Bushranger
A bushranger was a thief who lived in the Australian bush. Bushrangers often stole expensive things from banks or coaches. There were more than 2000 bushrangers during Australia's past. Most were simply criminals and thieves. A few bushrangers became famous and were seen as heroes. They are part of a long history that has men such as Robin Hood and Dick Turpin in England, or Jesse James and Billy the Kid in the US.[1][better source needed]
History
[change | change source]The word "bushranger" was first used in Australia in 1805. It described three men who had stopped a cart near Sydney. Then, the word was used for criminals who attacked people on the roads or in the bush (the Australian countryside away from towns). The first bushrangers were escaped convicts. One of the last bushrangers was Ned Kelly who was captured in 1880.[2]
1788 to 1840s: Criminals who escaped
[change | change source]Criminals who escaped stole things from farms far away and people walking on the roads. Sometimes they sold the stolen things to other free settlers. John "Black" Caesar was the first bushranger.[2] He ran away from Sydney Cove many times before he was shot dead in 1796.
Bold Jack Donahue[2] appeared in newspapers around 1827 for bushranging on the Old Windsor Road between Sydney and Windsor. In the 1830s he was seen as the worst bushranger in the colony.[3] Leading a gang of escaped criminals, Donahue became an important person in Australian folklore as the Wild Colonial Boy.[2] Bushranging happened all over Australia, but Van Diemen's Land, later known as Tasmania, produced the most violent and serious bushrangers.[2] Hundreds of criminals were at large in the bush, farms were given up, and the army was brought in to try and capture the bushrangers. Indigenous Australian bushranger Musquito[clarification needed] led attacks on settlers.[source?]
1850s: gold rush era
[change | change source]The bushrangers were busiest during the Gold Rush years of the 1850s and 1860s. Gold can be easily carried and also it can easily be turned into cash. The goldfields were in remote places and there were not very many police to guard the gold.[2] George Melville was killed by hanging in front of many people for stealing from the McIvor gold escort near Castlemaine in 1853.[2]
1860s to 1870s
[change | change source]Bushranging numbers grew in New South Wales with the rise of the colonial-born sons of poor, often ex-convict farmers, who wanted a more exciting life than mining or farming.[2] Much of the bushranging in these years was in the Lachlan Valley, around Forbes, Yass and Cowra.[2] Frank Gardiner, John Gilbert and Ben Hall led the most notorious gangs of the period. Other active bushrangers included Dan Morgan, based around the Murray River, and Captain Thunderbolt, killed outside Uralla, New South Wales.[2]
1880s to 1900s
[change | change source]The increasing push of settlement, increased police efficiency, better rail transport and communications in Australia, such as telegraphy, made it increasingly difficult for bushrangers to evade capture. Among the last bushrangers was the Kelly Gang led by Ned Kelly, who were captured at Glenrowan, Victoria in 1880, two years after they were outlawed. In 1900, the Governor Brothers scared many people in the north of New South Wales.[2]
Public perception
[change | change source]In Australia, bushrangers often attract public sympathy.
Entertainment
[change | change source]In the same way that outlaws feature in many movies of the American western genre, bushrangers regularly feature in Australian literature, movie, music and television. These include:
- Jack Donahue was the first bushranger to have inspired bush ballads[3]
- Ben Hall and his gang were the subject of several Australian folk songs, including "Streets of Forbes"
- Dan "Mad Dog" Morgan was the subject of a feature movie, Mad Dog Morgan (1976), starring Dennis Hopper[4]
- Robbery Under Arms, a novel by Thomas Alexander Browne was published in serial form in the Sydney Mail from 1882 to 1883[5] It is an early description of the life and acts of fictional bushrangers. It has been the basis of several movies and a television series.[6]
- Ned Kelly was the subject of the world's first feature-length movie, The Story of the Kelly Gang, released in 1906[7] In the 1970 release Ned Kelly, Kelly was played by Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones. Kelly has been the subject of many more movies, television series, written fiction and music.
Famous bushrangers
[change | change source]Some bushrangers became famous as a result of their activities. They include:
- Ben Hall
- Dan Kelly
- Ned Kelly
- Joe Byrne
- John Dunn
- Steve Hart
- Martin Cash
- John Gilbert
- Harry Power
- Michael Howe
- John O'Meally
- Frank Gardiner
- Charles Russell known as the "Black Douglas"
- Captain Thunderbolt whose real name was Frederick Ward
- Moondyne Joe whose real name was Joseph Bolitho Johns
- Captain Moonlight whose real name was Andrew George Scott
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Davey, Gwenda; Graham Seal (1993). The Oxford Companion to Australian Folklore. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. pp. 58–59. ISBN 0195530578.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 "Bushrangers of Australia" (PDF) (pdf). National Museum of Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-06-14. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Old Windsor Road and Windsor Road Heritage Precincts". Heritage and conservation register. New South Wales Roads and Traffic Authority. Archived from the original on 2007-09-03. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
- ↑ "Mad Dog Morgan (1976)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
- ↑ "Robbery Under Arms". Australian Scholarly Editions Centre. Archived from the original on 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
- ↑ "Rolf Boldrewood". Internet Movie Database.
- ↑ Hogan, David. "World's first 'feature' movie to be digitally restored by National Film and Sound Archive". Archived from the original on 2006-08-20. Retrieved 2006-10-24.