This is a collection of links about the incident of 12 December 1945, when my aunt Gloria
Bruyn née Herbert shot her father (my grandfather) Robert Abel Francis Herbert dead.
The case was tried by jury, and the jury took only 15 minutes to find her innocent both of
murder and of manslaughter. Thus no further explanation.
Where did the gun come from?
It's not clear from the evidence we have where the gun came from. It was certainly very
unusual for a 19 year old girl in Melbourne to have a gun. There are at least three different stories:
My sister Beverley tells me that she got it from her husband, Joop Bruyn. This
information may have come from my mother.
After her acquittal, Gloria was re-arrested and charged with possession of an
unregistered firearm. According to this report she stated:
Mrs Bruyn pleaded guilty to the pistol charge today. She had told the police that the
pistol was given to her in Brisbane by an American to defend herself in case of attack
by U.S. negroes.
In December 1993,
my uncle Bob (Robert Charles Herbert), who was present at the incident, told me that he
had given the gun to Gloria to protect herself, since he thought that her lifestyle
might bring her into danger. I see no reason to believe that he lied, and it's the only
definite statement that we have.
Notes
It's interesting that the various newspapers couldn't agree on Robert's full name. As I was
told as a boy, it's Robert Francis Herbert. But a photo of him as a soldier has written on
the back “Robert Francis Abel Herbert”. And many reports give his name as “Robert Abel
Herbert”.
