There’s a mayor, lay-preacher, rates collector, chief justice’s schoolmate, and the biggest brothel madam in the colony, all contributing to great embezzlements throughout the history of this one Queensland town. I told a version of this story on West Bremer Radio.

Way back in 1888 there was a big embezzlement in which a William Gregson was charged with having embezzled money with cheques totalling more than £1,000. That’s almost $1 million in today’s money based on average weekly earnings, and the biggest cheques were passed in Ipswich, Queensland.

Gregson pleaded guilty and was sentenced to eighteen months’ imprisonment with hard labour. But what was really interesting was his wife Margaret Gregson, who was otherwise known as the Duchess of Montague Road.

Her establishments were very popular for their bawdy behaviour, sly grog, and ladies of the night. She ran the biggest chain of “disorderly houses” in Queensland, and when she passed away in 1926 her estate was valued at £25,000 or $8.5 million today.

In 1895, there was another interesting Ipswich embezzlement when Edward Whiffin was brought up on a charge of embezzling from his own business of Livermore & Whiffin. At Ipswich Grammar School, Whiffen had been a schoolmate of the chief justice of Queensland Sir James Blair, and the renowned engineer John Bradfield who built the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Brisbane’s Story Bridge

Whiffin was found not guilty and discharged, but after the split, his former business partner flourished. His name was William George Livermore who founded the great Ipswich lemonade manufacturers of W.G. Livermore that had a factory in the centre of town on East Street.

In 1900, there was a sensation when the Ipswich Town Council voted to have their own rate collector charged by the police. Hugh Campbell was charged with embezzling the rates that he had collected. The amounts varied because different auditors couldn’t get it right, but it appeared to be around £619 or over $600,000 today.

Campbell was convicted and sentenced to eighteen months’ hard labour, but it was suspended under the first offenders act and on the proviso that he repay the money. What’s interesting is that Campbell was a member of one of the original Ipswich families, because his father Hugh Campbell senior had been the first free settler to arrive there in 1842.

In 1905, there was an interesting embezzlement involving Ernest James William Caldecoat, formerly of the town clerk’s office. He was charged with misappropriating from the Silverwood Dairy the sum of about £16. The jury found Caldecoat guilty although recommended leniency because of the great temptation that he faced.

But it was discovered that four years earlier Caldecoat had been a Church of England lay-preacher in Ballarat, Victoria, and had embezzled £20 from the church and cleared out. The Ipswich judge showed no mercy and Caldecoat was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment with hard labour.

In 1907 there was Ipswich’s highest profile embezzlement. It was James McGill who was charged with embezzling £89 or thereabouts from the Queensland Pastoralist and Agricultural Society.

McGill had been the secretary of the show society, representative of the Brisbane Courier, treasurer to the Methodist Church, secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, government auditor to several councils, a lay preacher of the Wesleyan Church, a Justice of the Peace, and in 1891 he had been the mayor of Ipswich.

The mayor was found guilty and sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment.

Even though there was huge interest in the embezzling mayor, people also lapped up news of the lay-preacher, rates collector, chief justice’s schoolmate, and the husband of the biggest brothel madam in the colony. It seemed that embezzlement-watching was a popular pastime in Ipswich back then.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO A VERSION OF THIS STORY TOLD ON WEST BREMR RADIO.

Photo credits:
Police seized millions of dollars – Australian Federal Police via Sydney Morning Herald 2014.
Mrs Gregson – Truth, Brisbane, 3rd February 1907, page 5.
Sir James William Blair – State Library of Queensland.
Hugh Campbell Snr – Queensland Times, Ipswich, 8th August 1914, page 10.
James McGill, Ipswich mayor, 1891 – Picture Ipswich.