The Tattersalls Club Affair –

KALGOORLIE CAFE PROPRIETOR ON TRIAL
Breaking and Entering Charge
Early Morning Affair at Tattersalls Club

Leonard Charles Jackson claimed that he had fallen asleep in the cardroom of the Goldfields Tattersall’s Club, and had awakened and had then walked into the arms of two detectives, this was the defence given by Leonard Charles Jackson (44), proprietor of the Bright Spot Tearooms, Hannan Street, at his trial in the Eastern Districts Court of Session yesterday.

Jackson, who was arrested on the premises early in the morning of September 4th last, was on trial on a charge of having broken and entered the club premises with intent to commit a crime therein. Crown and defence evidence was concluded yesterday before a packed gallery. Addresses of counsel will be heard today, after which Mr. L. W. Stotter, who is presiding, will sum up. The jury will then retire to consider its verdict.

At the outset of the case yesterday Mr Stotter granted, counsel the privilege of removing wigs and gowns because of the extreme warmth of the day. Mr. Kevin Walsh was the Crown prosecutor. Mr. D. Walsh, of Perth, together with Mr. Tom A. Hartrey, appeared for Jackson.

Goldfields Tattersalls Club, 80 Egan St, Kalgoorlie – Photo Goldfields Tattersalls Club.

September 3rd was Boulder Cup evening, and there was about £600 on the premises of Goldfields Tattersalls Club. Because no banking could be done, it was arranged by the manager, Robert John Beavis, for the police to watch the club. Late that night he let Detective Sergeant J. I. Johnston, Detective P. E. Jones and Detective F. Douglas into the building, gave them the key to the office and locked the place. He went through the premises and saw that everything was secure, both upstairs and downstairs. He went into the cardroom. which was about 14 ft. by 10 ft. and contained a big card table, three or four small tables and about 10 chairs. He left the premises at about 12.20 a.m. with one of the stewards, Clarence Harris. When they left the only persons in the building were the three detectives.

The next morning, (Sep 4), he was called to the west side of the club to be shown force marks on a window and a chip broken off the bottom. The window was secured by a nail in a hole bored through the two sashes of the frames. Leonard Jackson had been found on the premises, he was not a member of the club, and he did not see him there on the previous night. If Jackson was found on the premises after midnight, he had no authority to be there.

Leonard Charles Jackson

Mr Beavis said that September 3 was an open night and a Calcutta sweep had been run (as it still does).  At 11.45 p.m. there would be no more than three or four persons in the club. He secured all the windows upstairs then came down and walked across to the cardroom window, which was the most opened window in the club. He did not remember if he closed the door as he left the cardroom. If there was anybody in the room in the armchair to the left of the doorway, that person could not be seen. The following day there was a mark on the sill outside. The lintel was cemented over and with the years had turned a brown colour. A three-inch nail held the window in position. The nail he saw was bent.

Clarence Francis Hams, of 75A Wilson Street, Kalgoorlie, steward at the club, said he went into the cardroom, switched on the light and tried the window. It was as secure as it could be. He himself had bored holes for the nail in the frame. Definitely, there was nobody in the card room. The door was partly pushed back, and there was a chair behind the door but he said no one was in it.

Detective Douglas, a member of the Gold Stealing Detection Staff, then told how he and the other detectives went to the club at 11.45 p.m. and were let in. At about 12.20 a.m. he heard people leaving the club and the lights were put out. Johnston then gave certain instructions. Jones took up a position between the swinging doors of the club, and he and Johnston took up a position in the bar room alongside the counter. Shortly before 2 a.m., he heard the footsteps of a person walking down the western side of the building. This person stopped at a window directly behind them. The window rattled as if it was being tried The person then continued along to the window of the card, room. I heard a banging noise as if the window was moving up and down in its frame and bumping against the sides,’ Douglas continued. ‘It was quite obvious to me that the window was being forced. This noise continued for about a minute. I heard the window give and heard it being pushed up. I noticed a light coming out of the cardroom door and shining on the wall on the opposite side. I could hear someone climbing through the window I could hear the person moving across the floor to the cardroom door.’

The reflection of a torch was moving about on the wall. When this person was almost to the cardroom door, I heard the window being pulled down, and at the same time, the light went out. I heard footsteps moving away from the window to the back of the building. The person in the building came out of the cardroom to the bar. He was breathing fast and deeply and was walking on his toes as if to make very little noise. When this person was halfway across the bar-room floor and about 6 ft. from Johnston and myself, Johnston called out:

‘Stop where you are— police here.’

At the same time, he switched on his torch, and I recognised Jackson, Jackson immediately said: ‘I knew you were here. I expected you— I knew you were here.’ At the same time, he placed his arms across his face as if to hide it, and moved back. I began to run towards the back door when Johnston called out, ‘Search Jackson first’. I made a hurried search of Jackson, then ran into the cardroom but could not see anyone. I unlocked the Yale lock on the back door and ran out into the backyard but could not see anyone around. I went over to the cardroom window and could see it had been forced. The bottom part was half down, and the top part was down 9 in.

He returned to Jackson and Johnston, and made a thorough search of Jackson, but found no tools on him. Johnston said: ‘We heard you burst in. We heard you climb in the window.’ Jackson replied: ‘Don’t be silly. I’ve been asleep in the cardroom all night.’ Jackson was wearing a khaki shirt and trousers. ‘There is a fresh jemmy mark on the window. It wasn’t here yesterday.’

Demetrios Doulas and Emmanuel Karutzsos both gave evidence that they had seen Jackson in Douglas’s Monte Carlo cafe at 12.45 a.m. on September 4. When the Crown case was concluded, the jury visited the scene of the alleged crime at Tattersall’s Club. Leonard Charles Jackson, of 16 Porter Street, and delicatessen proprietor, of Hannan Street, said that he went to Tattersairs Club at the invitation of Con O’Malley, a member, about 8.30 p.m. on September 3 for the calling of the card for the Boulder Cup, which was run the following day. He had several drinks and left the club about an hour later with O’Malley.  They had a few drinks at the Exchange Hotel, and he and O’Malley then joined their wives at the Australia Hotel, where they had four more drinks before going to the Victoria Hotel. They stayed there till 11 p.m. during which time they had about 12 schooners of beer. The Jacksons and the O’Malleys walked up Hannan Street as far as the Exchange Hotel, where they parted, Jackson, who was feeling pretty ill, by now was ‘sick in the gutter.’

Jackson then walked back to the Exchange Hotel to rejoin O’Malley but the hotel was closed so he proceeded on to Tattersall’s Club, entering through the back door. There were a lot of people in the bar. He asked for a drink and was refused, and as he was feeling very sick he walked into a little room at the rear of the club and he sat in a chair practically behind the door. ‘When I woke up later I was on the floor and feeling pretty cold,’ continued Jackson. As I walked towards the fire a torch glowed and I could see two guns pointed at my head.

Detective Sergeant Johnston searched me and then said that I would be charged with an offence of breaking and entering and I said ‘Don’t be silly, I have been asleep in the card room. He heard no one rattle the windows, come through the windows or switch on the lights. outside Mrs. Jackson said that when she left her husband in Hannan Street he was wearing a collar and tie and a brown suit. She next saw her husband when he arrived home from the police station he oddly had. changed his clothes to an old working shirt — a brown khaki shirt — and old trousers!