Born February 1823, Elijah had a difficult start to life. At the age of 3, Elijah saw his father, Henry, sentenced to seven years transportation to Australia for breaking into a barn and stealing wheat. Elizabeth Upjohn, Elijah’s mother, was now the soul breadwinner of the family; a job made particularly difficult by the significantly decreased wages women could earn for the same work.

Elijah’s father would never return.

Elijah first found himself Shire Hall at aged 11. He was arrested in Shaftesbury for stealing a pair of trousers belonging to Robert Foot. The trousers had been hung out to dry and Elijah had taken them and brought them to the local pawnbroker, Thomas Shirley. Elijah made the 27-mile journey to Dorchester Goal where he awaited his trail at the Quarter Session on the 8th April 1834.

When brought into the court, Elijah claimed to have been tasked with taking the trousers to the pawnbrokers, something which was disputed by both the Foot family and their servant. The pawnbroker was also called as a witness, however, when he approached the bench seemingly drunk, he was ejected from the court.

Elijah was to be found guilty and given the sentence of 3 months imprisonment and to be ‘whipped twice in private’, meaning to be whipped in front of the other Prisoners of Dorchester Gaol as a deterrent.

This deterrent was unsuccessful, as Elijah found himself within the dock of Shire Hall twice more. Once in 1837, he was arrested for stealing rabbits for which he received 6 months of hard labour, and finally in 1838 for stealing a pair of shoes.  As this case fell only 9 months from his last, the magistrate sentenced Elijah to the harshest possible sentence, seven years transportation to Australia.

Elijah would never return.

Arriving in Australia in 1841, Elijah served his 7-year sentence in the Prisoner’s Barracks in Launceston. Released between 1846-7, Elijah had no money to pay for passage back to Dorset. Instead, he remained in Australia, marrying Ann Copp and having 4 children.

Life in Australia had been hard and in 1863 Elijah was once again began being brought before the court for various misdemeanours. Until in 1880, Elijah is arrested for selling fake medicine and stealing chickens and is sentenced to imprisonment in Melbourne Jail.

While serving his sentence, bailiffs at Melbourne Jail came forward, asking for a volunteer to execute the notorious outlaw, Ned Kelly. For fear of what the Kelly gang might do to the person who executed their leader, nobody aside Elijah stepped forward. On the 11th November 1880, Elijah executed Ned Kelly, forever changing the course of his life.

Throughout the remainder of his sentence at Melbourne Jail, Elijah became known amongst the prisoners for his lack of mercy when flogging prisoners, echoing his experiences at the age of 11. Becoming more involved with the punishment of prisoners, he would be paid ‘half a sovereign’ for a whipping and £5 for an execution.

Upon release from Melbourne Jail, Elijah was struck on the head with a stone tied in a handkerchief and knocked unconscious. Having heard of a plot by the Kelly gang to kill him and fearing for his life, Elijah was moved to a hospital in Sydney to recover. Whilst his injuries healed, he would spend the rest of his life evading both the Kelly Gang and those he had harmed in prison.

Despite Elijah’s end, there is still a glimmer of light. Elijah and Ann had moved to the small town of Ballarat in 1858, where they had their second son, Charles. Records indicate that at this same time, Elijah’s father Henry had also been living in that small town. Hope remains that after 32 years, Elijah and Henry may have been able to reunite.

To discover more about Elijah’s story and others that have tried in Dorset, come and visit Shire Hall Museum, Dorchester.