Local historian and author, Maurie Garland launched his new book Who Poisoned Mary Dean? at the Manning Valley Historical Society rooms at Wingham Museum on Wednesday, May 15.
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This is the fourth historical, non-fiction book written by Maurie.
In his research with the Manning Valley Historical Society (MVHS), Maurie came across the steamboat named Possum, which came to the Manning Valley in 1903, having been bought by the Australian Dairy Company and later sold to Edwin Saxby.
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Maurie discovered that this was formerly the ferry skippered by George Dean around Sydney Harbour for the North Shore Ferry Company (later known as Sydney Ferries) in the 1890s.
Maurie found George Dean's trial in 1895 for the attempted murder of his wife intriguing, and the more he read about it, the more he became fascinated by it.
The theme of the book is the question of what constitutes a fair trial. This is the first book to be published on the story.
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The Trials of Isabella Mary Kelly, published in 2005, was Maurie's first book. He has also written Jimmy Governor: Blood on the Tracks and Horace Dean: A Pocket Full of Lies, as well as co-editing the book The Swiss Swagman (by Theodor Muller, translated by Frank Pammer and co-edited by John Ramsland).
Maurie Garland is also the editor of the MVHS Journal containing wide-ranging articles on the history of the Manning Valley.
Maurie's book can be bought through Wingham Museum for $25.
The Wingham Museum is open from 10am to 4pm, seven days a week.
Who Poisoned Mary Dean? Synopsis
In Colonial Sydney, 1895, forensic evidence clearly showed that 21-year-old Mary Dean had suffered non-fatal arsenical poisoning. Her husband George was arrested on the very day of their first wedding anniversary.
The Attorney-General personally led the prosecution at George's trial before Justice Windeyer (known as the 'Hanging Judge') - and attempted murder was a hanging offence.
Yet no one who knew ferry captain George, sober and diligent, could believe he was guilty. Was Mary's mother with her criminal past a possibility? Was it conceivable that Mary could have ingested arsenic herself?
George's trial, and the public meetings and the Royal Commission that followed, would rivet the attention of all Australians as crucial questions about the roles of judges, lawyers and witnesses in trials were examined, trying to determine what constitutes a fair trial.
And when the question of who poisoned Mary was finally answered, trials for perjury and conspiracy ensued, a witness committed suicide, and a lawyer was disbarred.
The question of who poisoned Mary Dean changed the Australian justice system.
