To the residents of Old Westland, who by this time numbered 25,000, the news of the murder of George Dobson by the infamous Burgess-Levy-Kelly-Sullivan gang of bushrangers, came as a great shock. This unfortunate road engineer, who was a brother of Sir Arthur Dudley Dobson and employed by the Canterbury Provincial Council, was killed on the south bank of the Grey River, near the coal-mining centre which today bears his name, when on a tour of inspection. A concrete monument erected by the Provincial Council marks the spot where this inoffensive Government servant met his untimely end.
This tragedy occurred on May 28th (1866); and about the middle of June four men who had been gold mining on the Wakamarina diggings were also murdered when proceeding to Nelson. Shortly after this the gang in question were arrested on suspicion, and they had not been long in gaol before Sullivan turned Queen’s evidence, and made a statement that they had killed the four miners mentioned, a man named Battle, and George Dobson. From Sullivan’s confession it is certain they mistook Dobson for a gold buyer named Fox. Sullivan was reprieved and later shipped out of the country by the police. Burgess, Levy and Kelly were hanged.
George Dobson was buried in the Karoro cemetery, Greymouth, by Bishop Harper
