| Henry James O'Farrell | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1833 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 21 April 1868 |
| Conviction(s) | Attempted murder of Prince Alfred |
| Penalty | Death |
| Status | Executed |
| Occupation | Produce merchant, law clerk |
Henry James O'Farrell (1833-1868) is infamously recorded as the first person to attempt a political assassination in Australia. In 1868, he shot and wounded HRH The Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria.
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O'Farrell was 35 years old and originally from Dublin, Ireland. He was an alcoholic, and had been released from a lunatic asylum immediately before the attempted assassination. He had been briefly employed by his brother, a Melbourne solicitor, who also had offices in Ballarat, and is therefore sometimes described as a law clerk. But his most recent occupation was selling fruit and vegetables in Ballarat's Haymarket.
In 1868, Prince Alfred, then 23 years old, went on a world tour, which included the first royal visit to Australia. There were planned stops in Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and many other places. On 12 March, the Prince attended the Sailor's Picnic in the harbourside suburb of Clontarf, in Sydney.
O'Farrell came up behind the Prince and fired a revolver into his back. This outraged the attending crowd, and O'Farrell was nearly lynched on the spot before police arrested him.
The Prince was shot in the back just to the right of the spine. The wound was serious, but not fatal. The Prince was hospitalized for two weeks, and cared for by six nurses trained by Florence Nightingale, who had arrived in Australia that February under Matron Lucy Osburn.
The attack caused great embarrassment in the colony, and led to a wave of anti-Irish sentiment, directed at all Irish people, including Protestant Loyalists. The next day, 20,000 people attended a meeting to protest "yesterday's outrage".
O'Farrell first claimed, falsely, to be under orders from the Fenian Brotherhood. But though he was violently anti-British and anti-Royalist, he later denied being a Fenian.[1]
O'Farrell was tried at Sydney on 30 March 1868. The barrister with the thankless task of defending him was Butler Cole Aspinall, who had previously defended the rebel leaders of the Eureka Stockade. Aspinall sought to have O'Farrell found not guilty by reason of insanity. He cited O'Farrell's history of mental illness and recent release from an asylum. O'Farrell was convicted and sentenced to death. Prince Alfred himself tried unsuccessfully to intercede and save his would-be killer's life.
O'Farrell was hanged on 21 April 1868 in the Darlinghurst Gaol at the age of 35.
Prince Alfred soon recovered, and returned home in early April 1868.
On 24 March, the New South Wales Legislative Assembly voted to erect a memorial building. In order "to raise a permanent and substantial monument in testimony of the heartfelt gratitude of the community at the recovery of HRH", it was to be the Prince Alfred Hospital. Queen Victoria permitted the use of the term "Royal", so the memorial building was the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. It was built using funds raised by public subscription, and is today an important hospital in New South Wales.
Sir Henry Parkes, a Minister in the colonial government (and future Premier) stirred up persecution of Irish Catholics in the colony after O'Farrell's attack. Parke claimed that the mad killer's initial claims of being Fenian were true and that there were extensive Fenian conspiracies at work. When Canadian politician and anti-Fenian D'Arcy McGee was killed by a Fenian on 7 April, the excitement increased. But soon the excitement died down, and the public began questioning Parkes' unsupported claims. These became an embarrassment and he resigned as a Minister in September.