“COUNTRY NEWS.” The Australian (Sydney, NSW : 1824 – 1848) 17 July 1841: 2. The following report concerns the capture of Jackey Jackey at the Black Horse Inn. It is the most detailed contemporary account published and seems to dispel … Continue reading Spotlight: Capture of Jackey Jackey
In May of 1870 the North-East of Victoria was abuzz as the walls were closing in on the notorious Harry Power who had been putting the citizens into quite a state of fear. The first domino was the capture of the flash young brigand who had allegedly been accompanying Power on various of his depredations, referred to in most publications as “Young Kelly”. Continue reading Spotlight: The Trial of Young Kelly
One of the unfortunate things about Aaron Sherritt’s murder being part of a greater plan at Glenrowan is that it is always overshadowed by the events at the Glenrowan Inn. In the wake of the tragedy John Sherritt, father of … Continue reading Spotlight: Letter from John Sherritt
The following article appeared in the Singleton Argus on 12 April, 1924. It has all the hallmarks of the retrospectives of the time – poetic descriptions, adherence to oral history and enough accurate information sprinkled throughout to legitimise the unsubstantiated claims in the eyes of most casual readers. Articles such as this helped to entrench much of the inaccurate information that many clung to – and in some cases still do – in order to justify their opinions of the players. Continue reading Spotlight: THE LATE AARON SHERRITT (By SIR SOLOMON.)
WHEN JOHNNY GILBERT WAS SHOT AT BINALONG ~:~ BUSHRANGER, DAYS RECALLED BY FINDING OF OLD HANDCUFFS. It was 68 years on Saturday last, (according to Tom Lovett in “Temora Star”) since Johnhy Gilbert the bushranger, was shot dead, at Binalong, … Continue reading Spotlight: WHEN JOHNNY GILBERT WAS SHOT AT BINALONG: BUSHRANGER, DAYS RECALLED BY FINDING OF OLD HANDCUFFS.
Bursting onto the indie comics scene is I Am Ned, a post-apocalyptic zombie story full of action and horror. The brainchild of Max Myint, it is like a mix of Mad Max, Dawn of the Dead, and Terminator: Salvation with … Continue reading I Am NED #1 (Review)
Owen Suffolk was a bushranger who spent more than a decade in prison for a range of crimes, particularly Pentridge Prison. Suffolk gained the moniker “The Poet” for his deftness with poetry much of which refers to the experience of convicts and bushrangers. Perhaps his most well-known is For Frank Gardiner. It is a bold declaration of defiance and desire for freedom at any cost, the sort of liberty the outlaw archetype represents free from the constraints of the law and the mores of society; a liberty denied Frank Gardiner when he was finally apprehended at Apis Creek and dragged back to New South Wales. Continue reading Spotlight: For Frank Gardiner
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)
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)
Jack Bradshaw is one of the most peculiar bushrangers. Renowned for his longevity, questionable reliability as a narrator and his books on the bushrangers, he was a small time bushranger at the right place in the right time to rub … Continue reading Jack Bradshaw: An Overview