

Johnny Dinn
Last NameDinn
Given Name:Johnny
Alternative Name:Johnny Din, Johnny (a Chinaman)
Arrival in Queensland1848
Date of Birth1830
Place of BirthChina
Place of residence in QueenslandCorella Station
Occupation
Cook
Gardener
Labourer
Dinn was indicted on 27 July 1875 for wounding William Tighe at Corella Downs on the Thompson River. At the hearing at the Rockhampton Assizes in October, evidence was given that Tighe was suffering from dysentery and had declined to eat any meals containing meat. However, Dinn refused to believe this explanation and stated that Tighe was refusing to eat the meat because he knew it had been poisoned. Dinn was concerned that if anyone ate the meat and died, he would be executed. An argument ensued and Dinn stabbed Tighe twice in the arm with a butcher's knife.
Tighe testified in court that Dinn took large quantities of opium each night and walked around talking about "shooting, poisoning, and sticking". He also said that Dinn believed that people were constantly talking about him and "conspiring to kill him".
Thomas Ang Wong served as interpreter, though the Daily Northern Argus reported that:
"Dispensing with the interpreter's aid, the prisoner [Dinn] cross-questioned Tighe in good broken English, and afterwards addressed the jury in a fluent speech, embellished with oratorical flourishes. He manifested great good humor [sic], and seemed to enjoy the situation."
Johnny Dinn also told the court that God had told him he was a Chinese king and that he wanted to return to China. In summing up for the jury, the judge stated that he had the impression that Dinn was "mad" and referred to Dinn's habit of "eating quantities of opium" which caused him to talk of poisoning and so on.
After a fifteen-minute deliberation, the jury found Dinn guilty of unlawful wounding and sentenced him to three years' imprisonment. No further trace of Dinn's life in Queensland has yet been found.
Researcher and author: Jan Richardson, Harry Gentle Resource Centre.
Date of publication: 6 May 2022.
Archival Resources
QSA, Item ID ITM654069
Photographic records, descriptions and criminal histories of male and female prisoners - HM Gaol, Brisbane
QSA, Item Representation ID DR18526
Photographic record, description and criminal history of Johnny Dinn, c 1875, No. 243
Newspapers
Rockhampton Assizes
Daily Northern Argus [Rockhampton]
5 Oct 1875
Supreme Court sittings
Rockhampton Bulletin
5 Oct 1875
Online Resources
Griffith University, Prosecution Project, Trial ID 128627