Pymble Golf Club Murder
Long before Pymble Golf Club existed, a deadly shooting sparked three sensational murder trials that shocked Australia.
By ELLIOT LINDSAY
In 1913, St Ives was little more than a quiet farming district, dotted with citrus orchards and cow paddocks. Few Sydneysiders had even heard of the area, but that changed dramatically on 1 May, when news of a police sergeant's murder made headlines across Australia. More than a century later, the events surrounding the deadly shooting, on land that would eventually become part of Pymble Golf Club, remain shrouded in mystery.
At the centre of the case was local landholder Thomas Edwin Brown, who owed unpaid maintenance payments to his former wife and young daughter. Sergeant Hickey and Constable Barclay of Pymble Police Station were sent to serve Brown with an arrest warrant unless he settled the outstanding debt. Hickey, who had served at the station for 25 years, knew Brown well. But what should have been a routine police visit took a deadly turn, and the accounts that followed from police and the Brown family painted two very different pictures of what happened that day.
Police Sergeant Hickey Murdered
Constable Barclay testified that he and Sergeant Hickey were invited into Brown’s home to discuss matters before being set upon by Brown and his sons. A brawl in the living room resulted in Brown shooting Hickey, point-blank, in the stomach during the struggle. Hickey hit the ground, then got up and staggered to the front gate.
With Police Sergeant Hickey murdered, Brown fled the scene, on foot, to Pymble. Barclay then helped Hickey into a passing wagon that he ordered to be taken to a hospital. Sadly, the Sergeant bled to death in transit. Barclay returned to the station, obtained a motorcar, tracked down Brown. He was arrested on Gordon Rd (Pacific Highway), where the putt-putt golf park sits today. Brown then confessed to shooting Sergeant Hickey.
Pymble Police Station
The Brown Family Testifies
The Brown family testified that the police entered the property illegally, attacked Brown, and pushed him into the bedroom. Sergeant Hickey then attempted to strangle Brown before obtaining a revolver, conveniently sitting on a chest of draws in the bedroom, with the intent to shoot him. However, the mightier Brown managed to overpower Hickey, and the revolver was discharged while in Hickey’s possession. They also allege Constable Barclay ran away scared after the first shot was fired. They claim not to have seen Hickey get shot because he got up and casually walked out after.
Brown faced trial for murdering Sergeant Hickey on three separate occasions. The first trial resulted in a hung jury, and in the second trial was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging. However, the sentence was commuted to life in prison, and then he was given the right to appeal the verdict.
At the third trial, the jury could not be sure beyond a reasonable doubt who fired the shot that killed Hickey. Their verdict was not guilty of murder or manslaughter. The judge acquitted Brown, who walked out of court a free man. However, the police immediately arrested him on the charge of lunacy. He was declared insane by a court and interned in the Callan Park Asylum until he was released in 1916.
Records show Brown to have been a violent and disturbed man. His wife divorced him on the grounds of violent abuse (he threatened to shoot her). He was required to pay maintenance but was arrested by Sergeant Hickey several times for not paying. In addition, he developed a complex about being persecuted by the government, filing litigations against dozens of government officials, judges, police, and the press between 1900 and 1913. He believed the government conspired against him.
Brown even demanded the NSW Department of Justice protect him, or else he would be compelled to defend his family with lethal force.
Having read many documents relating to the Coroner’s report and the three trials, it is of my opinion that Brown was indeed guilty of murdering Sergeant Hickey. However, as all the witnesses have long since passed away, unfortunately, the truth was taken to the grave with them.
Sgt Edwin Hickey
So, what became of Brown’s orchard?
In 1920, various men in the district discovered that a cow paddock on Brown’s orchard was ideal for playing golf. So, they decided to purchase the land from the Brown family to develop into an exclusive golf club called Pymble Golf Club. According to the club, the first six holes lay on Brown’s Orchard, perhaps even on the spot where poor Sergeant Hickey was shot to death.
Sergeant John Stuart Hickey today rests in the St Johns Anglican Church Cemetery on St Johns Road Gordon. He was the Sergeant of Pymble Police Station for 25 years.
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Elliot Lindsay hosts Murders Most Foul, Sydney’s True Crime Walking Tours.
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