The Christmas Goose c.1923

Theresa Lacey c.1909 (Public Record Office, Victoria reference at end of article)

On Christmas Eve, 1923, Kate Wiseman was stabbed, so she alleged, by her Fitzroy housemate -Theresa Lacey.
They’d got into an argument as to when the Christmas goose should be killed, and Wiseman, taking the initiative, had begun chasing the reticent bird around the yard with a knife. As she flashed past the side door in pursuit of her quarry, she was felled by Lacey with a blow to the head. They’d then engaged in a fierce struggle for possession of the knife, the victory going to Lacey.
Wiseman was discovered in the early hours of the morning by Senior Constable Hehir. She was lying on the footpath outside her house and bleeding profusely from wounds to the head, face and hands. Lacey was found by police in the kitchen. She was covered in blood, surrounded by broken glass, and blamed it all on “the curse of drink”. The goose made no comment.
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Merry Christmas from Melbourne Historical Crime Tours.
(story by Michael Shelford © 2018)
Photo courtesy of Public Record Office of Victoria: VPRS 516, P0002, Unit 13, Item 7078, Theresa Lacey, Government Agency - Chief Secretary's Department