James Chowney

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D Wong on 28th September 2019

James Chowney was listed as 28 years old on arrival in WA. James was 5'6" tall, light brown hair, light hazel eyes, sallow complexion, middling stout, scar left knee, scar back of neck. 29/9/1860: TOL 4/1/1864: CP 25/5/1872: COF 6/8/1889 Southern Times, Bunbury, WA: Sudden Death, of Mr. Bonney, Landlord of the Rose Hotel, On Wednesday last the residents of Bunbury were very much shocked to hear of the sudden death of Mr. A. E. Bonney who had only taken over the proprietorship of the Rose Hotel on the previous afternoon. *This is a rather long report, so I have edited it down to the parts that regard James Chowney* James Thomas Laffan, duly sworn, said I and Medical Officer of the district. I went to the Rose Hotel this morning at midday and saw the dead body of deceased lying on the floor. I observed the attitude, also the condition of the room and had the body placed upon the bed. Since then I have made a postmortem examination and found that death was due to suffocation. His heart was not diseased but was what is termed a flabby, weak heart. Under the circumstances, in my opinion, death was due to natural causes. I heard a man at the Hotel make a suggestion to Sub Inspector Back "look at the stomach of the deceased." In consequence of this I removed the stomach, with its contents, and they are now in my charge. James Chowney, duly sworn, said; I am a gardener. I was at the Rose Hotel today about midday. I did say to Sub-Inspector Back, in the presence of the Medical Officer, " look at the stomach." The reason I made that remark was that last night I was in the Rose Hotel, I saw the deceased, we were both in the bar. I had something to drink. I did not see Mr. Bonney drink anything. To-day when Sub-Inspector Back came to the hotel I saw Mrs. Forbes go down on her knees to her husband and cry and she called him a d—d scoundrel. I went out and told the Inspector and that was the reason why I made the remark about the stomach. Nothing else had occurred to cause me to make this remark. I thought the deceased had come to his death through something being wrong. By the jury: I had no other reason for making the remark. I had been in Forbes' employ sometime ago as ostler. He never discharged me but I left him because he reduced my wages. I was once in a lunatic asylum, there was nothing the matter with me. E. G. Back, duly sworn, said I am Sub-Inspector of police. About midday to-day I went to the Hotel to enquire about the death of the deceased. I saw Mr. and Mrs. Forbes both sitting behind the bar and spoke to them, no one else being in the bar or tap room, I left them there and went upstairs to speak to the constable in charge of the body. I then went out in front of the hotel and saw Chowney coming along the footpath from the direction of the next hotel. He came to me and said " the man is dead," I said "Yes." He then said "If you let that man be buried without the stomach being examined, you will do it at your peril." I asked him no further question. I came up to the station and returned to the hotel. The man Chowney began again to talk about the stomach. I went inside the hotel and asked the doctor to come out to hear what the man had to say. Chowney then said to me in Dr. Laffan's presence "look at the stomach.' Mrs. Forbes seemed much cut up at the death of Mr. Bonney, but she neither went on her knees nor did she make any such remark to her husband, as Chowney has reported, in my presence. *The Inquest continued..... The Jury only retired for a few minutes, and returned with a verdict "Died from natural causes—asphyxia." The Coroner ordered the witness Chowney into custody to await the result of a medical examination. PETTY SESSIONS. At the Bunbury Petty Sessions last Thursday, before Colonel, Angelo, R.M., and Dr. Laffan, P.M., James Chowney, expiree 5225, was charged with being of unsound mind, which the accused admitted. John Sampson, duly sworn, said I know James Chowney and have been acquainted with him for many years. He is generally a quiet, sober man but eccentric. He came to me last Tuesday evening stating that he had been poisoned with bad tobacco given to him by Dr. Harvey. He said he had been very ill, fallen down in a fit, and was insensible for sometime through smoking this tobacco. He showed me the tobacco and I recognised it as what is termed " Black Swan" tobacco. It is a well-known tobacco, similar to what is produced now which has been obtained from, the accused. It is a popular tobacco. I examined Chowney and told him I thought he had been smoking too heavily, but that there were no symptom of his having been poisoned. I could not, however, remove his conviction. I am of opinion that James Chowney is of unsound mind. I am a medical practitioner of nearly fifty years' standing and am practising at present. James Wean, duly sworn, said l am a shoemaker living at Bunbury. I know Chowney and have known him all my life. He came to my shop yesterday and began talking about the death of Mr. Bonney. Chowney remarked that the post mortem examination would take place at the hotel. I said I thought the body would be taken to the hospital and that I thought Mr. Forbes would desire a post mortem examination. Chowney replied "I'll bet a pot of beer he would not like to see him opened." I said " Why ?" Chowney replied" Because there is poison in the beer." He added "when Mr. Wilson (former lessee of the hotel) was in Bunbury there was half a bottle of Larger beer on the counter and he told me to take it out and throw it away—instead of doing so I drank it and it made me very ill." He added that he (Chowney) had seen powder put into the bottled beer. I told him that I thought he was balmy (unsound in mind) to talk as he did. Before this occurred Chowney told me that Dr. Harvey had poisoned his food and tobacco so that he should not eat so much. Alexander Forbes, duly sworn, said I know James Chowney. He was once in my employment as ostler, about four months ago. He left because I had to reduce his wages. He was, so far as I could judge, an honest, sober man but eccentric. He used to talk a deal to himself. I attribute the remarks he made in Court yesterday relative to the death of Mr. Bonney to the unsound state of his mind, and I consider that all he said about Dr. Harvey was due to the same cause. He made remarks to me about Dr. Harvey stating that the food and tobacco given to him by Dr. Harvey was poisoned. I have never had any quarrel with the accused and therefore do not attribute his remarks to malice but simply to aberration of intellect. The Bench ordered the accused to be detained for one week under medical surveillance. 6/11/1904: James died of a cerebral hemorrhage and asthenia, aged 73 (WA BDM his his age as 82). James was buried at the Anglican Cemetery at Bunbury, WA.

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Marilyn Barrett nee Chowney on 28th September 2019

son of John Chowney and Mary Cotteril Born in Worplesdon Married to Harriet Searle in Worplesdon, Surrey Father of Henry Chowney born 1855 Wife Harriet gave birth to another son 9 months after the 'Edwin Fox' sailed in 1858 Ancestors researched to 1625 Descendants researched to 2019 Convicted of "Shooting to Resist Arrest" [when caught poaching]