Horror in the bush: The grisly tale of the Kenniff murder spree
When two bush bandits killed a policeman and a cattle station manager it was just the start of the horror.
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After bush bandits Patrick and Jim Kenniff slaughtered a policeman and another man in 1902, the horror did not stop there.
It’s what the depraved brothers did to the bodies that makes it one of Australia’s grisliest murder tales.
The Kenniff killings is the subject of a new episode of the free In Black and White podcast on Australia’s forgotten characters:
The story is told by Helen Goltz and Chris Adams in the latest edition of their Grave Tales series of books: Scenic Rim & Surrounds Queensland.
In the lead-up to the murders, Patrick came to blows with a man named Albert Dahlke, the fearless manager of Carnarvon Station, who had been given the unenviable job of running the cattle-stealing Kenniffs out of the region.
After Dahlke beat Patrick in a horse race, Patrick accused him of using dirty tactics, which sparked a fist fight.
“Dahlke belted the daylights out of Paddy Kenniff and turned him into a bloody mess,” Chris says.
“Naturally, Paddy Kenniff didn’t take it too well.
“And when Dahlke, without bitterness, leant over to offer his hand, Paddy is reported to have said to him, ‘You bastard, I’ll get you for this, just see if I don’t.’”
In his campaign to drive out the Kenniffs, Dahlke burnt down timber huts and holding yards that had been built on Crown land, because he believed they were used for hiding stolen cattle and horses.
Eventually, police caught up with the Kenniffs at Easter 1902 at Lethbridge’s Pocket in the wild Warrego Range.
Senior Constable George Doyle, 32, and Aboriginal tracker Corporal Sam Johnson were accompanied by Dahlke, 26.
Johnson, the tracker, saw Doyle and Dahlke catch Jim Kenniff, and pull him off his saddle.
“Constable Doyle then ordered his corporal, Sam, back to get their pack horses while he restrained Jim Kenniff by the right arm,” Chris says.
“While riding off, Johnson heard five shots.”
Before he knew it, Johnson was galloping, terrified, with Paddy and Jim Kenniff in fast pursuit.
The tracker escaped, but when he returned both Doyle and Dahlke had vanished.
Two days later, a search party found Constable Doyle’s horse wandering aimlessly.
When the saddlebags were opened, the ghastly nature of what had happened was revealed.
Inside was Doyle’s revolver, some brass buttons, spurs and handcuffs.
“But there was also something that must have absolutely staggered the men who found it,” Chris says.
“Inside the bags were ashes, charred bones, human teeth, a quantity of partly burned fat and a mass of congealed blood – a truly horrifying discovery.”
Later two skulls and more human teeth were found nearby.
The Kenniffs were caught after a huge manhunt.
Paddy, 39, was hanged for the double murder.
Jim’s death sentence was commuted.
He served 12 years in prison, and died of cancer in 1940.
Listen to the interview about the Kenniff murder spree with Chris Adams in the In Black and White podcast on iTunes, Spotify or web.
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