By Irma Walter, 2022.
Ernest Vantell (alias Vintell, Vandill, Ventall, Vautell) is one of the more intriguing characters among the convicts who came to Western Australia. A storyteller in his own right, Ernest enjoyed giving various accounts of his early years in France, his subsequent arrest in London and the reason for his early release in WA. It has been difficult to prove the veracity of some of his claims, which were published in various Australian newspapers over the years. During my research, I have at times rejected many of his claims to fame, only to doubt my decision when yet another skerrick of information indicates that there could be an element of truth to his stories.
Questions, questions!
Was he just a French (or Swiss, German or Italian?) bootmaker, recently married to an Englishwoman in 1864, convicted on a second charge of larceny for stealing bags from their owners in London? Or was he one of two detectives sent over from France on a secret mission to arrest an absconder, but instead allowed the captured offender to go free, in exchange for his stolen loot, valued at £4,000? Was Ernest a trained deep-sea diver in France, who at one stage had twenty or thirty men employed under him at Toulon or Algiers? Was he employed as a French chef by the Governor of Western Australia during the visits of the Duke of Edinburgh in 1869-70, making such an impression on the Royal guest that he was subsequently granted an early release? Or was he a fantasist, embellishing his stories just for the fun of it? You be the judge!
Official convict records regarding Ernest Vantell are brief and rather prosaic. We learn that by September 1862 Ernest was working in London as a bootmaker, where he was arrested and then convicted at the Surrey Sessions on 20 October, on a charge of stealing a portmanteau, the property of Frederick Bishop. For that crime he was sentenced to 18 months’ hard labour at Wandsworth.[1]
Following his release he remained in London, employed again as a bootmaker. In the September quarter of 1864 ‘Ernst Vandell’ married 19-year-old Esther Ann Float.[2] [She was born in 1844 in the Eastbourne District of Sussex, the daughter of James Float, shoemaker, and his wife Ann. [3]]
A few months later Ernest was again arrested, facing a charge at the Clerkenwell Sessions in Middlesex of larceny and receiving property, well-knowing the same to have been stolen. Taking into account his previous conviction, he was sentenced to penal servitude for seven years.[4] The names of two next-of-kin were recorded as Vantell’s wife Esther Flot (Float), and the second listed as ‘Care of Sergt. Flot (Float), City Police, London’.[5] [No information has been found regarding Sergeant Float.]
Few details of the case appeared in London newspapers –
West London Observer, 26 November 1864
Awaiting transportation, Vantell spent time in a Convict Hulk at Chatham.[6] On 24 March 1867 the Governor of Chatham Prison made the decision that Ernest Vintell would not regain his 2nd class status until he regained 240 marks in each class.[7] Soon afterwards the decision was made for him to be taken onboard the Norwood, for transportation to WA.[8] Addition to Probation was prescribed in the Ship List – 42 days. His Character – Indifferent.[9]
Arrival in Western Australia
Recorded on arrival on 13 July 1867 in Western Australia as ‘Ernest Vintell’, he was described as aged 33 (?), 5’4½’, with brown hair, grey eyes, a square face, pale complexion and healthy. He was a bootmaker by trade, married, with no children. On his left arm was a tattoo of a dancing girl with the word ‘Rigolette’ beneath. The ship’s surgeon, when recording the literacy levels of the convicts, noted that Ernest Vintell had previously attended a Parisian C. (Catholic?) School[10], which suggests that during his childhood the Vantell family had lived in France. [European borders were fluid around that time. It is of interest that ten of the thirty Pensioner Guards escorting the convicts onboard the Norwood were veterans of the Crimean War, an experience they presumably shared with Ernest Vantell.]
Once in WA, Ernest reverted to the Vantell surname. He enjoyed telling his own colourful version of why he went to England and the reasons for his arrest and subsequent charge of larceny in 1864. He claimed that he was a French detective, sent to England to track down a French offender who had absconded with a bag of money. He said that after tracking the man down, he and a fellow detective had released him, in exchange for a sum of £4000.[11]
Vantell’s background has been difficult to trace, with even his nationality in question. At the time of his conviction in London in 1864 his nationality was given as Italian. When in Australia, he claimed Switzerland as his birthplace. Several stories repeated in Australian newspapers over the years state that at one stage he had served in the French army, receiving medals such as the Legion of Honor. With European borders changing frequently during those years, and a lack of complete lists of medal participants in the various wars, it has been difficult to prove the truth of Vantell’s claims. Here is one version of his story –
An Eventful Career.
ADELAIDE, Wednesday.
An old and celebrated crime was recalled in the Criminal Court on Tuesday. Ernest Vantell, who is 62 years of age, was charged with stealing, and after his address to the jury, he said, in reply to questions, that in 1864, he was a member of the smartest detective corps in Europe, in the French service. A gay Parisian, who held an office of great trust and responsibility, decamped, taking with him L4000 in cash. The defaulter was traced to London by Vantell and a fellow detective, and they arrested him there, but instead of casting him into gaol, prisoner said, “We let him go and took the L4000 ourselves.” For this he was arrested and transported to Western Australia, the same year, for seven years. He had held the Legion of Honor,[12] the Turkish Medal, and the order of the Medfidie, but was stripped of all his decorations on conviction.
He was about 32 years of age at the time, and after serving three years in Western Australia, H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh secured his liberation, his behavior having been all that could be desired, and also presented him with L20. Prisoner said he acted as servant to Marshal MacMahon during the time he was campaigning, and the Governor of Western Australia, ascertaining that he was an excellent French chef, secured his services at Government-house. It was the tempting menu that he placed before the nautical Duke which led to the Prince taking an interest in him, and eventually assisting to make him a free man. Then he found his way to the Eastern colonies, and finally landed in Queensland, where he was engaged by the police as a revenue officer. Leaving this after many adventures, he settled in South Australia, worked steadily, but after the lapse of so many years he appeared in the Criminal Court, and his history was made public.
Vantell, whose life has been a stirring and eventful one, will now have a season of rest and a time for meditation, as, being found guilty, his Honor sentenced him to 12 months.[13]
His record in WA
9/10/67 – Disobedience of orders at Perth – reprimanded and cautioned.
18/12/67 – Special remission, one month.
11/9/68 – Ticket of Leave sent to RM, Perth – destroyed.
12/9/68 – General Servant, 30/- per month, employer J. Christie, Perth.[14]
13/9/68 – Discharged to Ticket of Leave.
15/11/68 – Shoemaker, piecework, employer C.H. Brown, Perth.
31/12/68 – Ditto, £3 per month.
18/2/69 – E. Vintell in court for not reporting his lodgings to the police, cautioned.[15]
30/6/69 – Shoemaker, £2 and 5/- per month, employer Geo. Young, Perth.
1/9/69 – To Perth Prison.
2/9/69 – Shoemaker, piecework, employer W. Britnell, Perth.
31/12/69 – Shoemaker, 27/- per week, ditto.
2/12/70 – New Ticket of Leave certificate sent to RM, Perth, accidentally (indecipherable)
5/12/70 – Shoemaker, piecework, W. Britnell, Perth.
31/12/70 – Ditto, 25/- per week.
22/11/70 – Ernest Vintell, c.r. (conditional release), at Perth, drunk and disorderly and making use of obscene language in Hay street. Fined 20s. Paid.[16] Received Conditional Release.
16/1/71 – Out after hours, 25/- fine paid. Conditional Release cancelled.
30/6/71 – Shoemaker, £2 per month, J. & W. Britnell, Perth.
23/8/71 – Idling around public houses – fine 10/- paid. Conditional Release returned.[17]
1872 – Ernest Vantell married Mary Jane Elizabeth Scott, daughter of Elizabeth and James Scott, warder, whose family arrived in WA in 1864 onboard the Merchantman.[18]
6/7/72 – Extract from evidence given by Vintell (Vantell) as a witness at the trial of William Stubberfield for arson. [Note the reason given by Vantell for his transportation.] –
Herald, 6 July 1872.
4/3/1873 – Ernest’s marriage to Mary Jane was soon experiencing difficulties –
NOTICE.
THE public are cautioned that I will not be responsible for any debts contracted by my wife Mary Jane Vantell after this date.
ERNEST VANTELL. Perth, 4th March, 1873.[19]
However, they went on to have four children, Ernest (1874), James William, (Perth, 1875), Gertrude May (…..?) and Charlotte Frances (Perth, 1877).
12/2/78 – Repeated idleness, reprimanded and discharged.
5/1/78 – Making away with a pair of fustion trousers, Government property – the value to be his gratuity.
26/7/78 – Ernest Vantell sailed to Adelaide, per Otway.[20]
According to Rica Erickson, Ernest Vantell was at some stage a self-employed bootmaker, with premises situated in Murray Street, Perth, and in Fremantle, employing 27 Ticket of Leave men between 1870 and 1874.[21]
The following humorous account, published much later in 1928, paints a vivid picture of Vantell’s bootmaking premises in Hay Street, Perth, and some of the activities which took place there –
THIS WEEK’S BEST TALE.
“Play Up Te Organ.”
ABOUT 55 years ago, on the north side of Hay-street, Perth, a few doors east from King-street—stood Vancell’s (or Vantell’s) boot-maker’s shop. The front wall was right on the street alignment, and the floor some five or six feet high, with steps at one side. “Frenchy” had a barrel organ, operated by his wife to entertain his customers. The boys, of course, congregated below the window to enjoy the music, and more especially to hear the instructions of the owner, which seldom varied. They ran thus: -“Play up te organ, Mary Jane, while te young gentlemen’s gets measured for dere poots. Turn te hantle, Mary Jane. Dere goes te cornopean. Dis is te pest leetle instrument in te town. Turn te hantle, Mary Jane. Dere she goes again.”
Once there was a lull for a few weeks, and we listened in vain. It seems that Frenchy took the instrument to the races, and after he had worn himself out turning “te hantle,” some young fellows borrowed it and gave an entertainment, with disastrous results to Frenchy’s instrument. When it was mended, and got going again, this is what we heard : —”Play up te organ, Mary Jane. Dere goes te cornopean; not so good; never be so good again, Gus Roe did borrow mine organ, and preak it all to beezes.” (By C. H. Stone, of Hamilton Hill.)[22]
Like Father, Like Son
Whether Ernest’s wife and family accompanied him to Adelaide in 1878 is not known. They were there in 1883 when their eldest son, Ernest Vantell, a juvenile, was first arrested for stealing. At the time he was a 9-year-old schoolboy, living with his parents in Carrington Street, Adelaide, when he was convicted, along with another boy, of stealing 50 yards of cashmere, value 50/-, from the premises of Thomas Leitch. On 19 September 1883, young Ernest was taken on board the Reformatory Hulk Fitzjames,[23] to remain there until aged 16. However he was released on petition on 15 September 1885 and handed to his mother onboard the South Australian, bound for Freemantle (sic).[24] A second entry describes him as Wesleyan, released to his parents leaving the Colony in the ss South Australian.[25] [Probably among the un-named 35 steerage passengers onboard. No record has been found that his father travelled to WA with his family.]
The criminal career of Ernest Vantell (jnr) continued into adulthood in Western Australia.
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Western Australian newspapers continued to report stories about Ernest Vantell (snr), even after he had left the Colony. The following article confirms that he had some experience as a diver, a dangerous undertaking in those days –
1880 – Fremantle An Old Acquaintance. — In perusing a South Australian contemporary we notice that an old acquaintance, Ernest Vantell, has lately been assisting in endeavoring to remove the Orient steamer Sorata from the perilous position in which she now lies in South Australian waters. Vantell has been engaged as a diver, at 25s. per diem, for some time, but through an accident had the misfortune to be taken from the water on one occasion heels upwards — this ridiculous circumstance meriting a notice in the Adelaide Punch. Vantell, or as he was better known here by the euphonious sobriquet of ‘Frenchy,’ is a shoemaker by trade, but regardless of the adage about the ‘shoe-maker sticking to his last’, indulged his musical propensities in the purchase of a barrel-organ, with which he perambulated the streets at night, accompanied by a crowd of small boys, whose reward for carrying ‘mine orkan’ was a turn or two at ‘the hantle.’ The stranding of the sugar-laden French ship Emilienne at Fremantle, some few years ago, established Vantell’s reputation as a diver, for, together with a number of men engaged in pumping, he assisted in floating the stranded vessel.[26]
[WRECK OF THE EMILIENNE.—In reference to this vessel the Western Australian Commercial Report and Prices Current published the following account:—”We have to record the stranding, and we fear loss, of the French barque Emilienne, which parted her cables and went ashore on some rocks near the entrance of the Swan during a moderate gale on the night of the 30th October. Her cargo, 75 tons of sugar, was entirely lost, and it is doubtful if the vessel will be got off. Tenders for pumping her dry and getting her afloat were invited by the agents, Messrs. Bickley & Co., but as there was no satisfactory tender offered the Government were applied to for assistance, and 40 convicts were placed at the agents’ disposal to do what they could to get the vessel afloat.[27]
Note: Following repairs, the Emilienne finally left WA in July 1874 with a cargo of sleepers bound for Lacepede Bay.[28]]
1885 – Ernest Vantel, a shoemaker, who is not quite unknown to the police of this colony, has lately been again in trouble in Adelaide, where on several occasions he has made his bow before the police magistrate for the commission of offences against peace and good order. On this occasion he has varied his penchant for developing acts of a predatory nature by illtreating a lady acquaintance named Price, by blacking her eyes, on which charge he was ‘detained’ and was likely, subsequently, to find his way to gaol.[29]
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Ernest Vantell’s Court and newspaper records in South Australia paint a picture of his varied activities and the people he associated with while living there
1892 – THE STRANDED VESSEL SORATA. [Note: The vessel went aground near Cape Jervois, South Australia, in 1880.]
Mr. Ernest Vantell, one of the divers engaged in connection with the stranded vessel Sorata, has called at this office and made the following statement respecting himself and that vessel which may not prove uninteresting to our readers at the present time: —”My name is Ernest Vantell. I am a Swiss. I joined the army as a sharpshooter in the service of England at the time of the Crimean War; and afterwards served a term of seven years in the French army. After this I went to Toulon with the marine engineers as a diver. I have had experience both at Toulon and at Algiers, in diving while break waters were being built there and fortresses were being constructed at sea. I have had as many as twenty and thirty men under me, and have given them instruction in the profession. Of late, however, I have not been carrying on my occupation, although about eight years ago, I was engaged as a diver when the Emmeline was wrecked on the West Australian coast. I was the only diver there, and with the aid of forty men, who pumped out the vessel, she was saved at a cost of £2,500. Having been repaired she took a cargo of sandalwood from Fremantle to Calcutta, and has since made trips to South Australia.
When I heard of the stranding of the Sorata in Backstairs Passage, I went to the agents of the company and offered my services as a diver. A fortnight afterwards I was engaged at 25s. a day and all expenses paid, and I left Port Adelaide for the Sorata three weeks ago, determined to do my level best. I suffered from sea sickness on the trip and on arriving at the Sorata was a little weak, and was put into a lifeboat to be dressed. Owing to the heavy swell on I could not lift my weights to get to the ladders, and the captain had a hole cut in the coalhole big enough for a man to get through, and going through this I soon commenced my work. At the first start off my work was not very satisfactory because I could not see very well, being in 17 feet of water, and not having been used to the work for some time past. I commenced to clear the coals away at the bottom of the keel, but did not get on very fast at first, although as I became used to the work I got on better. I looked carefully about, and could find no fault with the vessel at that time, excepting that the stanchions and the bulkheads were bent. When l started I was the third diver on Board, but two good men came afterwards from Melbourne, one of them Errickson, being one of the best divers I ever knew. He had had great experience, and sometimes used to sling 30 tons of cargo and more a day. I can tell you he was reckoned tip-top.
My diving gear being put together wrong, Errickson was told by the captain to put it right and this he did first-rate. I tell you this to show that he was an experienced man. When my gear was all right I got along better with my work. We lived in the cabin with the officers, and I don’t think either the officers or sailors had any thing to complain of, for they were as comfortable as if they were making a trip, although of course they had some anxiety to put up with, and had to work very hard. I did my best, although I know we can’t all be equal, and the others perhaps did better. My first business, as I said, was to go into the coalhole and get up the coal. —a rather difficult job then, owing to the position, it being right in the centre of the vessel and the darkness. I made an examination of the Sorata outside from the centre of the ship 120 feet each way. When I went down I found a rock lying about ten feet away from the bows of the vessel. It stood four feet high. As I was going along I lost one of my boots, but did not take any notice of it then, and found it when I came back. I took it in my hands and gave the signal to be hauled up. I sat myself across the lead and was hoisted up, but my attendant not being properly up in the matter pulled me up by the life-line. I was nearly exhausted when the Melbourne diver came to my rescue. He lifted up the back of my helmet, eased the weights and unscrewed the glass; I recovered, although I was almost at the last gasp. Some one in Punch has poked fun at me about this, saying I came up heels upwards, but I don’t think if he had been in my position he could have avoided such an occurrence. I reported what I had seen to the captain, and went down the coalhole again. I had no good chance of showing what I could do in slinging cargo. There was another old man about my own age from Melbourne who was a diver of seventeen years experience, and there was not much difference between the amount of work done between us, although I won’t say which was the better man.
We were in the habit of getting together in the evening, having a yarn about old times. My mates would tell some of their experiences, and I would tell them some of mine. I told them how on one occasion I had helped in the raising of a vessel called the Labrador, a paddle steamer running from Marseilles to Algiers. She was in fact a transport boat for soldiers, and got wrecked off Algiers. She was got off in this manner. We constructed a false bottom with bags of clay, covering these with galvanized iron, and propping them with timber, which was screwed to the deck. When we got her into the dry dock half her keel was left behind, together with about two feet of sheet iron. Ten of the divers and myself went back with block hulks, and we brought the remainder of the keel back to the port in order to satisfy the Marine Board. The floating off was very successful. You will see that the clay will not admit the water through forming a kind of cement. There being no air tanks to fix between desks as there are in the present day, we had to use in the operation canvas bags filled with air, like small baloons, and we also put some of these bags beneath the paddlewheels of the boat. I got a large reward for my share of that business, and settled down in London for some time. Well, I was telling my mates on the Sorata about this affair, and some of them said they had heard of other vessels being floated off in a similar way.
Errickson is under the impression that if the experiment were tried with the Sorata she could be got off, and I am firmly of opinion that if these means are adopted quickly she can be floated off. There will have to the no delay, because if the stormy weather comes on now she is getting empty, the chances will be about ten to one against her getting safely off. I believe it is intended to carry out the idea, and if it is only promptly done I see no reason why the Sorata should not again make many trips between England and Australia. I am going to see it I can get an ordinary diver’s lamp made, to assist me in my investigations if I go back to the vessel. If I don’t get the chance to use the lamp myself I am willing to give it up to the chief diver with the greatest of pleasure, because I should only be too happy to see the vessel off again. There being nothing more to be done in the raising of the cargo I left the vessel on Sunday evening. I must say that the officers and crew are doing their work well, and that they are as cheerful as they possibly can be. The chief thing that is troubling them is the question whether the ship will be got off or not, for they seem to love her like a mother. I and the other divers were treated very kindly indeed by the officers. Captain Fowler has acted like a gentleman throughout. He has been working hard all the time, and has seen that the work has been pushed on. He did not seem to me to take any rest, and I have often seen him working in his cabin as late as 2 and 3 o’clock in the morning. He seems to be in a perfect state of anxiety, and I noticed latterly that his hair was turning grey from this cause.
I am certainly inclined to think the captain is more to be pitied than blamed for this matter. I have been through the channel between Corsica and Sardinia, through the Dardanelles and the English Channel. I made constant observations when at the Sorata of Backstairs Passage, and tried to imagine how it was that the vessel got into her position. After what noticed I was not at all surprised that she should have gone ashore, because of the deceiving nature of the land on some occasions. Sometimes when looking at Kangaroo Island it would seem to be quite near, and at others it would seem to be miles off, according to the state of the weather. In all parts of the world where I have been wherever there is a channel ten miles wide there is a pilot to look after ships. There certainly ought to be a pilot in Backstairs Passage, for in the long run it would pay the shipping companies, as it would enable their boats to make the passages quicker. Actually in the English Channel, which is twenty-one miles across, vessels are usually boarded by pilots five times before they arrive at their destination in the docks of London. Vessels have been lost on our coast, and I think it is very necessary that we should have pilots. I might have mentioned before that the rocks have not penetrated the cement linings of the Sorata. On Sunday one of the divers again surveyed the outside of the vessel and had a rock pulled from underneath her bows. I don’t think there is anything further I can mention, but I shall be only too glad to see that splendid vessel safely out of this disastrous business.”[30]
1892 – ADELAIDE, Monday. Ernest Vantel, who assisted in the scheme to raise the Sorata, when she was stranded at Cape Jervois, has communicated with the manager of the Orient Company offering to raise the Austral.[31]
1892 – STEALING. Ernest Vantell (62) and William Makins both pleaded not guilty of stealing five ulsters,[32] value £3 3s., and other articles, value £1 5s., property of Samuel Good and his co-partners at Adelaide on May 4. Mr. W. V. Smith appeared for Makins. This was the case in which Vantell and Makins, who had been in the habit of purchasing empty cases from Good, Toms, & Co.’s were concerned in removing a large parcel of clothing from the warehouse, intended for one of the firm’s customers. Makins was arrested at his house, and said, ‘I thought someone would be about this’, and told his wife to get the bundle for the detective (Lawton), which she did. It was in a bedroom in the yard. Makins denied having stolen the articles, and so did Vantell, who, however, admitted that he had been at Good, Toms, buying cases. Detective Lawton said he had known Makins for eight years as a decent, respectable man. Mrs. Makins also bore an excellent character.
It appeared from the evidence that the parcel in question was made up and put on the warehouse lift and sent down to the bottom floor, but afterwards found its way into Makins’s cart. For the defence Clara, Making’s wife, said her husband brought a parcel home and told her not to touch it, as it belonged to Vantell, who would call for it. She wrapped it up in a sheet, and put it under a bed in the child’s room in the back yard. Makins made a statement to the effect that Vantell handed him a parcel, which he took home. He asked what it was, and Vantell said, ‘It has nothing to do with you; it is mine; take it home. He had a suspicion that something was wrong, because Vantell appeared to be trying to make him and another carter drunk, and he also wanted to get the cheque for the cases himself. Vantell charged Makins with uttering falsehoods, and accused Makins of taking the parcel.
In the course of his statement Vantell said he was formerly in the French Detective Force in Louis Napoleon’s time, and was sent to London to arrest an absconder, but on getting him he let the man go after getting £4,000 from him. For this he was transported to Western Australia in 1864, but was subsequently released, and had not been in gaol since. He had the Legion of Honour, the Turkish Medal, and the Order of Mejidie, and a pension for military service, but lost it all by his conviction. He had been a revenue officer in Queensland. Mr. Smith and the Crown Solicitor having addressed the Jury, His Honor summed up, commented upon the labels having been taken off the parcel, and said the Crown was entitled to ask the Jury for a verdict against the prisoners unless they considered that the explanations made by the two men were satisfactory. On the one hand the Jury might regard the matter in a light favourable to the accused, and on the other hand they might take it as a case of rogues falling out. The Jury found Vantell guilty and acquitted Makins. Vantell was sentenced to twelve months’ imprisonment with hard labour.[33]
1892 –
At least one editor cast doubts over certain aspects of Vautell’s [sic] story –
DUCAL DJENEROSITY. – Vautell, the French detective, who was sent to the Stockade on Tuesday for stealing the clothes from Good, Toms & Co., told a romantic yarn about having been in the Crimean war, of having the Legion of Honor, a Turkish medal, a Turkish order, and his being servant to McMahon, which we might believe, but when he went on to say that when cooking in the Western Australian Gubernatorial establishment during the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh, that economical Prince presented him with £20, he gave himself away. Alfred was more likely to borrow than to give. Vautell should have stopped at Marshal McMahon; the Duke of Edinburgh generosity yarn knocked all the stuffing out of his pretty little story of life.[34]
1910 – A NARROW ESCAPE. Ernest Vantell, aged 80, who resides at 45 Hanson-street, had a narrow escape from death on Wednesday morning. He was pedalling a tricycle in King William-street, and was crossing from Melvin’s Chambers, on the west side, towards the Tivoli Theatre, when he came into collision with a confectionery cart being driven in a southerly direction by the owner, F. Deacon, of King William-street south. The old man was knocked off the tricycle, and one wheel of the cart passed over his leg. The pony kicked viciously when the collision occurred, and Vantell had a narrow escape from sustaining serious injuries. He was removed to his home in a cab. Except for a few bruises and shock, he was little the worse for his adventure. The tricycle was considerably damaged.[35]
1911 – ALLEGED ASSAULT. HALF A BRICK PRODUCED. IT IS THE EVIDENCE.
Amusing evidence was heard in the Adelaide Police Court before Mr. T. J. S. –
O’Halloran on Wednesday morning by Ernest Vantell, a bootmaker, of Hanson street, who alleged that on December 22 Mrs. Ettie Anderson, a next-door neighbor, assaulted him. “I am 81 years of age,” he said. “‘and have known her for 25 years. I had just come home when she commenced throwing stones on the roof.” I went over and told her to stop. She got a clutch on me and hurled stones at me.”
“This,” he continued, unwrapping a brown paper parcel and holding aloft half a brick. “was the last of them. It is the evidence. If I had not raised my arm she would have killed me. Her husband came on the scene then and caught hold of her. She was drunk on ‘pinky.’ “
Mr. C. M. Muirhead (for the defence)— It is a wonder you are alive, isn’t it? It is a wonder.
How old did you say you were? —I am 81, and that you’ll never be.
I think you are getting your dotage. Where —
The Witness—Dotty?
Mr. Muirhead—Where did you get that enormous mineral specimen from?—That is the brick she threw at me.
What did you do with the other stones? I suppose it would take a wheelbarrow to bring all you say she threw at you. That was your best specimen. Would you be surprised to know she never saw you on that date? —Oh, yes she did.
The Clerk – Have you any witnesses? Yes.
What is the name?— I forget now. A little boy; he’s outside.
The boy was put in the box, and said the complainant and the defendant were having a row in the paddock where he lived. He saw her throw a stone which hit him on the hand.
Mr. Muirhead (pointing to the half a brick produced by the witness)—Was that the stone—”I couldn’t say. I was a good way off.”
Mr. Muirhead—Of course you couldn’t see a small stone like that. (Laughter.)
The defendant denied having been the complainant on December 22. She had never assaulted him at any time, nor did she drink.
Mr. Muirhead—I ask that the case be dismissed.
The Complainant— I have been in the hospital. She said she would take my pension away from me.
The S.M. —The evidence does not substantiate the charge.[36]
Yatala Labour Prison Record, Adelaide, 1892
Extract from the Yatala Labour Prison Record of Ernest Vantell (Reg. No. 3089)
Details from his Yatala Prison Record –
Received 17 June 1892 from H.M. Gaol.
Convicted 7 June 1892 of larceny in Supreme Court. Sentenced to 12 months’ hard labour.
Native place Switzerland.
Date of Arrival – 1878.
Ship – Rob Roy (?) from Fremantle.
Previous Convictions in the Colony – One.
Last Employer – Conners & Gregg.
Friends in Colony – None.
Married
Religion – C.of E.
Can read & write.
Bootmaker.
Description – Aged 62, height 5’3”, weight 11 stone, stout build, pail (sic) complexion, face small, round, medium forehead, grey eyes, teeth imperfect, square chin, grey whiskers. Expression – cunning. Two vaccines on right arm. Tattoo figure of female on inside of left arm – Rigotell under.
Discharged 22 February 1893.
Past Criminal History in the Colony –
18 May 1885 – P.C. Assault – Fine of 27/6d, or 7 days’ imprisonment. On this occasion Ernest Vantell, shoemaker aged 55, assaulted and beat a woman named Matilda Price at Adelaide. He spent seven days in Adelaide Gaol, discharged on 23 May 1885.
[This record of his arrest appeared in a local German language newspaper.[37] By that time a large number of German migrants had settled in South Australia, where they proved to be honest, hard-working citizens.]
[Note: Another entry on his Yatala prison record was on 1 April 1884 for stealing, but was acknowledged as being recorded in error against Vantell’s name by the Keeper of the Gaol.[38]]
1880 – An account was published in your paper some time ago of the experiences of Mr. Ernest Vantell, a diver, in which he narrated how he had on various occasions raised sunken vessels by means of a false bottom constructed of clay bags carefully tommed down and kept in their position by stanchions. As Mr. Vantell was at first engaged on the Sorata and as he states he was the first to propose this plan (of which I believe he was the inventor) of raising the vessel, I think with him rests the credit of having been instrumental in getting her off.
Mr. Armet, the English diver, has probably done good service, but it is not with him alone that the success of the plan rests; for Mr. Errickson and the other divers also worked very hard in carrying out the plan. With regard to another matter, I understand Mr. Armet proposes to take out the clay bags and substitute a bottom of Portland cement. He then thinks he will be able to take the vessel to Melbourne. I very much afraid he will not be able to do this.
What with the pressure of the water when the vessel is out in the open sea, and her great weight, I fear that the Portland cement will be forced up, a hole made, and the vessel will again sink. With the bottom of clay bags my experience makes me confident I could guarantee that the vessel would be safely taken round to Melbourne, and I sincerely trust that Mr. Armet will seriously consider his plan before putting it into force
I am, sir, &c.
MARITIME.[39]
1884 – Wm. Moore, who was represented in court by his wife Catherine, was charged with being indebted to Ernest Vantell, bootmaker, in the sum of £9 5s., balance of wages due for work done at “The Pines,” Stepney. Mr. Linklater appeared for the complainant, and Mr. W. V. Smith for Moore. The complainant alleged that he was employed as a “handy man” at “The Pines,” which Mr. Linklater, in introducing the case, referred to as the notorious house that had recently engaged the attention of the Norwood Corporation. His duties were to tidy on the home and attend to “guests.” On different occasions he received small presents from Mrs. Moore, but he had not credited himself with “a belltopper”, which a gentleman who had a bottle of champagne at the place forgot and left behind him, and which Mrs. Moore subsequently handed to him.”
In his evidence the complainant did not deny having been in the “lock-up.” Mr. W. V. Smith, previous to calling evidence for the defence, remarked that the accusation against Mrs. Moore was a gross fabrication, and only made for the purpose of extorting money, the complainant thinking that the defendant would rather pay any sum than be brought before the court and have the mode of life she had previously followed exposed. In her evidence Mm. Moore decided that the complainant was engaged as a weekly servant, and alleged that any little job he had done he was always paid for. Sometimes, however. Vantell “amused” himself by doing unnecessary work, such as burying champagne and other bottles. Maud Graham, who took charge of the “establishment” in the absence of Mrs. Moore, also denied that Vantell received a weekly stipend, and stated that anything he did for the “guests” of the house he was paid for. The “girls” and Mrs. Moore always tried to get rid of him. In cross-examination by Mr. Inklater witness denied that complainant ever blacked her boots. Ada Lee asserted that Vantell was paid for any messages he ran for the girls. The inmates of the house were always very kind to him, and frequently gave him dinners in the kitchen. Dismissed, complainant having to pay the hearing fee.[40]
1884 – Charles Moore and Ernest Vantell, bootmaker, aged 54, appeared in the South Australian Supreme Court, charged with stealing sheets (or shirts?) from a dwelling house, value £21 11/-. Sentenced on 1 April 1884 to 18 months. Vantell discharged on 10 April, after being acquitted by the Supreme Court.[41]
1885 – Ernest Vantel, for using threatening language towards Ellen Gordon on December 29. Mr. W. V. Smith appeared for the prosecution. Fined 10s. and costs, £1 10s. in all.[42]
1891 – Annie Foster alias Young, a young woman with a baby in arms, was accused by Ernest Vantel with damaging ten windows, a flower pot, screen, and other articles. Defendant pleaded guilty to breaking six panes of glass, but not to damaging the other articles. Prosecutor stated that defendant came to his place and accused him of inducing the father of her child to live away from her. He told her to go away, when she did the damage complained of. Ordered to pay 5s. for damage done.[43]
1892 – Amelia Sloan admitted having used indecent language on February 16 and also having smashed seven window panes valued at 7s., the property of Ernest Vantell. It appeared that Sloan called Vantell objectionable names, greatly annoying the old man. His Worship informed defendant that if she would apologise to Vantell and express regret he would allow the charges to be withdrawn. Defendant, however, smiled at complainant and refused to apologise. Fined £1 17s. in all.[44]
1892 – William Makins and Ernest Vantell were charged on the information of Samuel Good with stealing from the establishment of Good, Toms, & Co., Stephens-place, five ulsters valued at £3 8s., one mackintosh valued at 5s., and one cloak valued at £1 on May 4. Mr. W. V. Smith appeared for Makins. For the prosecution it was stated that a parcel containing the goods in question was seen to be taken off a trolly belonging to the firm by Vantell and handed to Makins, who then made off with it; but it appeared that the driver of the dray was a carrier employed to take from Good, Toms, and Co’s warehouse some empty cases which had been bought by Making, and the parcel in question had been improperly put on the dray.
When Makins was arrested he said he thought someone would be down about the articles, and told his wife to give the parcel to the detective. His wife took the articles produced in court, which were wrapped up in a bedsheet, from under the bed. Proceeding to the watchhouse Makins said Vantell gave him the parcel and told him to take it home. Vantell, on being arrested, denied having stolen anything, and said, ‘You can search my house.’
Makins reserved his defence, but Vantell said the parcel was falling off the trolly so he gave it to Makins, who told him it was all settled for, and he had not seen the parcel since, nor did he know what was in it. In answer to a question by Inspector Sullivan Vantell said he had been in the colony 17 years. Previous to that he had been in West Australia, where he was a convict, having served a sentence of seven years’ penal servitude for being concerned in a robbery of £4,000 in England. Committed for trial, bail being allowed to Makins in two sureties of £50 each and himself in £100.[45]
Recognition of Ernest Vantell’s Military Service in 1907 –
Crimean War Anniversary
An interesting event took place in Adelaide, in November 1907, when the Governor extended an invitation to surviving veterans of the Crimean War to attend the 50th Anniversary memorial event at Government House. A list of about 30 names was published, most of the elderly men having served as Foot soldiers in various regiments, but several of them, including Mr. E. Vantell, represented the British navy. [Ernest wouldn’t have been wearing a medal, his having been taken from him at the time of his arrest in London in 1864.]
A lengthy newspaper article gives an account of this event and another which took place later that day, when Vantell’s name is mentioned as follows —
An Interesting Reunion.—
On Saturday afternoon, after their reception by the Governor, the Crimean and Indian mutiny veterans were entertained at the Hamburg Hotel by Mr. W. Sutherland. There were about 30 present, and the chair was occupied by Mr. J. Shaw (ex-Mayor of Adelaide). At dinner the conversation was naturally connected with the stirring scenes witnessed by the veterans during 1854 and 1857. Interesting reminiscences of hard fighting and marvellous escapes from death were given by Mr. T. Rooney, of the 54th Regiment, who went through the exciting events of the Indian mutiny, and Mr. Lees of the 70th Regiment, who fought for his country in India and New Zealand. Seated at one table was Mr. E. Ventell by the side of Mr. James Croke, and their meeting brought back vivid recollections of a time when they met during the Crimean war. Mr. Ventell, of the 1st French Regiment, went through the Crimean war, and, when he was acting as interpreter to General (afterwards Marshal) McMahon, he was asked by Gen. McMahon one morning why the English troops who were camped near, were not smoking. Mr. Ventell rode over to the British lines, and asked Mr. James Croke, of the 97th British Regiment, why the soldiers were not smoking, and when the latter rather dolefully informed him that it was because they were run out of tobacco—and everything else—Gen. McMahon at once sent wagon loads of tobacco, provisions, and “grog” across to the British lines. When Mr. Ventell and Mr. Croke shook hands across the table on Saturday after the story was told, the latter remarked:—”We were in a warm corner at that time, and I hardly expected to meet you again at sundown on that day, and I would certainly have thought it a good joke if someone had said I would meet you again, over 50 years afterwards, in far-away Australia.”[46]
1907 – A BICYCLE ACCIDENT.
Ernest Vantell, residing in Queen-street, Adelaide, was thrown from his bicycle at the corner of King William and Rundle streets on Wednesday afternoon, and received a severe cut on the head. He was removed to the Adelaide Hospital, where his injuries were attended to.[47]
Vantell Becomes An Australian Citizen in 1909
The Commonwealth of Australia came into being in 1901.
It is of interest that in 1909, 42 years after his arrival as a convict, Ernest Vantell decided to apply for naturalization as a citizen of Australia, possibly as a means of receiving the Old Age Pension Benefit, which was introduced in 1908.
His application form gives us a little more information about his origins –
Naturalisation Certificate, 1909.[48]
1917 – Ernest received further recognition of his military service in Crimea, when a warm welcome was extended by the Cheer-up Society in Adelaide to a small band of French soldiers who were on furlough from the battlefields of WW1 —
… Short addresses of welcome were also delivered, by Colonel Doliman, Mr. C. E. Owen Smyth, and Mons. Pinard and E. Vantell (a French veteran who saw service at the Crimea). Mr. J. W. Canaway thanked the society heartily for its hospitable entertainment. [49]
1919 – Birthday
Mr. Ernest Vantall, of near Angas-street Adelaide, a colonist of 52 years, completed his 89th year this week. He was born in Strasburg, which was then part of France on August 24, 1830. At the age of 22 he was conscripted to the French Army, and two years later saw active service in the Crimea. He was in the battles of Alma and Balaclava, Inkermann, the siege of the Malakoff, and the taking of Sebastopol. Before the French reinforcements (of which he was a member) reached the British Army the great charge of the gallant 600 had taken place at Balaclava. At the conclusion of the campaign he returned to France and after a few years in London left for Australia. He arrived at Perth in the sailing ship Norwood, in charge of Captain Bristol, in 1867. This was a convict ship and she carried 365 prisoners for Western Australia. He was cook on board. He later served a few months in a similar position at Government House, Perth, in the regime of Governor Hampton. He then entered business in Perth as a bootmaker, but nine years later left for South Australia and found employment in the boot factory of Messrs. D. & W. Murray, Waymouth-street. After 21 years’ service with that firm he received 12 months’ appointment as an Excise officer at Brisbane because of his ability to speak German. Afterwards he re-engaged with his previous employers at the Unley factory for a few years. During the past decade, he has carried on a secondhand dealer’s business. He claims to be the eldest member of either the French or English armies who fought in the Crimea who now resides in Australia. He received the badge of the Legion of Honor and a Crimea medal.[50]
1925 – At the end of a colourful life, Ernest Vantell died at Norwood in 1925.[51]
…………………………………………………………………………
[1] Surrey Calendar of Prisoners, Newington, 1861-1862, Ancestry, https://www.ancestry.com.au
[2] UK Marriage Index, Pancras, Middlesex, Vol.1b, p.280, https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/
[3] UK Birth Index, Sussex, Vol. 7, p.360, https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/
[4] Convict Department, General Register (Rd15-Rd16), and England & Wales Criminal Registers, Middlesex, at https://www.ancestry.com.au
[5] Convict Department, General Register (Rd15-Rd16), and England & Wales Criminal Registers, Middlesex, at https://www.ancestry.com.au
[6] Convict Hulks, Quarterly Returns of Prisoners, Series HO8, Piece Nos. 167-171.
[7] Chatham Prison, Governor’s Journal, PCOM2, Piece No. 429.
[8] Chatham Prison, Kent, Register of Prisoners, PCOM2, Piece No. 2.
[9] Convict Department, General Register (Rd15-Rd16).
[10] UK Surgeon Superintendents’ Journals of Convict Ships, Norwood, 1867, p.45.
[11] Goulburn Herald (NSW), 17 June 1892.
[12] Note: The Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur (Knight of the National Order of the French Legion of Honour) is the highest civilian award given by the French Republic for outstanding contribution to the recipient’s field of expertise, regardless of their nationality. It was instituted in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte. According to Wikipedia, a complete list of the recipients does not exist.(https://en.wikipedia.org)
[13] Weekly Times, Melbourne, 11 June 1892.
[14] Probably John Spence Christie, bootmaker. Rica Erickson, Bicentennial Dictionary of Western Australians, p.535.
[15] Inquirer, Perth, 24 February 1869.
[16] Express, Fremantle, 26 November 1870.
[17] Convict Department, General Register (R15-R16)
[18] Rica Erickson, Bicentennial Dictionary of Western Australians, pre 1829 – 1888, Vols. I – IV, p.3143, http://www.friendsofbattyelibrary.org.au/
[19] Inquirer, 5 March 1873.
[20] WA Times, 2 August 1878.
[21] Rica Erickson, Bicentennial Dictionary of Western Australians, pre 1829 – 1888, Vols. I – IV, p.3143, http://www.friendsofbattyelibrary.org.au/
[22] Western Mail, Perth, 5 January 1928.
[23] Note: The former Canadian ship was moored at Largs Bay to serve as a boys’ reformatory between 1880 and 1891. The conditions suffered there were said to have been appalling, http://www.find andconnect.gov.au
[24] Register of Admission to the Reformatory Hulk Fitzjames (1879-1893), see Minutes CS6(?), 2028/85.
[25] Registry of Admissions, Boys’ Reformatory Magill (1877-1913).
[26] Inquirer, (WA), 3 November 1880.
[27] Evening Journal, Adelaide, 20 November 1873.
[28] Herald, Fremantle, 25 July 1874.
[29] Inquirer, (WA), 3 June 1885.
[30] Goulburn Herald (NSW), 17 June 1892.
[31] Riverine Herald, (NSW), 21 Nov. 1882.
[32] Note: An ulster is a long overcoat.
[33] South Australian Register, 8 June 1892.
[34] Bunyip (Gawler, S.A.), 17 June 1892.
[35] Advertiser (Adelaide, S.A.), 8 September 1910.
[36] Express and Telegraph (Adelaide, SA.), 18 October 1911.
[37] Australische Zeitung, Adelaide, 20 May 1885.
[38] Yatala Prison Record, Ernest Vantell, Ancestry Criminal Registers,
[39] Express and Telegraph (Adelaide, SA.), 19 November 1880.
[40] South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA), 28 June 1884.
[41] South Australian Prison Registers, Adelaide Gaol.
[42] Express and Telegraph (Adelaide, SA.), 7 January 1885.
[43] South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA.), 30 November 1891.
[44] Advertiser (Adelaide, SA), 18 February 1892.
[45] South Australian Chronicle (Adelaide, SA), 14 May 1892.
[46] Observer (Adelaide), 16 November 1907.
[47] Advertiser (Adelaide, SA.), 12 December 1907.
[48] National Archives of Australia, htpps://www.naa.gov.au
[49] Advertiser (Adelaide), 14 April 1917.
[50] Chronicle, Adelaide, 30 August 1919.
[51] South Australian Genealogy, Book Record – 476/553.