Spotlight: Captain Starlight’s Cattle Raid
A look at the infamous cattle theft that provided the basis for Rolf Boldrewood’s bushranger anti-hero Starlight in Robbery Under Arms. Continue reading Spotlight: Captain Starlight’s Cattle Raid
Category: Queensland Bushrangers
Articles pertaining to bushrangers that operated predominantly in Queensland.
Spotlight: THE CAPTURE OF FEGAN, THE BUSHRANGER.
In this Spotlight we showcase an article from 1864 about the capture of a collection of Queensland bushrangers by civilian volunteers. Continue reading Spotlight: THE CAPTURE OF FEGAN, THE BUSHRANGER.
Forgotten Bushrangers: “Scrammy” Jack Moreland
There are many Jacks in the pantheon of bushranging, but “Scrammy” Jack Moreland is one of the more obscure. Moreland was nicknamed scrammy because he was missing two fingers on his left hand (“scrammy” being a term for people with busted hands). He was one of the few notable Queensland bushrangers and operated near the Cape River district in the late 1860s, emerging to prominence in 1870. Moreland, who would be referred to in the press as Three-Fingered Jack, worked with an Irishman named John Sullivan and an unnamed Aboriginal boy, emerging to raid the store at Francis Town in … Continue reading Forgotten Bushrangers: “Scrammy” Jack Moreland
Lawless: The Real Bushrangers (Review)
One of the most exciting things for bushranger enthusiasts in 2017 was Foxtel’s original documentary series Lawless: the Real Bushrangers, the first time in years that a documentary about the bushrangers had been attempted. Here’s our verdict… Continue reading Lawless: The Real Bushrangers (Review)
Spotlight: PATRICK AND JAMES KENNIFF ON TRIAL for the MURDER OF CONSTABLE DOYLE (Part Three)
The drama in the courthouse continues to rumble on as the jury is given one last round of the evidence in the case of the murder of Constable Doyle and Albert Dahlke. The trial rumbles to its dramatic conclusion, the … Continue reading Spotlight: PATRICK AND JAMES KENNIFF ON TRIAL for the MURDER OF CONSTABLE DOYLE (Part Three)
Spotlight: PATRICK AND JAMES KENNIFF ON TRIAL for the MURDER OF CONSTABLE DOYLE (Part Two)
Last week we began looking at the report on the trial of the Kenniffs featured in the Brisbane edition of Truth. This week we continue the feature as the Kenniffs give their own evidence. Jim and Paddy maintain that they were travelling around Roma for the races while their old man and brothers Tom and John maintained that they were gathering horses around Skeleton Creek. Two additional witnesses, Thornton and Mulholland, do their best to back up Jim and Pat’s story. Continue reading Spotlight: PATRICK AND JAMES KENNIFF ON TRIAL for the MURDER OF CONSTABLE DOYLE (Part Two)
Spotlight: PATRICK AND JAMES KENNIFF ON TRIAL for the MURDER OF CONSTABLE DOYLE (Part One)
The benefit of the Kenniff trial taking place in post-Federation Australia is that the modernity of the case allows for a very different approach to the reporting of events. Here we see a wonderfully illustrated report of the trial of … Continue reading Spotlight: PATRICK AND JAMES KENNIFF ON TRIAL for the MURDER OF CONSTABLE DOYLE (Part One)
Spotlight: Captain Thunderbolt bails up two boys in Singleton
The following is an account of one of the many bizarre moments in the career of Fred Ward aka Captain Thunderbolt. Ward’s reputation as a successful, gallant and daring highwayman doesn’t hold up tremendously well when scrutinised and in fact … Continue reading Spotlight: Captain Thunderbolt bails up two boys in Singleton
“Aye, Aye Captain”: The Captains of Bushranging
This week’s feature is about seven of the most renowned captains in bushranging history from Captain Melville to Thunderbolt… Continue reading “Aye, Aye Captain”: The Captains of Bushranging
The Wild Scotchman: An Overview
James Alpin McPherson is the patron bushranger of Queensland. His lawlessness and reckless nature earned him the moniker “wild”. Active during the mid-1860s, he was a character typical of the Australian frontier who saw nothing more appealing than heading south to fall in with Ben Hall. Continue reading The Wild Scotchman: An Overview