Native Australian Justice - Proclamations for the Murder of "Tommy" - Early Sydney Printing - 1827 - Robert Howe

PROCLAMATION: - FIFTY POUND reward for the apprehension of Thomas Stanley - for the MURDER of “Tommy”

Rare 1826 New South Wales Proclamation - one of the earliest examples of Native Justice in Australia.

"Acts and Ordinances of the Governor and Council of New South Wales . of His Excellency Lieut. Gen. Ralph Darling. 1826."

-Printed in Sydney by Robert Howe - 1827

-Foolscap Folio

-Complete and retaining Original Wrappers

-Collation: p25-27 (3 proclamations), [4] (TP& index),  B9-B19, C21-C29, D39-D51 (Acts and Ordinances for New South Wales)

The reward was issued for the apprehension of the murderer of Tommy - a First Nations Aboriginal boy killed on the frontiers of the expanding Australian colony.

Although frontier conflict was widespread, there are very few examples of settlers being held to account for their violence. This Proclamation predates the Myall Creek massacre by over 10 years.

Thomas Stanley was later convicted and sentenced to death - commuted to hard labour on Norfolk Island.

This rare proclamation was printed in Sydney by Robert Howe in 1827. It is bound before the Acts and Ordinances for the year - and retains its original wrappers.

Robert Howe was the son of George Howe, the first printer in Australia. Any printing from the 1820s and before is relatively uncommon on the market.