Australia's youngest murderer
Seven-year-old Robert John Davis cut a lonely, small vulnerable figure in the large courtroom, as he looked with curiosity at all that went on around him. Sadly though, the judge, solicitors and onlookers were there because he had murdered his 2.5 year old half-brother.
As Robert's mother, Francis Ann Robertson, went off to do the washing in nearby Irishtown, a small bush community in the north-west of Tasmania, on that fateful day in June, 1908, and her husband, George McKay Robertson, went to work, Robert was placed in charge if his little half-brother Alexander Robertson. As they were walking through the bush, as is wont with little children, Alick, as he was known, got tired and Robert had to carry him.
When his step-father returned home, he noticed only Robert was there and he asked where Alexander was. The young boy replied that a hyena got him. George pressed him further and Robert finally admitted that Alick had fallen off his back as he was carrying him. The father went searching for his young son and finally found him in a hole in the bush about a mile from the home.
Little Alick's head was severely battered but he was still alive. Sadly, despite his father's best efforts to save him, he died about two hours later. The truth finally came out when Robert was questioned at an inquest. He admitted that when he got tired carrying Alick all the way home, he picked up a piece of wood and whacked him over the head twice, before putting him in the hole.
But what to do with a seven-year-old who has battered his little brother, causing him to die?
He was charged with murder and taken to court, but after much discussion a nolle prosequi was entered, due to the age of the defendant. This is where a prosecutor decides to drop or discontinue a criminal charge. This was decided after his grieving mother and step-father were willing for him to be taken away.
So, Robert didn't get off scott free, as he was sent away from his family and was handed over to the Department for Neglected Children in Launceston, where he was boarded out to Mrs Sarah Elmore. He was known under the name of Robert Robertson, after his step-father. When his schooling was finished at 14 years old, he was apprenticed out, working on the farm of Mrs Elmore's daughter, Mrs Martha Goodyer.
When Robert turned 18, he was noted as having done well for himself and was working in the Campbell Town area in Tasmania before leaving official records.
Alexander Robertson was buried in Irishtown Cemetery.
References
'A Pathetic Scene', The Albury Banner and Wodonga Express', Friday 3 July, 1908, Page 32
'Remarkable Murder Case', Casino and Kyogle Courier and North Coast Advertiser, Wednesday 24 June 1908, Page 4
'Irish Town Tragedy', Daily Telegraph, Saturday, 20 June, 1908, Page 8
'Irish Town Tragedy', The Mercury, Monday 22 June, 1908, Page 5
'John Robert Davies - Department For Neglected Children' files SWD1/1/369, Libraries Tasmania, accessed 29th September, 2026, libraries.tas.gov.au
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