Time Travels - In Cold Blood

Good morning!  We continue with Tony Robinson’s Time Travels in this episode:  In Cold Blood.  Tony arrives in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1954.  He is exploring a trial of two young ladies.  These ladies were so obsessed with which each other they would kill to stay together.  The two ladies were named Juliet and Pauline.  Pauline’s mother wanted to move out of New Zealand, separating the two girls.
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The pair hatched a plan to murder Pauline’s mother.  They lured her to a place outside of Christchurch, where the mother was brutally beaten to death.  When the trial started, the courthouse was packed and the locals were curious to see who could commit the murder.  The diary of the girls was read during the rial.  On August 29, 1954, the girls were found guilty of murder, sentenced to five years in prison, and never saw each other again.  They were sentenced to prison.  After they got out of prison, they managed to live productive lives.

Tony then arrives in Australia and explores the shipwreck Batavia.  The Batavia was going to Australia in 1629 from Holland to look for spices.  Unfortunately, the ship went off course and wrecked off the west coast of Australia.  Events spiraled out of control after this wreck.  The captain took a few of his men and went to Jakarta for help.  This left the survivors without a leader.  A man named Jeronimus Cornelisz took charge.  He sent off a group of men to look for food.  He left the men behind and took control of the island.  What ensued was murder and misery.  Many of the passengers were massacred.  Eventually, the captain returned and Jeronimus Corenlisz was hanged.  A piece of the ship Batavia is in a museum.

Tony goes to Sydney and explores the year 1790.  Sydney harbor was bristling with tension.  The governor Captain Arthur Philip was under order to befriend the Aboriginal people.  However, the Aboriginal people avoided the colony.  Anyone who strayed from the colony in Sydney was killed by Aboriginal people.  Arthur decided to kidnap an Aboriginal person.  He kidnapped several more Aboriginal people.  Eventually, tensions grew between the settlers and the Aboriginal people.  The Aboriginal people attempted to assassinate Arthur Philip. 

Captain Arthur Philip did not want the colonists to retaliate against the Aboriginal people.  They came to the negotiation table.  A meeting was arranged and the Aboriginal people were welcomed into the settlement.  Unfortunately, this peace would not last as the men went and explored Australia.  Tony then learns about John Horrocks.  He was a man who wanted to make his mark on history.  He was a farmer but then decided his forte was exploring.  Horrocks then imported a camel.  Camels are normally sweet-tempered but the camel Horrocks imported was ill-tempered.  He bit the head of the tent master.  Horrocks discovered a bird that he wanted to stuff.  Harry shifted and knocked the gun, shooting Horrocks.  Horrocks died twenty-three days later.  He ordered the camel shot and it took two bullets to kill the camel.

Tony then goes to 1933 and the sporting pitch to explore the most brutal action that occurred in sporting history.  A touring English cricket team was playing a game against the Australian cricket team.  An Australian player was hit in the chest and the English team was accused of playing dirty.  Tension rose and the Australian Prime Minister had to intervene.  The English Captain’s actions tarnished cricket’s reputation.

This was a rather cool episode to view and I would recommend the first part for a library and information science class because it talks about Anne Perry.  The third story of between the Aboriginals and the Sydney Colony would be a good section to show for a geography class.