Colonial Convict No 10532; Gaoled at Fremantle 21/12/1897, Ticket of Leave 10/2/1903.  Listed as being a Protestant squatter of slight appearance and sallow complexion, aged 23 when convicted.

Ernest William Anderson was tried at the Supreme Court Perth for the murder of an Aboriginal named "Spider" at Bendhu Station. The trial showcased how the man and his brother, Alexander, had flogged an Aboriginal man and two Aboriginal women by tying them up with ropes and flogging them to death.

The bodies were exhumed and a post mortem carried out, revealing the broken shoulder blades on each of them and the lacerations to their backs. Anderson was also accused of the inhuman flogging of two mere girls - one aged 10, the other 12. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury deliberated for two hours before delivering a verdict of manslaughter rather than murder. The Judge, Chief Justice Sir Alexander Onslow, said: "... the jury have taken a very lenient view of the case; that nobody who heard the evidence can have the shadow of a doubt as to the crime committed. Your crime is nothing but that of a deliberate brutal, base, and cruel murder." In summary, Judge Onslow said he would impose "...the most severe sentence that lies in my power. You are sentenced to penal servitude for life."

Six years later, Anderson was granted a Ticket of Leave and released from gaol in secrecy amid considerable controversy for the act of leniency that was shown to him. His brother, Alexander Edwin Anderson, died in the Fremantle Gaol hospital of typhoid fever in December 1897, aged 19 years.

This plaque is in memory of Spider, Biddy and Polly, three Aboriginals who died brutally at the hands of Ernest William Anderson in 1897. His story appears in this website as No 0343. Ernest William Anderson was tried at the Supreme Court Perth for the murder of an Aboriginal named "Spider" at Bendhu Station. The trial showcased how the man and his brother, Alexander, had flogged an Aboriginal man and two Aboriginal women by tying them up with ropes and flogging them to death. The bodies were exhumed and a post mortem carried out, revealing the broken shoulder blades on each of them and the lacerations to their backs. Anderson was also accused of the inhuman flogging of two mere girls - one aged 10, the other 12. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury deliberated for two hours before delivering a verdict of manslaughter rather than murder. The Judge, Chief Justice Sir Alexander Onslow, said: "... the jury have taken a very lenient view of the case; that nobody who heard the evidence can have the shadow of a doubt as to the crime committed. Your crime is nothing but that of a deliberate brutal, base, and cruel murder." In summary, Judge Onslow said he would impose "...the most severe sentence that lies in my power. You are sentenced to penal servitude for life." Six years later, Anderson was granted a Ticket of Leave and released from gaol in secrecy amid considerable controversy for the act of leniency that was shown to him. His brother, Alexander Edwin Anderson, died in the Fremantle Gaol hospital of typhoid fever in December 1897, aged 19 years.

This plaque is in memory of Spider, Biddy and Polly, three Aboriginals who died brutally at the hands of Ernest William Anderson in 1897. His story appears in this website as No 0343. Ernest William Anderson was tried at the Supreme Court Perth for the murder of an Aboriginal named "Spider" at Bendhu Station. The trial showcased how the man and his brother, Alexander, had flogged an Aboriginal man and two Aboriginal women by tying them up with ropes and flogging them to death. The bodies were exhumed and a post mortem carried out, revealing the broken shoulder blades on each of them and the lacerations to their backs. Anderson was also accused of the inhuman flogging of two mere girls - one aged 10, the other 12. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury deliberated for two hours before delivering a verdict of manslaughter rather than murder. The Judge, Chief Justice Sir Alexander Onslow, said: "... the jury have taken a very lenient view of the case; that nobody who heard the evidence can have the shadow of a doubt as to the crime committed. Your crime is nothing but that of a deliberate brutal, base, and cruel murder." In summary, Judge Onslow said he would impose "...the most severe sentence that lies in my power. You are sentenced to penal servitude for life." Six years later, Anderson was granted a Ticket of Leave and released from gaol in secrecy amid considerable controversy for the act of leniency that was shown to him. His brother, Alexander Edwin Anderson, died in the Fremantle Gaol hospital of typhoid fever in December 1897, aged 19 years.

This plaque is in memory of Spider, Biddy and Polly, three Aboriginals who died brutally at the hands of Ernest William Anderson in 1897. His story appears in this website as No 0343. Ernest William Anderson was tried at the Supreme Court Perth for the murder of an Aboriginal named "Spider" at Bendhu Station. The trial showcased how the man and his brother, Alexander, had flogged an Aboriginal man and two Aboriginal women by tying them up with ropes and flogging them to death. The bodies were exhumed and a post mortem carried out, revealing the broken shoulder blades on each of them and the lacerations to their backs. Anderson was also accused of the inhuman flogging of two mere girls - one aged 10, the other 12. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury deliberated for two hours before delivering a verdict of manslaughter rather than murder. The Judge, Chief Justice Sir Alexander Onslow, said: "... the jury have taken a very lenient view of the case; that nobody who heard the evidence can have the shadow of a doubt as to the crime committed. Your crime is nothing but that of a deliberate brutal, base, and cruel murder." In summary, Judge Onslow said he would impose "...the most severe sentence that lies in my power. You are sentenced to penal servitude for life."

Six years later, Anderson was granted a Ticket of Leave and released from gaol in secrecy amid considerable controversy for the act of leniency that was shown to him. His brother, Alexander Edwin Anderson, died in the Fremantle Gaol hospital of typhoid fever in December 1897, aged 19 years.