A NARROW ESCAPE FOR DR. PEACOCK
By Peter McCullough
Peacock Road can be found in Tyabb. It used to be called “Peacock Lane” before its status was upgraded. “Lane” is probably more appropriate for it is a short dusty track which peters out at a double gate into open paddocks. On the right hand side is the former Tyabb Coolstore, now the home of Tyabb Packing House Antiques; on the left is the former All Saints Anglican church and Parish Hall, now The Hungry Peacock family restaurant, then a few factories, including the former Tyabb Cannery, and two old houses. But why “Peacock” Road? It was in fact named after Doctor Samuel Knox Peacock who not only owned a large area of land in Tyabb but was also the proprietor of a hospital in East Melbourne which specialized in illegal operations for young women. His “trade” led to him being charged just over a century ago with the murder of a young woman named Mary Davies, and it was only after three greatly publicized trials that he was eventually found not guilty. Early Life. Although born in County Antrim, Ireland, in 1839 Dr. Peacock gained his medical qualifications at Glasgow University and at the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh. In August, 1872 he arrived in Melbourne via Adelaide and then practised in Bundoora for two years before moving to Fitzroy where he lived and had a surgery at 120 Johnston Street. In 1900 he started to practise in East Melbourne where he built Eastbourne House on the corner of Wellington Parade and Simpson Street in 1902. It was used as a residence and as a hospital solely for female patients.
E ssence
122 | PENINSULA
Summer 2015/2016
The Alleged Crime. On 31 August, 1911 The Argus shocked its readers with the headlines “Charge of Murder-Young Woman Missing-Doctor Arrested.” Dr. Samuel Peacock was charged with “...having between 16 August and 29 August wilfully and feloniously killed or murdered Mary Margaret Davies, 27 years of age.” It was alleged that Dr. Peacock performed an abortion on Mary, that she died as a result, and that he disposed of her body. The main witness for the Crown was 21 year old Clifford Poke who boarded with the Davies family and who was described as being “...responsible for her condition.” After receiving the report of Mary’s disappearance from Mr. Poke, police looked for the body at Eastbourne House. They took up the floor boards, they ripped out wall panelling, and they dug up the sewerage pipes. They found nothing. Running a hospital exclusively for women must have been a profitable occupation for, apart from Eastbourne House, Dr. Peacock owned land at Cheltenham (now part of Sandringham Golf Course), Mordialloc, Neerim South, Cranbourne, Buln Buln, and Tyabb. All were subject to police searches. However the main focus of the police was a farm of 260 acres owned by Dr. Peacock at Carrum, part of which is now the practice fairway of the Patterson River Country Club. An extensive search was conducted by police, trackers, dogs, and forty local volunteers. Even the nearby Patterson River was dragged with grappling irons with no result. There was a flurry of excitement when a pile of sand 30 cm. high and about 100 cm. in diameter was found, suggesting that something was buried there. After digging, the anticipated feeling of triumph dissipated when the