Bully Hayes
 
 
 


During two extraordinary weeks in April , May, 1863, a series of very odd events occurred in the gold-rush settlement of Fox's
 

 




Central to the story is the famous - if not notorious - character Bully Hayes, but it also has intrigue, a beautiful young woman, Theatre, public confrontation and a courtroom scene. It is difficult to tell exactly what happened.


 
  Our supposedly most reliable witness turns out not to be reliable at all, another coyly refused to tell all and someone we might expect to reveal the truth kept silent. The story really begins some seven months earlier, on September 24, 1862, when the Cincinnati limped into Port Chalmers from Newcastle (New South Wales), with 21 passengers on board and all the pumps working.

During the voyage, the Cincinnati had encountered gales and heavy seas losing two whaleboats and a carriage that had been roped to the deck. Chartered and part-owner of the ship was an American seafarer, Captain William Henry Hayes and the story went that he had sold many more passenger tickets than 20. The other passengers had been deliberately left behind. Hayes version was that they had refused to accept the accommodation provided and had declined to join the voyage. Whether this is true it is impossible to say, much depends on our assessment of Haye's character. Bully Hayes usually seems to have had a plausible explanation for the curious activities in which he was often involved but this does not mean that every explanation was invented. Born in Cleveland, Ohio and now 33 years old, Hayes was, according to one of his biographers, "a powerfully-built man, six feet tall, weighing over 200 pounds in his prime, with piercing blue eyes, reddish brown hair and beard", a pleasant baritone singing voice and charmingly gentle manners his nick name of Bully might have been descriptive of his attitude to other people, for he was certainly proficient in fisticuffs, but on the other hand, the name might have been a (mis) pronunciation of Billy.

Five years earlier, according to the same biographer, Frank Clune, he had married a widow, Amelia Littleton, in a small village north of Adelaide. She was not with him on this voyage. Instead Hayes had developed a relation ship with one of the passengers, Rosie Buckingham. The Buckingham family were entertainers. Rosie, who was 19, appeared with her older brothers, George and Conrad, and her younger brother Walter, whose voice had not yet broken. Their father George, a well known Australian actor had organised the family troupe through the 1850s and after his death, they toured with their widowed mother in Australia. The family performed in Port Chalmers soon after their arrival and the Otago Daily Times reported on their vocal and instrumental performances, Several members of the family possess both talent and skill and they, on each occasion afforded excellent entertainment to those who assembled at the concert room.

Moving on to Dunedin, the Buckingham's appeared at the theatre Royal where "George portrayed an Irish singer with a good deal of humour, and Walter revealed a rather nice voice about the mezzo-soprano range he sang with some feeling and his violin-playing showed skill and a good deal of training but the entertainment is not of a class that is desirable or should be often repeated at the Theatre Royal" the Times went on elsewhere "the Buckingham Family would probably receive a fair amount of support".

     Elsewhere turned out to be goldfields of Central Otago. By late January they had arrived in Fox's (Arrowtown) where they opened in the Provincial Hotel, offering refreshment and entertainment. Hayes might will have been with them, or have followed them very soon after,

The consequences of his shipboard romance with Rosie Buckingham had become all too evident, she was pregnant by early March, they seem to have become married.: at least a newspaper report of March 9 refers to Mrs Hayes wife of Captain Hayes. It may be noted that this was Hayes second marriage and that there is no evidence to suggest his first wife was anything other than in a flourishing state of health. It is at this point that the intriguing story of Bully, the Buckinghams and the Barbarous Barber begins.


The story has had several narrators.

The first and most influential was J.A. Miller who claimed to have been there and who gave a version of events in the Otago Witness of July 30 1896, under the title "Haye's Experience on the Otago Goldfields, The early History of Bully Hayes".. Many authors since have accepted Millers tale - after all it is supposed to be by an eyewitness - and it has become the authentic versions of events in histories of Central Otago, like Robert Gilkison's, and biographies of Haye's, like Basil Lubbocks and Frank Clune's.

But this might be Miller's tale like Chaucer's, more fiction than fact. Indeed, Miller himself acknowledged in the next issue of the Witness on August 13 1896 that he had made a few errors and sharp-eyed correspondents pointed out several more. Miller is not our only source. The Lake Wakitipu Mail was the local newspaper at the time and though few issues survive we are fortunate in having some copies from around this time and they paint a different picture of events.

The story centres on the fact that while the Buckingham family played in the Provincial Hotel on one side of the main street Bully Hayes set up his own Hotel across the road and offered rival entertainment. This is the starting point of Millers tale and he claims that Hayes opened his hotel with a flourish.
Obtaining the services of the great satirical singer Charles Thatcher and his wife Annie Vitelli for the occasion, Rosie sang to, and Miller say's her voice was so powerful that she sang "Bonnie Annie Laurie" and other songs to the accompaniment of a full brass band even the big drum of which could not drown or muffle her cadences.
There are two mistakes here, Thatcher and Vitelli did not arrive in the Wakitipu region until several weeks later and no other reports of Rosie suggest she was stentorian soprano. So who performed for Bully Hayes? The answer is probably Harriet Gordon and JP Hydes, actor singers already performing in Queenstown and reportedly also performing in Fox's with the Buckingham family. Harriet was well known for her vocal powers, which the Otago Daily Times had thought more that a trifle excessive at a concert in Dunedin, at her concerts in Queenstown she was accompanied by a local German Band.

Thatcher and Vitelli would perform at Bully Hayes Hotel later on in May1863 to be precise and he advertised this as the first appearance in this township It is clear to see that Miller confused hearing Thatcher and Vitelli in May, an understandable lapse perhaps after 33 years. What must have happened was this; for the opening of his hotel Hayes engaged Harriet Gordon, J P Hyde's, and the German Band from Queenstown. Rosie sang of course and quite probably her brothers came across the road to help as well. Harriets voice made a lasting impression on Millers as it did on others.

Hayes's Hotel was initially called the United States Hotel after the landlords home country and presumably to attract the Americans among the mining fraternity some time in April its name seems to have been changed to the Prince of Wales, probably when news came through from England of the March 10 engagement of Edward Prince of Wales to Princess Alexandra of Denmark.

Several of the Arrow Hotels at the time offered entertainment Hayes, Prince of Wales had vocal and instrumental music every evening by talented artist including not only Rose but also in late April Mr James Hunter who is well known as a violinist of no ordinary ability and who appeared with Mr Porter, Mr Fisher, and Mr Herz. This group together with an F Germone was known as "Our Own Minstrels.
At the Provincial there was "A concert every evening, Talented artistes engaged" given by "G Buckingham and Co" the company including, presumably, George Conrad and Walter.
At the Golden Age the performers in early May were Mr James Hull the celebrated local and Irish singer, Mr John Morgan Welsh harpist and Mr Wright , vocalist. As a comic and songster Mr Hull is well known and although his compositions are not certainly equal to those of Thatcher, yet they display considerable ready, whit and a large share of ability said the Lake Wakitipu Mail.

Entertainments were advertised in the normal way of the time by using a Bellman. He was employed to walk up and down the street ringing a bell and shouting his message, Rival theatres would employ rival bellman and this brings us to the crux of the curious events on the Arrow in April, May 1863.
On Wednesday April 29, the contest between the Fox's bellman seems to have got out of hack, The report, written a week later for the Lake Wakitipu Mail explained what happened. That Wednesday night was to be James Hunters benefit concert at Hayes Prince of Wales Hotel. The usual Fox's bellman a man called Sagoski but universally known as Jimmy Lungs, for obvious reasons, was already booked by the Buckingham's to advertise their show at the Provincial so instead Hayes employed a man called Griffith's.
Griffith's was a professional sportsman who challenged all comers to trials of strength and foot races A few weeks after this in Queenstown he even challenged people to pot their dogs against him in ratting, a sports which involved the dogs and presumably Griffith's biting the rats to death. But by midafternoon Griffith's was weakening unable to compete with Jimmy Lungs, When he collapsed Hayes employed another man a local barber. Fresh voiced he was almost able to shout down Jimmy and soon the contest was becoming a piece of street entertainment.

The two of them vied in deciding memorable and effective advertising slogans, Jimmy punctuated his with remarks about his upstart rival Finally the barber confessed himself beaten and retired leaving Jimmy Lungs triumphant on the field of battle. But in the heat of the contest Jimmy may have coined phrases that went beyond the bounds of courtesy for on Thursday Hayes had him arrested on a charge of spreading false statements about the Prince of Wales.

It would be a week before the case would be heard so Jimmy was let out on bail and the whole business became the talk of the town. The Buckingham's having won the bellman contest now took matters a stage further. A one act farce was quickly written about the affair and opened at the Provincial on Friday or possibly Saturday night. It was called the "Barbarous Barber of the Lather and the Shave" and the local newspaper described it as one of the most extravagant extravaganzas ever witnesses in fact its chief merit is its absurdity.

George Buckingham played himself and the role of Mr Potts a gentleman slightly inclined to corpulency, Probably standing for Hayes was taken by Mr Geordie Spiers. Audiences loved the show but it was scarcely a friendly act by the Buckinghams towards their brother in law, The Wakitipu Mail reporter commented that regarding its personality and the motives which brought it into existence, the less said the better it is never a pleasant duty to be obliged to condemn and in this case I am sorry to say it is impossible to praise's So much for the newspapers version of how the Barbarous barber came to be written.

Miller gives a quite different explanation of the origins of the farce According to him and it is the version happily accepted by most writers, probably because it is such a good one the story circulated in Arrowtown the Bully Had been caught cheating at cards in an incident in the California Goldfields and as a summary punishment, one of his ears had been cut off.
Hayes wore his hair long, covering his ears so the rumour could be neither proved nor disproved. According to Miller the Buckingham family offered a reward of five pound to any one who could prove this to be the case A barber obliged by chopping off Hayes locks revealing the rumour to be true The "barbarous barber" according to Miller was written by the Buckinghams to portray these events.

This is such a different story from the one recorded in the local newspaper that we must wonder what is going on. If Millers version is true why did the reporter at the time invent a different story? If the newspaper report is correct why did Miller remember the event so differently? Perhaps the answer lies in another Miller confusion. Firstly let us deal with the evidence supporting the newspaper version, There it is claimed the Hayes had Jimmy Lungs Sagoski arrested on the day after the contest

The case came up in the Arrow Police Court before Nugent Wood on Thursday, May 7 Hayes claimed that on the night of the 30th April the prisoner was ringing the bell for the landlord of the Provincial Concert Hall Not satisfied with doing all in his power to forward the interest of the house for which he was engaged he brought into question the good name of mine, designating it as and warning people against the half crown swindle. Sagoski's defence was to argue that he hadn't said the Prince of Wales entertainment was a half crown swindle he had merely said that the Provicial entertainment was not one,

The case was properly dismissed, since it was plainly trivial. This court report supports, and therefore lends credibility to the newspaper version of events. What of Millers version? If Miller maintains, "The Barbarous Barber" exposed Hayes as a cheat then its appearance in the days between the bellman contest and the court case would surely have given Hayes pause for thought It is hard to see what good he would gain by proceeding with the complaint in these circumstances. Sakoski would presumably be able to defend himself by casting aspersions on Hayes character, relating to known facts that were being place before the public nightly at the Provincial. But Hayes proceeded with the action and Sakoski did not attack Hayes probity, he confined himself to discussing entertainment that might have been worth 2s6d and entertainment that might not have,

This seems to be strong evidence that Hayes had not been revealed as a card shark before May 7. A further consideration relates to Charles thatcher, who opened at Hayes Price of Wales Hotel in the midst of these happenings Thatcher's expertise lay in making up satirical songs about contemporary events and if Millers version is true here was a particularly juicy opportunity for an hilarious satirical number, Yet the only song reported and remembered from the visit is about the court sitting at which Sakoski appeared, and it mentions Sagoski not at all.
To Thatcher, the matter was too insignificant to be put into a song, which hardly supports Millers theory of a major local scandal.

One final piece of evidence may be cited to suggest that Miller is in error, The bellman contest took place on Wednesday and "The Barbarous Barber" opened on Friday or Saturday, On the Friday night, according to the Lake Wakitipu Mail a private ball was given by Captain and Mrs Hayes at the Prince of Wales Hotel and about one hundred ladies and gentlemen were present it passed off with great eclat, dancing being spiritedly kept up till daylight did appear. It is hard to believe that a social event of this kind could occur in the midst of a major scandal involving Hayes or if it did, that it could have passed off with great eclat.

Taken as a whole the evidence suggests that the Lake Wakitipu Mail reporters explanation of the background to "The Barbarous barber" is the correct one, But this does not mean that the event describe by Miller did not occur at all either as he described or in some similar way Indeed, if something like this occurred a week or two latter it would explain a few mysteries, It is apparent for instance, that the Price of Wales was sold at auction in mid May for only a quarter of what if cost to build By mid June the Buckingham family had moved to Invercargill, where they were performing in the Concert Theatre in Dee street, but with poor houses the place itself being ill adapted to their performances and the wretched weather completing the veto. It looks, indeed as though Hayes and the Buckinghams all left town somewhat abruptly,

Yet there was plenty of demand for entrainment in Fox's (Arrowtown) in June: James Hull with Morgan and Wright continued at the Golden Age throughout the month and later professor Parker arrived to perform his famous sword tricks show. Tom Fawcett brought his drama company to Arrowtown in July. It might not be fanciful, therefore to suggest that the exposure of Hayes as a card shark or some other kind of cheat might have occurred around the middle of May possibly in the week of May 11, just after Thatcher left. Whether a barber was included or not we cannot know. Whether it was the exposure of an event that had taken place in California we cannot know, though it may be noted the Clune in an otherwise fairly painstaking biography, does not find any independent evidence of Hayes ever having been at the Californian goldfield. Clune also comments that it is hard to credit that any barber would be game to lop the curls from the head of a man who was a renown all-in fist and boot fighter.

What happened, there are several possibilities. It is not inconceivable that someone arrived in Fox's who had known Hayes in Australia and known Hayes had a wife there, even children. It is possible that someone arrived who knew Hayes questionable dealings in shipping in America or Australia, It is possible that he was found cheating at cards in the back room of the Prince of Wales Hotel. Presumably something happened that impinged itself on Millers mind, Something that he confused with the bellman contest and led him 30 years later to make a mistake of memory similar to the one he made concerning Thatcher Rosie Buckingham, Harriet Gordon and JP Hyde's.

The effect of some revelation or discovery of dishonesty on Haye's part would be obvious. He would find it difficult if not impossible to continue to obtain a licence to run the Prince of Wales He could soon be financially ruined, His own high personal reputation in Arrowtown would be ruined too and by association the reputation of his wife would suffer. Perhaps the revelation was not but circulated by rumour. Either way it would have the same consequences for his future in the goldfields It would be quite understandable if he decided the best course of action was to move on elsewhere.

Perhaps the Buckinghams decided to leave with him to support Rosie, who was now seven months into her pregnancy. The newspaper report of the events in Fox's indicates rivalry between the Buckinghams and Hayes, rivalry reaching the point of personal animosity. Miller implies a more fundamental and violent rift in which the Buckinghams pillory a man exposed as a cheat. Again Millers tale seems less likely in the light of what happened next, for it is evident that the Buckinghams stood by Hayes during the next year, perhaps the exposure of Hayes later in May brought him and the family closer together rather than driving them apart.

Rosie had her baby, a daughter in Riverton in July 1863 and there is a report of Hayes (presumably with Rosie) staying with Conrad Buckingham at Careys Bay near Port Chalmers, probably later in the same year. On mid 1864, George joined Hayes and Rosie sailing Haye's latest schooner, the Black Diamond from Auckland to Nelson and was with them in Croixelles Harbour in August 1864 when the tragic finale; to the story takes place.

It came on Friday August 19 1864 Bully Hayes, Rosie , their 13 month old baby girl Adelaide a maid servant name Mary Crowley and roses brother George all set out together in a small borrowed yacht, The Waterwitch to visit a neighbour along the coast about a mile from the shore the boat was struck by a sudden squall and capsized. George set out to swim to a nearby island, he never reached it Mary Crowley drowned as the yacht went down.

Hayes held the baby on one shoulder and , with his other arm supporting Rosie tries to swim for the shore. The air temperature on that day was little under 8 deg the water must have been close to freezing. Two oars floated up from the boat and Hayes was able to use them to help support the three of them, but there was little that could be done. After some time the baby died, Hayes passed it to its mother for a last kiss and had to release it into the water, soon after that he became aware that Rosies head was drooping beneath the waves. He tried to support her in his back, but it became painfully clear after a while that she too had stopped breathing.
He tried to drag her body through the water but was so exhausted he could not. Finally he let her go too. Struggling on he managed to reach some rocks, crawled out of the water and lay there unconscious for some hours. Eventually he came to and had to climb a hill to find his way back to the place they had started out from earlier in the day he was found later seriously injured and suffering from severe hypothermia.
Only the baby's body was found and Rosie hat.

Writers about Bully Hayes (from Miller on) have enjoyed seeing him as a villain in all these events both in Fox's and in Nelson. Gilkison for instance writes the following On August 19 1864 a boat containing his wife (little Rosie Buckingham whom he had taken from her family at Arrow ) her baby, her brother George Buckingham, and a nurse went to the bottom of the sea while The gallant Captain who accompanied them ingloriously saved his own life. He expressed great sorrow and offered a reward for the bodies and for a long time afterwards wore deep mourning on occasions, but he was ever a past master of deceit. This is a travesty of the terrible facts as they are laid out in contemporary reports in the Nelson newspapers an unhappy example of character assassination unworthy of a historian as important as Gilkison.

No one would argue that William Henry Hayes was a good man, The evidence of the rest of his life is sufficient to brand his as a cheat, thief and slaver. Interestingly enough he does not seem to have murdered anyone but even if he did not quite achieve that criminal distinction, his actions are ones deserving little praise, and hard to excuse.
For a start he seems to have been already married when he married Rosie Buckingham. And yet even Miller was willing to admit another side to Hayes. That Hayes was a bad man there can be no doubt and he certainly led a bad life, I have however known him do many kind and disinterested actions and it is also a fact that during his time in Arrowtown he made a large circle of friends
Perhaps Haye's behaviour between 1862 and 1864 was atypical, a moments aberration of goodness in an otherwise dreadful life Is it possible than his relationship with Rosie Buckingham bought out the best in Him? Perhaps those few months in Arrowtown were the best of times "Barbarous Barber" and all.