Paper no.41, 20 February 1881

TEXT: Brisbane / T. Lullus / 28/2/81 / / Dear / / I now take the Pleasure in writing you these few lines hoping it will reach you and find you well as it leaves me only midlin at Present, I have been working on the Maryborough & Gympie line of Railway. not forgetting to tell you that the letter of Recommendation I got from Nicolison's it is no good to me he says in his letter that it is only two months since I left the Police Force wherein it is near three months since first Presented the First letter to Seymour but however there is no chance in getting in to the Queensland Force. / / Jack Brown is over here working in a sawmill I have seen him once since I came here I do not expect to see Victoria for some years to come I do not expect to get in to the Victorian Force again I hear that the Big fellow spoke very hard against us over there I will never forget the look and Cowdly manner in which Nichlos, treated me. I would liked to have stoped in the Force there for another two years I would have made it ……. to some of them tell Matison that it was a …….on my part to take away his …….that I will see him some day. / / let me now in answer to this letter what Skeritt is doing in Melbourne if you see him tell him he is a dam fool to go back there. Remember me to Sergeant …….. tell him I have not got over the frights he used to put me in / I have not made the acquaintance of any one since I came here. / /

OTHER TEXT: Letter from Willie Sherritt in Queensland. Answer this letter as soon as possible / Yours / Address / W S / / General Post Office / Brisbane / Queensland / / / / when you read this letter Burned [sic] it

This is part of the digitized version of the Francis Hare Correspondence held in the University of Melbourne Archives. It consists of 54 letters and documents, of which this is one, from 1859-87 and received by or relating to Superintendent Francis Hare, one of the members of the Victoria police force involved in the pursuit and capture of the Kelly Gang. The collection complements Hare’s published memoir, The Last of the Bushrangers (London, 1892) and includes letters by some of the key figures of the Kelly story including the Police Commissioner Frederick Standish, Superintendents Charles Hope Nicolson and John Sadleir, Detective M Ward and John Sherritt, as well as items by Hare himself.