Sheep stealing
On 25 August 1947, 44-year-old farmer Ernest Sydney Beaton was tried at the Kalgoorlie Supreme Court for sheep stealing. It was alleged that he had stolen fifteen sheep from Mark Posa, who identified them by their ear markings after Beaton had taken them to the slaughter-yard. Posa had offered to let the matter go if Beaton paid him fifty pounds for the sheep. Beaton, however, stated that some of his sheep had been wrongfully ear-marked by Posa. Some of Beaton’s sheep had also ended up in a flock that Posa then sold to another man. It was Beaton’s position that this was not unusual among farmers, and that a certain amount of give and take had to be allowed. The jury evidently agreed, finding Beaton not guilty.
This trial report is from Kalgoorlie MinerDownload from Trove
