
The Siege of Glenrowan (Part 1)
An overview of the murder of Aaron Sherritt, the Kelly Gang taking control of the township of Glenrowan and the police response. Continue reading The Siege of Glenrowan (Part 1)
An overview of the murder of Aaron Sherritt, the Kelly Gang taking control of the township of Glenrowan and the police response. Continue reading The Siege of Glenrowan (Part 1)
Beyond the Kelly Gang, only one other bushranging gang has truly cemented its place in the culture of Australia so firmly and become synonymous with bushranging. The early 1860s belonged to a rotating roster of brigands that operated mostly on the Lachlan Plains and came to be known under the name of their most distinguished member, Ben Hall. They were said to have committed hundreds of crimes ranging from robbery to murder. The following is not a detailed account of their story as the sheer scale of their depredations makes for heavy reading, but rather it is a summary of the career of the most legendary bushranging gang of the 1860s. Continue reading The Gilbert-Hall Gang: 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
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
They were known as the “bloodiest bushrangers” and pushed their community into so much mayhem and chaos that for decades people refused to talk about them. Robbery, murder and gunfights were their stock and trade.
They were the Clarkes. Continue reading The Clarke Gang: An Overview
Everyone loves a good crime story. Most of the world’s most enduring stories relate to criminals, renegades and assorted rogues and their notorious exploits. But what is it that makes these figures so appealing? What is it about the brigand … Continue reading The Romance of Robbery (Opinion)
[From The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser] Information reached this town, on Thursday last, that Thunderbolt was again on this side of the country, encamped on a mountain situated near the head of the waters of the Little … Continue reading Spotlight: CAPT. THUNDERBOLT, ALIAS WARD, THE BUSHRANGER. (From our Stroud Correspondent.)
We all have a clear idea of what a bushranger looked like – hat, beard, boots – but how did they really dress? Continue reading Mode de Bandit: Bushranger Fashion
October 26, 2017 marks the 139th anniversary of the police killings at Stringybark Creek, widely regarded as the worst single incident of police killing in Victorian history. Three police officers were killed in the line of duty hunting for Ned … Continue reading Stringybark Creek: Remembering the Fallen
Having spent a lot of time researching the Kelly story as a hobby, then examining it more in-depth as a screenwriter, I found the nature of Joe Byrne’s relationship to the Kelly brothers intriguing. It is a matter of fact … Continue reading Joe Byrne and the Kelly Brothers (opinion)