On the evening of December 26, 1898, three siblings of a large farming family known as

the Murphy's rode in a horse-drawn cart down a rural road in Queensland, Australia, toward

the tiny town of Gaton.

It was the day after Christmas, or rather, Boxing Day, which is a continuation of the Christmas

holiday celebrated in Britain and other parts of Europe.

Gaton, which had a population of only 450 in 1900, sustained a community of Irish, German,

and English families.

So Boxing Day was observed by most, if not all, local residents.

As parts of Australia were still colonized by the British in 1898, Boxing Day was widely

celebrated and carried a tradition of charity and goodwill toward others.

Unfortunately for Michael, Nora, and Ellen Murphy, they would encounter anything but peace

and goodwill on the road that night.

The siblings decided to attend a town dance at the Terampa Divisional Hall, which was

a few miles away from their family's farm, dressed in their best finery, Michael, who

was 29 and back home for the holidays from his job at an experimental government farm nearby,

decided to take his younger sisters, Nora, 27, and Ellen, 18, into town for some socializing,

despite their overbearing mother Mary's misgivings.

When they got to town, they found the dance hall dark and empty.

The festivities had been canceled.

Witnesses reported the Murphy cart, also called a sulky, immediately turned around and

creaked back toward their farm.

Immediately the next morning, the Murphy family woke to find that Michael, Nora, and Ellen

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