Henry Louis Bertrand - the 'mad dentist'

Henry Louis Bertrand, c. 1865, by the Milligan Brothers. Carte de visite P2/468

Bertrand, known as the 'Mad Dentist of Wynyard Square', was convicted of the murder of Henry Kinder, who died on 2 October 1865, in one of Sydney's most notorious homicide cases of the time. Kinder was the husband of Bertrand's mistress, Ellen, and after several botched murder attempts Bertrand shot him. The bullet failed to kill him. Desperate to finish the job Bertrand persuaded his mistress to poison Kinder with a mixture of belladonna and milk. This attempt was successful but the coroner found that the death was by suicide. Eventually the case was reopened and Bertrand and Ellen Kinder were both charged with murder. Ellen was discharged for lack of evidence but Bertrand was convicted and served 28 years imprisonment.

"... a case more atrocious, more unreal, and more disgusting in its horrible details than any before recorded in the annals of crime." (Illustrated Sydney News, Dec 16, 1865)

> See a watercolour drawing of Darlinghust Gaol drawn by Bertrand in prison, 1891

> See a bone carving also said to be by Bertrand while in prison