Erub artist pursued ex-partner with machete and swung it at her head

An Erub Island arts worker punched his partner in the head, then armed himself with a machete to find her at a bus stop after they broke up, a court has been told.

Solomon Charlie swung a machete at his ex-partner’s head at a city bus stop, with a family member of the woman deflecting the blow with a shopping bag.

An Erub Island arts worker punched his partner twice in one night then armed himself with a 38cm machete to find her the next day and swung the weapon towards her head at the Lake Street city bus stop, a court has been told.

A family member “deflected” the blow by swinging a shopping bag between the machete and the woman’s head on March 30, 2025, the court was told.

Solomon Simon Charlie, 46, pleaded guilty to five offences in Cairns Magistrates Court, including assault occasioning bodily harm, possessing a weapon in a public place and common assault.

Defence lawyer Corey McKibbin said Charlie conceded he was upset about the break-up of the relationship the night before and had intended to “cause fear” with the machete.

Mr McKibbin said Charlie had not been in trouble with the law for 19 years, living a law-abiding life as an arts worker on Erub Island, but since returning to Cairns, had not been working and was drinking on the night of the assault.

Solomon Charlie, 46, pleaded guilty to possessing a weapon in a public place, assault occasioning bodily harm and common assault over two attacks on his partner in March this year.

He said Charlie and his partner had been drinking and watching the football with family and friends in Manoora on the evening of the assault.

Magistrate Michael Dalton described Charlie’s behaviour as “really bad offending” and a very serious example of a common assault.

“Let’s look at the behaviour here – he’s just assaulted (his partner) the night before, punching her in the head, causing her to seek refuge in a women’s shelter, then seeks her out the following day, armed with a 38cm machete, raises the machete above his head, and takes a swing at her head region – it is really bad,” Mr Dalton said.

“I find it very serious that you have, in a premeditated way, sought her out, while armed with a machete – a 38cm machete – which I can only infer that you were, at the least, going to frighten her or harm her.

“She said that your face was blank and expressionless. You swung the machete at her in public, at a bus stop. The level of fear must have been high.

“This is really bad offending.”

Magistrate Michael Dalton sentenced Charlie to two years’ imprisonment for his “incredibly violent” behaviour towards his partner.

Mr Dalton sentenced Charlie to two years’ imprisonment, with a parole release date of November 30, 2025, to take into account his guilty plea and remorse.

He urged Charlie to seek help for the underlying issues that have led to his violent behaviour, saying he was a risk to his intimate partners and could receive higher jail sentences if he did not get help.

“It is a concerning feature of your personality that when you are angry and upset, you can behave in an incredibly violent way and that is something that is working inside of you that you have not addressed,” Mr Dalton said.

“Find out why it is that when you are upset, you behave in such an appalling way.”

Originally published as Erub artist pursued ex-partner with machete and swung it at her head