Edward Cornelius

Edward Cornelius was born in about 1910 in Longford, Tasmania.

He attended the Longford State School, receiving his Qualifying Certificate in January 1925, aged 13 years, for admission to a State High School.

On 24 February 1925 Cornelius, a school-student from Longford, was involved in what was described as a "schoolboy scuffle" or "skylarking" on the Launceston railway station, prior to the departure of the Deloraine train.

His hand was in the jamb of a carriage doorway when it was slammed shut by one of his companions, resulting in the fingers of his left hand being badly crushed.

Cornelius was taken to the Launceston Public Hospital and admitted for treatment.

As a child Cornelius was committed to the care of the State Department for Neglected Children as an uncontrollable child.

On 30 July 1925 Cornelius was convicted of "wilful damage to property" in the Launceston Police Office, and ordered to pay costs of 8 shillings and damages of 21 shillings.

On 9 September 1926 in the Launceston Police Office Cornelius was convicted of larceny, and ordered to pay a fine of 10 shillings.

When he reached the age of 18, Cornelius was apprenticed to Messrs. Hodges and Bond, garage proprietors at 71 York Street, Launceston.

Cornelius had been absent from work for a few days due to illness when, in the early afternoon of 5 July 1928, in company with another young man, he went to the York-street garage of his employer.

While his companion waited outside, Cornelius went inside to enquire "if there were any letters for him".

The office door was closed but the key was in the lock.

Cornelius entered the office and stole an envelope containing cheques and three £1 notes.

He and his companion then went to Prince's Park where Cornelius opened the envelope, divided the cash amongst themselves and flushed the cheques down a toilet.

Cornelius was apprehended the next day and pleaded guilty before the Launceston Police Magistrate.

On July 14 he was sentenced in the Hobart Supreme Court to six months' imprisonment.

The Chief Justice, Herbert Nicholls, said that unfortunately he was unable to deal with the prisoner under the First Offenders' Act, as he had a previous conviction of larceny.

Cornelius was released from prison on 5 November 1928.

The reference to his release in the Tasmanian Police Gazette included the following description: "motor mechanic, age 19 years, height 5 feet 8 inches, fair complexion, fair hair, dark-blue eyes, thick nose, native of Tasmania; scar first joint of right finger, first three fingers of left hand have been crushed at tips".

At about 8 o'clock in the evening of 16 January 1929 Cornelius and another younger man stole a Hupmobile motor-car belonging to Father T. J. O'Donnell, parked outside the Roman Catholic Presbytery at Latrobe, in northern Tasmania.

They drove the car south-east towards Deloraine, but ran out of petrol three miles short of the township and the vehicle was abandoned.

The next morning a passing motorist reported seeing the abandoned car near Deloraine.

Later that morning the Deloraine police spoke to two strangers in town (Cornelius and his companion) and questioned them regarding their movements the previous night.

With Cornelius' answers "not being deemed satisfactory", he was taken to the station where he eventually admitted to having taken the vehicle.

Cornelius told police he had been out of work for some time and wanted to get to Launceston.

He had been looking for work along the coast, but ran short of money and had started to walk to Launceston when he saw the car at Latrobe.

While Cornelius was being questioned his companion absconded.

In the Latrobe Police Court on 18 January 1929, Cornelius was sentenced to three months' imprisonment in Hobart Gaol for having unlawfully used a motor car without the consent of the owner.

Cornelius' companion was later detained at Launceston and was "dealt with" in the Latrobe Children's Court.

Cornelius was released from his second period of incarceration on 17 April 1929, aged about 19 years.

In early July 1929 Edward Cornelius and two other young men, Alfred Miles and Stanley Robinson, walked the 73 mi from Launceston to Ulverstone seeking employment, arriving at their destination on July 4.

On the night of their arrival in Ulverstone the three young men were observed in the vicinity of a motor garage belonging to Motors Pty.

Ltd., in which a new Chevrolet car was parked.

Later that night they broke into the garage and stole the car, as well as a cash-box containing money and cheques, a clock and a gold-mounted fountain pen.

Cornelius, Miles and Robinson drove the Chevrolet back to Launceston, along the way throwing away the emptied cash-box and some of the cheques.

On July 6, the three men travelled from Launceston to Melbourne aboard the Loongana passenger vessel, but were arrested by Victorian detectives on arrival.

Edward Cornelius (c. 1910 - 22 June 1936) was an Australian convicted murderer and petty criminal.

His criminal record began in his mid-teenage years and he served his first prison sentence three years later.

He was convicted of killing Rev. H. Laceby Cecil during a robbery of a vicarage in the inner Melbourne suburb of Collingwood.

Cornelius was executed at Pentridge Prison, Victoria in June 1936, the third of eleven people to be hanged there after the closure of Melbourne Gaol in 1924.