When a Wagga butcher declared he was a long-lost English baron, it triggered one of the most remarkable legal proceedings in world history:
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The Tichborne Trials.
It all began when Tom Castro emerged from his hut in the mid-19th century and declared he was the long-lost Sir Roger Tichborne and the heir to the baronetcy in Hampshire.
The mystery made a significant mark in history and became the namesake of Wagga street, Tichborne Crescent.
His story was revealed as part of The Daily Advertiser’s Memory Lane series.
According to the State Library, Sir Tichborne – heir to his uncle’s baron title and fortune – was was declared dead after the New-York bound Bella was shipwrecked 1854.
But the heir’s mother, Lady Henriette Tichborne, firmly believed her son was still alive, after rumours started circulating some survivors had been thrown aboard a Melbourne-bound vessel.
A large reward was offered to find him and 10 years later, she received word of an Australian butcher, who said he was her son.
Unlike Sir Tichborne, the “stout and uncouth” Castro had a bigger frame and lighter hair; he also spoke no French and had no accent. But Lady Tichborne did not care.
The true identity of the claimant was a question most of the English-speaking world wanted to know.
Although the Wagga butcher managed to convince Lady Tichborne and several other family members of his lineage, a few sceptics discovered Castro was in fact London-born man Arthur Orton.
The civil trial went on for almost a year, and involved 36,000 cross-examination questions and month-long defence council speeches.
After Orton was deemed an impostor, he faced a separate criminal trial and was convicted of perjury.
In 1874, Orton was sentenced to 14-years hard labour. He was released one decade later to a life of poverty until his death as an asylum resident in 1898.
The twist: Orton’s death certificate and coffin plate bore the Tichborne name. According to a London paper, “the judges of the High Court were two years in determining that the living Tichborne was Orton. The Registrar of Births and Deaths determined in two minutes that the dead Orton was Tichborne”.
Read more about Wagga residents who literally left their mark on the city in the Memory Lane series:
