Writing the Death of Joseph Luker: True Crime Reportage in Colonial Sydney

Writing the Death of Joseph Luker: True Crime Reportage in Colonial Sydney single work criticism

Author:agent Rachel Franks

Issue Details: First known date: 2017... 2017 Writing the Death of Joseph Luker: True Crime Reportage in Colonial Sydney

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'Capital punishment was common practice in the early decades of colonial Australia: the malefactor swinging from the end of a hangman’s noose a well-known sight. Crimes of anti-social behaviour, food and forgery were of central concern to the early colonists, with the criminal act most likely to result in an executioner plying his craft being the stealing of food. The first person hanged in the new colony, for the theft of butter, peas and pork provisions, was young Thomas Barrett, executed one month and one day after the arrival of the First Fleet in New South Wales. Murder quickly followed crimes motivated by greed, hunger, and slovenliness, with punishment for such acts also quickly applied by administrators. Yet, the very brutal murder, in Sydney in August 1803, of Constable Joseph Luker – the first officer of the law to be slain in the pursuit of his duty in Australia – went largely unpunished due to a lack of evidence and a twist of fate. This paper discusses the death of Constable Luker and how his story was written, and offers a brief analysis of the non-death of those considered responsible for such a violent crime in the context of the colony’s punishment systems.' (Publication abstract)

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y TEXT Special Issue Website Series Writing Death and Dying no. 45 October 2017 12941635 2017 periodical issue Abstract
'In October 2016, the editor of this Special Issue convened the second Australasian Death Studies Network (ADSN) conference in Noosa, Queensland. This event gathered a significant number of scholars and creative practitioners who were interested in exploring the symbolic and representational possibilities of the processes of death and dying. Following on from the first multi-disciplinary conference that established the ADSN the year before, this conference continued discussion and investigation into a range of cultural, humanities and social areas that conduct research into death and dying, including the creative arts, popular culture and health. There was a very strong representation of creative writers and creative writing researchers interested in these topics. These scholars and creative practitioners explored a wide range of topics including: representations of death and dying in literature, visual art and the media, music and various types of popular culture; Gothic representations of death, dying and the undead; and writing about death and dying across cultures and historical periods. Writing about gender, ageing and trauma in relation to death and dying were also discussed, as were transgression, murder and crime fiction. The keynote address, ‘A day in the life of a funeral director’, was not only a highlight of the conference, but provided a heady measure of realism to the deliberations.' (Donna Lee Brien : Introduction)
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