overruled him as they "show that one member of the police party interested himself considerably in getting the defence worked up". The telegrams revealed a network of communication between the "interested parties", local fund raising for the defence that had raised more than £1,000 ($68,000 in 2009 dollars) and detailed the "conspiracy" of Gribble organising the killing of Nulla Nulla cattle by mission Aboriginals, giving details of how it was done that Wood found barely credible. More to the point, the telegrams revealed Overheu's hatred of Aborigines, a view supported by a statement to Detective Sergeant Manning by Lyddie, that it was Overhue who continually urged the police to kill the prisoners. With the disappearance of Tommy it was considered important to get Murnane to testify. His whereabouts could not be discovered and Wood assigned Inspector Condon and Detective Manning to find him. In March 1927 a tip was received and Murnane was subpoenaed to appear. Wood instructed Nairn that he could not speak to Murnane before he testified, an instruction Nairn ignored when he intercepted him on the way to the court and briefed him while Wood waited. When Murnane testified, he confirmed the main points of the evidence of the white participants but differed on two points. Jolly had said that Murnane had taken part in a raid on a large encampment, Murnane said that he had not been on that raid and that Jolly was mistaken. The other point of difference was cited by Wood; Regan's patrol (and Murnane) had originally stated they first joined St Jack's patrol north of Nulla Nulla while St Jack and Overheu said they met at the homestead (where they met had an important bearing on the alleged killings by St Jack and Overheu before Regan's party joined them). Testifying before the commission, with the exception of Murnane who repeated his earlier statement, all the white members of the patrol now repeated St Jacks version. An angry Wood concluded this was due to Nairn only having 15 minutes to speak to Murnane before he testified and added him to the list of witnesses he believed were prepared to lie to the commission. Commissioner Wood submitted his report on 21 May 1927, concluding that the police patrol killed 11 Aborigines at the three sites and that on the evidence of inspector Douglas it is most probable that nine more natives shared a similar