Aaron Sherritt has been enshrined in Australian folklore as a Judas figure, but what is the truth behind the man who fell from grace and brought about the end of the Kelly Gang? Continue reading Aaron Sherritt: Persona non Grata
Francis MacNeiss McNeil McCallum, better known as Captain Melville, is one of Australia’s most intriguing bushrangers. He at once bears the tropes of the traditional bushranger – a charming, adventurous highwayman and escapologist with a flair for drama – while … Continue reading Captain Melville: an overview
Joseph Byrne was the eldest son of Patrick (Paddy) and Margret Byrne (nee White). Paddy was the son of an ex-convict from County Carlow, his mother was from County Clare and had travelled to Australia due to the Great Famine. … Continue reading Joe Byrne: An Overview
Few bushrangers can lay claim to being the living embodiment of bushranging as John Gilbert was during his short and violent career. Known variously as “Flash Johnny” and “Happy Jack”, Gilbert was known for his impulsiveness and energy. Gilbert was … Continue reading Johnny Gilbert: An Overview
Forever consigned to popular culture as Ned Kelly’s little brother, Dan Kelly was a young man of only nineteen when he lost his life fighting the police. Like so many “boy bushrangers” his young life was snuffed out without him … Continue reading Dan Kelly: An Overview
Best known as Frank Gardiner’s accomplice, John Peisley was a bushranger determined to lord over Lambing Flat and the Abercrombie region but whose vices brought him unstuck. Oddly, for such a well-known bushranger, many of the accounts of his life … Continue reading John Peisley: An Overview
It’s hard to believe now, but there was a time when Stephen Hart was once one of the most infamous bushrangers in Australia. Now he is often thought of as no more than an also-ran, an afterthought, the “other Kelly”. … Continue reading Steve Hart: An Overview
With the passing of Ian Jones on 31 August, the world of Ned Kelly buffs was shaken. Jones had dedicated the best part of his life to recording and popularising the story of the Kelly Gang and for a considerable number of people in the community they had never been in a world without Ian Jones. His masterpiece Ned Kelly: A Short Life, released in 1995, remains a must-read for all people interested in the story. On top of this, his work on Ned Kelly (1970) and The Last Outlaw (1980) helped entrench Ned in the Australian popular culture. Continue reading Vale: Ian Jones
Forever remembered as the Kelly Hunter, Francis Augustus Hare was an intriguing man with a biography full of excitement and misadventure. From a privileged upbringing in South Africa to good fortune on the Victorian gold fields and a thrilling career as a frontier policeman, Hare is a man often maligned for his seeming ineptitude when hunting for some of the most remarkable bushrangers that Australia has produced. Continue reading Francis Augustus Hare
With the death of Captain Thunderbolt and the arrest of Harry Power, many believed that bushranging was a thing of the past, a disgraceful chapter to relegate to the history books. However, despite the lack of big names in the majority of the 1870s, there was plenty of bushranging happening throughout the colonies. One of the various bushrangers in New South Wales during the early 1870s left out of the books is John Johnston. Continue reading Forgotten Bushrangers: John Johnston
