Blog Post #4 - A Murder at Kings Plains
“Perhaps no event of a similar nature since the peopling of these districts has occupied so large a share of public attention.”
— Bathurst Free Press & Mining Journal, 16 June 1852
In 1852, the quiet farming region of Kings Plains — now part of the Blayney district — was rocked by a brutal murder. And at the centre of the scene was none other than Levi Stonestreet, our convict-turned-landholder great-great-grandfather.
This isn’t one of those distant historic stories. It’s got everything: a neighbour dispute, a murder in the night, Levi’s house full of witnesses, and an old-school courtroom drama.
⚖️ The Night of the Murder
According to the 1841 NSW Census, Levi Stonestreet and Timothy Sullivan were neighbouring landholders at King’s Plains. They likely knew each other well — possibly too well.
On the night of the murder, several men — including Heylin, the superintendent of Sullivan’s cattle station, and others — were at Levi's house.
Testimony from the trial records includes this:
“I am superintendent over the prisoner’s cattle station. The night of the murder I was at Stonestreet’s. Myself, John Gynan, Michael O’Neal and the deceased were at the house in the course of the night.”
Though Levi wasn’t the accused, his home became part of the legal evidence. It’s not clear whether he knew what was coming — but his connection placed him right in the swirl of suspicion.
🪓 The Bigger Picture
This wasn’t just a one-off. Tensions were high in rural NSW in the 1850s:
Ex-convicts were gaining land
Wealthy squatters were consolidating power
The gold rush was starting to reshape the region
Alcohol, land disputes, and lack of law enforcement made violence more common than you'd think
So when a murder happened at Kings Plains, it wasn't just local gossip — it made headlines in Bathurst, Orange, and Sydney.
👀 What We Don’t Know
Family records go quiet on Levi’s involvement. He may have testified. He may have kept quiet. The local paper hints that Stonestreet’s name was spoken of widely, but no charges were laid.
That’s the thing about old stories: we don’t always get closure. But we do get questions — and that keeps the past alive.
💬 Do you have family lore about this story? Did your great-grandparent ever mention it? Let us know — we’d love to connect oral history with newspaper clippings.
📚 Next up: From Greendale to Fairview — A journey through the old homes and farming life of the Stonestreet line
