Thomas Ulick Burke

[6] Smythesdale in the 1860s was a prosperous gold-mining town on the Woady Yaloak River in an area which supported a large though itinerant population of miners and other workers.

[9] One of Burke's tasks as bank manager was to travel throughout the Woady Yaloak diggings buying gold from miners.

[2] Early on 10 May 1867, Burke collected a horse and buggy from the Smythesdale coach-builder and traveled to the Break O’ Day area (now Corindhap, Victoria), arriving at the nearby town of Rokewood at 1130 am.

[8] George Searle, a publican at Break O’ Day, and Joseph Ballan, his employee, left on horseback shortly afterward with the intention of robbing Burke.

The Woady-Yaloak area was relatively densely populated in 1867, and several witnesses saw Searle and Ballan moving cross-country around the time of Burke's murder.

During their trial, Searle admitted to the robbery but sought to have his charge of murder reduced because it was Ballan who had shot Burke.

The murder caused distress among local business people, some of whom who felt it was no longer safe to travel unescorted.

Louisa was pregnant at the time of Burke's murder and a third child was born and named Ulick Thomas in December 1867.

[17] Ulick moved to Tasmania and then to Queensland, where he ran a dairy farm and served in the Australian infantry in World War I.