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The Detective's Album series - publisher  
Note:

(Fortune wrote the series between 1868 and 1908)
Note:

After Fortune's tenure, other authors contributed stories to the Album.
Issue Details: First known date: 1865... 1865 The Detective's Album
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Notes

  • Series of self-contained crime tales published in the Australian Journal. From its inception in 1868, the stories were written by Fortune under the pseudonym W.W. and appeared monthly. 'The notion behind the Detective's Album is a collection of mug-shots, which prompts recollections from their compiler, fictional detective Mark Sinclair' in the format of a short story, 'narrated by the viewpoint of the sleuth'. Fortune continued these stories for the next forty years.

    Australian Journal staff writer James Skipp Borlase has occasionally been associated with these stories, in part because of his earlier collaboration with Mary Fortune on the series Memoirs of an Australian Police Officer and Adventures of an Australian Mounted Trooper and in part because he republished certain of the stories in his own collections later. See 'The Dead Witness' and 'Mystery and Murder' for more detailed information on authorship. (His name remains attached to those works in AustLit, but not to this series.)

    After Fortune's work on the series ended in 1908, the series was continued in reprints and with works by other authors, including Rex Grayson, A.C. Eiseman, and M. Joseph Lynch. However, Fortune's contribution to the series is likely unequalled both for length of tenure and number of stories.

    Sources include Lucy Sussex, 'A Woman of Mystery', Crime Factory 2 (2001), pp.15-16).

  • A letter headed 'Unsolicited Praise' printed with Grayson's 'The Man For the Job' singles out the 'Detective's Album' series in particular (1 February, 1923, p.124).

Includes

The Dead Witness; or, The Bush Waterhole James Skipp Borlase , Mary Fortune , 1866 single work short story crime
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 20 January vol. 1 no. 21 1866; (p. 329-331) The Australian Journal , February vol. 44 no. 1909; (p. 113-115) Dead Witness : Best Australian Mystery Stories 1989; (p. 1-16) The Penguin Best Australian Short Stories 1991; (p. 45-59) The Anthology of Colonial Australian Crime Fiction 2008; (p. 27-39) The Dead Witness : A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Detective Stories 2011;
The Misfortunes of "O'Shicer of Ours" W. W. , 1879 single work short story crime
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 14 no. 168 1879; (p. 456-463) The Australian Journal , August 1915; (p. 489-495) Comic tale of a drunken cowardly Victorian police constable whose boasting resulted in his being locked up in his own goal by Ned Kelly, who then robbed the town bank. Not only did O'Shicer then lose his lady and the pie she had cooked but the strip from his uniform for lokcing up the new police inspector he assumed was an imposter. (PB)
Fire W. W. , 1869 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 4 no. 47 1869; (p. 497-500) The destruction of a prize vineyard and the murder of the master of the house - a murder designed to be hidden by a fire - are linked to the deformed nephew of the victim. (PB)
The Ruby Ring W. W. , 1869 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 4 no. 48 1869; (p. 546-549) A theft in a St Kilda household reveals secrets of Mrs Latham and an attempt to blacken her governess' reputation. (PB)
The Geneva Watch W. W. , 1869 single work short story crime
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 4 no. 50 1869; (p. 674-678) Discovery of a woman's murder in a roadside restaurant deep in the bush. A watch enlivens a paralysed man sufficiently to reveal the truth. (PB)
Lost Ella W. W. , 1869 single work short story crime
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 4 no. 51 1869; (p. 720-725) Events set on a station in the Murray River district include love, jealousy, attempted murder, and a girl's rescue by Aborigines. (PB)
To Be Left Till Called For W. W. , 1871 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , January vol. 6 no. 68 1871; (p. 247-252) The discovery of a newborn infant's strangled body in a parcel left at a hotel leads to discovery of jealousy, false imprisonment and another murder. Interesting asides on the running of a hotel and the sufferings of false accusations, as well as gruesome details of the murders. (PB)
A Woman's Revenge : Or, Almost Lost W. W. , 1871 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 6 no. 69 1871; (p. 333-338) Set at a police station in a country district on the old Sydney road, near the Seymour diggings. A battered woman's body is left at the police station in a box, and the path of discovery leads to a jealous wife and a brutal husband ... (PB)
The Diamond Robbery W. W. , 1871 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 6 no. 70 1871; (p. 382-387) A society woman's report of a theft of diamonds reveals her to be an innocently bigamous wife and an inveterate gambler. The cost to her husband, his true wife and herself is all her reward for jealousy and attempted revenge. (PB)
The Detective's Capture : A Sequel to Mr. Medlet's Wedding W. W. , 1868 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 21 November vol. 4 no. 169 1868; (p. 202-204) On the escape of the sham parson, and his fate together with those of his bushranging companions in the nearby ranges. Mark Sinclair, the detective, is himself captured and ingeniously escapes. (PB)
Love W. W. , 1869 single work prose
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 5 no. 53 1869; (p. 98-100) A troopers' camp under the Boorangong Ranges in Victoria introduces them to a faithful servant and his master, dying of the madness caused by pursuing his nephew and ward to Australia and inadvertently causing their deaths ... (PB)
The Convict's Revenge W. W. , 1869 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 5 no. 54 1869; (p. 170-174) A handsome thief returns to the Rath station to avenge himself on father and daughter for turning him over to the police and prison. Assualt and rape follow ... (PB)
The Missing Bracelets W. W. , 1869 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 5 no. 55 1869; (p. 218-223) An old woman's schemes to deprive her son of his inheritance are foiled with the help of a detective called to investigate the disappearance of a pair of diamond-cut bracelets. (PB)
The Commissioner's Cousin W. W. , 1870 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , January vol. 5 no. 56 1870; (p. 269-275) Captain Leclerc, a Victorian goldfields Commissioner and his older jealous wife are involved in tragedy when the Captain's beautiful young niece comes to live with them ... (PB)
The Silk Robbery W. W. , 1875 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 11 no. 127 1875; (p. 183-188) A robbery of silk from a Collins Street drapery establishment and the disappearance of the shop manager lead to a murder that Mark Sinclair must solve ... (PB)
The Gully Hut W. W. , 1875 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 11 no. 126 1875; (p. 139-144) In Rockhampton Gaol, a prisoner is dying, raving of the Gully Hut and a murder. His companion, Old Job, is released and accidentally finds his way to that very spot. The murder of Milly Benson's father is as yet unsolved - but his ghost returns in a dream to assist him. (PB)
Charlie Hearne's Fate W. W. , 1875 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 11 no. 124 1875; (p. 20-25) Set on a near-deserted diggings. Charlie Hearne, a worthy young man determined to marry the common daughter of a drunkard mother, disappears one night. And it is his beloved's mother who seems most deeply involved in his disappearance. (PB)
A Story of Tarrawee W. W. , 1875 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 11 no. 125 1875; (p. 69-75) A station owner marries a vulgar local beauty only to have his first wife, supposed dead, appear. Hard attitudes to the local flirt from all, as the first wife is a 'true lady'. (PB)
Dead Man's Beat W. W. , 1869 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 4 no. 49 1869; (p. 614-616) Occurred when Mark Sinclair was in the Tasmanian police force (before he joined Victoria's force) - in HobartTown. A ghost haunting 21 Cooke Street leads to a husband murdered by his wife and mouldering in the cellar. (PB)
The Dead Girl's Garter W. W. , 1870 single work prose
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 5 no. 57 1870; (p. 325-329) A murdered woman is found in a small Australian country town, the only identifying features being a garter on her right leg and a new bridle rein around the bag she was in. The murderer escapes ... but only for a time. (PB)
The Double Cross on the Rock W. W. , 1870 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 5 no. 60 1870; (p. 524-526) On the killing of the bushranger, Starbeam, near the Victorian border, and the eventual recovery of his stolen herd through a cross-marked card. (PB)
The Wattle-Farm Tragedy 1870 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 5 no. 62 1870; (p. 644-648) The brutal murder of a farmer's son by the shambling farm labourer, and the grief it brings to his family. Set in up-country Victoria. (PB)
[Untitled] W. W. , 1870 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 6 no. 63 1870; (p. 704-707) A ghost story in a deserted hut near Wood's Point, Victoria, the scene of a murder years before. The ghost is the murderer, and batteries are used to give an electric shock to those who came too close. (PB)
John Fowler's Sin W. W. , 1877 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 12 no. 147 1877; (p. 626-634) In the bush of Victoria a father is tragically repaid for saving his son from prison by falsely accusing his friend of the crime. Romance and murder follow when the two youths arrive at his station ... Includes an ex-convict and an honest woman. (PB)
The Forger Foiled 1877 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 12 no. 146 1877; (p. 569-575) Marion Ingles accepts a position as companion to a rich and beautiful Mrs Marwick of Kew, Melbourne, and discovers her to be estranged from her husband. She also discovers that they are sisters, that Mr Marwick and her own former lover, and that Mrs Marwick is already married to a forger ... (PB)
The Cadogan Tragedy W. W. , 1877 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 12 no. 144 1877; (p. 458-465) A sojourn at a Victorian country police station reveals an old man murdered and partially buried in his child's coffin by his younger wife and his accomplice. (PB)
The Round Rock : Or, Born to the Purple W. W. , 1877 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 12 no. 145 1877; (p. 516-522) Innocent Grace Leaston discovers her true name, love, and death with the advent of the noble Lester Synnot to her harsh father's bush farm near the Coliban River. Includes ghostly apparitions bushrangers and a revenge plot.
Byansbruck Tower W. W. , 1877 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 13 no. 149 1877; (p. 86-93) A recluse in a tiny Victorian country township proves to be the gaoler of her niece who she said had died three years before. The local policeman's curiosity results in the girl's murder and his conviction for her murder ... (PB)
The Selector of the Corra W. W. , 1877 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 13 no. 150 1877; (p. 141-147) A poor villainous selector murders his rival who pegs out the land before him - but a trooper's detective work and his victim's ghost find him out. (PB)
The Selection At Joyce's W. W. , 1877 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 13 no. 151 1877; (p. 193-201) Tale of an ugly ignorant Irish couple and their plans to outfox each other over the lease of a land selection - Bridget's schemes to divorce Mike and marry the handsome scheming James Farby are frustrated and her taste for finery punished. [Not a typical Detective's Album tale.] (PB)
The Haunted Chair W. W. , 1878 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 13 no. 155 1878; (p. 407-413) At an Australian country station, an educated doctor witnesses an English emigrant's will and becomes involved in the wealthy family's estrangement. A wife's cold revenge, a niece's loyalty, and a convict son's return are all involved. (PB)
James Galvin's Axe W. W. , 1878 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 13 no. 156 1878; (p. 465-471) Two policemen are sent to a tiny isolated settlement on the Sydney Road to discover why travellers keep disappearing. They discover a grisly murder committed by an old woman - who is in turn dreadfully murdered by her crazed son. A shanty-keeper plays a large part. (PB)
Lost Harold Lynn W. W. , 1878 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 13 no. 153 1878; (p. 299-304) An English digger discovers gold on the Branch Creek diggings near Sandhurst but loses his memory for 10 years until his twin brother and a Melbourne detective trace him to a station. The sight of his fiancee's grave prompts his memory to return ... (PB)
Death For Love W. W. , 1878- single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 13 no. 154 (p. 354-362) On a farm near the Lodden River, Victoria, the arrival of a beautiful new farm girl causes tragedy when she wins the hearts of two young men and the hatred of the other, ugly, farm-girl. A visiting detective, Bowring, helps solve the murder. (PB)
Arch Leslie's First Yarn W. W. , 1878 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 13 no. 157 1878; (p. 516-523) Mark Sinclair introduces the tale from his study where Arch interrupts his attempt to write the next 'W. W.' story, and tells his own. Set in the centre of Melbourne, the tale of a forger who murders his wife and take refuge with a female accomplice in the house where she is washerwoman. A little terrier aids in his capture. [Interesting for the 'W. W.' material.] (PB)
Mary Hester Armour W. W. , 1878 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 13 no. 158 1878; (p. 572-580) A quarrel between neighbours - an old and a young woman in a little bush township begins with a summons and ends in a murder and revelations of bigamy. Mark Sinclair, still a strooper, helps solve the feminine affair. (PB)
The Haunted Mill W. W. , 1878 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 13 no. 159 1878; (p. 628-633) A Canadian governess solves the murder of a child at an Australian country station by his own mother - uncovering her pupil's murdered mother at the same time. [Confusing.] (PB)
The Way of the World W. W. , 1878 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 14 no. 160 1878; (p. 36-42) Cynical tale of two law clerks and the plan hatched between them to persuade a governess to a false marriage; of a similar plan hatched with the governess and the father of one of the clerks; and the denoument which leaves them both deceived. All parties to the story (apart from wealthy Anna Swift and her father who both clerks seek for her fortune) are unappealing. (PB)
Brandon's Boy Bill W. W. , 1878 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 14 no. 161 1878; (p. 82-89) The disappearance of Bella Forbes from her father's house in a very wealthy Melbourne suburb reveals her hatred of her step-mother and the latter's strange relationship with the chemist Mr Brandon who is later found murdered. Bella is found again and the step-mother's bigamy exposed with the aid of a chemist's boy, Bill - who is more than he seems. A case of cross-dressing investigated by a private detective - a friend of government detective Sinclair. (PB)
Dan Brand's Dying Curse W. W. , 1878 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 14 no. 163 1878; (p. 195-200) A sergeant at a country station is repaid for his masquerade as a priest to wring information from a dying man by the murder of his favourite little daughter and then his own. A woman helping his wife with housework and a wandering tramp conspire ... [Horrible; interesting, re: the sergeant's domestic situation and Catholic taboos.] (PB)
Broken Faith : An Incident of the Early Days W. W. , 1879 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 14 no. 165 1879; (p. 299-302) A motherless girl finds the dying bushranger Thunderbolt in a cave on his father's station and promises to help shelter him from the police. She asks her father's help but he betrays her trust as he had her mother's - and she is shot by accident. (PB)
Raspail's Place W. W. , 1879 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 15 no. 173 1879; (p. 91-95) A Melbourne lawyer buys a deserted house and garden in Stockton despite rumours of a ghost and the claims of the old gardener to the garden. The lawyers redoubtable housekeeper undertakes to disprove the ghost but discovers the secret of a murderous wife and grief-maddened brother instead. (PB)
The Shaft in Wild Gully W. W. , 1879 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 15 no. 174 1879; (p. 122-126) A loyal wife journeys on foot to join her husband prospecting in the Victorian ranges. He is planning to marry a rich man's daughter and murders her with his pick and buries her in the mine. Another man had met her before she joined her husband and he asks where she is as the miner is about to marry. All is revealed. (PB)
The Hermit's Gap W. W. , 1879 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 14 no. 170 1879; (p. 570-576) A recluse who survives by selling animal skins ventures onto a nearby farm seeking flour and there recognises the wife he abandoned - now a drunkard - and his son. She strikes her son and the old man offers him shelter, revealing his identity later. The woman is murdered and the son blamed but he hermit's testimony helps save him ... Gory. (PB)
Poor Bob W. W. , 1879 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 14 no. 171 1879; (p. 618-625) A vengeful Victorian farmer murders the policeman who secretly married his beloved, strangles her new-born child and chains her up and abuses her with the help of his mother. Mark Sinclair solves the mystery with the help of their farm hand, an industrial school boy. Horrible but well told. Involves a dog's hide cured, cut, and left near the murder victims ... (PB)
The Ghost upon the Rail John Lang , 1853 single work short story crime
— Appears in: Botany Bay, or, True Stories of the Early Days of Australia 1859; The Australian Journal , February vol. 15 no. 177 1880; (p. 312-316) Botany Bay, or, True Stories of the Early Days of Australia 1920; (p. 5-26) A Century of Australian Short Stories 1963; (p. 1-19) My Country : Australian Poetry and Short Stories, Two Hundred Years 1985; (p. 34-50) The Penguin Best Australian Short Stories 1991; (p. 23-43) The tale of Fisher's Ghost's originally from John Lang's Botany Bay, or, True Stories of the Early Days of Australia . Penrith, NSW, was the scene of Edward Smith's murder of his neighbouring farmer John Fisher, both of them ex-convicts. Smith's plan is foiled by suspicions aroused by Fisher's apparition, the skills of a black tracker, and the sagacious magistrate, Mr Cox. Smith is hanged. (PB)
Mrs Inchkeith's Revenge W. W. , 1879 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 15 no. 175 1879; (p. 176-183) An Irish under-nurse in a Melbourne house discovers the housekeeper's plots to marry her employer, widowed by his wife's suicide. A ghost in the nursery is eventually unmasked but too late to prevent Mrs Inchkeith's revenge on the sleeping children. Suggestions of sexual improprieties confusingly alluded to. (PB)
The Window among the Willows W. W. , 1880 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 15 no. 178 1880; (p. 350-355) Sinclair is seeking a discharge from the force but becomes involved in the case of a dying friend whose daughter Minnie is secretly meeting a disreputable fellow detective. That detective's discovery that she will be almost penniless after her father's death, and Sinclair's discovery that the unpleasant Dr Annan has brutally and illegally carried out a post-mortem on his friend [graphic] causes further grief. (PB)
The Murder at the Creek W. W. , 1880 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 15 no. 179 1880; (p. 415-420) A Melbourne merchant persuades a clerk working on a country station to murder his romantic rival. The clerk has plans of his own to recover a forged note from the merchant's keeping - and the murder is in appearance only. (PB)
Checkmate and Revenge W. W. , 1880 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 15 no. 180 1880; (p. 455-461) Sinclair travels to Dunedin on a case and visits a friend, a theatre manager. He becomes involved in an attempted jewellery swindle by an aspiring amateur actress and the manager's leading man; discovers the woman to be a rich squatter's runaway wife; and witnesses the revenge of the actor's wife escaped from a Victorian mental asylum. (PB)
I'll Be Hung For You Yet W. W. , 1880 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 15 no. 181 1880; (p. 528-535) Tale of two children badly abused by their drunken parents. Bob, nearly 14, runs away to earn money to save his sister, and she is beaten by her parents and witnesses her father cut her step-mother's throat. Bob comes back in time to hear her evidence at the inquest and prevent his step-father's escape. Dolly dies. Very strong picture of the abuse of children of alcoholics. (PB)
Tom Doyle's Dream W. W. , 1880 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 15 no. 182 1880; (p. 585-591) A constable's dream of a murder in a sly-grog shanty near Avoca in the mid-1850s is revealed to have been real. The shanty keeper, his wife and the victim's mate murdered him for his money - and their deed is discovered by an enterprising policeman, the wife's madness and the victim's daughter who determined to avenge him and marries his killer. (PB)
The Fatal Cliff W. W. , 1880 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 15 no. 183 1880; (p. 643-649) A professor's second wife, banished for forgery years before, returns unrecognised to take her revenge on the professor's daughter by his first marriage and convince her she is mad. Only a clever doctor and a loyal Irishman prevent her death. (PB)
Silly Jamie's Mate W. W. , 1881 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 16 no. 191 1881; (p. 407-412) A businessman's partiality for Scots lead to Mark Sinclair being engaged to chase loss of money from a safe, and the businessman's lack of suspicion of his housekeeper and her idiot son. A case of small fry crime but humour and pathos thrown in, with an incompetent absent-minded partner and a worried clerk. (PB)
The World's Treasury : Or, The New Year's Charm W. W. , 1881 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , January vol. 16 no. 188 1881; (p. 258-264) An innocent girl's confession of her approaching marriage to neighbouring squatter Sir Charles Fosberry precipitates her scheming cousin Stella, recently returned from Germany into preventing the marriage. A faithful nurse and loving father, a deceitful groom and treacherous step-brother are some of the characters in this tale of cunning and betrayal. Sentimental ending of an angel claiming the young girl for heaven. (PB)
The Man of the Mount W. W. , 1881 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 16 no. 189 1881; (p. 289-295) A storm-dazed traveller takes shelter in a recluse's hut near Mount Macedon and hears a story that leads him, eventually to his true father, exposing also a scheming uncle in his employer, a Melbourne lawyer. Includes a vengeful woman. (PB)
Dark Joe; Or, the Wreath of Blood Flower W. W. , 1877 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 12 no. 142 1877; (p. 354-362) Set on the Camden plains in pioneering settlement days, an old hermit's murderous revenge on the father or pretty, vain Lydia Hermon who had seduced his own daughter years before. Includes parallel account of a boy's initiation to manhood. (PB)
The Stone House on the Tarwin W. W. , 1877 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 12 no. 143 1877; (p. 407-415) Mark Sinclair sets out to solve the disappearance of a young man from this station in Gippsland shortly before he was to be married. A cellar of potatoes, a ghost and an old shepherd who is an ex-Sydney policeman, assist him in his duty. (PB)
Traced by a Knife W. W. , 1876 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 12 no. 139 1876; (p. 177-185) A coach driver is killed by a bushranger near Tenterfield, and the governess who was a hidden passenger discovers his identity later. It is the coach-driver's wife masquerading as a man who secures revenge where the governess would have shown no mercy ... (PB)
Melville's Fatal Shot W. W. , 1877 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 12 no. 141 1877; (p. 303-309) Set at the Springs' station near Dunolly, a trooper helps capture the bushranger Captain Melville and his wife and son - but tragedy follows with the death of Melville's brother and the wife and son from his bullet. (PB)
The Lady in No. 4 W. W. , 1876 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 11 no. 129 1876; (p. 317-324) A hotel guest hires Tom Harris as her commission agent and his first task is to get her the lease of No. 4 Terrace, Camden Street, North Melbourne - money no object. With the aid of a spy-hole and his strong curiosity, Tom uncovers a spurned woman's dreadful scheme of revenge ... (PB)
Disinterred W. W. , 1876 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 11 no. 130 1876; (p. 377-383) Set in a small Victorian country township. A flirtatious woman drives her rough carpenter husband to leave her soon after their marriage by dallying with a local policeman. Several months later she is horribly murdered ... (PB)
The Haunted Camp W. W. , 1875 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 11 no. 127 1875; (p. 207-210) Story of the narrator's first year as a trooper on the Croma diggings, and the solution of a pedlar's murder by his wily and fleshly ghost ... (PB)
The Sundowner's Curse W. W. , 1876 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , January vol. 11 no. 128 1876; (p. 268-275) Drewanna, a vineyard in Victoria, is the site for a sundowner's murderous vengeance on the owner who refused him food and shelter. As the anniversary of the day of revenge approaches, Mark Sinclair is called in to assist in preventing it - and his suspicions include the housekeeper and the local police trooper. (PB)
The Evidence of the Grave W. W. , 1870 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 6 no. 64 1870; (p. 29-33) A robbery of a Victorian country post office and store results in the murder and the ultimate detection of the murderer through a detective's sharp eye. (PB)
The Last Scene W. W. , 1870 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 6 no. 66 1870; (p. 154-159) A bigmaist, thief and murderer is discovered in an heiress' disguise in the same house as a woman he had falsely married years before in England. Disguise and flirtation interesting. (PB)
The Twenty-Ninth of November W. W. , 1870 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 6 no. 67 1870; (p. 214-217) Set in a Victorian bush township, Mark Sinclair becomes enmeshed in a story of murder, with alcohol and ambition mixed in equal parts. (PB)
The Ghost in the Garden W. W. , 1872 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 7 no. 87 1872; (p. 684-689) Bianca Brand determines to marry Mr Bowers - blackmailing him with his murder of his wife. All is foiled when Mrs Bowers appears. (PB)
The Midnight Burial W. W. , 1872 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 8 no. 88 1872; (p. 34-39) Tale of Trooper Martin set near Castlemaine. Martin lodges in a storm in the Black Forest with a beautiful woman and her old mad mother - who is in fact her murdering husband. A digger's body confirms the truth ... (PB)
The Masked Lady W. W. , 1872 single work short story Jane Short, an old midwife living on the Australian coast is hired one night to assist at a mysterious birth in a secret location. The child is born and she assists the mother to give it to a servant to spirit away to save it from murder. The mother disappears while Janes sleeps and again she fears foul play. The resolution involves a plot to destroy the heirs to a noble British estate ... (PB)
The Narrowvale Tragedies W. W. , 1872 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 7 no. 86 1872; (p. 613-618) A fellow trooper of Mark Sinclair is lured to a country station with promise of a partnership. His disappearance exposes a series of murders. (PB)
The Lost Bride W. W. , 1871 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 6 no. 74 1871; (p. 608-612) Set at a police station on the coast between Hobson's Bay and Sydney. A photographer helps discover a newly-wedded couple who disappear, and a murderer. (PB)
Mardyn's Revenge W. W. , 1876 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 11 no. 131 1876; (p. 440-445) A jilted suitor, now rich, visits the station where his former lover lives with her aunt and uncle. He recaptures her love but his motive is deadly revenge, with the help of an unscrupulous sundowner. Vivid. (PB)
Denbigh's Lead W. W. , 1876 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 11 no. 132 1876; (p. 498-502) Margaret Morse keeps store for her often drunken father, Eli, refusing permission for her to marry her lover. One night Eli is murdered, and his murdress, his illicit distillery partner, comes to visit Margaret ... Set in a harsh, remote, mountainous region of Australia. (PB)
Covet's Corner W. W. , 1876 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 11 no. 133 1876; (p. 552-558) A tragedy at a bush hotel: a handsome hawker has unknowingly won pretty Emily determines revenge, and plots with Emily's stepmother to force Emily to marry him - thus allowing the stepmother to inherit the hotel. Plans go awry ... (PB)
The Double Suicide W. W. , 1876 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 11 no. 134 1876; (p. 610-613) Mark Sinclair is called in by a Melbourne bank clerk to solve around 9000 pounds in defalcations. Evidence points to the manager Mr Terry, but it is his son Laurence Terry, secretly a 'wild dog', whom Sinclair suspects. When the elder Mr Terry commits suicide, the mystery deepens ... (PB)
The Madman's Dream W. W. , 1876 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 11 no. 135 1876; (p. 658-662) Set on a Riverina station, before Sinclair had become a detective and was stock riding. Returning from the Maneroo he gets lost and stumbles across a derelict mansion, a ghost, and a mad shepherd who recounts a terrible dream of murder ... (PB)
Forgiven Too Late W. W. , 1876 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 12 no. 137 1876; (p. 671-678) Set around Swanston street and in East Melbourne, a wife discovers her husband remarried and with the help of a gentlemanly ex-prisoner of Melbourne gaol determines on revenge. Forgiveness comes too late to prevent his death. (PB)
Faithful Tom W. W. , 1876 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 12 no. 138 1876; (p. 127-136) The meeting of the Land Board in a country district of Victoria precipitates a quarrel between two suitors for the same girl. Several hours later one of them is feared murdered and suspicion rests on the other. Tom Turner, a boy hired from Victoria's Industrial (Reform) schools helps find the real killer. (PB)
On A False Scent W. W. , 1879 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 14 no. 166 1879; (p. 352-359) A mysterious white-haired shanty keeper has her revenge on the magistrate husband and haughty daughter she abandoned for a neighbouring magistrate years before. A country policeman tries to solve the mysery but it is only revealed at the will-reading after her husband's death. Sexual sub-text; and mother and daughter involved with the same man. (PB)
The Eagle's Nest Rock W. W. , 1879 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 14 no. 167 1879; (p. 401-407) An Englishwoman and her son arrive in Australia to join her ex-convict husband innocent of the crime for which he was transported. On the way to his hut near Phillip Island she finds him much changed and through her son's exploring hears from another escaped convict that the man is not her husband but his murderer ... (PB)
Woodlands W. W. , 1879 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 14 no. 169 1879; (p. 517-523) A farmer's remarriage drives his two sons from their home and disappoints his spinster housekeeper. An illness changes the heart of his eldest son who reveals the new wife's murderous nature, saving him from poison ... (PB)
Lost in Town W. W. , 1872 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 8 no. 90 1872; (p. 123-126) A digger returning to town is murdered by his 'wife' - a prostitute - and her lover for his money. The digger's mate prompts Mark Sinclair to uncover the deed. (PB)
The Terrace Walk W. W. , 1875 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 10 no. 121 1875; (p. 560-566) The murder of a station owner in Victoria is traced to his second wife and her lover. Her plans are already frustrated by a new will, she is caught in a fire ... (PB)
John Dunn's Revenge W. W. , 1875 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 10 no. 122 1875; (p. 617-623) Set in Victoria's Western District in post-gold rush days, the murder of a child by a villainous stockman and the reunion of a wanderer and his mother. (PB)
The Stolen Deed W. W. , 1875 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 10 no. 123 1875; (p. 671-678) A case set 'in one of our largest towns, and in one of the finest houses in its most aristocratic quarter.' The second wife of a rich merchant confined to a mental asylum attempts to recover a stolen deed of gift granting her his property ... (PB)
Heatherville W. W. , 1883 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 18 no. 213 1883; (p. 311-319) A doctor's dreams cause him to consult a specialist in mental illnesses - and the causes are sought in the happy Balmire family who live at Heatherville, a house near Mr Macedon in Victoria. The dark Spanish step-sister Inez loves the doctor, and he loves unrequitedly the fair, innocent Myra - a tangle of emotions that results in Myra's murder and Inez's madness. A silent witness to the crime does not intervene. (PB)
The Spirit of the Tower W. W. , 1883 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 18 no. 214 1883; (p. 363-369) A ghost tale from Mark Sinclair's early days as a trooper in the Victorian bush; a son returns anonymously to 'the Moat', a gloomy mansion haunted by his father's ghost, to discover the secret of his murder and last resting place. Interesting comments about ghosts and 'light literature'. (PB)
Bloodhound Parker W. W. , 1882 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 18 no. 211 1882; (p. 218-225) The rescue of a youth dying in the fiery bush introduces the rightful heir to Krooyup station to his mother's only friends. The investigation of the death of a man leads to the discovery of a bigamous marriage, a murderous bloodhound, an indulged son and a variety of ill-assorted Cuban references. (PB)
Illilliwa W. W. , 1883 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , January vol. 18 no. 212 1883; (p. 271-279) Much is not as it seems in this tale. Mark Sinclair is sent to a Victorian country township in pursuit of an escaped criminal. Disguised as a Jewish peddler he penetrates the disguises of a woman dressed as a youth and a man as an old woman. The woman is killed by a tree branch whilst attempting to inform on her accomplices and Sinclair captures one of the criminals, the other escaping Avarice for jewellery and an old Scotsman's miserliness play a part. (PB)
Madame Cinnabar W. W. , 1884 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 19 no. 227 1884; (p. 437-444) A mother's schemes to marry her sister's widow in Melbourne and collect his money, and for her son-in-law to court the daughter and prevent her marriage so that she might lose her inheritance come to nought when through the love and honesty of her own daughter. Disguise, intrigue and foreign titles. (PB)
Ann Arkwright's Father W. W. , 1884 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 19 no. 226 1884; (p. 379-387) Ann rescues a man from death on the hot dusty plains near her father's station, 100 miles from the Lachlan River. The kindness eventually wins his forgiveness for her father - his own brother who had had him sentenced to prison for a crime he did not commit. An overseer with the DTs takes a revenge of his own, and the identity of Ann's true father revealed. (PB)
Blair's Secret W. W. , 1884 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , January vol. 19 no. 224 1884; (p. 276-283) Vaguely uneventful tale overblown with two detectives, an evil stepfather who helped the house-keeper poison his second wife; an unhappy daughter and her gallant step-brother; and a kindly blackmailer ... Set near Hobson's Bay. (PB)
The Waters of Oblivion W. W. , 1884 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 19 no. 225 1884; (p. 320-327) A tramp given work at Art Ryland's property Badlands learns that Ryland's son is returning home, jumping ship at Melbourne with his friend Tom, brother of Art Jnr's sweetheart Kate. The tramp decides to kill the youth for his money - but gets the wrong man, and is hanged in the ropes of the machinery Art senior has rigged up in his house. (PB)
The Queen of Cooinda W. W. , 1883 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 18 no. 217 1883; (p. 553-562) Leola Vansiltart, owner of the rich property Cooinda, disapproves of her father's marriage to a schoolfellow she knows to have been dishonest, and refuses to allow her to live in the station house. A new stockman and an older one recognise each other from Pentridge, one is the dishonest girl's husband and one a rogue who helped her- and becomes her murderer here. Murder, bigamy, theft, a strong secure heroine, ex-convicts, and an older man's infatuation all feature in this tale. (PB)
The Brand of Cain W. W. , 1883 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 18 no. 219 1883; (p. 670-676) Ellen O'Slattery escapes from Melbourne gaol around 1882 after serving most of a life sentence for murdering in jealousy a friend of her's who John Boyle had laughed with. Her mad revenge causes her to seek out Boyle who is about to marry ... Strongly atmospheric, the curse of Cain etc. (PB)
The Secret of the Keys W. W. , 1883 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 18 no. 215 1883; (p. 421-430)

On a station on Victoria's coast, a dying man tells his son of a lost casket containing a fortune in diamonds from the USA. A false Baron; a son bent on avenging his dying father; and ambitious beauty; scheming servants and a jilted bride are included. (PB)
The White Cat of Koonawarra W. W. , 1883 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 19 no. 220 1883; (p. 33-39) Gretchen, the daughter of a German mother and English father is hired to assist Mrs Chester on her husband's station in country Victoria, and to bring along her brother Karl as company for Mrs Chester's son. On arrival she discovers Mr Chester is mad with a fear of white wehr-cats and the death of his son at 15. Gretchen's firmness restores his sanity somewhat, though he and his wife die before the end of the tale. A sub-plot involves Gretchen's reunion with her lost lover Fritz and the suicide of the maid Bella as a result. References to German folk literature, werewolves, etc. (PB)
The Mystery at Mar's Place W. W. , 1883 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 19 no. 221 1883; (p. 91-94) A young trooper is sent to watch a house in the Victorian bush - the tale is mysterious and oddly written for W. W. Includes an old police sergeant, a ramshackle hut that is in fact a brick house and garden, an aristocratic father and his beautiful daughter - who turns out to be his son, a sham funeral and an undertaker who is a forger ... (PB)
On the Gascoigne W. W. , 1883 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 19 no. 222 1883; (p. 149-158) Mark Sinclair follows the daughter of an old friend who has run away with an embezzler from Melbourne and his nephew who loved her too - they go by ship to Fremantle. Then follows the girl's arrest; confrontations with Aboriginals including a white man disguised as a black; an ancient Aboriginal queen spearing a man; and a girl's ruined name ... (PB)
The Secret Closet W. H. S. , 1882 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 17 no. 204 1882; (p. 481-482) A stranger's mysterious death by poison is proven to be the work of his host for the night through a housekeeper's evidence and the prosecuting lawyer's quick mind and subtle questioning. (PB)
The Chance Question Alexander Leighton , 1883 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 18 no. 218 1883; (p. 611-614) A police detective traces a seemingly foolproof robbery to a Jewish jeweller and through good luck, chance questioning and intuition solves the crime. A memorable comparison to a 'hesitating woman'. (PB)
The Deathstone W. W. , 1884 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 20 no. 233 1884; (p. 72-81) Tale of young penniless Ned Lyttleton of good English family and a trooper in the Victorian police force. His first country posting is near friends of his family whose daughter he falls in love with. His rival, the dark-skinned St Roche, tries to scare him with a deathstone from a South Pacific island but is himself killed by a kanaka pursuing him truly with a deathstone for seducing his sister - who makes a dusky appearance too. Concluded by Mark Sinclair in his addenda. (PB)
The Darling of Blue Lands W. W. , 1884 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 20 no. 234 1884; (p. 132-139) A run-away daughter is rescued from her violent husband in Melbourne by her brother and taken back to Riverina home. She eventually wins her father's forgiveness - but her husband disguised as a black follows and kills her ... (PB)
Wainwright's Station W. W. , 1884 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 20 no. 235 1884; (p. 199-20[4] (Page Missing. PB.)) A scheming governess is to marry her widowed employer until his sister discovers the plot and through her fiancee, a solicitor, reveals that the governess is already married. Her husband warns her and she plays her last card. (PB)
Mrs Vere Dean's Lodging-House W. W. , 1885 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , January vol. 20 no. 236 1885; (p. 263-273) Haughty Mrs V. D. resolves to turn heir Melbourne home into a lodging-house to boost the resources of herself and her husband, unable to live on his quarterly allowance from England. This causes a rupture, Mr V. D. being proud of his name - but the arrival of lodgers brings a gambler and a bank absconder to the house - and eventually suicide. Comic touches. (PB)
Three Years' Imprisonment W. W. , 1888 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 24 no. 280 1888; (p. 44-49) A mother working for poor wages revenges herself on her exacting mistress for the evidence she gave convicting the poor woman's son and having him sentenced to 3 years imprisonment. Not only does she keep her imprisoned in the cellar for three years but in her slight derangement of mind cunningly makes her disappearance look like suicide. Her son is released on a neighbour's evidence and it happens he and his mother are the true heirs to the farm she works on ... (PB)
Retribution At Olsenberg W. W. , 1888 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 24 no. 281 1888; (p. 97-103) A tale of German revenge and death set around a sawmill in the hills of 'Borderland'. Superstition, a curse, rivalry, a crippled enemy and a vengeful mother are the central ingredients investigated by the Melbourne detective in this tale. Climaxes with death by mill wheel ... (PB)
The Camperton Necklace W. W. , 1888 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 24 no. 282 1888; (p. 164-170) Sinclair investigates the disappearance of a diamond necklace from the room in which an apparently rich man died in. The man's mistress, his personal manservant, his wife and a cool young criminal all play their part in his ultimate recovery of the diamonds for the jewellers - but he too has to split his reward. The businessman not only indulged in extra-marital liaisons but was bankrupt and preparing to flee the country ... (PB)
The Wondermere Case W. W. , 1888 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 24 no. 283 1888; (p. 219-226) Set in a colony neighbouring Victoria in 1863, Detective Sinclair is called in to solve an apparently motiveless murder. The kindly respected victim is surrounded by an old and affectionate friend, a hot-tempered Italian servant, a flirtatious house-keeper and a woman apparently his discarded mistress. The housekeeper's diary and the Italian's assistance help expose a villain ... (PB)
Signor Ariostogabulus W. W. , 1882 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 17 no. 201 1882; (p. 308-314) A fortune-teller i srevealed to be in league withi his actress mistress to rob his client as they leave his house. An ex-felon and convicted murderer, he kills the wife he abandoned years before when she recognises him, he tries to escape via Sandridge, being crushed by the railway engine. Interesting comments on astrology. (PB)
Lady Forbes W. W. , 1882 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 17 no. 202 1882; (p. 367-373)

Sinclair visits the Victorian country town of Craigengelt and renews his acquaintance with the Forbes family. Lord Forbes has married again to a brassy termagent, and Edward the son is banished while the invalid Baby mourns her mother and her own apparent illegitimacy. Sinclair recognises the new Lady Forbes as a thief and a plan to remove the first Lady's remains reveal she is not dead ... (PB)
The Dark Splitter W. W. , 1882 single work short story A station 95 miles from Melbourne witnesses the revenge of a grief-stricken Irish mother and son for the death of their daughter and sister, Nora, abandoned by wealthy Craven Champleigh when she was pregnant several years before. Craven is to be married at the station and their revenge includes a secret not revealed until then ... The rejected daughter of a neighbouring squatter and ex-army officer is intent on her own revenge on Craven ... Rich story of Irish class and family concerns transplanted to Australia. (PB)
The Bellinger Secrets W. W. , 1882 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 17 no. 207 1882; (p. 647-654) Emilia Bellinger, having finished school in albury, returns to Melbourne anonymously to nurse the father who rejected her years before. She discovers he is paralysed, and his proud second wife dying of poison and waited on by a disfigured servant. Mark Sinclair intervenes to help solve the mystery. (PB)
At The Ranges W. W. , 1882 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 18 no. 208 1882; (p. 15-22) A weak-willed youth gains his aunt's approval of his purchase of a country station - but she revokes it when she hears of his plans to marry and hears a ghost in the wine cellar ... A vineyard, a proposed murder, an escaped convict turned manager, a repentance and a humorous marriage proposal are all part of this tale. (PB)
The Red Room W. W. , 1882 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 18 no. 210 1882; (p. 134-140) A repeat of the first ever 'Detective's Album' tale, with different introduction, e. g., mentions photographs not just portraits, but essentially the same story. An Englishman comes to the diggings in search of his brother and through assistance of Mark Sinclair discovers his murdress in the dark landlady of the Bridge Hotel with her murderously fitted up red room. (PB)
The Flag at Half-Mast W. W. , 1887 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 22 no. 262 1887; (p. 385-390) Victorian country policeman/mounted trooper William Regan is so angered by the refusal of his proposal by the widow Knights that he threatens her with revenge. She is found murdered and he is suspected - along with her son-in-law he is thought to have the best motive. But a swagman's evidence and a marked banknote solve the case. (PB)
The Easter Lily : Or, the Convent Bell W. W. , 1887 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 22 no. 263 1887; (p. 444-450) Set in a farming settlement in the Victorian ranges, Hester Lillie shoots her secret fiancee for jilting her for a friend lately become an heiress, and enters the convent to repent. She dies a month later. (PB)
The New Doctor W. W. , 1887 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 22 no. 264 1887; (p. 507-514) A town's alcoholic doctor is persuaded by a local gentleman squatter's brother to assist in his impersonation of the dying man so as to gain control of his estate. A young doctor arrives in town - the squatter's son who he had quarrelled with and wanted to restore to his inheritance. Luckily the older doctor relents, and the younger one claims his rights and a wife. (PB)
Carl the Carpenter W. W. , 1887 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 22 no. 265 1887; (p. 549-555) A murder is eventually traved to a German carpenter and his wife through a workman's button, the arrival of a twin brother, and a loosened board on a water tank. The wife imposes on the family of a crude young farmer who wishes to marry her but leaves the district - abandoning his mother and sister when all is revealed ... (PB)
Old Strongman's Strawberry-Bed W. W. , 1885 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 20 no. 239 1885; (p. 441-446) A Sydney miser kills his beaten wife on the eve of leaving him and buries her with his money in the scrawny strawberry bed of his hovel. Mark Sinclair, the dead woman's twin brother and her son solve the case. Ironic comments from the author on twin brother character. (PB)
Charr's Pool W. W. , 1885 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 20 no. 240 1885; (p. 505-512) An old couple, lighthouse-keeper's on Australia's eastern coast, have raised a girl rescued from the shipwreck which killed her mother. Her father is retiring anonymously to meet her, and when she greets him lovingly once he declares his identity, the young telegraph operator whom she has spurned is so enraged that he drowns her in a sea pool the next day ... (PB)
The Tragedy of Rosemount W. W. , 1885 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 20 no. 237 1885; (p. 326-334) A mansion in St Kilda is the scene for a late middle-aged gentleman's suspicions of his young wife as adultress and poisoner to drive him to madness. First he alters his will, then murders her and her servant Catherine (his forner mistress) before hanging himself. The original detective in this case is suspected of the crime and Mark Sinclair is called in to clear his name. (PB)
The Ghostly White Gate W. W. , 1885 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 20 no. 238 1885; (p. 383-390) Sinclair is sent to the farthest outback station with despatches. On his way an old man's apparition visits him demanding justice. At the station he discovers the policeman Frouth and the landlord of the nearby 'inn' have killed the old man for his gold. Sinclair solves the crime with the aid of an honest traveller and the old man's daughter who feigns madness. Odd conclusion where the stolen gold is hidden secretly underground. (PB)
John Judge's Mistake W. W. , 1885 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 20 no. 241 1885; (p. 563-571) Humorous tale of an almost abandoned gold mining township, a mean-spirited shoemaker, a mysterious English stranger from California, a spirite dog, a widow lady, and a deathbed vow to bury the bones of a man murdered years before. (PB)
Poor Gold W. W. , 1885 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 20 no. 242 1885; (p. 624-628) Tale of the goldfields and of three mates, 'Gold', 'Silver' and 'Bronze'. Gold, the oldest, is robbed of the savings he had been making to send to his mother, and he suspected a neighbouring miner, 'Happy Jack'. Happy Jack had been flirting with the respectable barmaid Lucy Leonard who Gold loved, but she helped the three mates discover Happy Jack's plans to dig into their mine wall - which finally collapses, killing Gold. Tale of male camaraderie and love. (PB)
y separately published work icon Joe Silverton's Ghost W. W. , 1885 Z1088357 1885 single work short story Two goldminding mates search for their missing third partner Joe who disappeared with 300gm of gold on his way to Ballarat and the bank. An ill unsuccessful publican, his slatternly motherless daughter and their cunning cook are all concerned with the disappearance - and Joe's 'ghost' had a cup of tea in the pub shortly after he disappeared. All ends happily for the three mates, and the publican's daughter is cast aside. (PB)
Lady Mount-Joyce W. W. , 1885 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 21 no. 245 1885; (p. 88-94) Tale begins in Ireland with the separation of Lord and Lady Mount-Joyce and centuries later in Ireland where the narrator, son of the lawyer who arranged the separation, has gone for colonial experience. His encoutners with the unfeeling Widow Blake and her beautiful daughter, the unexpected arrival of his father and Lord Mount-Joyce, a false cheque, a reunion of father and daughter, madness and a midnight and fire follow. (PB)
Olinda Sparvin, The Poisoner W. W. , 1886 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 22 no. 258 1886; (p. 159-166) An English doctor agrees to replace a friend in his Victorian practice for 6 months. On the ship out he notices a reticent fellow passenger and finds her living with her son not far from his destination. Another neighbour has been associated with the brutal poisoning of a beautiful actress he loved by another actress and rival, and the English doctor becomes his confidante. In agreeing to sell a ring secretly in Melbourne he finds himself also associated with the poisoning - and the son becomes a daughter ... (PB)
Mrs John Taynge W. W. , 1886 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 22 no. 257 1886; (p. 105-111) A youth's manipulative old mother opposes his marriage to the daughter of a neighbouring farmer and she seems correct when the girl proves false and wishes to marry a handsome wealthy man visiting the township. The son becomes very ill, believing all women - including his mother - false, and the mother's plan of revenge grows until its murderous conclusion is reached ... The daughter is deserted by her new lover and punished by all. (PB)
My Dream At Walworth's W. W. , 1886 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 22 no. 256 1886; (p. 45-52) A new chum on his way to join an English schoolmate, now a Victorian policeman, at a township 100 miles from Melbourne, is taken out of his by a pretended 'simpleton' and spends the night in a hut where - despite being drugged - he is woken by a beautiful girl asking for help. Reaching his friend's station he tells his adventures and hears of the dissolute life that led his formerly wealthy friend to seek oblivion in an isolated police station. The tale continues with the disappearance of a neighbouring squatter's daughter - the trooper's sweetheart - and her return home as an imbecile. Revenge of her kindappers follows, with son killing father by accident. (PB)
The Twins of Ternapatha W. W. , 1886 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 22 no. 259 1886; (p. 219-225) Brother and sister Frank and Frances Struan are twins and when Frank learns he is dying of heart disease and the only way his sister will inherit the property is if she marries their cousin whom she hates, he persuades her (with the help of the local doctor/narrator) to impersonate him and pretend that it is her who dies. Their scheming cousin and his grasping Melbourne creditor discover the secret and it is only the discovery of a new will that frustrates their schemes - and Frances' death on her brother's grave. (PB)
A Bunch of Cyclamens W. W. , 1887 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , January vol. 22 no. 260 1887; (p. 261-269) A murder in East Melbourne involves Mark Sinclair and his rival, Detective Campy, in solving it. A young man's murder in evening clothes with a bunch of cyclamens in his lapel implicates a pretty but calculating 24 year old in Richmond, a jealous young doctor, and a shamed mother who commits suicide. A prying woman next door assists Sinclair. (PB)
The Horrors at Lowdell W. W. , 1887 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 22 no. 261 1887; (p. 330-338) Mark Sinclair is called to a farming district in Victoria where a newly married farmer is believed murdered. his rich odler wife has foreclosed on the farm she held the mortgage to, but found too late that he had a de facto wife and child who had legal title. She beheaded her husband and strangled her rival's child - and is herself tortured to death slowly by the mother for revenge - Sinclair not discovering it until years later. Violent story. (PB)
The Old Shaft W. W. , 1886 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , January vol. 21 no. 248 1886; (p. 248-254) Constable Mohan riding to the tiny almost deserted diggings of Kyle's Gully falls in with a strange horseman - eventually revealed as Kyle himself returning home. He meets anonymously his bold and beautiful daughter and her drunkared husband, attends the local dance and sees her husband's jealousy, eventually proves he has murdered her. Interesting, for it's theme of a woman who has married the wrong man ... (PB)
Apple Orchard W. W. , 1886 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 21 no. 249 1886; (p. 316-322) Sinclair is attracted to the beautiful daughter of a partially paralysed overland owner, Moyra Prout, but she is engaged to the dubious Ned Crofton. When Crofton is hunted for forgery she helps him hide in the orchard's cider press and repulses Sinclair, but finds crofton has murdered her father. He is hanged and she enters a convent! (PB)
Brockman's Folly W. W. , 1885 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 21 no. 246 1885; (p. 128-132) A Melbourne house and land agent agrees to sit up with his employer to witness the arrival of family ghosts - his dead wife and son. With the assistance of Mark Sinclair he uncovers the murdress of the wife - the ugly old housekeeper, and the continued existence of the son who has returned from sea to uncover his mother's murderer. He suspects his father at first and thus feigns to be a ghost, but the father's innocenc is proven on his deathbed. Dreams are an intrguing feature of this story. (PB)
The Fatal Ring W. W. , 1885 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 21 no. 247 1885; (p. 216-224) A MElbourne beauty and her friends badger a colonel retired from India to show them a secret diamond ring which foretells violent death. The beauty sees her own death foretold and that night dies of heart failure as she is robbed. And the thief's innocent wife commits suicide, reforming him. (PB)
McLeod O' the Mains W. W. , 1886 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 21 no. 250 1886; (p. 365-372) When station owner Neil McLeod decides to marry again, to Jane Edom whom he has long courted, Sandy McIntyre and his brother Angus strongly oppose it. McLeod's brothers-in-law, they hold a secret over his head; and he himself is haunted by ghosts and alcohol. Edom is marrying him for his moeny but meets a dreadful fate on the wedding night, and Angus is revealed a woman ... (PB)
My Mysterious Master W. W. , 1886 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 21 no. 251 1886; (p. 422-430) A retired bachelor decides to leave his idle life and return to his work as man-servant in Melbourne. He is hired by a mysterious baron along with happy-go-lucky Ned Calico to go into the Victorian countryside and hire a house for him. They find themselves involved in family secrets, murders, a ghostly house and a skeleton ... (PB)
Con Comfort W. W. , 1886 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 21 no. 252 1886; (p. 486-492) Miserly Sam Meadows loses his step-son and his farm-hand in the one afternoon - leaving only faithful Margaret Kempson to search for the letter left by her dead mistress telling the identity and location of young Henry Meadows true father. A detective's rescue of some papers Meadows Meadows wanted burnt and Con Comfort's bravery in stopping a bullet meant for Margaret all help defy Meadows and reinstate Henry in his true inheritance. (PB)
Queen Cleopatra W. W. , 1886 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 21 no. 253 1886; (p. 540-545) A French doctor attempting to stablish a Melbourne practice is summoned by beautiful Gloriana Pennoyer to examine her rich uncle for suspected madness. The doctor and his wife who he introduces to the house as nurse are convinced he is not mad and that his niece is trying to obtain his will falsely. They summon Mark Sinclair who witnesses the uncle's death from poison and his evidence of his niece's careful administration of it. (PB)
A Dream That Was No Dream W. W. , 1887 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 23 no. 270 1887; (p. 156-162)

Set in a Victorian country township, Sinclair - with the help of a man camping out on his way to a nearby property, a ball of wool, an abandoned mistress - proves the guilt of a brutal murderer. Spurned by the girl, the murderer killed her and stuffed her in a hollow log ... (PB)
Pretty Minnie's Bridal Robes W. W. , 1887 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 23 no. 271 1887; (p. 217-224) A photographer photographs his wife's lady companion apparently talking to this younger brother-in-law Frank in the botanical gardens. She is discovered murdered by a poison and Frank is suspected. But the discovery of a marriage certificate and the lady's ring in the possession of a purported squatter about to marry a rich society girl turns suspicion elsewhere. The bride-to-be though photographed in her gown dies soon after - before she is married. Comments on the effects of social connection and money or justice - it helps the intended groom escape. (PB)
The Blighted Meadow W. W. , 1888 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , January vol. 23 no. 272 1888; (p. 267-273) Australian Nightmares : More Australian Tales of Terror and the Supernatural 2022; (p. 11-34) Fratricide on a beautifully drained Victorian farm when a younger brother learns he is illegitemate and has no claim on his older brother's property to enable him to marry. Both love the same woman but when she marries the younger brother, though unaware of the murder, her happiness is disturbed by a ghost. Her father helps uncover the mystery and takes her home, leaving her husband to suicide. Includes a faithful dog and an untrustworthy murderous farmhand. (PB)
The Middle House W. W. , 1888 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 23 no. 273 1888; (p. 330-336) An old maid's complaints of the terrace house next door in Chiswick Street Melbourne attract Detective Sinclair to the neighbourhood and eventually lead to her murder by thieves. Investigations point to the house complained of - a gambling house with a beautiful French woman as decoy. She and her husband committed the murder. Bloody description of body. (PB)
The Deadly Diamonds W. W. , 1887 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 22 no. 266 1887; (p. 621-628) An artist and his friend are joined on their camping trip to Gippsland by an old acquaintance of bad reputation recently returned from the South African diamond mines. He takes lodgings at a small cottage, falls in love with the 'widowed' owner and gambles with her dissipated 'brother' and disappears along with his diamonds ... Female murdress and weak male ... (PB)
The Girl's Coffin W. W. , 1887 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 22 no. 267 1887; (p. 677-683) Sinclair is stationed briefly in an isolated villaged in the Victorian Ranges during a bushranger panic. He becomes involved in a bushranger's revenge, with his daughter's aid, on the daughter of the carpenter who had him imprisoned years before and who is to marry his daughter's step-son ... Includes the carpenter making a coffin - unknowingly - for his own daughter ... (PB)
Brassy Bill's Plant W. W. , 1887 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 23 no. 268 1887; (p. 20-26) A thief returns to the site where he hid the proceeds of a bank robbery years before. He has been long awaited by the detective of the case who is obsessed with claiming the reward for discovery of the gold for his little daughter Nellie, and has a small observatory and telescope to watch the site. Drugged spirits and the little girl's murder follow, and the thief's own drowning. (PB)
Lessons In Death W. W. , 1887 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 23 no. 269 1887; (p. 92-98)

Elderly Melbourne gentleman, Mr Sefton, meets a beautiful young girl in black at Melbourne cemetery and learns from her of the mother she hates who gives lessons in dying for short periods. The girl loves a nearby mourner but he together with Sefton espouses her mother as a trickster and a thief - she kills herself at a true mother's grave. (PB)
The Last Sleep W. W. , 1888 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 23 no. 276 1888; (p. 504-509) A tramp in a bush township discovers an old criminal acquaintance and agrees to help him rob a neighbour he is buying land from. The robbery becomes murder and when the murderer tries to blame him the tramp confesses all and helps him find the body. Includes the stricken widow's curse on her husband's murderer - and his solitary death ... (PB)
The Master of Hillside W. W. , 1888 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 23 no. 277 1888; (p. 565-569) Mrs Batten mistress of her farm Hillside and wife of a drunkard picks up a motherless boy in the bush and gives him work and a home with her. She discovers he is her husband's son by his first and true wife who he deserted and she makes a will leaving the farm to the boy. Stephen Batten is kills her in a drunken rage and himself falls into a disused well and drowns - leaving the boy 'master of Hillside'. (PB)
The Blacksmith's Boat W. W. , 1888 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 23 no. 274 1888; (p. 363-370) A young constable in a Victorian country station (reader of 'The Detective's Album' in The Australian Journal) follows the local blacksmith's disappearance and discovers his murdered body in a charcoal heap at the hut of local illicit distillers. With the help of his sweetheart's younger brother and a fellow trooper he captures the guilty brothers who tied up their mother and left her with the constable whom they had earlier captured. Postscript conclusion describes the mother's frenzied axe murder of the blacksmith - more guilty than her sons ... (PB)
Rosie Bell W. W. , 1888 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 23 no. 275 1888; (p. 451-457) The pretty daughter of a Victorian farmer helps a recently released prisoner to stay on the path of honesty and refuse to assist another thief to rob her father. She is killed when the thief fires at the young man in revenge - but she has her parents adopt him before she dies. (PB)
The Captain's Last Grip W. W. , 1889 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , January vol. 24 no. 284 1889; (p. 279-284) Tale set in the days before becoming a mounted trooper. Returning from droving cattle to Melbourne the narrator comes across a bush inn run by an old sea captain, his bosun now turning to drink, and a rough young man. He becomes very fond of the captain and returns at Christmas to find he has disappeared. With the help of the young man and a ghost he discovers the old man murdered by the bosun while drunk ... (PB)
The Deed Done in the Scrub W. W. , 1889 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 24 no. 285 1889; (p. 334-339) Tale told by a quiet Scotch trooper unable to write but who told tales enthrallingly from photographs. Cain and Abel tale: a 40ish man brings his brother out to help on his prosperous farm but they have a falling out, the recent arrival blinding his brother with a blow. The elder refuses to prosecute but casts his brother out. The exile kills his older brother and attempts to take his place but a town ragamuffin, the victim's daughter and her fiancee with the trooper foil him ... (PB)
The Dead Woman's Bell W. W. , 1889 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 24 no. 286 1889; (p. 370-376) Set around a lodging house. The murder of a rich and cantankerous woman, owner of a Murray station, and the theft of her jewels inplicate her niece and the husband she secretly married to avoid her aunt's disapproval. Sub-plot of romance between a retired officer staying in the house - the victim's suitor from years before who broke their engagement, and the kindly old maid Miss Pinkerton. A firm landlady; the victim's ghost and the confession of the real jewel thief complete the tale. (PB)
The Colonel's Skeleton W. W. , 1889 single work short story crime
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 24 no. 287 1889; (p. 449-456) The murder of the rich local landowner Colonel Albinson brings to light the past he escaped in England and his mad wife; and destroys his plans to marry his ward. A son's quarrel and repentance are included. (PB)
The Haunted Bridge of Drerilda W. W. , 1889 single work short story crime
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 24 no. 288 1889; (p. 499-505)

A faithful servant implores a neighbour's intervention in the estrangement between her master and his married daughter. The disappearance of the girl's husband is found to be murder and she - who had been physically abused by him - is suspected. Only the servant's confession of her own part as murderer and her suicide restores father/daughter communication. (PB)
The Lady of Whitecote W. W. , 1889 single work short story crime
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 24 no. 289 1889; (p. 568-574) An American preacher lecturing on Restitution moves old Mrs Tamerlayne - together with the appearance of her husband's ghost to make a new will restoring her property to her masculinely-raised step-daughter. She changes her mind on her deathbed and her substitute legatee - an orphan - is found dead from poison. The step-daughter thus inherits - she loves the local police sergeant who had not recognised her disguised as the American preacher. An old faithful servant had poisoned the young girl ... (PB)
The Dark Claim W. W. , 1889 single work short story romance
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 24 no. 290 1889; (p. 618-626) In a worked out diggings town on the Melbourne Road in 1858 a storekeeper loves the daughter of a miserly hill-dweller who refuses to consider him as a son-in-law. The arrival of a dubious acquaintance from earlier digging days who is determined to track down the secret gold claim he believes the old man has. But the old man kills his young son in a fit of anger and the storekeeper kills him likewise - eventually being convicted as a murderer. His friend marries the girl and they prosper on the old man's gold and the store-keeper's savings. (PB)
The Fratricide W. W. , 1889 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 24 no. 291 1889; (p. 669-677) Margery Houghton discovers through her old aunt and a servant sent by her uncle in South America that the uncle she lives with in Melbourne has squandered her legacy. Murder follows when the brothers confront each other - and Detective Sinclair's quick eyes clear up which brother is dead. (PB)
The Phantom Horse W. W. , 1889 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 25 no. 292 1889; (p. 45-52) Set in a poor suburb, a raw recruit to the police force has his introduction to the 'Phantom Horse' of the area, arranges a raid on a miserly shopkeeper he suspects of illicit distilling, and traces the keeper's murder to his simple and much-abused wife. (PB)
The Squatter's Sentence W. W. , 1889 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 25 no. 293 1889; (p. 73-80) A cruel squatter who rejected his first born son with a cruel lash and accidentally struck his young son a mortal blow while beating his wife is kidnapped by a small gang of bushrangers who have been robbing him from their cave hide-out. They demand justice from his for his elder son but he is shot by the mother of a worker he had killed years before. The evident sorrow of his elder and the death of his younger son warms his heart and the tyrant dies a man of feeling ... (PB)
Mrs Spooner's Will W. W. , 1889 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 25 no. 294 1889; (p. 150-158) A widow's disinheritance of her son for marrying against her will leads to her ultimate death of heart attack when he returns - drunk - to destroy it. A poor neighbour planning to rob her is reformed by the sight of her dead body. And plain Mary her daughter finds support and finally marriage from their good-hearted Irish farmahnd. (PB)
The Absconder's Grave W. W. , 1889 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 25 no. 295 1889; (p. 201-209) Set on the coast, Sinclair visits a small township in pursuit of a close friend and fellow detective who had disappeared while on the track of a thief absconded from Melbourne. His body is found and suspicion points to the absconder (not buried in the grave that bears his name) and his sister but they disappear from the region. Only in 1865 is the explanation found - involving the absconder's younger and mentally impaired brother. (PB)
The Staverton Mystery W. W. , 1889 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 25 no. 295 1889; (p. 269-276) A new-born baby's death is unsolved, a bloody stone nearby casting suspicion on the faithful cook Emily, the nurse and Mr Staverton's ward. He loved but coud not marry her because of a promise to his spoiled and exacting wife on her deathbed that he would not marry again while their child lived. family honour, loyalty and hatred. The secret is revealed on an undertaker's servant's deathbed. (PB)
No. 9 Caversham Road W. W. , 1890 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 25 no. 297 1890; (p. 328-336) An old miserly woman is found dead in her room by the local policeman. He proves the apparent suicide to be murder and the suspects include the woman's ruined half-daughter, her burglar de facto, a lodger, and a half-witted serving girl who covets scraps of rich material ... Insanity proves the key. (PB)
Paul Parbingthorpe's Pansies W. W. , 1890 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 25 no. 298 1890; (p. 388-396)

Domestic tragedy in rural setting. On the morning after she announces her engagement Agatha Rainsbury is found poisoned in her room. Suspicion points to her step-father who uses poison on his pansies and to his daughter Lola who would inherit the property after Agatha's death that her mother left solely to her. But the stepfather had confessed to Agatha the existence of a bastard son in a nearby town and she visited him and his mother that day, telling them the property was hers. Revenge is out ... (PB)
The Fool's Find W. W. , 1890 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 25 no. 299 1890; (p. 444-451) When a young woman's ex-lover refuses to help her escape her elderly miser husband in his wagon she prophesises that there will be blood of her hands. But she is the one murdered and her ghost, her ex-lover's dream, and a simple farm hand's suspicion point to her husband - who is himself found dead of fright. (PB)
Drummer's Diggings W. W. , 1890 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 25 no. 300 1890; (p. 488-496) An army colonel, having served in India, takes up residence in the home of an old sailor, Captain Welland and he and his dog befriend the old man grieving for the daughter he rejected when she married against his wishes and who had since died. He disproves a ghost haunting the old man and his dog finds the thief who robbed and would have murdered the captain of he had not already died: the colonel's personal servant - also the captain's son-in-law ... (PB)
Dan X Brennan W. W. , 1890 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 25 no. 301 1890; (p. 560-567) Terrible story of a sub-inspector and his daughter murdered most cruelly by Brennan and his mother in retaliation for the wrongful imprisonment of Ned Brennan. Sinclair is one of the investigators of the girl's death, witnesses the father's recognition of the body, and Mrs Brennan's tortured death caused by alcoholism years later. (PB)
Hallo! Hallo! House! W. W. , 1890 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 25 no. 302 1890; (p. 618-627) A kindly and successful gentleman and gold miner calls in at a poor hut on his way home for his daughter's wedding. He shows the occupants his gold and promises to return and show the master of the house a good spot for digging. He is murdered for his kindness and the returned banished son is nearly tried for the crime through the possession of gold of his own - but it is his father's deed he is protecting. Interesting mix of kindness and domesticity with horror and violence. (PB)
Mrs Larner's Revenge W. W. , 1890 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 25 no. 303 1890; (p. 682-690) The narrator, Mrs 'Nemo', a deserted wife agrees to go to Dr. Larner's house in a town near Melbourne and investigate the cause of his fears of madness. His mother-in-law's plots along with those of her daughter who had deserted him for Mrs Nemo's husband (unknown to all) are to blame ... Mrs Nemo's detective work and a house fire reveal all ... (PB)
The Mystery of John Jabbock W. W. , 1890 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 26 no. 304 1890; (p. 43-51) In a small Victorian township on election day John Jabbock is murdered. A sensual drunkard recently turned insolvent the town store- and pub-keeper threatens to kill him but it is the upright doctor financially ruined himself and defeated by Jabbock in love 12 years before who has the best motive. Small town small-talk and atmosphere. (PB)
Royal Berger's Daughter W. W. , 1890 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 26 no. 305 1890; (p. 102-109) A Melbourne private detective, Mr. W., is called in to investigate the sudden change in a piggish solicitor's wife after she has been home to Preston to visit her family - her drunken actor father and sisters. She was a Roman Catholic and a former ballet dancer but was forbidden when married to see her family again. She dies on the visit with her new-born child and her twin sister impersonates her - but when all is discovered and she repudiated she and her father take murderous revenge. Suicide follows her father's desertion. (PB)
The New Will W. W. , 1890 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 26 no. 306 1890; (p. 151-159) A visitor to the Smeaton's station in rural Victoria, Mr. Eyton, hears from Mrs Smeaton the tale of Mr. Smeaton's first wife and her wild-living daughter who had been disinherited in favour of Mr Smeaton - who had subsequently left all his money to his second wife, Mrs Smeaton, his former house-keeper. A threatning midnight visit from his first wife's daughter induces Mr. Smeaton to change his will - but then he is murdered before he can change it again. Mrs. Smeaton is arrested but Melbourne detective Lanigan reveals Mr. Eyton to be the daughter in male disguise. Strychnine aplenty. (PB)
A Dead Woman's Shoes W. W. , 1890 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 26 no. 307 1890; (p. 209-217) Tale of a seaside village and the Cadbury family's enmity for their step-sister and aunt who has Mrs Cadbury's brother's inheritance. She is murdered for jewels which are not real and the local policeman not only helps solve it but shares a diamond legacy with a poor gentleman of the village. Idiot daughter's murdress. (PB)
The Last Dance W. W. , 1891 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 27 no. 318 1891; (p. 160-166) In rural Victoria, Bella Woodruff ignores her mother's and her aunt's pleading and attends a ball to dance one last time with her seducer and betrayer Brian Coyn who is to marry another. He does not return alive from the ball, and soon after Bella marries his partner. One year later harsh justice is done to the murderer ... (PB)
Little Puggins, The Peddlar W. W. , 1891 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 27 no. 319 1891; (p. 219-225) Set in a large Australian town, not in Victoria, the tale of a lodging-house murder. A detective in the guise of a peddler, a hard-pressed landlady, a short-tempered printer and a nervous ageing colonel are the main characters. A mysterious house across the road, and a pair of family connections complete the picture. Drugged alcohol and a suicide at an inquest follows. (PB)
The Apparition of Dr. Winterton W. W. , 1891 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 27 no. 316 1891; (p. 45-52) The murder of a prominent local doctor given to wearing diamonds and philandering throws suspicion on his latest mistress. She proves to be innocent and the apparition of the doctor's ghost at the door of his dissection room helps locate his body and identify the murderer ... Narrated by another doctor. (PB)
My Uncle's Bulldog W. W. , 1891 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 27 no. 317 1891; (p. 91-98)

Holidays in Hobart introduce Sinclair and an old detective friend to the mystery of Mr Conyer's vanished fortune. A greedy vulgar daughter-in-law, a widow, claims it for her son but a faithful old man-servant and a friend proves her son illegitimate as she was already married to a Melbourne criminal when she married the son ... The sailor revives and claims his inheritance. (PB)
Died in Silk W. W. , 1891 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 26 no. 314 1891; (p. 624-631) Small town murder. A strongly attractive woman is about to be married to an old rich man when her former fiancee, and a Jewish peddler selling jewellery to whom the girls owes 90 pounds for a bracelet, arrives in town. Her death later leads to the Jew's arrest but it is an old and betrayed fiancee whose anger is strongest. Includes a sub-plot of a 'romance' between a 30 year-old housekeeper and a young ostler. (PB)
The Cellarton Mystery W. W. , 1891 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 26 no. 315 1891; (p. 684-691)

The death of a miser in a small town stirs up the trooper to demand an inquest. A rollicking young man's flirting with the maid of the miser's daughter, the eminent local doctor's eagerness to avoid an inquest, the drugging of the trooper and the theft of the old man's gold and his corpse reveal greed and vivisection. (PB)
Volkman's Gold W. W. , 1891 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 26 no. 312 1891; (p. 508-514) Set in Pulman-street, Sinclair and his wife live next door to a German violinist and his wife who complains to Mrs. Sinclair of her husband' miserliness despite a roll of gold sovreigns he has. The husband is murdered and Sinclair's investigations include a cheeky criminal and his 'light' lady, a gang of counterfeiters, the envious wife, a policeman masquerading as a ghost, a mistaken arrest and a night at the theatre. (PB)
Red On The Rocks W. W. , 1891 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 26 no. 313 1891; (p. 563-569) Set near the Tarwin, an intricate web of revengecloses around John Dolby, who had murdered th einnocent son of an Italian settler Mag Moore - her son Steve 'Dark Bill' has sworn revenge; as had Fred Commings whose wife had run off with Dolby and died. Dolby is engaged to Jane, a fierce strong woman - unmarried at 26 - who rejects him and finally marries Commings. (PB)
Jack's Villa W. W. , 1891 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 26 no. 310 1891; (p. 389-394) Tale of larrikins and the determination of oneof them, 'Choker', to leave the city and reform. he promises to send for his mate 'Bumper' as soon as he can. 'Choker's mother proves to be bigamously married to a respected JP and a trial for stolen jewelley reveals her first husband to be a drunken criminal, the jewels given away by her to support him, and Choker to be her son. Friendship among boys. (PB)
'Queer' the Swagman W. W. , 1891 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 26 no. 311 1891; (p. 448-454) A farmhand Joe Scorer is the prime suspect in the murder of handsome James Dennon, engaged to Joe's employer Catherine Empsy he refuses to marry her when she falls pregnant, courting Bessie Shannahand; younger, prettier and richer. Catherine's uncle is also suspected but it takes a clever swagman - a Melbourne detective - to find the murderer in half-witted, dirty Milly Moider ... (PB)
The Old Scotchwoman W. W. , 1891 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 26 no. 309 1891; (p. 272-280) Robberies in a small township bring the attention and presence of sub-inspector M'owie from Melbourne to assist SEnior-Constable Parks. An apparently genial Scottish storekeeper and her sons prove to be the thieves - and one a murderer. Their 'cousin' Henry Landsor is the long-lost son of the local misanthrope Captain Ronalds, restored to his position by William Evans J. P., cleared of a charge of forgery and enabled to marry the captain's pretty niece. (PB)
Towser's Teeth W. W. , 1891 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 26 no. 309 1891; (p. 331-338) A beautiful American requests Detective Sinclair's help at a Melbourne mayoral ball - to find a viscious little dog and to prevent her husband from finding her as he would kill her for an inheritance. Sinclair enlists the help of a clever and reformed burglar, and when Mrs P. is apparently killed sends hismother to help mind the house. With the ex-criminal's help he pins the murder on the beauty's newly arrived husband - and she is resurrected on his deathbed. (PB)
Lady Latimer's Secrets W. W. , 1892 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , January vol. 27 no. 320 1892; (p. 275-281) A London Scotland Yard detective takes on a case in Melbourne and enlists the assistance of the narrator, Sam, recently joined. They investigate (in true Scotland Yard deduction style with errors on the part of the impulsive young detective) the theft of Lady Latimer's jewels on the eve of her wedding to a young captain. The lady's near-bankrupt finances, her fiancee's calculations, her step-daughter's scorn and her own shame result in a suicide as well as recovery of the jewels after chasing a steamer to Adelaide ... (PB)
Old Keith's Garden W. W. , 1892 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 27 no. 321 1892; (p. 329-334) An old man is murdered on the eve of making a will leaving all his wealth to his daughter. His son, a gambler and in debt, is suspected and arrested on his way to Melbourne. A faithful servant, a greedy land developer, a touring amateur photographer and an eager young detective all contribute to solve the murder ... (PB)
Who Murdered John Luke? W. W. , 1892 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 27 no. 322 1892; (p. 391-397) A country policeman is murdered and suspicion points both to his mistress who he had been forced into dismissing that day, and his young wife whose life had been made a misery by them. A photographer's farewell photograph of the town reveals the true murderer however - and suicide following the photogrpaher's warning helps him elude a Melbourne detective. (The mistress dies of the DT's and grief; the wife leaves town for a convent.) (PB)
A Government House Romance W. W. , 1892 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 27 no. 323 1892; (p. 453-458) Vice-regal setting in early colonial days. Inspector Dunn disguised as the nephew of a friend of the Governor investigates thefts from the Governor's office. He discovers a pleasure-loving son and a repressed daughter closely watched by a dragon of a chaperone. The daughter's love for a groom and her engagement to an old man explain much. Many references to class and status. (PB)
Flash o'Fire W. W. , 1892 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 27 no. 324 1892; (p. 511-518) Sinclair recalls a visit to the property of a friend up-country and the hunt for a bushranger centred in the area. He finds his friend's wife to be in love with the station manager. Her brutal murder and the robbery of her father precede the capture of the busranger and accomplices. (PB)
Jack W. W. , 1892 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 27 no. 325 1892; (p. 569-572) A mounted trooper and his wife are threatened by one of her former suitors who plans the robbery of a nearby station owner with a weak accomplice. The wife's young brother Jack overhears the plot and the robbery is prevented, though the villain himself escapes. He is caught by Jack and shot ... happy ending. (PB)
The Framley Will Case W. W. , 1892 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 27 no. 326 1892; (p. 624-628) A private detective takes on a case with a wealthy man unhappy with his grasping second wife and family. After proving his sanity to the detective and enlisting his help in ensuring his sister and the invalid daughter of his first marriage receive their inheritance, the man commits suicide. Only after the daughter has successfully inherited does he reveal the suicide was false. All ends happily in the USA. (PB)
Colonel Archer's Sons W. W. , 1892 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 27 no. 327 1892; (p. 682-689) Melodrama of the return of two brothers in disguise, one as a veiled lady, one as a lawyer, to win their father's house. One, his favourite, seems innocent of the crime for which brother is being hunted - but the father's rejection of the apparently guilty son rebounds on his head. A gracious sister and greedy policeman feature. (PB)
The Ring and The Rose W. W. , 1892 single work short story romance
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 28 no. 328 1892; (p. 45-52) A mounted policeman McIntyre is killed by his rival for the hand of pretty Emma Moysey - a local criminal Nick Petit. Emma regrets giving Harry back his ring as soon as it is done - tempted by Nick's false diamonds. But her regret lasts a lifetime as Harry and her own brother die - and can not be returned evenby Nick's death. (PB)
Madame Le Contessa W. W. , 1892 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 28 no. 329 1892; (p. 103-110)

Set around Cup Day, a Sydney detective and Mark Sinclair team up to find a foreign thief, Zerlecki. A foreign countess and her two companions seem able to help - but their cowardly butler, a mad maidservant and a snappy terrier unmask the murder and impersonation carried out in the house - finding Zerlecki too. (PB)
Notes Re The Mansfield Tragedy W. W. , 1892 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 28 no. 330 1892; (p. 159-166) A Melbourne doctor is poisoned by his deformed son who goes mad, his young wife runs off with a bank clerk and only his daughter remains true. Includes faithful family servant. Narrated through notes of another doctor, an old friend, and an unofficial detective called in. Brief note by Sinclair ends the tale. (PB)
The Wrong Man W. W. , 1892 single work short story detective crime
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 28 no. 331 1892; (p. 220-226) Family tragedy; murder and theft in Melbourne. The death of a young doctor, newly engaged, whilst defending his silver from a thief causes his neighbouring fiancee a severe illness, throws her father into a fever and leads to the suicide of their dissipated son and brother who had committed the robbery. The crime is solved by the deceased's friend and Detective Sinclair. (PB)
The Charwoman at No. 3 W. W. , 1893 single work short story crime
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , January vol. 28 no. 332 1893; (p. 277-284) A decamping husband is murdered, and suspicion points to his alcoholic and deserted wife. But the evidence of the sinister of an invalid girl points to her landlady and the victim's charwoman - who drugged him and killed him with a tomahawk. Street policeman, a terrier dog, bribery, and 'the conning woman' all figure. (PB)
Joe the Hawker W. W. , 1893 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 28 no. 333 1893; (p. 335-341) A travelling hawker is murdered between the shafts of his wagon and suspicion points to Bill Carrol, hired man at the Martin's farm and engaged to their daughter Ellen. Mr Martin opposes the match - and when he is thrown from his horse confesses to the crime on his deathbed. Local constable and detective from Melbourne; wedding silk spotted with blood; suspect's criminal recrod; husband-wife discord. (PB)
Poor Nellie W. W. , 1893 single work short story crime
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 28 no. 334 1893; (p. 393-399) A young English doctor comes to live in a small Victorian country town. He makes friends with the local mounted trooper, son of a 'good old English family' and goes to live in an old watch house on a local squatter's property. The squatter's younger daughter Nellie, a little mentally impaired, has an informal 'house' of her own there - and the doctor discovers she meets there a violent and cruel bushranger who uses as a tool to get money from her father. Theft and murder follows. (PB)
The Spade Guinea W. W. , 1893 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 28 no. 335 1893; (p. 457-458) A city boarding house and a tight-fisted old landlady with 'Jewish blood' murders one of her tenants for the 600 pounds in gold he had stolen from his employers, a building society. Her guilt is established with the help of a fellow boarder, of Detective Binge, and the victim's fiancee, an actress with whom he had planned to elope. Elements: apparent suicide, transient ghost; actress subsequently becomes a female detective officer in the force. (PB)
Gustav Kupper, Vormals Ellinger W. W. , 1893 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 28 no. 336 1893; (p. 509-515) A German hawker is murdered by a shanty keeper in Victorian ranges. The hawker's carriage is let loose to distract suspicion but an ugly clever serving girl guesses his secret and helps him to escape through a false suicide in return for the shanty deeds. She falls low in Melbourne, subsequently. A man of all work, the local policeman, and a Melbourne detective surprise a 'ghost' and capture their man. (PB)
Queenie W. W. , 1893 single work short story crime
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 28 no. 337 1893; (p. 567-573) A murder of a titled Englishman settled in Melbourne with his mother, brother and servants at a Toorak Ball to celebrate his engagement is solved by Sinclair. Neither the fiancee nor her brother - incensed by the victim's claim to the title actually held by his older brother - are responsible. A beautiful family servant. 10 years older than the victim, has killed him rather than see him wed another. (PB)
Shark's Cove W. W. , 1893 single work short story crime
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 28 no. 338 1893; (p. 627-634) A Melbourne Jewish second-hand dealer and diamond merchant has a friend arrange for him to flee his creditors and join a boat from a quiet spot up the Victorian coast. An honest fisherman and son and a superstition about a shark which waits for bodies at the spot help pin-point the old man's murderer - who misses the diamonds and is himself eaten by the shark. (PB)
Curlew's Gully W. W. , 1893 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 28 no. 339 1893; (p. 686-693) A team of five diggers agree to pump out a flooded claim on a tiny diggings, encouraged by a swagman and digger, Bill the Hatter. A miserly shanty-keeper tries to double-cross them - but one of the team, a murderer, watches and kills him! Includes an old woman and her young grand-daughter half-starved - who grows up to marry one of the team. (PB)
The Star-Spangled Banner W. W. , 1893 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 29 no. 340 1893; (p. 44-50) The female American proprietor of a shanty - beautiful and a lady - helps rescue a young man from a mine cave-in. The narrator, a mounted trooper, is attracted to her and she entrusts a document to him in case of her death. She is murdered out of jealousy by her estranged husband but she tears a piece of his shirt out with her teeth which convicts him. (PB)
Old Jubal's Gold W. W. , 1893 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 29 no. 341 1893; (p. 101-108) Victorian country tale of a young man's jealousy of Rose Redmond and his employer, old miser Jubal, which leads him to be charged with the old man's murder. In fact Rose's father killed him and fakes his own murder by a swagman - though murdering the swagman too. Rose clears her lover, and her drunken father dies as he is arrested by the local mounted troopers ... (PB)
judge D-'s Murder W. W. , 1893 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 29 no. 342 1893; (p. 161-166) Sinclair investigates the murder of an old judge in Melbourne. He discovers an unhappy second marriage which caused the judge to cut his young termagent wife out of his will almost entirely and order her to leave with her intellectually retarded sister and supposedly crippled father. The murder is solved with the help of loyal's servants and the leader of a gang of thieves who bargain with Sinclair. Police leniancy in exchange for information. (PB)
The Prison Brand W. W. , 1893 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 29 no. 343 1893; (p. 218-224) Set in Victoria, a released Pentridge prisoner attempts to go straight but a Melbourne policeman and country prejudice are against him. He finds a friend in a young barrister he rescues from being run over by a train - and in the country town he goes to in search of work he assists to clear him of a charge of murder. Old fellow prisoners conspire to draw him into a burglary, he is injured, the robbery fails and his father is nearly killed ... Parricide, reform, obstruction and friendship - and reunion with a farming father are elements of the tale. The true murderer is found to be the father's share farmer. (PB)
The Whispers of the Dead W. W. , 1894 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , January vol. 29 no. 344 1894; (p. 277-283) A mounted constable and a journalist assist in uncovering the murder of the cruel vindictive widow of a Germanic vigneron by her sister. Motive in the widow's decision to remarry and thus deprive her poor bullied sister of a home. Fellow Germanic vigneron suspects something when whispers come from a large tank in which the widow's husband also died. Murderer impersonates sister after death. (PB)
Old Brian Boru W. W. , 1894 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 29 no. 345 1894; (p. 334-339) The keeper of a Victorian country store is murdered by her step-daguhter when she discovers she will be disiherited when the widow marries a pedlar. The widow had refused to help the step-daughter financially to marry her own sweetheart and the girl hoped to inherit the widow's goods. Murder committed during a wedding, only the drunken blacksmith knew of it. Portrait of two grasping women, marriage and cold-blooded murder. (PB)
Miss Henderson's Dressing-Bag W. W. , 1895 single work short story detective mystery
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 30 no. 358 1895; (p. 394-398) An East-Melbourne household is disturbed by a newly arrived English orphan niece's fears of a ghost who nightly moves her dressing-case to her aunt's bedroom. Detective Sinclair investigates - visits the steamer at Williamstown that she came out on - and uncovers (with the help of the household's male cook) a murder at sea, imposture by a travelling companion as the niece, and a morphine addicted doctor as a wealthy Englishman in Melbourne. He suicides with an overdose; she is committed to an saylum. (PB)
Dead or Alive W. W. , 1895 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 30 no. 359 1895; (p. 451-457) Near Dunnolly, a mounted trooper is forced to camp at a water-hole, by a man who goes for a midnight swim. The trooper recognises him as a nearby shanty-keeper and there follows a tale of sly-grog and an illicit still, murder, ghostly visitations, two bodies in the waterhole and a naive policeman ... (PB)
The Curse of Gold W. W. , 1895 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 30 no. 360 1895; (p. 510-516) Reminiscence of the diggings. A new digger and his niece camp near an established camp of four diggers. Their new neighbour informs the four honest digging mates that his niece poisoned her father and is now attempting to poison him in revenge for preventing her marriage with a dishonest chemist who procured her drugs. The chemist in the guise of an old swagman is injured and arrested but poisons himself; and the girl is committed to an asylum. (PB)
Jack Neerim's Hut W. W. , 1895 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 31 no. 364 1895; (p. 742-749) A lone prospector arrives in an Australian range of hills and determines to stay in a deserted hut even though it was said to be haunted by the ghost of an earlier prospector murdered there, the shape of his body burnt into the rock. A half-witted malevolent girl, her surly grandfather, two troopers, a cave hidden in rocks and the a supposedly guilty man is proven innocent by his own efforts. True mateship and attempted family murder included. Cowardly death on the scaffold; a lunatic asylum and happiness in England are the results. (PB)
The Heiress of Derricklands W. W. , 1895 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 31 no. 365 1895; (p. 31-36) Proud Maria Stanley determines to murder her friend Sophie Carnegie when she learns Sophie is to marry her uncle and thus inherit the station and income she has counted as her own. Detective Sinclair and another detective solve the disappearance of Sophie in the lagoon - not married and gone to Tasmania as a letter suggested but left to drown by Maria who had been secretly meeting the old groom's son - the old man tried to protect her with the false letter. An old mad woman Madge rescued Sophie from death and cared for her in an old hut until Sinclair discovers her. Maria never recovers consciousness after her own accident on the lagoon - she is better off dead is the general consensus. Sophie marries happily her elderly army officer. (PB)
On Dead Man's Camp W. W. , 1895 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 30 no. 361 1895; (p. 567-573) Murder is committed by a spendthrift discontented Victorian country trooper who wants a hawker's gold to pay his passage money back to England - money his sister refuses to pay on behalf of his poor, dying mother. A shearer's evidence, a life-preserver as murder weapon and a head trooper's suspicions conclude the tale. (PB)
Astor House W. W. , 1895 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 31 no. 366 1895; (p. 103-110) A shop wife is deserted by her rebellious husband when a rich colonial leases the house across the road and hires the man as caretaker. A variety of suburban robberies unsolved; a male accomplice disguised as the colonel's mother; a murder for which the caretaker is framed; two constables and a wise old ex-policeman; attempted escape by yacht and a castaway colonel are all components of the plot. Harsh depiction of the wife. (PB)
Granny Nan W. W. , 1895 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 31 no. 367 1895; (p. 158-165) The narrator, an eager young police constable at a country station with Prosser, discovers a wanted murderer near the hut of a paralysed man. He is wounded while spying on him, and nearly killed when left for dead in a cave with the corpse of a young Melbourne forward girl who would have betrayed him and his Irish lady. Some sympathy for criminals here - shown to have loyalty. (PB)
A Matrimonial Advertisement W. W. , 1896 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 31 no. 369 1896; (p. 277-282) Sinclair in his role of private detective. An old miser seeks a wife of independent means to increase his comfort without cost. His two applicants, a beautiful young dancer and singer and an old maid are met be Detective Sinclair. The miser decides to marry the young woman - and is murdered after the wedding. The old maid helps identify the wife and her former lover as the murderers. (PB)
Revenge W. W. , 1896 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , January vol. 31 no. 368 1896; (p. 219-224) A middle-aged woman servant arrives at a Victorian farm to assist a rheumatic old woman and her husband. She is, disguised, the 'evil' woman who tempted him to steal from his father and run away years before. She discovers the couple hate her, but father and son are reunited when the son is charged with her murder - part of her revenge plot. She attempts to burn his mother in her bed - and herself goes up in flames. (PB)
Grey Gully W. W. , 1895 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 30 no. 362 1895; (p. 626-629) Set on a former diggings site in 1879, the return of a farmer's digging mate of 1859 coincides with the return of the murderer of another digger working there that year in the guise of a swagman. A patiently vengeful brother and grave-carer; a ghost of the dead man; a simple-minded girl whose obsession with the murder leads to her death and her parents' grief; golden treasure buried in the grave-yard and a death-bed confession. (PB)
The Major's Case W. W. , 1895 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 30 no. 363 1895; (p. 683-690) The Anthology of Colonial Australian Crime Fiction 2008; (p. 40-66) Detective Barnett, a friend of Sinclair's - tells the story of a case which he worked on through the Melbourne private detective agency he ran with a friend. A major calls him in on a case of suspected poisoning by his elder sister who, he claimed, was dependent on him. Barnett was taken in but his sister, Eliza, and the man-servant Crump, between them reveal the major's guilt. He finally murders his sister to prevent her leaving her money to a calculating thief disguised as a Christian woman, who had fooled her - and who robbed her the night of the murder. Eliza is shown to be more perceptive and more humanly motivated than her brother - she breaks detective rules and solves the case but is unable to prevent the murder. Written in the voices of detective Barnett and Eliza. (PB)
The Old Saw-Mill W. W. , 1881 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 16 no. 195 1881; (p. 641-648) Two troopers disguise themselves as surveyors to track down the bloody bushranger "Wild Sifer". They discover an old mill with a tangible ghost - a girl driven half-mad; an underground tunnel, a brutal hunter; and an old Irishman and his daughter who are betrayed by their former ally. (PB)
Captain Marvin's Housekeeper W. W. , 1881 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 17 no. 196 1881; (p. 40-46) A penniless English emigrant seeking work accepts a position as child's companion on a Victorian country station. On her arrival she finds the housekeeper full of citterness to her employer, the Captain, and his apparently mentally impaired daughter. The housekeeper's real identity, her madness and her terrible revenge through explosion and fire on the captain and his daughter are vividly portrayed. (PB)
Both Drowned W. W. , 1881 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 16 no. 193 1881; (p. 540-546) A young trooper's wife secretly married leaves her father's farm when she finds she is pregnant. Her father discovers her, shoots her husband and finally rides with her into a flooded river where they drown. Includes her mother's death and a ghostly appearance. (PB)
Christie's Love W. W. , 1881 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 16 no. 194 1881; (p. 583-589) The Scottish McMurtries and the Catholic HAirlands are quarrelling neighbours, til Christie McMurtries falls in love with Stephen Hairlands, and Bell with George. Christie steals her father's deeds to land he had stolen from Stephen's father, but finds her lover only interested in revenge. She commits suicide and the revenge and death continues. (PB)
Under a Ban 1881 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 17 no. 199 1881; (p. 222-226) A lawyer is called to a friend's plantation in Virginia to solve the case of Louisa Waring who several years before, on the eve of her wedding, witnessed a murder and refused to marry. Her continued refusal to see the groom she clearly still love is mysteriously ... (PB)
The Sympathiser W. W. , 1882 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , January vol. 17 no. 200 1882; (p. 255-260) A trooper's quarrel and a hunt for bushrangers leaves Harry Waldock to the tender mercies of a bushrangers' "sympathiser". Mark Sinclair, who had punched him, and another trooper follow him to the cave where he is recovering with the help of th emasked sympathiser. The return of the bushranger Bolt results in the sympathiser's death and unmasking - revealing 'her' to be Harry's sister and Bolt's wife ... Unusual narrative style for W. W. - interweaves two different narrative points of view. (PB)
Deceitful Dan W. W. , 1897 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 32 no. 390 1897; (p. 767-773) Set in a bush township. Hotel-keeper Mag Carey, ugly of face and temper, is married to handsome Dan Blake and they are unhappy. He married her for her money from a sweep win and has an innocent second wife and son - the wife believing she is the only one. He fears discovery and revenge by Mag and arranged with the help of a friend to move away with his wife and son, stealing some of his wife's money to do it. But Mag is murdered the night he was to leave and he is arrested and tried for her murder - until a witness proves it was Mag's own brother ... The 'innocent' wife is remarried and starts a new life in California. (PB)
Not Guilty W. W. , 1897 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 33 no. 391 1897; (p. 49-54) An old Scottish Austrlian farmer disinherits his son when he discovers he has married a woman of ill repute without his permission. The old man is discovered murdered in the morning and his son - who was dunk - is accused of the murder and believes himself guilty. A last minute confession by an old and bankrupt neighbour whose ugly daughter was to marry the murder victim's son till he dropped her, and who was discovered by the old man as he tried to rob him - saves the son from hanging. A faithful old Scottish servant; the abandonment of the son by his new wife when she discovers his disinheritance; and his reform and return to Scotland after his father's murder finish the tale. (PB)
By the Visitation of God W. W. , 1896 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 31 no. 375 1896; (p. 626-631) Set on an estate not far from Melbourne. The master of the estate is poisoned by the cat-like wife of his servant and childhood friend Bruce. The dead man's brother, an amateur photographer, has a negative of the woman placing the poison in the glass. Confronted with her crime and the choice of the gallows or swallowing her own poison, she has a heart attack. (PB)
Old Cauth W. W. , 1896 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 31 no. 376 1896; (p. 682-687) A small bar and roadside accommodation is owned by Mary Grogan, an attractive young Iirish woman, who is visited by 'Old Cauth' in search of her absconded husband. He is Mary's purported husband and runs off when she confronts him. He attempts to murder Cauth and fails, but in ignorance returns to find his lost wallet. He shoots a policeman waiting for him and is accidentally hanged. Cauth feels some pity and lives with Mary who marries again. (PB)
The Mortgaged Deeds W. W. , 1896 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 31 no. 373 1896; (p. 509-515) Set in a farming district, a widow married to a much younger man, a former farm labourer, appeals to a neighbour to help prevent the daughter's marriage to his labourer. The neighbour has encouraged the match as he holds the deeds to the widow's farm and wants to see her totally broken. The widow murders him, his labourer is blamed until the widow confesses and kills herself. (PB)
The Crimson Brand W. W. , 1896 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 31 no. 374 1896; (p. 567-572) Two prisoners released from gaol arrive in a valley, one seeking revenge on the man who had them imprisoned for his deed and one seeking only his family and life. The revenger meets their betrayer by chance, goes to stay at his new station, meets a drunken ex-clerk who had helped in the forgery, the betrayer's aunt who accuses him of poisoning her and is in the house when the betrayer is murdered. The drunk reforms and the aunt is accused at the inquest. (PB)
y separately published work icon The Five-Acre Paddock W. W. , 1881 Z1090335 1881 single work short story

Rich and pretty Kate Drummond discovers that her fiancee Jones Steeler is already married. She sends him away but gives the deed of five acre paddock to his wife. The wife is found dead in the morning, Jonas's knife beside her ... There are more false marriages and changes of character before the tale is complete. (PB)
Region's Doom W. W. , 1896 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 31 no. 377 1896; (p. 742-748) Two prisoners are released from Melbourne's Pentridge gaol; Bill Condy after 6 years and Regan after 20 years for bushranging. They both end up in Haunted Gully in the Great Dividing Range - Regan came back to dig up the gold he had buried with his murdered prospecting mate. The siple son of the farmer who now owned the land has seen the murdered man's ghost often, helps Regan dig up the gold, but when Regan tries to cheat him, murders him. Bill Condy, staying with his cousin the local troopers, witnesses the the murder and helps convict the 'softy' who then goes gully mad. Condy and his cousin dig for gold and earn enough to return to England. (PB)
The Sins and Sorrows of Carrum W. W. , 1896 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 32 no. 378 1896; (p. 45-50) Saga of an Australian country station. The owner, Honourable Follinger, died in the 1870s - his will left everything to his Oxford friend and manager George Dare. His wife, a mean widow, is enraged, her son disappointed and Follinger's ward Constance incensed. The widow is murdered and suspicion falls on a simple gardener she had had discharged - but he implicates the widow' son whom Constance had eloped with the night before; the son confesses and commits suicide, Constance enters the convent and Dare falls sick from disillusion, remaining unmarried. (PB)
Bryan the Tramp W. W. , 1896 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 32 no. 379 1896; (p. 103-107) A Melbourne villain and his mate Johan rob a widow of the letter and one pound sent her by her poor, weak but good son Humphrey who is selling his farm. The thieves then go to the township where one enters the house as a tramp. They murder the brother for his money and impersonation follows. A faithful old servant, a hearty farmer and daughter and a trooper catch them ... (PB)
The Carols of Carlow W. W. , 1896 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 31 no. 371 1896; (p. 393-400) Set on a sheep station near Victorian ranges, a tale of Irish brothers, two workers on the station and the other a bushranger who had sworn revenge on the policeman who had stolen his wife and let her die deserted in Melbourne hospital. A friend of the owner's with a doctor's qulifications is visiting and plays a part in averting the sworn revenge from the policeman. He also helps warn the bushranger and treats his daughter before she dies. Strong sense of Irish loyalty, faithfulness to vengeance and a lack of mercy to informers. (PB)
Mr Bardale's Disappearance W. W. , 1896 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 31 no. 372 1896; (p. 452-457) A poor country woman marries a factory owner and with the help of her brother who acts as their groom she murders him and he is buried in a yard at their weak widowed mother's house. Detective Sinclair, with the aid of the insufficiently bribed cook and another servant tracks the drunk brother to the mother's and arrests sister and brother. (PB)
Mr Vermont Drefft W. W. , 1896 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 31 no. 370 1896; (p. 334-339) Robberies from a Melbourne judge's house point to the guilt of his dandy nephew recently arrived from England. Detective Sinclair's enquiries gradually uncover the kidnap of the nephew by disowned and dishonest cousins in Adelaide determined on revenge on the uncle they judged to have abandoned their father in his hour of need. A woman disguised as the male cousin on revenge and her escape together with her brother just as the kidnapped cousin, escaped from Adelaide, appears in Melbourne follows an attempt to disfigure the judge's daughter. A "Wicked and curious woman's letter" announces their intention. The cousins flee to South America, "the land in which is being founded a New Australia." (PB)
James Dace's Sin W. W. , 1897 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 32 no. 382 1897; (p. 279-283) Michael Bairdy alias Detective Sommerville is hired to nurse an invalid gentleman and discovers poisoning, attempts to find the location of hidden diamonds from the sick man; a helpful house boy who is a runaway son of the invalid; a cook assisting her master/secret husband to drug his brother; a double-cross and the murder of the scheming brother. Several narrative voices. (PB)
The Shepherd of Warragul W. W. , 1897 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 32 no. 383 1897; (p. 336-342) The engagement between John Channery, a bush station owner, and the poor neighbouring painted governess is not as happy. John's friend and tutor, his shepherd, tells of his own unhappy marriage, when as an English lord he married a girl who cared only for position. When his older brother reclaimed the title, she left him and took his son. The true nature of the governess is revealed by her treatment of the neighbour's crippled son and her own hidden son, who escapes when she orders his murder. She is unmasked as the shepherd's wife - and her murder frees both men to return to England - one with his son, the other to marry. (PB)
Miss Standish's Secret W. W. , 1897 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , January vol. 32 no. 380 1897; (p. 161-166) An English visitor and his brother investigate an elderly censorious woman. She is the estranged wife of the brother whom she had tried to poison and whose health was broken. They discover that Miss Standish runs a gaming house with the help of a local villainous youth. Further, there are two sisters who are using her identity. Suicide and a prison term follow the exposure of the women, and the youths also meet their different fates. (PB/JG)
The Gaol-Bird's Fate W. W. , 1897 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 32 no. 381 1897; (p. 221-227) Brodie, an old Scottish farmer, and his wife fear for their adopted niece Helen's affection for the lazy man Harry Byrne employed on the next farm. Their own servant recognises Byrne as an ex-convict, and reveals his own time in gaol to save Helen and her friend Marion Wilson (whom he loves) from Byrne. Byrne kidnaps the old farmer to get his money and King and the trooper Brown with Marion's help, find Brodie whom they had feared dead - Byrne is killed by his accomplice Wilson. W. W. mellowing, with themes of girls' friendship and the prisoner redeemed. (PB)
Saul's Awakening W. W. , 1897 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 32 no. 384 1897; (p. 394-399) The family doctor, fearful that his friend's slow son had been the cause of his mother's and now her sister (his proposed step-mother's) deaths by poison, quickly becomes suspicious of the boy's caretaker. Cousin to his father, and disappointed in her love for him, she had murdered both her rivals and intended to blackmail the father by blaming the son. The boy awakens from his years' long stupour and proves her guilt. (PB)
The Squatter's Daughter W. W. , 1897 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 32 no. 385 1897; (p. 458-463) A trooper postd to a small bush town becomes involved in a dispute between the arrogant unwomanly squatter's daughter and an outspoken bossy shanty-keeper's wife. He refuses to have the shanty removed and a confrontation between the women leads to the near-murder of one and the madness of the other. Hen-pecked husband and father also figure [and W. W. declares herself to be no proponent of women's rights.] (PB)
Dandy Art's Diary W. W. , 1897 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 32 no. 386 1897; (p. 519-525) Set on a country station. Sinclair and a foppish young detective are assigned separately to investigage a series of robberies. Dandy Art poses as a lady's man and enjoys the role until his flirtation with the squatter's daughter's lady's companion leads to his death at the hands of Quiet Alf, revenging himself on the Squatter with the companion's help for imprisoning his father. Quiet Alf dies too with shot's from Dandy's derringer. Extracts from Dandy's diary. (PB)
Detective O'Dowd's Darling W. W. , 1894 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 29 no. 350 1894; (p. 625-630) Sincalir's tale of a fellow Melbourne detective, handsome misogynist Irish O'Dowd, who falls in love and becomes engaged to a beautiful independent visiting American heiress. O'Dowd then discovers she is a he, a fraudulent absconder from a London bank, in bewitching disguise. Strong trans/homo-sexual undertones. (PB)
The Market-Street Mystery W. W. , 1894 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 29 no. 351 1894; (p. 683-687) A Market Street share broker murders his brother and makes it appear as suicide in an attempt to escape his creditors and the brother's balckmail. Detective's work, and office boy's reluctant evidence, and the discovery of the share-broker's body disfigured exactly as his brother's, closes the case. (PB)
Handsome Stafford W. W. , 1894 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 30 no. 352 1894; (p. 45-48) A Victorian farmer shoots the philandering married artist who woos his innocent, slow youngest daughter she visits her mother's grave and then transfers his attention to the elder beautiful self-absorbed daughter -inducing her to promise to run off with him. The father confeses but receives only six months' gaol; the elder daughter goes mad dying in Kew asylum and Mary sickens and dies - joining her mother. (PB)
The Murder at Southwell Road W. W. , 1894 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 30 no. 353 1894; (p. 103-109) Set in the city and on an up-country station. The discovery of a decomposing body in an empty Melbourne house starts Sinclair on an investigation which uncovers - with the help of various passengers who came out on the same ship from England, the murder of a scapegrace rich Englishman by his own cousin for envy and greed. Includes a governess, a kindly squatter and wife, and loyal old family servants ... (PB)
No. 1 Currajong Terrace W. W. , 1894 single work short story crime
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 30 no. 354 1894; (p. 161-166) South Melbourne. New tennants next door to a deceased publican's wife and son appear to be father and daughter. The rich son secretly marries the forward daughter but when his mother is killed for her jewellery and money he is arrested for the murder. The old woman revives and the 'father' next door proves to be the girl's brother and the murderer. He dies of the DT's in prison, the marriage is happy, and mother, son and wife depart for California. (PB)
Bruff's Case W. W. , 1894 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 30 no. 355 1894; (p. 218-223) Sinclair enlists the aid of a drunken detective to find a missing will. The case becomes a murder case, but Sinclair arrests the wrong man, a terrified groom. The drunken detective, Bruff, follows the clues to a mad girl, feigning to be deaf and dumb, who stabbed the victim, a valet, in the mouth. Sinclair is bested by an alcoholic. Tale includes the widow - an ex-servant. (PB)
The Little Chap W. W. , 1895 single work short story detective crime horror
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , January vol. 30 no. 356 1895; (p. 278-283) A trooper in a township is entangled in an unhappy marriage between the miserly old storekeeper in search of a mother for his bastard uncontrollable five year-old son, and a termagent spinster in want of his money and escape from her bullied father. The storekeeper resolves to leave her but the discovery of his murdered and dismembered son, and his poisoning leads the trooper to arrest the wife who has attempted to poison her father too - and suicides in gaol. Violence and horror. (PB)
The Anchor Hotel W. W. , 1895 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 30 no. 357 1895; (p. 335-340)
A Victorian pub is the scene of an argument between the widow of the proprietor and her son - both of whom intend to marry. The tale involves a tangled web of murder, adoption, secret wills and broken engagements.
Dean the Millionaire W. W. , 1898 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 33 no. 396 1898; (p. 358-363) Narrated in turn by Dean, and detectives Gault and Davis who investigated his murder in his Melbourne home. An abused wife, the disappearance of his son and heir, the machinations of his scheming 'devilish' housekeeper, and the wife's impersonation by her twin sister who is arrested in her place on suspicion of Dean's murder. (PB)
Grey's Gold W. W. , 1898 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 33 no. 397 1898; (p. 417-422) Satirical account of the theft of a Victorian country landlord's safe from his room with 1000 pounds in gold. First it seems a scheme concocted with his middle-aged housekeeper to fool his creditors, marry her and start a new business. She is found only to have 100 pounds and his Irish cook to have gained the money and his promise to marry her for it. But she is in love with the local blacksmith and plans to run away with him - but his honesty gives it to the local mounted trooper. Sub-plot of the housekeeper's arrest for bigamy by Melbourne detective Blunt ... (PB)
His Lawful Wife W. W. , 1898 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , July vol. 33 no. 398 1898; (p. 482-488) Station tragedy. An absentee station owner's manager Kyle plans to marry Letty the pretty step-daughter of a tenant farmer but his legal wife, the old housekeeper who he is trying to to poison, betrays his secrets to her employer. Meanwhile Letty wants to marry the trainee station manager, a young friend of the owner - Kyle's murder by his wife and the station owner's intervention on the young couple's behalf change events. A stockman's dream discovers Kyle's body where his murdress had thrown him after poisoning his toddy with the powder he had been slowly feeding her. Not as horror-filled and gory as earlier tales. (PB)
The Murderer's Doom W. W. , 1894 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 29 no. 346 1894; (p. 393-398) A murders sends Sinclair by coach to Jericho diggings near Sandhurst in search of Ben (the old digger/victim's friend) who he had promised to assist. A bright young miner helps Sinclair bring the murder home to Josiah Meeks who was an alcoholic and suffered from the DTs. Includes a ghost, a photograph of the murder victim, a coarse milk maid who was loved by Meeks and returned the tenderness. (PB)
Long Lead W. W. , 1894 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 29 no. 347 1894; (p. 453-457) Long Lead diggings. One of three mates accuses simple Bob Dyce of working their claim at night for his own profit. In fact Bill Gilbert is trying to cast suspicion from his own intentions to steal the gold and abscond. Bob's secret wife Margaret inteferes with Bill's plans, and is injured by him; but Bob's dog and his friends prevent serious injury. Bill was an escaped homicidal maniac eluding recapture. (PB)
Old Cooney, the Basketmaster W. W. , 1894 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 29 no. 348 1894; (p. 509-514) The disappearance of a beautiful young girl with her jewellery and her father's gold is explained as elopement with a dubious suitor - but Trooper Gibson suspects her murder after visiting an old basket weaver and his wife. A double murder emerges disguised as a swagman, he watches the old man - disguised as his own wife who he had killed - pull the girl's body from the water ... the girl's father disowned her when she took his money and lost her 'innocense'. (PB)
Jake Alias W. W. , 1894 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 29 no. 349 1894; (p. 567-572) A dying criminal in CArlton, Melbourne, contacts a judge to inform him that he has a son - a criminal. The youth's half-brother frames him for a burglary at the judge's house but the dead criminal's faithful woman and the judge's resignation clear the son and he and his father leave for England. (PB)
Unlucky No. 58 W. W. , 1898 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 33 no. 399 1898; (p. 545-551) An honest Irish suburban police sergeant in Melbourne, superstitious to the core, agrees to look after the drunken wife of an ex-member of the force who had been dismissed because of the sergeant's evidence years before. A faithful old servant, the wife's cleverness, the sergeant's honesty and superstitions, the suspicions of an over-sharp constable, and the cunning of the false husband who murders his wife for the insurance are included. The sergeant's loss of memory and the constable's spying nearly lead to a false conviction at the inquest. (PB)
Mag Braban's Share W. W. , 1898 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 33 no. 400 1898; (p. 605-612) Set in the city and on a deserted diggings. Ned Braban is released from Pentridge gaol to be met by his drunken old mother and the news of the death of his street-girl sweetheart. His resolve to reform nearly dies but a deathbed promise to her makes him accept a fellow-traveller's offer at Coburg railway station to work in the country. A reunion with his real parents from whom he had been stolen years before is made through his benefactor's kindness and the return from the Californian goldfields of the father who had deserted his drunken foster-mother years before. Mag's attempt with the help of a villain to kill this husband for his gold while disguised as an old couple is foiled by her accomplice. She has no death-bed repentence. Includes a faithful poor woman; reunited family return to England. (PB)
Private Inquiry Offices, P__ Buildings, City W. W. , 1898 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , January vol. 33 no. 392 1898; (p. 111-117) A private detective is hired by the owner of an ironworks to discover who is forging the cheques which have been cashed from his account - suspecting his son. The detective - with the help of a carefree young Irishman who becomes his partner - tracks the cheques to the niece of the owner who has the cooperation on the shady manager of the South Yarra branch - they face each other privately. She ends up in the convent. Father and son are reunited. (PB)
The Diamond Cross W. W. , 1898 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , February vol. 33 no. 393 1898; (p. 173-178) Story partly narrated from notes by Sinclair's "wife of over 30 years" set in early 1880s East Melbourne. Jewellery disappears from a ladies' college and Sinclair sends his wife in the guise of a seamstress to help solve the mystery. A rich squatter's daughter meets her dissipated brother in the garden to try and help him - and eventually their father returns to claim them both. The headmistress' husband, a clergyman, is the thief. In a fit of madness he kills his wife and robs her safe for gambling money. A faithful old servant from the couple's English days tells their tale. (PB)
Bill Brock W. W. , 1898 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 33 no. 394 1898; (p. 233-237) Set in a hill village, a local farmer, the town carrier and a criminal, Brock, are running an illegal still under guise of a mineral water concern. Detective Brain from Melbourne with the aid of a camera finds Brock who he wants for murder and alerts the local constable to be still . Brain is nearly killed in Brock's trap - to flood the still cellar - but the constable saves him. The farmer's son marries the carrier's daughter - but not before the old man is killed for his money by Brock. Includes a kindly but stern maiden aunt. The town grows with the railroad in later years. (PB)
My Sister Alys W. W. , 1898 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , April vol. 33 no. 395 1898; (p. 296-301) A Victorian mounted trooper returns to his father's Riverina station for holidaus and his sister's wedding. He finds her apparently hating her fiancee and her parents fear her mad. Her brother turns detective to watch her and finds her friend - a middle-aged woman companion on a nearby station - to be involved in some plot with her about the wedding day. The groom's murder and the plan by his abandoned wife to implicate Alys too are revealed at the inquest. (PB)
Only One Blow W. W. , 1897 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 32 no. 389 1897; (p. 705-711) Sinclair and another Detective partial to roses jointly investigate the murder of an old man in his garden on the banks of the Yarra. His disinherited niece is a burglar's assistant, and the lover he had forbidden her to see a thief, but the evidence of a young street-boy, a former 'Herald' runner - points to the faithful old family servant. Detective rivalry included. (PB)
Her Ladyship W. W. , 1897 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 32 no. 388 1897; (p. 643-649) Set on a Riverina station, a motherless girl Dorothy grown up with almost no female supervision - wild, untidy and beautiful - is found a governess, a titled Englishwoman earning her own living because of her husband's dissipation. The girl's resentment is overcome by the lady's grace and the discovery that she has no intention of marrying her father, the Colonel. An infatuation for the dandy superintendent of the station is soon quashed when he reveals his calculating ways - and he and his brother, a former valet and thief, are eventually arrested and tried for robbing the Colonel, abducting and nearly killing him. Dorothy marries her governess' brother-in-law when he succeeds to the title, and the governess marries the local doctor - a gentleman. Interesting a little for the contrast between the wild girl and the lady. (PB)
Gracie Hutton's Red Beads W. W. , 1898 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 33 no. 401 1898; (p. 669-675) An old lady's death very soon after making a new will directing her jewels to be broken up and sold over the years to provide for her pauper grand-daughters, Ruby and Grace. The murder of the lawyer to whom she had just entrusted them and the theft of the jewels involves Detectives Sinclair and Jackson in an investigation in Flemington and Collins Street, Melbourne. Blackmail of the lawyer's clerk over a forged gambling cheque by the iniquitous English imposter Perceval Coverdale - who had been courting Ruby Hulton in the hope of her inheritance - lead the trail of suspicion to his door. Though uninterested because of her poverty, Perceival pretends to elope with Ruby via Adelaide to cover his true reasons for leaving Melbourne - but he dumps her at Portland where he persuades a fisherman to help him escape ... nightmares; suicide; lost jewels; ruined reputation follows. (PB)
Romance of a Burglary W. W. , 1888 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 23 no. 279 1888; (p. 673-681) Somerton Roach breaks into a country residence determined to rob it, but discovers an old man nearly dying and promises to help him make out a new will disinheriting his nephew who his keeping him prisoner until he dies. In fact, Roach discovers to help him make out the will but together they rescue the prisoner. When the nephew discovers the old man's absence he - with his servant - announce that the old man had died and with the help of a discredited doctor obtain another corpse to bury in his place. At the reading of the will the uncle himself appears; his nephew succumbs to shock and dies in the grip of D.Ts; and Roach and his friend marry their sweethearts, Roach becoming the old man's heir. Sub-plot involving woman who had loved Roach but give him up for a rich richer suitor - the true nephew - at her mother's insistence. (PB)
Ann Hamilton's Sin W. W. , 1884 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , May vol. 19 no. 228 1884; (p. 498-506) A rich and jealous termagent wife strangles the innocent rival for her husband's love when she learns that he is truly married to the girl and not to her. Includes an old hen-wife (cares for poultry) who is the murdress' foster-mother and both of them are in a pact with the devil who materialises in the story for a time. Odd. (PB)
The Sealed Chamber W. W. , 1884 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , June vol. 19 no. 229 1884; (p. 553-562) A beautiful scheming woman married to a weak-willed, rich Melbourne merchant prince agrees to enter a sealed room to destroy her dead father-in-law's will which would disinherit her husband in favour of his younger brother. She encounters a ghost but executes her task. The younger brother returns and proves her a murdress in California ; his brother repents and dies forgiven by brother and father's ghost; she hangs herself in gaol. (PB)
My Story of the Manse W. W. , 1884 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 20 no. 232 1884; (p. 12-19) Mark S___, a private detective, is hired in the 70s to discover the mystery of a Presbyterian minister's wife's visits to Melbourne from their country home, as she becomes increasingly mad. Supposedly visiting her son's grave, she in fact visits him, a buglar hiding from the police who also believe him dead. A coarse simpering cousin and a criminal groom also involves themselves in the tale. (PB)
y separately published work icon Old Latrobe's Punt W. W. , 1884 Z1092178 1884 single work short story A Melbourne lawyer takes a holiday in the Victorian bush with a fisherman to recover his health. He becomes involved in the fate of the fisherman's daughter Louise Pryne who believes herself secretly married to a neighbouring farmer preparing to leave the district - unbeknownst to her. Louisa meets by accident his first and true wife, and she commits suicide. The Melbourne lawyer befriends her father and returns with him to England to help him forget the tragedy. Includes a ghost tale of a punt and the 'half-caste' fisherman who owned it. (PB)
A White Rose-Bud W. W. , 1886 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , August vol. 21 no. 255 1886; (p. 676-683) Urban location, set in March. Sophia Swain, jealous of her aunt's regard for her cousin Henry Pennifer and of his engagement to his employer's daughter, murders her aunt in her sleep to prevent her making a will naming henry as her heir. A broken shoe tassle, a key falsely lost and a servant's close observation suggest that she is the guilty party and the suspicions of a detective confirm it. (PB)
The Red Room Mary Fortune , 1868 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 7 November vol. 4 no. 167 1868; (p. 169-175) A tale of the mid 1850s on the Victorian diggings and a remorseless female hotel keeper, Mrs Henry, who used her beauty to lure rich men to their death. (PB)
The Fratricide Mary Fortune , 1868 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 12 December vol. 4 no. 172 1868; (p. 250-254) A savage murder in Fitzroy uncovers a tale of betrayal and revenge between brothers over a wife's unfaithfulness. (PB)
Simple Sam W. W. , 1869 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 23 January vol. 4 no. 178 1869; (p. 346-349) The detection and capture of Lightning the bushranger at an up-country town on the Murray. (PB)
The Poisoner Mary Fortune , 1869 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , March vol. 4 no. 46 1869; (p. 402-407) The daughter of an Italian doctor and family residing in an up-country township poisons her mother as she had poisoned her sister a few years before in France. Her father's suspicions lead to her discovery, only just in time to prevent his death. (PB)
Mystery and Murder James Skipp Borlase , Mary Fortune , 1866 single work short story crime
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 10 February vol. 1 no. 24 1866; (p. 376-378) The Night Fossickers and Other Australian Tales of Peril and Adventure 1867; (p. 226-239) The Australian Journal , January vol. 44 no. 524 1909; (p. 49-52) The Australian Short Story Before Lawson 1986; (p. 119-130) The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction 2007; (p. 31-44) A ghostly murder tale. (PB)
Condemned by a Bracelet Waif Wander , 1876 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 12 no. 136 1876; (p. 25-33)
The Bell of Mount Battery Waif Wander , 1880 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 15 no. 184 1880; (p. 13-18)
The Blood of the Grape Waif Wander , 1880 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , October vol. 15 no. 185 1880; (p. 90-95)
The Gutter Flag : A Tale of the 'Green Hills' Diggings Waif Wander , 1880 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , November vol. 16 no. 186 1880; (p. 125-131)
The Rosary of the Dead Waif Wander , 1880 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , December vol. 16 no. 187 1880; (p. 197-203)
Introducing Margot Priestly Hugh Dalmore , 1922 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 January vol. 57 no. 680 1922; (p. 41-43, 45, 47-50, 53-54)
The Grey's Rider M. Joseph Lynch , 1922 single work short story adventure
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 February vol. 57 no. 681 1922; (p. 105-114)
The Plunderers A. C. Eiseman , 1922 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 March vol. 57 no. 682 1922; (p. 169-171, 173-180, 183)
The Trap That Failed A. C. Eiseman , 1922 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 April vol. 57 no. 683 1922; (p. 234-235, 237, 239-242, 244, 247)
The Trail to Tullawarra A. C. Eiseman , 1922 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 May vol. 57 no. 684 1922; (p. 298-310)
A 'Bag' of Plunderers A. C. Eiseman , 1922 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 June vol. 57 no. 685 1922; (p. 362, 364, 366, 368, 370-371, 373)
The Colombo Assignment A. C. Eiseman , 1922 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 July vol. 57 no. 686 1922; (p. 434, 436-438, 440, 442-443, 445, 447, 448)
Meph Barker A. C. Eiseman , 1922 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 August vol. 57 no. 687 1922; (p. 506, 508, 510, 512, 514-516, 518-519)
The Tattoo Clue A. C. Eiseman , 1922 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 September vol. 57 no. 688 1922; (p. 578, 580, 582, 584, 586-588, 590)
The Affair of the Seal Coats A. C. Eiseman , 1922 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 October vol. 57 no. 689 1922; (p. 650,652, 654, 656, 658-660, 662-664)
Final Curtain A. C. Eiseman , 1922 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 November vol. 57 no. 690 1922; (p. 722, 724, 726, 728, 730-732, 734)
The Trap Rex Grayson , 1922 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 December vol. 57 no. 691 1922; (p. 794, 796-798, 800, 802-808)
An Amateur Affair Rex Grayson , 1923 single work short story crime
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 January vol. 58 no. 682a 1923; (p. 42-48, 50, 52-59)
The Man For the Job Rex Grayson , 1923 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 February vol. 58 no. 683a 1923; (p. 113-118, 120, 122, 124-128, 130)
Modern Cracksmen A. C. Eiseman , 1923 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 March vol. 58 no. 684a 1923; (p. 193-198)
A Matter of Observation Rex Grayson , 1923 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 April vol. 58 no. 685a 1923; (p. 273-278, 280-282)
The Holroyd Case Rex Grayson , 1923 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 May vol. 58 no. 686a 1923; (p. 353-354, 356, 358, 360, 362-365)
The Murder at Windeyer Park Rex Grayson , 1923 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 June vol. 58 no. 687a 1923; (p. 433-436, 438-440, 442-444)
The Whirlpool of Life Rex Grayson , 1923 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 July vol. 58 no. 688a 1923; (p. 513-514, 516, 518, 520, 522-528)
The Cigarette Rex Grayson , 1923 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 September vol. 58 no. 690a 1923; (p. 673-674, 676, 678, 680, 682-683)
The Net of Destiny : Part 1 Rex Grayson , 1923 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 October vol. 58 no. 691a 1923; (p. 753-754, 756, 758,760, 762,764-765)
The Net of Destiny Part 2 Rex Grayson , 1923 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 November vol. 58 no. 692 1923; (p. 833-834, 836, 838, 840, 842, 844-845)
The Mystery of the 'Monna Vanna' Rex Grayson , 1923 single work short story detective romance
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 December vol. 58 no. 693 1923; (p. 913-914, 916, 918-927)
O'Connor's Way Rex Grayson , 1924 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 June vol. 59 no. 699 1924; (p. 441-456)
The Unknown Quantity Rex Grayson , 1926 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 July vol. 61 no. 724 1926; (p. 753-766)
The Van Duren Madonna Rex Grayson , 1926 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 September vol. 61 no. 726 1926; (p. 1001-1017)
Hereditary W. W. , 1877 single work short story crime
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , September vol. 13 no. 148 1877; (p. 33-36) Sand on the Gumshoe : A Century of Australian Crime Writing 1989; (p. 45-78) A Christmas visit to the family of a Melbourne friend living near the Lodden in country Victoria involves Sinclair in a tale of romance, murder, and insanity. [Sinclair appears to be settling into a mature equanimity and imperviousness to romance.] (PB)
The Story of Daintylands W. W. , 1899 single work short story detective
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , 1 April vol. 34 no. 407 1899; (p. 231-236)
y separately published work icon The Mysterious Disappearance of Constable Monaghan W. W. , Z1783342 1899 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon The Footsteps on the Hill W. W. , Z1783193 1899 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon The Mortleys W. W. , Z1781441 1899 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon The Hart Murder W. W. , Z1087363 1870 single work short story crime detective mystery A detective's convalescence at a rural Victorian station and his perusal of the Police Gazette assist him in recognising an old woman's murderer in the new housekeeper. The idle daughter of the house is of special assistance. (PB)
y separately published work icon Reformation of the Honourable Marcus Rex Grayson , Z1623999 1933 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon The Cat and the Mouse Rex Grayson , Z1623672 1932 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon These Things Will Happen Rex Grayson , Z1623590 1932 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon Told in Darkness Rex Grayson , Z1623408 1932 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon A Quiet Night in New York City Rex Grayson , Z1623078 1932 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon Death at the Wheel Rex Grayson , Z1622886 1932 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon Respectability for Ever Rex Grayson , Z1622709 1932 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon Missing Friends Rex Grayson , Z1622326 1932 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon Open Sesame! Rex Grayson , Z1621792 1932 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon The Swimmer Rex Grayson , Z1621306 1932 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon Mr. Marolan Intrudes Rex Grayson , Z1621065 1932 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon At Dalkeith Island Rex Grayson , Z1620898 1932 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon Week-end at Conning Towers Rex Grayson , Z1620830 1932 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon Lucky Carfax Rex Grayson , Z1618921 1931 series - author novel
y separately published work icon The Misdeeds of Mr Marolan Rex Grayson , Z1618033 1930 series - author novel
y separately published work icon A Front Page Story Rex Grayson , Z1616227 1926 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon A Game of Bluff Rex Grayson , Z1615470 1926 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon An Open Verdict Rex Grayson , Z1614521 1926 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon The Strange Case of Colonel Marchmont Rex Grayson , Z1613131 1926 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon Eyes That See Not Rex Grayson , Z1613050 1926 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon Garrison Goes on Leave Rex Grayson , Z1612748 1926 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon Something Unforeseen Rex Grayson , Z1612512 1926 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon Exit Daniel Blake Rex Grayson , Z1608544 1926 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon Volume Four Rex Grayson , Z1607127 1926 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon Packard Plays a Trump Rex Grayson , Z1606588 1924 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon Good Hunting Rex Grayson , Z1606227 1924 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon The Nickel Bullet Rex Grayson , Z1606051 1924 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon A Melbourne Arabian Night Rex Grayson , Z1605850 1924 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon A Partner's Affair - Part One Rex Grayson , Z1604554 1924 single work short story crime
y separately published work icon The Man on the Roof Rex Grayson , Z1603886 1924 single work short story crime
y separately published work icon A Dual Role Rex Grayson , Z1603639 1924 single work short story detective
y separately published work icon Clement Mackie Mysteries A. C. Eiseman , Z1578418 1922 series - author short story Loosely connected series based around the detective Clement Mackie, "a man of undoubted integrity; with organising ability of a high order; with a good knowledge of our principal capital cities; and possessing almost superhuman skill in the science of detection; a consummate actor; an adept at disguises, and a forceful personality". Mackie works for The Secret Council, a committee of businessmen formed towards the purpose of stamping out dockside theft. (from 'The Plunderers')

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 1865
Notes:
Published and republished in The Australian Journal, 1865-1933.
VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()

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The (Feminine) Eye of the Law : Mary Helena Fortune Lucy Sussex , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Women Writers and Detectives in Nineteenth-Century Crime Fiction : The Mothers of the Mystery Genre 2010; (p. 120-141)
Interrogating the Past : A Conversation with Lucy Sussex Maureen Kincaid Speller (interviewer), 2006 single work interview
— Appears in: Absolute Uncertainty : Short Fiction 2006; (p. 136-147)
Mary Fortune : The Only Truly Bohemian Lady Writer Who Has Ever Earned a Living by Her Pen in Australia Lucy Sussex , 2006 single work biography
— Appears in: Overland , Winter no. 183 2006; (p. 54-60)
Mary Fortune Lucy Sussex , 2004-2005 single work biography
— Appears in: Mystery Readers Journal , Winter vol. 20 no. 4 2004-2005; (p. 11-12)
Mary Fortune : The Only Truly Bohemian Lady Writer Who Has Ever Earned a Living by Her Pen in Australia Lucy Sussex , 2006 single work biography
— Appears in: Overland , Winter no. 183 2006; (p. 54-60)
Mary Fortune Lucy Sussex , 2004-2005 single work biography
— Appears in: Mystery Readers Journal , Winter vol. 20 no. 4 2004-2005; (p. 11-12)
Interrogating the Past : A Conversation with Lucy Sussex Maureen Kincaid Speller (interviewer), 2006 single work interview
— Appears in: Absolute Uncertainty : Short Fiction 2006; (p. 136-147)
The (Feminine) Eye of the Law : Mary Helena Fortune Lucy Sussex , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Women Writers and Detectives in Nineteenth-Century Crime Fiction : The Mothers of the Mystery Genre 2010; (p. 120-141)
The Reader Investigates : Images of Crime in the Colonial City Christa Ludlow , 1994 single work criticism
— Appears in: Continuum : The Australian Journal of Media & Culture , vol. 7 no. 2 1994;
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Last amended 31 Jul 2018 07:39:56
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