When His Lordship Edward Lascelles, son of the 2nd Earl of Harewood, wrote a bouncing fifty pound promissory note to cover the purchase of some horses, the authorities in NSW took exception.
In time he was brought to court to answer for his fraud, but was his deception greater than writing a useless IOU? His court case captivated the interest of all rungs of society there; the story of a an audacious imposter or a wayward aristocrat?
(54 mins)
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Henry Lascelles, 2nd Earl of Harewood, Edward’s father.
Supreme Court Sydney
Court report
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REFERENCES – Ep 77
MCKENZIE, KIRSTEN, 2009. A swindler’s progress: nobles and convicts in the age of liberty. Sydney, NSW: University of New South Wales Press. ISBN 978-1-74223-110-5.
NORTH, RICHARD, 2004. The Viscount and the convict: the scandal that engrossed colonial Sydney. Book Review. 4 March 2004. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20060901205030/http://www.sydneyuniversity.edu.au/research/news/2004/mar/04_viscount_convict.shtml
Conversations (ABC): Interview with Kirsten McKenzie https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/conversations/kirsten-mckenzie-paints-an-engaging-picture-of-australias-coloni/7758428
LEGGE, J. S., 1976. Frederick Charles Standish (1824–1883). In: Australian Dictionary of Biography. Online. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Available from: https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/standish-frederick-charles-4632 [Accessed January 2026].
WIKIPEDIA:, 2025a. Frederick Standish. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frederick_Standish&oldid=1310486533 [Accessed January 2026].
O’REILY, T., 2018. The Cup: how an English rogue with a passion for the punt started one of the world’ richest horse races. HeraldSun. Melbourne Australia, 3 November 2018.
PREISS, Benjamin, 2016. Partners in life, neighbours in death, Sir Redmond Barry’s mistress gets recognition beyond the grave. The Age. Online. 7 March 2016. Available from: https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/partners-in-life-neighbours-in-death-sir-redmond-barrys-mistress-gets-recognition-beyond-the-grave-20160307-gncauj.html [Accessed January 2026].
RYAN, Peter, 1969. Sir Redmond Barry (1813–1880). In: Australian Dictionary of Biography. Online. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Available from: https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/barry-sir-redmond-2946 [Accessed January 2026].
WIKIPEDIA:, 2025b. Morganatic marriage. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Morganatic_marriage&oldid=1330042041 [Accessed January 2026].
AUSTRALIAN HISTORIES PODCAST, 2021a. 48 – Convict Mutineers Part 1. 26 February 2021. Available from: https://www.australianhistoriespodcast.com.au/48-convict-mutineers-part-1/ [Accessed June 2026].
AUSTRALIAN HISTORIES PODCAST, 2021b. 49 – Convict Mutineers Part 2. 31 March 2021. Available from: https://www.australianhistoriespodcast.com.au/49-convict-mutineers-part-2/ [Accessed June 2026].
AUSTRALIAN HISTORIES PODCAST, 2022. 57 – Macarthur & Wool. 28 March 2022. Available from: https://www.australianhistoriespodcast.com.au/57-macarthur-wool/ [Accessed June 2026].
WIKIPEDIA:, 2026a. George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_Lascelles,_7th_Earl_of_Harewood&oldid=1334586418 [Accessed January 2026].
WIKIPEDIA:, 2026b. Earl of Harewood. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Earl_of_Harewood&oldid=1332936951 [Accessed January 2026].
SKIPP, April, 2015. The Harewood Rum Story. Harewood House. Online. 29 June 2015. Available from: https://harewood.org/stories/harewood-rum-story/ [Accessed June 2026].
ABC RADIO NATIONAL, The Stuff the British Stole, 2023. Bottles in the Basement. ABC listen. 4 July 2023. Available from: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/stuff-the-british-stole/bottles-in-the-basement/102505450 [Accessed June 2026].
BICKLE, Sharon, 2023. Slavery, illusion and dead white men: Zadie Smith’s The Fraud explodes the historical novel. The Conversation. 20 September 2023. Available from: http://theconversation.com/slavery-illusion-and-dead-white-men-zadie-smiths-the-fraud-explodes-the-historical-novel-212863 [Accessed April 2025].
GALLACHER, Lyn and HINDSIGHT, ABC, 2007. The Tichborne Claimant. ABC listen. 1 July 2007. Available from: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/hindsight/the-tichborne-claimant/3233006 [Accessed June 2026].
HALLEY, Catherine, 2022. Body Double. JSTOR Daily. 27 July 2022. Available from: https://daily.jstor.org/body-double-tichborne-claimant/ [Accessed April 2025].
The Tichborne Collection. Wagga Wagga City Library. 21 June 2022. Available from: https://waggalibrary.com.au/learn/wagga-wagga-history/the-tichborne-collection [Accessed April 2025].
STATE LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, [no date]. The Tichborne case. Available from: https://www2.sl.nsw.gov.au/archive/discover_collections/history_nation/justice/felons/tichborne/index.html [Accessed June 2026 a].
STATE LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, [no date]. The Tichborne case: a Victorian melodrama | State Library of New South Wales. .Available from: https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/stories/tichborne-case-victorian-melodrama [Accessed April 2025 b].
THE HISTORY LISTEN: ABC, 2024. Great Aussie Cons | The Tichborne Claimant. ABC listen. 8 June 2024. Available from: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/the-history-listen/the-history-listen-richard-roxburgh-true-crime-tichborne/103842900 [Accessed April 2025].
WIKIPEDIA:, 2025c. Tichborne case. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tichborne_case&oldid=1277744125 [Accessed April 2025].
YATES, David (dir.), 1999. The Tichborne Claimant. Bigger Picture Company, Swiftcall International Telephone company, Isle of Man Film Commission, 12 November 1999. IMDb ID: tt0127933
Music, IMAGES & other links:
- Intro/Exit music modified from: ‘Grand Canyon’ by David Löhstana [CCFM Music – 2018]
- Sound snippets: The Bushwackers: – https://thebushwackers.com.au/
- Harewood House links: https://harewood.org/about/history/ https://harewood.org/about/legacy-of-the-caribbean/ https://harewood.org/stories/harewood-rum-story/
- Featured Image: Henry-3rd-Earl-of-Harewood-by-Francis-Grant-1848 (https://harewood.org/about/)
- Image: Harewood House 1 (https://www.yorkshire.com/leeds/things-to-do/historic-sites/harewood-house)
- Image: Henry Lascelles, 3rd Earl of Harewood & Edwards brother. Portrait by Robert Page. from the Welsh Portrait Collection at the National Library of Wales. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Lascelles,_3rd_Earl_of_Harewood)
- Image: Henry Lascelles, 2nd Earl of Harewood (by Sir Thomas Lawrence) (https://harewood.org/about/)
- Image: Harewood Tom Arbor. (https://harewood.org/about/)
- Image: Sydney Supreme Court (https://supremecourt.nsw.gov.au/about-us/supreme-court-history.html)
- Image: Court report – The Sydney Herald (NSW : 1831 – 1842)
Thu 14 May 1835, Page 4. (https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/12852148)