Arthur Upfield is one Australia’s most underrated writers.
His literary contributions often remain overshadowed by the brilliance of his peers.
Upfield published his first book,The House of Cain, in 1929.
It is about an innocent woman who was accused and convicted of murder, and sentenced to hang.
The murderer should be able to execute it using tools or materials that were readily available.
Faced with this conundrum, Upfield approached his friend George Ritchie.
A boundary rider with his cart and two horses.
Arthur Upfield would have used a similar cart, but pulled by two camels.
Upfield thought the method was flawless, but maybe it was too flawless.
Even with Bony’s superhuman intelligence, it seemed unsolvable.
But neither Upfield nor Ritchie could spot any such mistake.
Rowles regarded Ritchies obsession with murder with distaste, and rode off without replying.
They were destined for Ryans station, some distance away.
Several days later, Ritchie arrived at Camel Station claiming he had met a prospector named James Yates.
Yates had told Ritchie that he had seen Rowles driving a car alone.
Snowy Rowles with James Ryan’s car.
Rowles later told another person he had purchased Ryan’s truck for 80.
At Paynesville, a mining town east of Mount Magnet, Rowles was seen cashing Carron’s pay cheque.
Soon it became apparent that Carron was missing.
Just like Carron, they were last seen with Rowles.
Rowles was arrested and sent back to prison.
Later, he was charged for the murder of Carron.
However, the breaking up bones into fragments was unusual and suspicious.
Circumstantial evidences pointed to a triple murder.
Consequently, the prosecution struggled to establish conclusive evidence connecting Rowles to the murders of Ryan and Lloyd.
At his trial, Rowles denied murdering Carron.
The jury voted him guilty anyway.
He was hanged at Fremantle Prison on 13 June 1932.
The novel earned him many accolades in the media and among fellow writers.
Upfield went on to write more than 30 books and countless short stories.
In the 1970s, Australian television aired a series calledBoneybased on the character created by Upfield.
References:#The Murchison Murdersby Arthur W. Upfield
