Some of his aliases included Archibald Brown, Harry Cecil Darling, Lord Lockley, and Walter Porriott, or Gibson. He had started out in life in England as Andrew Gibson, but as a teenager he quickly learned that people were very gullible, especially unattached young women, and from cashing dud cheques, he quickly progressed to marrying wealthy women, then running off with their inheritance.Īustralia proved a happy hunting ground for Andrew, but of course his strategy involved keeping one step ahead of the law and changing his name to suit the circumstances. “It came as quite a shock to find out after he had left the island, that he was a con man!” remembers Rosemary. Rosemary Opala (nee Fielding) was a nurse at the lazaret at the time and remembers him as a very pleasant and cooperative employee. He even seemed to have a grasp of medical matters and would often intersperse his conversation with complicated medical terms. He was well educated, well spoken, and of a most agreeable disposition. It was also used, on one occasion at least, as a refuge from the law.Ībout 1950, an ageing attendant (wardsman) was employed for a year at the Lazaret. Peel Island was not just a refuge for the Hansen’s Disease (leprosy) patients. Herewith a chapter from my 2007 book ‘ Moreton Bay Reflections’: By a sheer coincidence their August guest-speakers had been Chris Adams and Helen Goltz, authors of the books “Grave Tales” and whose topic was “Is Jack the Ripper Buried in Toowong Cemetery?” This week when I presented my Peel Island talk to the Redlands-Bayside Probus Club, my casual mention of Doctor Darling sparked great interest from the audience.
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