Ladislaus Kossak
Contents
Background
Ladislaus Kossak was born in Poland.
Goldfields Involvement, 1854
Post 1854 Experiences
Lieutenant Kossack was a captain in the Hungarian Army. On 03 December 1854 he led the left flank of the police against the stockaders, and was one of the few officials in sympathy with the miners)[1]
Family
- A Pole named Ladislaus Kossak is under - arrest for criminally assaulting his daughter, aged 15 years. His wife had been buried a dayor two previously, and Kossak was to drunk to attend the funeral. On his return home after a drinking bout he committed the offence.[2]
- ROSEDALE, SATURDAY. A peculiarly atrocious case came under the notice of Mr. Bell, P.M., yesterday. A man named Ladislaus Kossak, a Pole, residing at Flynn's Creek, was presented on a charge of having criminally assaulted his daughter, aged 15. On the 17th August last Kossak received a telegram that his wife had died in the Gippsland hospital. He proceeded to Sale for the purpose of attending the funeral, but, as is alleged, instead of doing so, he got drunk. He returned home on the following Thursday, the 22nd ult., and it is on that date that the offence is alleged to have been committed. On his son, aged 12 years, coming into the room, Kossak said "there would be murder in the house" if he did not keep quiet. Accused, it is said, committed the offence again during the night. Next morning the children went to a neighbor's house, with the result that the police were communicated with. A medical examination proved that a criminal assault had taken place. Accused was committed to take his trial at the criminal sittings of the Supreme Court, to be held in Sale on 22nd October. The four children of the accused, who were left destitute, have been taken care of by the police.[3]
- Ladislaus Kossak pleaded not guilty to criminally assaulting Emily Kossak, but pleaded guilty to an attempted rape. The Crown Prosecutor said that from the information that had reached him, that the girl concerned in the charge was not the accused's daughter, he felt justified in accepting the plea. Prisoner said he had nothing to say as to why sentence should not be passed, but he called. Mr Richardson, governor of the Sale gaol, who said that Kossak had taken an active part in the Turkish war. He had been a member ot the police force in Victoria, and was an active officer. He left the police force of his own Accord in consequence of a sum of money having been left him. He was a heavy drinker, and had been imbibing freely some time in Sale prior to the offence being committed. Drunkenness was Kossak's great fault. His Honor, addressing the prisoner, said : Your case is the most painful one it has ever been my misfortune to have to have to deal with. You are a man whose conduct in times past made you respected. How you have descended to be the low beast which the depositions show you to be, is beyond my comprehension, except on one basis—giving way to drink, and to disgrace yourself by beastly drinking. A man, a soldier, a husband, and a father well up in years, in a room in which you have children, proceed to debase, degrade, and demoralise them. You sought to make filthy your eldest daughter, in the presence of your children, whom you should protect. You committed the offence in the presance of a girl 10 years of age, on a daughter 15 years of age, not once, but throughout the night, if it had been your first drunken bout, there might be some hope for you, but it was not your first. What ought to be done to you it is hard to say, to save the remnant of a life going down to the grave with dishonor. I hope, if you have one feeling of manliness, or particle of affection as a father, you will devote yourself, as far as the law will allow, to bring that girl's mind and nature back to what they were before being contaminated. In that hope, I shall pass on you a sentence of two years' imprisonment, with hard labor, in the Sale gaol, the first five days of each of the last six months to be spent in solitary confinement. This is a mild sentence, and I am not doing what I might do, that is, order the lash. Try and redeem your character as soon as possible, and what with the gaol discipline and being compelled to Iead a regular life, there may be some hope for you. The prisoner was then removed.[4]
In The News
- THE EUREKA STOCKADE. - PERTH CELEBRATIONS.
- Preparations have now been completed in connection with, the Eureka Stockade celebrations, to take place, on Sunday afternoon. There will be a procession round the town to the Esplanade, and a large number of miners will take part. Captain Kossack, who commanded the left wing of the Government forces at Eureka will also be present. The first resolution, expressing grateful appreciation of the action or the miners at Eureka, will be moved lay the Premier.[5]
- EUREKA STOCKADE. JUBILEE CELEBRATION. PROCESSION AND SPEECHES. A LARGE GATHERING. The fiftieth anniversary of the Eureka stockade was celebrated yesterday, and the enthusiasm and enterprise of the promoters could have received no better reward than the large crowd which yesterday watched the proceedings. Since the movement for the jubilee celebration was first mentioned, the events of fifty years ago at Ballarat have been canvassed in the columns of the Press and at numerous meetings. Historical accounts have been published of the stockade, the name given to the enclosure formed by the diggers when, resenting the increased tax demanded as a mining licence and the vexatious methods resorted to for its-collection, they resolved upon armed resistance. It was on December 3, 1854, that the stockade was taken by storm by Capt. Thomas. of the 40th Regiment. Full publicity has been thrown on the events before and after the fight at the stockade, by the discussion in the Press evoked by the movement which culminated in yesterday's demonstration. The celebration took the form of a procession and mass meeting on the Esplanade. The procession was formed in James street, marching from thence to the Esplanade, along the northern side of which flags and bunting were flying. The weather was excellent, the breeze which raised the dust in the streets having no such disagreeable result in the Esplanade. The meetings on the Esplanade were addressed from two platforms, round each of which several thousand people had gathered, it being estimated that there were altogether from five to six thousand people present.
- THE PROCESSION. In the procession the members of the celebration committee, the A.N.A., labour unions, and friendly and benefit societies of Perth and Fremantle took part. The procession was formed up in James-street, in the vicinity of the Public Library, and moved off at a few minutes before 3 o'clock. A very large number of persons witnessed the preparations made to marshal the participants, and the streets along which the procession passed were crowded. The post of honour was given to the survivors of the Stockade, of whom 14 were present. The veterans, who looked hale and hearty, and appeared to be proud of the distinction conferred upon them, were accommodated in a drag, drawn by four handsome bay horses. Then followed a lorry, on which was erected a miniature stockade, from behind whose shelter several men, attired as diggers and armed with obsolete firearms, occasionally, in dumb show, took sighting shots at the crowd. Attached to the sides of the lorry were pieces of calico, on which were painted the following inscriptions :-"Australians gratefully remember Eureka" and "The A.N.A. honours the heroes of 1854." In the rear of this again were members of the trades and labour unions, friendly societies in their regalia, and several lorries carrying banners. On one 'of these vehicles a number of men were engaged at work illustrative of the methods adopted to win gold from the earth. Some exceedingly handsome banners were carried, and these added not a little to the picturesqueness of the scene. The two which attracted general notice were those of the Fremantle Lumpers' Union and the H.A.C.B.S. Five bands played inspiriting music at intervals during the progress of the procession. The line of march was thronged with spectators, and the survivors were frequently cheered during the course of their march through the city. The police had but little to do in the way of securing an unimpeded course for the procession, the people being orderly and well-behaved. The arrangements connected with the spectacular portion of the proceedings were admirably carried out. and no hitch of any kind cccurred. The procession, regarded as a pageant, was very creditable to the organisers. After marching along the principal thorough fares the procession reached the Esplanade, where speeches were made. A number of gentlemen, armed with money-boxes, took up a collection to defray the expenses of the celebrations, and in aid of the charities, but the result of their efforts was not available last night.
- THE SURVIVORS. Following are the names of and a few interesting details concerning the survivors who took part in the procession : H. de Longville (took an active part in the reform movement, on sentry duty in the Stockade and on the approach of the troops gave the first alarm to Peter Lalor): Lieutenant Kossack (a captain in the Hungarian Army, led the left flank of the police against the stockaders, and was one of the few officials in sympathy with the miners): Chris. Christesen (a member of the Ballarat Reform League,present from the firing of the first shot until the fall of the Stockade, succeeded in evading the troops); W. G. Holmes (in the Stockade during the fight, and saw his brother fall dead in front of him); William Atherden (in the Stockade, and was taken prisoner); Duncan Clark (a member of Ross's corps. out scouting, but returned in time to assist to carry Ross, who was wounded to Irwin's Star Hotel); Montague Miller (as a boy reached the Stockade after the soldiers had retired, and assisted the wounded and to bury the dead): Arthur Curnick (worked as a boy in the blacksmith's shop in which the stockaders' pikes were forged, father and brother in the Stockade); James Madden (as a lad was present on the fateful morning with his father, who was on duty): John Williams (a member of the Reform League, present at the monster meeting, when the licences were burned): W. R. Taylor (a prominent Chartist in the ranks of the Bendigo Reform League): John Hall (as a lad was present at the site on the morning of the affray: John Greenwell (when a boy was present at the meeting which preceded the tragic conclusion of the reform movement): and Matthew McCormick (present at the Stockade at the close of the fight). ... [6]
See also
Further Reading
Corfield, J.,Wickham, D., & Gervasoni, C. The Eureka Encyclopaedia, Ballarat Heritage Services, 2004.
References
External links
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Caption, Reference.
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/kossak-ladislaus-sylvester-3969