Tomkins Incident - The Verdict

The Verdict

A large number of indigenous relatives and residents from Toomelah, Boggabilla and Moree had turned up to witness the court’s proceedings, as had “Sugar” Ray Robinson, former deputy chairman of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. Local Aboriginal leader Bert Button said the charge of assault causing bodily harm in company was an outrage. He demanded the two men be given murder charges.

At the hearing, held before magistrate Dennis Beutel, the Tomkins pleaded guilty to common assault. The prosecutor representing the four Toomelah boys did not produce photographs of the boys’ injuries nor use their testimonies, according to Jarrett. The prosecutor also failed to mention the drugs on the Tomkins’ property.

The UK’s Daily Telegraph reported that the Tomkins’ defence lawyer, Robbie Davis, had said his clients had become fed up with frequent break-ins on the farm and that they had used “reasonable force” to restrain Boland. Davis said the Tomkins were wrong to tie a noose around Boland’s neck. "It's a pity they didn't have the hindsight to put a rope around his waist and not his neck," he told the court. "This is not a racial event. It would have been the same if it had been a white youth." The Tomkins were fined A$500 each, and ordered to pay A$300 each to the victim. For a common assault charge, up to three years imprisonment is possible.

Outside the court house, the victims’ relatives were outraged and began yelling abuse at the police and the Tomkins, who were led out under heavy police guard. Protesters waved placards declaring “One law for whites and one law for blacks — still” and “This is KKK land”. The police had already called in a number of extra squad cars and reinforcements, including a SWAT team that was stationed around the courthouse.

ATSIC’s Robinson called on Queensland Premier Peter Beattie to investigate the case and the actions of the police. Local leader Bert Button said, “The justice system stinks. It’s saying it’s all right for non-Indigenous people to go and put a rope around someone’s neck and drag them up and down a river and give them a flogging.” The Tomkins spent the night under police protection.