Uncovering the truth about James ‘King’ O’Malley

THE month of November will see the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute host four Twilight Talks about the theme ‘uncovering the past.’

On Wednesday 20 November, retired federal public servant Brian O’Malley will share the true story of James ‘King’ O’Malley, who concealed his dark past and became one of Australia’s first senators in 1901.

“He is a member of the first parliament and later on in about 1910 he is the Minister of Home Affairs in Federal Government,” said Mr O’Malley.

“He was involved in obtaining the architect to design Canberra and part of that process.”

An amateur genealogist of 40 years, Mr O’Malley discovered a family connection to James ‘King’ O’Malley and subsequently wrote a book titled How James became King: The true story of James ‘King’ O’Malley.

Mr O’Malley traced the start of James ‘King’ O’Malley’s story back to 1882 where he was acquitted for the murder of Jennie Cramer in New Haven, Connecticut.

The trial was bankrolled by his wealthy uncle and largely considered a miscarriage of justice. Following the trial James O’Malley disappeared from records in the United States.

“The truth is he should have never been eligible for South Australian Parliament or the Federal Parliament,” said Mr O’Malley.

“It’s setting the record straight on a number of fronts, James O’Malley was accused of murder and gets off scot-free, he disappears and lives into his 90s. “He changed his name numerous times to escape his notoriety, but he was driven largely by his personality which was essentially narcissistic.”

The program will also include a talk about the archaeology of Ballarat by Heritage Victoria’s principal archaeologist, Jeremy Smith, on Wednesday 6 November, and the following week City of Ballarat heritage co-ordinator Annabel Neylon will discuss the city’s heritage gaps review.

The series concludes Wednesday 27 November with a talk about Johnny Alloo by author John Smyth.

Admission to each talk is $8 for members or $12 for non-members. More information can be found on the BMI website.