

The film's producer, Helen Leake has reported that Stuart's response to seeing the film was, "It ain’t half bad, but it’s a long time to wait between smokes"![9]

[edit] Significance of the case

Geoffrey Robertson QC said of the case:

It was a dramatic and very important case because it alerted Australia to the difficulties that Aborigines, who then weren't even counted in the census, encountered in our courts. It alerted us to the appalling feature of capital punishment of the death sentence that applied to people who may well be innocent.[16]

[edit] Indigenous politics

In 1985, Patrick Dodson, then director of the Central Land Council, appointed Stuart to a part-time job. This appointment transformed Stuart, giving him respect and gave rise to his successful rehabilitation. Stuart shared his knowledge of Aboriginal law and tradition, which he had gained from his grandfather as a youth, and become an Arrernte elder.[15]

Stuart has subsequently become an active figure in Central Australian Aboriginal affairs, in particular with the Lhere Artepe native title organisation.[17]

Stuart was chairman of the Central Land Council (CLC) from 1998[18] to 2001.[19] In 2000, as chairman of the CLC, Stuart welcomed the Queen to Alice Springs and made a presentation to her.[14] in September 2001, Stuart was cultural director of the Yeperenye Federation Festival.[15] In 2004, Stuart was the Public Officer for the CANCA Aboriginal Corporation,[20] a role derived from his employment with the Central Land Council.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b J. Churches. MS 3764 Father Dixon and the Stuart Case. Manuscript finding aids. Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) www.aiatsis.gov.au. Retrieved on 2006-02-21.
  2. ^ Part 2 Tracing the History (rtf - see page 97). Bringing them Home: Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families. Reconciliation and Social Justice Library reproducing report first published by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (1997). Retrieved on 2006-06-11.
  3. ^ Bartlett, Ben (1998). Origins of persisting poor Aboriginal Health (pdf -379 pages; first ref to Jay Creek on p. 97). Thesis for Masters in Public Health. University of Sydney. Retrieved on 2006-06-11.
  4. ^ Fickling, David. "Not so black and white", Film interviews, The Guardian, 2004-01-13. Retrieved on 2006-06-10. 
  5. ^ Crow, Lou (2005). Black and White. AUFS Reviews. Adelaide University Film Society. Retrieved on 2006-06-10.
  6. ^ Thornton, Henry (2002). Black and White:The story of a famous legal case. henrythornton.com. Retrieved on 2006-06-11.
  7. ^ Peter Alexander (2002). Rupert Maxwell Stuart: the facts. Police Journal Online. Police Association of South Australia. Retrieved on 2006-02-20.
  8. ^ a b Crocker, Walter (1983). Sir Thomas Playford: A Portrait. Melbourne University Press, pages 81-82. ISBN 0-522-84250-X. 
  9. ^ a b c Ken Inglis interviewed by Terry Lane (2002). Transcript of The National Interest: writing history. The National Interest. Australian Broadcasting Corporation Radio National. Retrieved on 2006-02-21.
  10. ^ Papers of Rohan Rivett (1917-1977) MS 8049. Manuscripts Finding Aids. National Library of Australia (1999). Retrieved on 2006-02-21.
  11. ^ a b David Fickling (2004). Rupert the Brave. arts: Friday Review. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2006-02-21.
  12. ^ David Smith (2004). Ruthless Rupe is recast as an angel of mercy: Movie tells how 'heroic' young Murdoch saved an Aborigine from hanging. reprint of film review originally published in The Observer. eniar.org (European Network for Indigenous Australian Rights). Retrieved on 2006-02-21.
  13. ^ Rupert Maxwell Stuart. Adelaide Gaol: The Working Gaol 1841 - 1988. www.adelaidegaol.org.au (2006). Retrieved on 2006-02-20.
  14. ^ a b Penelope Debelle (2002). Max Stuart reflects, finds peace. The Age. Retrieved on 2006-02-21.
  15. ^ a b c Ruth Latekefu (2002). Black and White and The Stuart Case. The Mail 2002. Australian School of Pacific Administration www.asopa.com.au. Retrieved on 2006-02-21.
  16. ^ The murder that shaped South Australia (transcript). Stateline, South Australia. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (2006). Retrieved on 2006-06-21.
  17. ^ Erwin Chlanda (2004). Native Title:Insider Trading Query October 13, 2004. www.alicespringsnews.com.au. Retrieved on 2006-02-21.
  18. ^ Central Land Council (CLC). www.whoseland.com (1998). Retrieved on 2006-02-21.
  19. ^ New chair and executive for CLC. Community Broadcasting Database. www.cbonline.org.au (2001). Retrieved on 2006-02-21.
  20. ^ Northern Territory Aboriginal Corporations. Registrar of Aboriginal Corporations. Retrieved on 2006-02-21.
  • Ceduna. Sydney Morning Herald Travel. Fairfax Digital (2004). Retrieved on 2006-02-20. - includes a discussion of the case and town locations associated with the case.
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