Bloody history … The old Keilor Hotel, where former farm labourer Bernard Cunningham was arrested for murder in 1867. 28985
By Belinda Nolan
DURING the winter months local soccer fanatics flood Green Gully Reserve to watch their team battle it out for top spot on the Victorian Premier League ladder.
But what many do not know is that the site is hiding a dark secret, buried deep within the pages of Keilor’s early history.
In 1867, a farm labourer was murdered and his body dumped in a waterhole on this site, in a case that became known as the Green Gully murder.
John Fairweather, 62, was a robust, muscular man who worked at Joseph Ball’s farm.
His job was to bundle up Farmer Ball’s hay as quickly as possible so it could be sold, one dray load each day.
For this task, he was paired with fellow labourer, Bernard Cunningham, who lived with him in a dilapidated hut on the outskirts of the property.
On the morning of 23 December, Fairweather breakfasted with the Ball family, then headed off to join Cunningham for the day’s work.
It was the last time anyone would see him alive.
When he did not return for meals for two days, his employer suspected foul play.
Although Cunningham claimed he never saw his workmate on the day of the murder, a billy can belonging to the missing man was found in his possession.
His shirt and moleskin pants, which had been clean on the morning of the murder were later found mud stained and bloody.
His suspicions aroused, Joseph Ball contacted police and Cunningham was arrested outside the Keilor Hotel.
Following a search, Fairweather’s battered body was found in the waterhole, face down in two foot of water and weighted with stones.
A post-mortem revealed he had been stuck repeatedly in the head and had 18 fractures, a smashed nose, a partially severed ear and collapsed lungs.
The murder weapon, a hoe, was found with smeared with blood and hair nearby.
A police investigation into case was made easier by Cunningham himself, who could not resist boasting about the murder to a neighbour’s son.
It was later revealed that Cunningham had planned the murder for some time, telling a friend he felt Fairweather was not pulling his weight on the farm, saying “if that old bastard doesn’t work, I’ll stick him with the fork.”
After killing his workmate, Cunningham stole one pound from the dead man, which he used to buy new clothes.
His confession, along with the physical evidence sealed Cunningham’s fate and he was executed for his crime.
