John Gavin (1829 – 6 April 1844) was the first European settler to be legally executed in Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

. He was executed for murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

 at the age of fifteen.

Born in 1829, John Gavin was convicted of an offence while still a juvenile

Juvenile delinquency

Juvenile delinquency is participation in illegal behavior by minors who fall under a statutory age limit. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not...

, and was transported

Penal transportation

Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...

 to Western Australia as a Parkhurst apprentice

Parkhurst apprentices

The Parkhurst apprentices were juvenile prisoners from Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight, sentenced to "transportation beyond the seas" and transported to Australia and New Zealand between 1842 and 1852...

, arriving on board the Shepherd in October 1843.

On 3 April 1844, he was tried for the murder of his employer's son, 18-year-old George Pollard. He confessed to killing the sleeping victim with an axe in a fit of rage. Three days later he was publicly hanged outside the Round House

Round House

The Round House is the oldest building still standing in Western Australia. It is located at Arthur Head in Fremantle, and recent heritage assessments and appraisals of the precinct of the Round House incorporate Arthur Head....

 in Fremantle

Fremantle, Western Australia

Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...

and buried in the sand hills to the south without ceremony.