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the Alice Springs Gaol, he showed a genuine and personal interest in the overall running of the complex as well as
the gardens, and towards the well being of his staff and especially his inmates.
Failing health from his earlier bouts of malaria and Blackwater fever caused Philip Muldoon to retire on
11 October 1958 at the age of 61 after 40 years of Northern Territory employment. On retirement, he received an
Imperial Service Medal from the Queen.
The Muldoons initially retired to 53 Bath Street, Alice Springs. Some six years later, they decided that a move
south to the Adelaide area would suit them better. A home was purchased in Henley Beach, South Australia, and
they departed Alice Springs on 8 July 1964, Philip having been resident for 46 years in the Northern Territory and
Bertilia Muldoon for 36 years.
Philip Muldoon, like other early Northern Territory police officers, was most respected by everyone. His duties
as first mining warden in the earliest days of the Tennant Creek gold rush make him one of the ‘Founding Fathers’
of this sizeable and progressive town of today. However, he is most remembered for his 20-year term as keeper of
the first modern prison in Alice Springs.
Philip Muldoon, a man of high Christian principle, dedication to work, good citizen and family man, died on
9 June 1979 survived by his wife and two children. Bertilla Muldoon followed him on 12 June 1990, their son
Brian having died in October 1985.
Information from P Davey; B Elverd; K Mooney Smith; C Muldoon; P Muldoon, ‘Memoirs’, unpublished manuscript; personal knowledge.
MAX CARTWRIGHT, Vol 3.
MULHOLLAND, PATRICK JAMES (JACK or MULL) (1911–1982), bushman and publican, was born in
County Kerry in Ireland in 1911. When Jack was 14 years old, he and his brother were involved in political trouble
in his hometown. His brother was captured and executed. Jack’s well off family hid him and one night put him
aboard the first available ship leaving Ireland. He worked in the Royal Navy and had no further contact with his
family. He arrived in Australia in 1932. On reaching Sydney, Jack Mulholland quickly made his way overland to
the Northern Territory.
During the Second World War, he established a camp in a swamp on Muckaty Station, which was owned by
Fred Ulyatt, whose wife was an O’Shea. Mulholland was a conscientious objector and lay low, leading a simple
life. He saved old batteries and taught himself the complete workings of the radio. This was a skill that would stand
him in good stead the rest of his life. In 1927, Tim O’Shea had started the McArthur River Hotel in Borroloola and
his brother John ran it for him. Jack Mulholland was known to have acted as chauffeur for the O’Shea brothers on
occasion. He would drive them to Birdum and Katherine so they could transact their business. In their outstretched
hand would be their calling card, a bottle of rum! John O’Shea died in 1944 and Jack Mulholland arrived in
Borroloola to run the hotel for Tim. The hotel was up on stumps and constructed of corrugated iron. It had wide
verandahs and there was a saddlery shed to the rear of the building.
As the war ended the Army encampment outside Borroloola disappeared and hotel patron numbers dwindled.
Jack took his wages in cigars and rum. Life was quiet and he spent his time reading ‘penny dreadfuls’ and repairing
valve radios. The drovers who plied their trade used to sit the Wet out ‘in the Loo’. They would bring their Marconi
sets in for Mull to repair. This often meant giving them a good clean to remove the dust or tightening the glass
valves into position. Grog and beef was the usual method of payment.
In October 1948, Jack married Andrea (locally as Jemima) Amorlerah, daughter of Ban-Joe (Banjo)
and Judy from Borroloola. Her brother, Mussolini Harvey, later lived in Darwin. Andrea bore him five sons:
Alexander Frederick (1945), Patrick John/James (1949), Francis John/Steven (1951, deceased), Kevin Edward
(1955) and Victor James (1957). Andrea suffered from anaemia and was unable to carry girls. Two daughters are
buried under the tamarind trees.
The children were brought up in the Aboriginal camp until they were removed to Darwin. Mull complained
to the Roman Catholic Bishop, who interceded and had the children returned to Borroloola. Some time later the
Bishop asked Mull’s permission for the church to raise the children. Mull consented and the three oldest went to
Melville Island to be educated. Victor and Kevin went to Darwin and were raised by Mary Swan. Andrea died in
November 1961.
Jack was a short, stocky fellow with a thatch of dark hair. He was fit and a strong walker. He was a quiet person
when sober and he did not talk about his past. Unlike many residents of the time, he did not attempt to grow fruit
or vegetables. He survived on food brought to him from the Aboriginal camp.
During the 1950’s the police impounded his T model Ford which had a Bedford rear axle to give it good traction.
An Alice Springs store put a lien against his property because of an unpaid debt. The Ford sat in the Welfare yard
for two years but no one wanted to buy the vehicle so it was returned to Jack. In 1961, David Attenborough made
a film entitled The Hermits of Borroloola that featured Jack Mulholland. In it, he displayed a strong Irish accent
and a laconic sense of humour. During the 1950s and 1960s, Jack spent time on local cattle stations, such as Spring
Creek. There he carried out dingo baiting, prospecting and crocodile shooting.
After Tattersall’s Hotel closed in 1960 after suffering cyclone damage and fire, Mull moved into the post office.
It had been the saddlery shed. Branding irons hung from the wooden pegs that once held saddles. The wooden floor
showed adze marks and the planks did not meet properly. Mull became the Post Master and when he up-ended
the mailbags lots of letters would fall through the cracks in the floor onto the ground below. He would send kids
under the building to collect the stray letters. The mail came in fortnightly. Mull also served a useful purpose safe
keeping important items for people passing through and returning them to their owners.