Thomas Clarkson - THE GHOST OF FISHER'S
CREEK
On the 20 May 1822, Thomas Clarkson, dealer, sold to
Daniel Cooper(45)
30 acres of land which was part of a grant of 140 acres issued by the
Governor to Joseph Phelps on 8 October 1816.(46) The land was situated
at Airds (Campbelltown), bounded on the NE by McCudden's Farm, bearing
SE to the Airds road and bounded by that road on the other two
sides.(47) This land was to be the stage for an incident which has
become part of the district's folklore.
Joseph Phelps sold the land to Thomas Clarkson
sometime prior to 1820
and Clarkson in turn sold the land to Daniel Cooper as part payment on
a mortgage. The land was subsequently bought by Frederick Fisher (an
ex-convict) who offered a brick building and a stone building already
on the ground to the Government for use as a barracks.
On the evening of 17 June 1826 Fisher left a
Campbelltown Inn with his
friends and was never seen alive again. His associate George Worrall, a
ticket of leave man, with whom Fisher lived, said his friend had left
the country suddenly to avoid a charge of forgery and had given him
(Worrall) the authority to manage the farm in his absence. Worrall sold
off some of the stock and offered to pay the debt on the property in
exchange for the deeds to the land.
Nothing was done about Fisher's disappearance for
four months until a
man named Farley, reported being terrified by the sighting of Fisher's
"ghost". The ghost, he claimed was sitting on the sliprails of a fence
and was pointing to a spot in the paddock. On investigation, bloodmarks
were noticed on the fence and with the aid of a blacktracker Fisher's
body was found buried in the marshes near the creek.
George Worrall was ultimately convicted of the
murder and before his
execution he confessed to having killed Fisher. The former owner of the
property, Daniel Cooper was a witness at the trial.(48)
Today the 30 acres fronts Queen Street right in the
heart of
Campbelltown and the spot where Fisher's body was found, lies under the
main southern railway line.
Page last updated - 7 July
2006