Landing Page - Murder at the Diggings Series

This is a landing page for my ‘Murder at the Diggings’ series

Between 26 February and 9 April 2025, I wrote 7 posts relating to the murder of Mary Young and what happened afterwards leading up to the conviction and execution of Ah Lee who, very probably, was not guilty of the crime. It seems sensible to give these posts a landing page where they can be easily accessed together.

Part one focuses on Mary Young, a 58 year old widow. It talks about who she was and what happened to her on Wednesday 4 August 1880. On that day, she was brutally attacked in her home at the Kyeburn Diggings and died of her injuries.

Part two outlines how suspicion fell on members of the local Chinese community. It also provides some context about attitudes towards that community at the time. It culminates with some arrests and the posting of a reward.

The focus of part three is on the continued investigation into Mary’s death during which voluntary statements lead to preliminary hearings into the guilt of Ah Lee and Lee Guy, two members of the local Chinese community.

This part follows the Supreme Court trial, its outcome, and what followed on from it. It talks a little about Ah Lee who was convicted at the trial and it questions whether Justice was done for Mary Young.

Part five looks at the concerns raised about Ah Lee’s conviction and sentence and the last minute consideration given to these concerns as Ah Lee’s execution date looms.

This part outlines the evidence and opinions that informed the final decision of the Executive Council on 3 November 1880. It culminates with Ah Lee’s execution by hanging at Dunedin Gaol on 5 November 1880.

As the title suggests, part seven is all about Andrew Marshall. Andrew owned land next door to Mary’s house at the Kyeburn Diggings. He was considered to be mentally ill when he began to rant that he had killed Mary Young.

If you are already a subscriber to this publication—Kyeburn Diggings One-Place Study—thank you!

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The information in this post is drawn from my one-place study website on the weare.xyz platform

You may like to check out my other Substack publication as well:

BJNL's Genealogy