With November 2019 seeing the 140th anniversary of the Wantabadgery Siege, the decision was made to make a pilgrimage to Wantabadgery. As no formal acknowledgement of the anniversary or notification of any organised commemoration thereof had been announced, I decided … Continue reading A Guide to Australian Bushranging on tour, 2019 [Blog]
The following is a report from just after the Kelly Gang raided the bank at Euroa. It describes in a fair amount of detail the events at Younghusband’s Station and Euroa, while missing some of the details and getting a few spellings wrong – as was typical of reporting at the time. It provides an interesting insight into how the bank robbery caught the public’s imagination after the outrage over the tragedy at Stringbark Creek. It is also worth noting that while Joe Byrne’s identity had been known for some time, it was only because of one of the servants in the bank recognising Steve Hart that the identity of the fourth gang member was finally revealed. Continue reading Spotlight: Further Outrages by the Kelly Gang
The following article appeared in February 1897 and illustrates the continuing struggles of the Kelly family even after the end of the bushranging outbreak. Maggie Skillion had become Tom Lloyd’s wife in the wake of the outbreak. Alas, Maggie died in January of 1896 leaving Tom to look after the family but this put incredible strain on the children leading to the tragedy that took place the following year. Continue reading Spotlight: Ned Kelly’s Niece
On the weekend of the 11th of November I went on a trip through the Kelly Country in North East Victoria. Ostensibly I was going up for a meeting of Kelly enthusiasts on the Saturday night but one does not … Continue reading A trip through Kelly Country
The following account of the capture of the notorious John Dunn, former member of the Gilbert-Hall Gang and proclaimed outlaw, was taken from The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser, 11 January 1866. Dunn was the last member of the gang to be at large and had been identified as a member of Thunderbolt’s gang following the death of Gilbert, though the descriptions of Dunn from those encounters do not match the real Dunn. Continue reading Spotlight: The Capture of Dunn
The following is an article that was published in the days following the death of Dan Morgan at Peechelba Station. It recalls details of his life as regaled by those who knew him for better or worse, in an effort to record his depredations and decipher his wild life. ~AP Continue reading Spotlight: SKETCH OF THE LIFE AND CAREER OF DANIEL MORGAN, THE NOTORIOUS BUSHRANGER
[The following report was published in Cootamundra Herald, 3 July 1880. While some minor errors pepper it, this is one of the few times we get a somewhat choerent glimpse of Ned Kelly’s motivations at Glenrowan. ~ AP] — NED … Continue reading Spotlight: Ned Kelly Interviewed
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.
One of the most anticipated Australian films at the moment is the film adaptation of Peter Carey’s novel True History of the Kelly Gang directed by Justin Kurzel. The film, currently in production, has been through development Hell (a term … Continue reading Justin Kurzel’s ‘True History of the Kelly Gang’ – Update (August 2018)
[This report of the trial of one of the most infamous bushrangers of the 1850s, Francis McCallum aka Captain Melville, gives a brief run down of the charge and the trial. McCallum was a Scottish convict who used a myriad … Continue reading Spotlight: The Trial of Captain Melville