Alexander and Valda Lindsay papers, ca. 1934-1994

MLMSS 8850

fonds

ca. 1934-1994

153056

1.52 metres of textual material (9 boxes)

Alexander McLeod Lindsay (1932-2009) was born in Scotland. His parents, William McLeod-Lindsay, a hotel waiter, and Jessie Colligan, hotel housemaid, were not married. He was sent to live with his grandparents who cared for him with the help of several of his aunts. He grew up in Glasgow, and at the age of 16, he became a £10 migrant to Australia. He became apprenticed in the printing trade, and worked for the fire brigade and the Air Force and served in the Australian Black Watch, CMF.

In 1956, he married nurse Pamela Parsons. They had three children; Bruce in 1960, Alyson in 1962 and Andrew in 1963. In 1964, the McLeod-Lindsays bought a home in Sylvania.
On September 14, 1964, Pamela and Bruce were found brutally bashed in their home. On March 5, 1965, McLeod Lindsay was found guilty by the jury for the attempted murder of his wife, Pamela, and was sentenced to 18 years jail. He lost the appeal to the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal. Public agitation helped bring about a judicial inquiry and McLeod-Lindsay Citizens Committee, which included Lady Herron, wife of the Chief Justice, Sir Leslie Herron, campaigned for an inquiry.

Justice Jack Lee's inquiry in 1969 found there was a lack of incriminating evidence. McLeod-Lindsay was released on parole in August 1973. In 1991, a second inquiry was conducted by Justice Ray Loveday following forensic evidence which lead to McLeod Lindsay being pardoned and compensated by the State Government.

In 1974, he married his second wife Dorothy Valda and in 1987 resettled in Windeyer, near Mudgee. Valda helped her husband write a book, An Ordinary Man, published in 1984. McLeod-Lindsay was exonerated and received $700,000 compensation. In 1995 he and his wife resettled in Cherrybrook and, in 2004, at a retirement village on the Central Coast. He developed emphysema and willed his body to Newcastle University.

Reference:
Library Correspondence file
Alexander McLeod-Lindsay Obituary, ‘Exonerated 26 years after his conviction’, by Malcolm Brown, Sydney Morning Herald, September 21 2009, http://www.smh.com.au/national/obituaries

Papers mainly compiled and annotated by Valda Lindsay relating to the conviction of Alexander McLeod Lindsay for the attempted murder of his wife in 1964, his years in prison, two inquiries into his trial, parole and the quashing of that conviction by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal in 1994.

Includes legal records of trials and inquiries such as trial transcripts, forensic reports with images of crime scene, submissions and petitions, printed material, police records and running sheets of original investigation, correspondence involving research and copies of documents prepared by Lindsay’s.

Also includes witnesses statements and photographs covering the 1964 Magistrate’s hearing, 1965 trial in Court of Appeal, McLeod Lindsay’s handwritten petition for an inquiry into his case 1968, correspondence from Legal Aid, Council of Civil Liberties, the State Ombudsman, material from F.W.L.. Esch and Robert Southern of the McLeod Lindsay Citizens Committee, 1969 Inquiry before Justice Lee including his report and second Inquiry before Justices Loveday in 1991. Corrected typescript of McLeod Lindsay’s book about the case ‘An Ordinary Man’ published 1984 and outward correspondence from McLeod Lindsay and his second wife Valda.

Partly restricted: Applies to MLMSS 8850/ Boxes 4, 6-7

Copyright status:: In copyright - This collection has multiple rights owners
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

Information upgraded as part of the Manuscripts Unprocessed eRecords Project 2012-2013

Detailed contents list available