Inquest Deposition Files VPRS 24/P0,Unit 7, item: 1850/18, page 2

The sad story of Alice Ball
Alice Ball arrived on the Diadem on 18 January 1850. Three months later, she was pregnant to her employer, Mr Brown. Seeing no way out of her predicament, she committed suicide by throwing herself in the Yarra River. She was dead at the tender age of 16.
At the inquest, a witness stated that about an hour before Alice’s drowning, he heard Mr Brown describing Alice as a 'strumpet' and 'everything that was bad', and speaking of 'jealousy on the part of his wife towards the girl'.