Part 2....
In April 1864, Catherine and the children decided to sell the farm, for what they could get, and join Jarvey in Dunedin as it was obvious that he was not going to return.
It is known that the relationship between the Captain and his wife had cooled, and it was reported that Jarvey was well known around the Otago Harbour district in the company of another younger woman. The situation deteriorated further when, in August, Jarvey was accused of adultery by his wife and she was severely beaten and left unconscious during the argument that followed.
A few days later Jarvey bought a strychnine based poison to rid his ship of alleged ‘persistent’ rats - and Mrs. Jarvey became ill but recovered after a severe vomiting attack.
On September 22nd. Jarvey complained to the chemist that the poison had only made the ‘rats’ sick - and then purchased some pure strychnine to finish them off.
Mrs. Catherine Jarvey died late on the evening of September 26th., after eating a hearty meal, and the attending doctor’s death certificate was made out stating that her demise was caused by an ‘epileptic fit’.
Within three months, however, Catherine’s eldest daughter, 18y.o. Elizabeth, had gone to police and gave information that led to the case being re-opened. Catherine’s body was exhumed and traces of the rat poison were found.
Jarvey was brought to trial but, after the jury had heard the evidence presented during the six day proceedings, they could not reach a verdict. There seemed to be no apparent motive and Jarvey’s previous good character created a deadlock that could not be resolved. The Jury were discharged after deliberating for 40 hours and a retrial was ordered by the judge.
In September 1864, the second jury convicted Jarvey at his second trial of killing his wife on the second attempt. Jarvey swore his innocence but the judge was not moved by his ‘hypocrisy’ and sentenced him to death by hanging.
On October 25th. 1865, it is reported that Jarvey shook hands with his gaolers and then calmly walked onto the scaffold and that his last words to his executioner were "God bless you, Sir!"
He was the first criminal to be executed in the Province of Otago, New Zealand.
In his very informative books on Tasmanian Tokens, Roger McNeice O.A.M., F.R.N.S., has detailed the known tokens issued by Jarvey - plus one that has been reported as "very rare.... there is a die crack running from the top of the central ball (on the pawnbrokers traditional symbol that Jarvey used as trademark) up along the side."
Like this rarity amongst Tasmanian tokens, Captain William Andrew Jarvey also appears to have had a fatal flaw.
Source:
http://www.vision.net.au/~pwood/Oct01.htmMinniehaha.
