The Baby Farmers by Annie Cossins
Genre: Non Fiction, True Crime, Historical
Read: 9th August 2014
1743314019 (ISBN13: 9781743314012)
★★★★★ 5 stars
Well researched into the history of each person who played a part in this moment in history; this case which set a precedent in law today; the ancestry and humble beginnings of all involved. Annie Cossins has left nothing out. The Baby Farmers is a brilliantly written account of one of the most horrific cases in time, detailing the events as they had unfolded as well as the lapse in judgement of our judicial system at the time.
John and Sarah Makin are no saints, but they did what they did to survive. That doesn't justify their actions to the extent in which they found themselves, by no means, but hard times call for hard measures...and the Makins were hard. I don't doubt that Sarah played a far bigger part in both the farming and the disposing of babies than the justice prevailed upon her. But as a woman in a time when women were the responsibility of their husbands and no more, she was seen to be under the upper hand of her husband. I, however, believe that while they were both as guilty as the other, Sarah was by no means under any man's thumb. She was tough. She was hard. And she was vicious. Her histrionics dramatised and played out in court, I believe, we're just that - dramatics. If her cries, flailing arms and fainting fits could see the court granting her mercy, then that's what she'd do. But Annie Cossins did bring up a fair and valid point of Sarah suffering tertiary syphillis (as outlined in greater detail in the book), causing erratic behaviour etc. which would also her explain her behaviour during the inquests and trial. However, the question posed in the book is this - were the Makins given a fair trial and had indeed been guilty of the crime for which they were sentenced? Maybe, maybe not. But I believe the point is moot, because in a world that has lost its true sense of justice now, they were in fact guilty regardless. And whether Baby D was really Horace Amber Murray (for which they were found guilty of the death of and punished) and was buried in their house in George St or was in fact one of babies buried at Burren St - it doesn't matter. Horace Amber Murray was either Baby D or one of the other bodies - either murdered or starved to death. Either way, he died as many of the others did - at the hands of or under the hands/care of the Makins, making them responsible. They may not have received a fair trial, as many didn't then, but they were guilty. Those babies didn't bury themselves. And it wasn't one or two, but 13 at least! Who knows how many more nameless forgotten babies died under the neglectful care of the Makins? The evidence may have been circumstantial but 13 babies buried in the backyard of 4 of their "fly by night" residences was way too much of a coincidence.
At any rate, the book is a fantastic look into early Australian history and the justice system in its infancy whilst one policeman doggedly investigated the case to bring justice for the mothers whose babies were never seen or heard from again. And there is also a piece of interesting and slightly amusing bit of information regarding that policeman which made me chuckle a little at the slight hypocrisy of it all.
Overall - brilliant! Definitely recommend.
