We named our spirits after this local landmark because our distillery overlooks Deadman’s Point, and we wanted to honor the rich history of our area. But why does this beautiful promontory have such a sinister name?
On May 5th, 1900, four men from the Kettering Auxiliary Corp, led by Sergeant Edwards, headed to the Trial Bay Rifle Range. They soon realized they were missing a crucial team member—the marker, who indicates the value and position of each shot.
Not wanting to waste time, the sergeant drilled the men and then dismissed them. One of the men decided to take a shot at a stake on the beach, and Private Lord asked if he could do the same. Sergeant Edwards agreed. Private Lord lined up his Martini-Henry Rifle with the stake, about two hundred yards away—not an impossible shot.
Meanwhile, Allan Coombs had been out shooting in Little Peppermint Bay and was heading home to Kettering. He decided to walk around the point to Trial Bay. As he reached the end of the point, he heard a bugle call. Looking around but seeing no one, he stepped towards the beach, walked about five meters, and suddenly found himself on his back with excruciating pain in his left side.
Allan called out, struggled to his feet, and staggered the last few meters to the beach. The men of the Kettering Auxiliary Corp heard his shout, looked at each other in shock, and three of them ran along the beach to where they had heard the cry. Allan, blood-soaked and in obvious agony, stumbled into their arms.
Allan was taken to his home in Kettering, and a doctor was called. The bullet had pierced his left side, about seven inches below his nipple. On its way through his body, it had clipped his lung, shattered some bones, and damaged the muscles of his back. Remarkably, Allan didn’t die from the shot. He even took the Tasmanian Government to court, suing them for £1500 in damages. Unfortunately, he lost the case.
The Tasmanian Nomenclature Board says that Mr. Jack Rex, who owned land on Trial Bay, told them that Deadman’s Point had been known by that name for as long as he could remember. The name possibly originated from the fact that Trial Bay was used as a rifle range with targets on the southern point, and a man was accidentally shot there.
That’s the story we discovered. For all we know, it may not be the real reason Deadman’s Point got its name. If you know the real story and have some hard, convincing evidence, we would love to hear it. And who knows, it might even be worth a bottle of Deadman’s Point Gin!
Since we posted the story of Deadman’s Point on our website, our neighbour has been out metal detecting. One day, he came over for drinks with a small plastic bag in hand. He said he found piles of these things on his land. When I looked inside the bag, I wasn’t sure what I was seeing. It turns out, they were shell casings from a Martini-Henry Rifle.
For history buffs, here are some fascinating facts we uncovered:
It seems our neighbour had found examples of both types of shell casings, proving the story of the firing range in Trial Bay!
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