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Two family stories of Travellers escaping from burkers.

Date October 1978
Track ID 55955
Part 1

Track Information

Original Track ID

SA1978.160

Original Tape ID

SA1978.160

Summary

Two family stories of Travellers escaping from burkers.

Alec Stewart's father and uncle Davy were out hawking his father's tinware from farm to farm. Before they could find a safe place for the night, they heard the burkers' machine [vehicle] coming. They hid in a stack, but the burkers' dogs discovered them. Davy cut a dog's tail off with a bread knife and it ran away, with the burkers following. The farmer notified the police to look out for a dog without a tail.

Alec Stewart's great great grandfather and his family were travelling with a donkey and cart. They camped in a wood, but realised they hadn't gone far enough in to be hidden from burkers. They left the donkey and crept into a farmer's barn. They were dovering [nodding] over into sleep when they heard the burkers' machine. The burkers overpowered the old man and his son and cast the old woman into a bag, but the farmer came out with a gun, and the burkers dropped the bag and escaped. The Travellers found their camp torn down, their donkey killed, and their cart thrown down a bank.

Item Notes

The story about Alec Stewart's father and uncle may have happened to an older generation, and been retold in the first person for dramatic effect, as Alec Stewart does on the next track on the same tape (SA1978.160). The term 'burker' comes from William Burke (of Burke and Hare). Burke went beyond bodysnatching and committed murder in order to sell the bodies for dissection; he was hanged in 1829.

Language

English

Collection

SoSS

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good