Murder at Port Douglas | The Forgotten 1887 True Crime Case of Ellen Thompson
In 1886, the remote sugar-growing district of Mossman River near Port Douglas, Queensland became the scene of one of Australia’s most haunting Victorian true crime cases. When farmer William Thompson was discovered with a gunshot wound inside his rural homestead, authorities quickly ruled the death a suicide. But neighbours along the Mossman River track insisted they had heard two gunshots that night — not one. What followed was a shocking historical murder investigation involving Ellen Thompson, John Harrison, forensic exhumation evidence, colonial courtroom drama, and the only execution of a woman in Queensland history.
This historical documentary explores the full Ellen Thompson case through surviving court records, newspaper archives, and colonial reports from 19th century Australia. From Irish famine migration and frontier life in Far North Queensland to the murder trial at Townsville and the final execution at Boggo Road Gaol, this is a dark and tragic journey into Victorian-era justice, forensic history, and one of Australia’s forgotten murder cases.
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Sources: Trove Digital Newspaper Archive; Queensland State Archives; Brisbane Courier historical reports