Detective Christie (standing, centre back) with his party and the captured Nirranda still equipment.
Visitors
can learn about the history of illicit distilling around Timboon and
Nirranda in the 1880’s.
Tom Delaney at about the age of 30, became the main distiller in the
district. The police records show Delaney’s interest in whisky
as far back as 1881.
But whisky making flourished mainly between 1890 and 1893.
Tom Delaney was known as a "jovial, good natured Irishman"
whose whisky making was carried out as an adventure and being "agin
the government" rather than for profit.
A pictorial display illustrates the characters, guises, anecedotes and the subsequent demise of those who dabbled in the illicit distilling in our region.
At
the peak of production, Tom Delaney is said to have made 100 gallons
a week.
It was labelled "MOUNTAIN DEW" and they cheekily put the official
Government stamp on it.
Mountain Dew was a common drink at local weddings and one day at Koroit
races it was the only drink on sale.
By the end of the second race, the crowd was said to be in a fighting
mood.
A good relationship was developed with the local police and their ration
was put through the still twice.
Pat Delaney, a dairy-farmer, used to describe the whisky as "smooth
as new milk", and other reports say it was of a high quality.
The
Government finally decided to stamp out the practice.
They had a man who considered himself to be pretty smart - Detective
Inspector Christie - and at one stage he was champion boxer and champion
sculler of Victoria.
He was selected as the personal bodyguard of H.R.H. Prince Alfred, the second son of Queen Victoria, on his visit to Australia. Christie was a master of disguises and seemed to enjoy being photographed in his rig-outs.
Detective Christie posing as a travelling tinker.
He was given the task of catching Tom Delaney.
He disguised himself as a tinker and Margaret Ryan, later wife of
Tom's nephew, Pat Delaney, can recall this tinker fixing pots and
pans at Ryans and asking questions about the Delaneys.
Christie claims to have found where the still was - in whisky Creek
- but others say an informer gave the game away for 100 sovereigns.
Christie and Constables Arthur, Snowden and
Jones made the attack on Tom Delaney and Jim Love in their bark shanty
containing the still at 2 o'clock one morning late in 1893.
Tom and Jim were making whisky and a kerosene lamp lit up the shanty
so that the police had a perfect view.
Christie says he drew his gun and rushed into the shanty saying:
"Customs.
I arrest you, Tom Delaney and Jim Love. Stand or I'll fire. You are
my prisoners."
But according to Tom Delaney, Christie
shouted "We've got you, you dog, Delaney".
Now
what self-respecting Irishman would meekly surrender in those circumstances.
Not Tom Delaney!
He yelled out to Love "Come on Jim", and burst
through the side of the shant into the bush with Love following and
the police firing shots after them.
Christie captured the still but no Tom. The order went out for Tom's arrest and he was to be outlawed.
Three weeks later, Tom was driven into Warrnambool one evening by his nephew, Pat, and the next morning he gave himself up to Mr O'Callaghan, Inspector of Police in Warrnambool and later Chief Commissioner of Police.
Reading the Warrant
to Tom Delaney at the Warrnambool Watch-house.
That was the end of illicit whisky making but for many years afterwards
demijohns of Delaney's whisky were found in all sorts of places.
The stories surrounding Delaney's whisky are legend. One day Tom was driving a load of whisky into Warrnambool. The police bailed him up at Allansford Bridge but as one policeman went to grab the horse's head and the other policeman climbed up the back, Tom gave the horse a cut of the whip and both police fell to the ground. A shot was fired but hit the steel stay at the back of the seat. Tom wheeled down a side track and avoided the police. He dumped the whisky in a quarry at Lee's Wangoom, loaded the cart with cheese from a friendly farmer and drove into Warrnambool police station where he complained that he had been held up by an armed man at Allansford!
Descendants of the Delaneys can be found throughout the Western District. They have carried on the tradition of successful farming set by their forbears. The early escapades must be seen mainly as the outcome of a spirit of adventure and a carry-over of the reaction against opressive government experienced in Ireland for 800 years.