Stolen trees-1828.

The Hobart Town Courier 16th Aug 1828-http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4221595

What an unusual crime. Stealing the fruit trees out of a garden, not just the fruit off the trees. I thought that John Rawlins really deserved the punishment he got, one month to the tread wheel and three months on the chain gang. Although that is a pretty harsh sentence it was hardly a spur of the moment crime. I have to ask though, how long did it take him to steal the trees? They are hardly something that can be hidden under a jacket. How did the owner not notice what was going on?

Did Mr Cullicott walk out in the morning to get an apple for breakfast and find nothing but large holes? I would have loved to hear more of the story. How many trees? Did he dig them up or just chop them off at ground level? The effort involved in moving trees makes me think that he must have had at least one friend there helping with the shovel or the axe. What on earth did he do with the trees anyway?