History feature — The Bourke Convent abduction of 1886
Bruce Gray
In the year of 1886, the small town of Bourke in New South Wales found itself at the centre of a bizarre and unsettling scandal involving the local Catholic priest, Father Huggard.
The incident, which began on February 19, would eventually culminate in a series of court trials and appeals, drawing nationwide attention and creating a sense of mystery that persists to this day.
On that fateful day, great excitement and concern swept through Bourke as news of strange proceedings at the local convent began to circulate.
The heart of the controversy was a 14-year-old girl named Louisa Moxham, who attended music lessons at the convent. Louisa’s father, Henry Moxham, who was blind, was perplexed when his daughter did not return home from her lesson at the usual hour.
Alarmed by Louisa’s absence, Henry, with some friends, ventured to the convent in search of his daughter. However, they were met with a shocking revelation.
Father Huggard, the local Catholic priest, along with the nuns – Sisters Joseph, Philomena, St Ignatius, Mathews and Leo – was attempting to forcibly detain Louisa. The priest informed Henry that they intended to keep the girl within the convent against her father’s wishes.
Amid this confrontation, Louisa’s friends and family began to gather at the convent, following legal advice. They decided to take matters into their own hands and forcibly broke open the convent door using an axe. The scene inside the convent was one of chaos and fear. Louisa was terrified, as the nuns had warned her that leaving the convent would result in her death within three days.
During the commotion, a struggle erupted. Father Huggard himself was struck on the head with a stick, and a man who assisted him faced rough treatment. Despite the chaos, Louisa was eventually rescued from the convent and placed in a horse-drawn cab. Father Huggard desperately clung to the horse’s head, refusing to let go until he was finally forced to relinquish his grip.
The priest, evidently undeterred, called the police to the scene but received no assistance from them. The officers advised Father Huggard to release the girl peacefully. The incident left the townsfolk deeply divided, with strong sympathy for Louisa’s family. […]
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