Jemmy Woy Hoy

In 1893, the quiet town of Mudgee, New South Wales, was shattered by a brutal killing on Lewis Street. The man condemned for that crime would make one final journey — to the rope of Robert Rice Howard, the infamous state executioner known as Nosey Bob.
The Life & Death of Jemmy Woy Hoy tells the extraordinary true story of a Chinese man tried for murder in colonial Australia — a time when prejudice, passion and the law collided with deadly consequences. Who was Jemmy Woy Hoy? What drove a man to kill? And what was it like to face the gallows in 19th-century New South Wales?
Drawing on original court transcripts, newspaper reports and eyewitness accounts, author Helen Cottee reconstructs every detail of the crime, the trial and the execution with meticulous accuracy. Each chapter is richly illustrated with historical photographs, maps and documents sourced directly from colonial records — bringing a forgotten corner of Australian history vividly back to life.
The book concludes with the full family trees of both the condemned and his victims — a haunting reminder that behind every crime, real families were torn apart forever.
Part of the acclaimed Life & Death series — true crime history as it has never been told.
If you love Australian history, colonial true crime, or the forgotten stories buried in our past — this is the book for you.