Albert Smidt (c. 1847 – 18 November 1890) was a German-born Australian serial killer who murdered two men (and possibly a third) in south-east New South Wales. Smidt was convicted of the murder in April 1890 of his travelling companion, John Young Taylor, and hanged for the crime at Wagga Wagga. It was strongly believed that Smidt had also murdered Jacob Rick, a travelling companion of both he and Taylor, but the investigation of Rick's disappearance stalled after police failed to locate his body. It was also suspected that Smidt had earlier murdered an unidentified man whose decapitated body was found in the Murrumbidgee River in October 1888, on 'Gellingroe' station downstream from Gundagai. However, Smidt's role in that murder remained a matter of conjecture. He was hanged at Wagga Wagga in November 1890.
Biography
A German immigrant
Albert Smidt was born in about 1847 in Potsdam in Prussia, Germany.Smidt's age was recorded as 43 years in 1890, born in Potsdam, Germany: Register of Coroners' Inquests, 1890, No. 1182 (NSW State Archives, Series 2925, Item 4/6619, Roll 343). Rev. MacIntyre of Wagga Wagga, who frequently visited Smidt after he had been charged with murder in 1890, formed the opinion that Smidt was "a fairly educated and intelligent man, who had received in his youth a good deal of religious instruction".The Late Murder: Confession of the Murderer, Wagga Wagga Advertiser, 17 April 1890, page 2.
In a statement made to the police in May 1890, Smidt claimed to have been in Australia for "eight or nine years" (i.e., since about 1881 or 1882), having initially arrived in Queensland.Confession of the Wagga Murderer, Goulburn Evening Penny Post, 3 May 1890, page 7. A later newspaper article recorded that Smidt "arrived in Victoria from New Zealand".The Murder near Wagga, Bathurst Free Press and Mining Journal, 24 November 1890, page 3.
In Australia Smidt was an itinerant miner, prospector and rural worker. In about 1888 or 1889 Smidt possibly worked as a fisherman on the Murrumbidgee River in the vicinity of Gundagai.The Late Wagga Murder, Wagga Wagga Advertiser, 15 May 1890, page 2.The police of Albury..., Freeman's Journal (Sydney), 24 May 1890, page 19. Another newspaper report stated that Smidt may have been in the Murrumbidgee district as early as 1881 or 1882, at which time he "employed himself fishing in the river".The Late Murder: Discovery of the Body, Wagga Wagga Advertiser, 15 April 1890, page 3. After he was charged with murder in April 1890, enquiries by the police ascertained that Smidt had been working as a prospector in the Wee Jasper district, east of Gundagai, since about 1888. It was reported that "he used to go away occasionally, and on his return always seemed to have a good supply of money".The Missing Man Jacob Rick, Sydney Morning Herald, 28 May 1890, page 7.
A newspaper article in November 1890 described Smidt, who at the time was awaiting execution, as a man of about five feet 4 inches in height (1.63 m.), of medium build, and "inclined to be of fair complexion, although considerably sun-burnt". The prisoner's face was described as having "a sullen look", with "a low forehead, receding head, gray eyes, small moustache and 'goatee' beard".The Prisoner, Bathurst Free Press and Mining Journal, 24 November 1890, page 3.
The 'Gellingroe' murder
On Wednesday, 17 October 1888, the pastoralist Richard Whitacker, of 'Gellingroe' station (about twenty miles downstream from Gundagai), was fishing in the Murrumbidgee River about half a mile from his homestead when he discovered the headless, naked body of a man snagged on a log in the river. Whitacker informed the police at Gundagai and Constable Nickson was sent to investigate and take charge of the body.News of the Week, Gundagai Times and Tumut, Adelong and Murrumbidgee District Advertiser, 18 October 1888, page 2.Mr. R. Whiticker’s Will, Gundagai Times and Tumut, Adelong and Murrumbidgee District Advertiser, 21 January 1913, page 2. Nickson soon determined the man had been murdered “by one who is no novice in the business”. The man's head had been severed from the body by two distinct cuts, a piece of flesh was hanging from the shoulders and there were further marks of violence on the back and arms, indicating a fierce struggle with the killer had taken place. Nickson secured the body with ropes until it could be removed from the river. The body was “very much swollen and bloated”, reckoned to have been in the water less than three weeks. The man was estimated to be under 30 years of age, about five feet four inches (1.62 m.) tall, with the appearance of a healthy, muscular man. No trace of the head or clothing could be found.The Gellingroe Murder, Gundagai Times and Tumut, Adelong and Murrumbidgee District Advertiser, 23 October 1888, page 2.The Gellingroe Murder, Gundagai Times and Tumut, Adelong and Murrumbidgee District Advertiser, 30 October 1888, page 2. There had been no reports of a missing person from the district, suggesting that the murdered man had been a stranger to the area.Supposed Murder near Gundagai, Australian Star (Sydney), 22 October 1888, page 5.
The murder of the unidentified man in 1888, found decapitated in the Murrumbidgee River downstream from Gundagai on 'Gellingroe' station, remained unsolved. In April 1890 Albert Smidt was arrested for the murder of his companion, John Young Taylor. The fact that Smidt had decapitated Taylor and buried the head and body in different locations led to speculation that Smidt had also been responsible for the earlier Gellingroe murder. After Smidt's arrest Inspector Charles Harrison from Wagga Wagga led the investigation into Smidt's possible involvement, as well as the circumstances surrounding the later disappearance of Smidt's companion, Jacob Rick. It was reported in May 1890 that "the police are in possession of information which leaves no doubt that [Smidt] was in the neighbourhood of Gundagai at the time" of the Gellingroe murder. Another report stated that Smidt had been employed as a fisherman on the Murrumbidgee River "prior to being seen about Wagga with Taylor". In the end, however, Smidt's role in the Gellingroe murder remained speculative.
Jacob Rick's murder
John Young Taylor and Jacob Rick were miners and prospectors based at Rushworth, in the Campaspe district of northern central Victoria. They left Rushworth on October 23, initially attracted by reports of a goldrush in the Parkes district of central west New South Wales.The Supposed Murder of Jacob Rick, The Argus (Melbourne), 21 May 1890, page 5.The Missing Man, Jacob Rick, The Age (Melbourne), 13 June 1890, page 7.See examples: Gold Rush to Parkes, Goulburn Evening Penny Post, 25 June 1889, page 2; Gold Finds Near Parkes, Freeman's Journal (Sydney), 10 August 1889, page 20. It was at Peak Hill, north of Parkes, where the two men met Alfred Smidt, and began working and travelling with him.Extracts From Archdeacon Pownall's Journal. Wagga Wagga Express, 20 November 1890, page 5. Soon afterwards, finding the prospects at Peak Hill less than what they had anticipated, the two Rushworth miners, together with Smidt and another man named Tubbenhaur, decided to move on. The four men left Peak Hill in November 1889, travelling in a horse-drawn waggonette, and proceeded to the Good Friday Gully, near Young in inland south-east New South Wales, where they began working an old claim. After four days Taylor travelled to Peak Hill to collect property belonging to Rick and then returned to Rushworth. After a further nine days Rick, Smidt and Tubbenhaur abandoned the claim at Good Friday Gully. The waggonette was taken into Young for repairs, after which the three miners travelled to old diggings south of Young, between Wombat and Murrumburrah, arriving there on December 6 and establishing a camp. For the next eight days Rick, Smidt and Tubbenhaur were employed by a local farmer in harvesting work. Tubbenhaur then left the group, and Rick and Smidt travelled to the Wee Jasper district, east of Gundagai at the foot of the Brindabella Ranges, a region familiar to Smidt.
At Wee Jasper one of the wheels of the waggonette was repaired by a local tradesman named Frank Gardiner, after which the Rick and Smidt drove the vehicle eight miles to "Anderson's place", in undulating country west of Wee Jasper village, arriving there on Christmas Day. The two prospectors left the waggonette at that location and, loading a pack-horse, told Anderson they intended to prospect at Smith's old diggings on Sandy Creek, about five miles away in the Bungongo district.Map of Sandy Creek, NSW, Bonzle.com website, Digital Atlas Pty. Ltd., accessed 6 March 2023.The Search for the Missing Man Jacob Rick, Goulburn Evening Penny Post, 22 May 1890, page 4. The two men were not seen again until the evening of December 31 when they camped at Shaking Bog Crossing on Adjungbilly Creek, near Thomas Bell's selection and five miles from Anderson's place. The following day, 1 January 1890, Rick and Smidt were taken by a local miner, Margules Keinitz, "to a likely prospecting site" in Garner's paddock in the Tumorrama district.Map of Tumorrama, NSW, Bonzle.com website, Digital Atlas Pty. Ltd., accessed 4 March 2023. They were observed by other miners at the location, shortly after noon on New Year's Day. Smidt and Rick prospected at the reef for only about an hour, before moving on later that afternoon.The Missing Man Jacob Rick, Gundagai Times and Tumut, Adelong and Murrumbidgee District Advertiser, 6 June 1890, page 4.The Search for Jacob Rick, Daily Telegraph (Sydney), 2 June 1890, page 5.
Subsequent police investigations led to the conclusion that Jacob Rick was probably murdered by Smidt later in the afternoon of 1 January 1890, as the prospecting reef in Garner's paddock was the last place at which Rick was seen alive. At about four o'clock that same afternoon, Smidt, alone and leading the pack-horse, called at Bell's dwelling and purchased some butter. He then proceeded to Anderson's place, arriving there towards evening. When he was later interviewed by the police, Anderson recalled Smidt's "excited manner" on this occasion. When asked about Rick's whereabouts, he replied: "He has gone to Gundagai and taken the train to Victoria". As the hour was late, Anderson pressed him to stay, but Smidt refused, saying he was "in a great hurry". He then hitched the horse to the waggonette and departed. Smidt camped that night at his previous camp-site at Shaking Bog Crossing near Bell's selection. The next morning, January 2, he sold the tent he had been using to a local miner. The following day Smidt was seen at Keilley's place, eight miles along Adjungbilly Creek from the crossing-place. During the next few days Smidt was observed "proceeding up and down the creek from Keilley's in a mysterious manner", after which he returned to Keilley's and made unsuccessful efforts to sell the waggonette.
Smidt then drove the waggonette to Tumut via Brungle Creek, where he camped in the yard of McKay's hotel. At Tumut he again attempted to sell the waggonette, without success. Smidt then moved on to Adelong where he was again unable to find a purchaser for the vehicle. He continued on to Hillas' Creek, between Gundagai and Tarcutta, before heading south-west on the Great Southern Road towards Albury on the Victorian border.