History of the Australian BushrangersBoxall, George
History
History of the Australian Bushrangers
Boxall, George
Bushrangers -- Australia
On April 29th, the _Tamworth Examiner_ said:--"A week ago we reported
that Frederick Ward, alias Captain Thunderbolt, had stuck up the
Warialda mail. He afterwards went to Mr. Lloyd's Manilla station and
took two first-class horses. Then he stuck up Cheeseborough's and
Lethbridge's stations. From the 20th to the 24th nothing was heard of
him, but on the last-mentioned date he and another stuck up Munro's
Inn, at Boggy Creek. Mr. Munro challenged them to fight singly, either
with fists or pistols, but they laughed at him and shot a valuable dog.
They drank a large quantity of spirits, and collected between £70 and
£80. They went on to Walford's Inn at Millie, sticking up Mr. Baldwin
on the road. Mr. Walford, having been informed of their approach, had
hidden away everything of value, so that they got very little, except
more grog. The police also had been informed, and three troopers,
with a black tracker, soon arrived on the scene. As they approached,
the bushranger on guard outside whistled, and the other man came out
and mounted, Thunderbolt waving a revolver and pointing to a field
behind the house as a challenge. He led his men to the clearing and
made a stand. The police followed, and a number of shots were fired
on both sides. The police closed up, and Constable Dalton shot one of
the bushrangers, a mere lad, and he fell. Dalton shouted to Constable
Morris to 'look after him,' and turned towards Thunderbolt, when the
boy raised himself on his elbow and fired. Constable Lynch shot the boy
in the neck, probably in time to save Dalton's life. Ward made a dash
forward, perhaps with a view to driving the police away from the boy
and carrying him off, but the police fire was too brisk, and after a
few more rounds the robber turned and rode into the bush. The police
followed, but as their horses had travelled fifty miles that morning,
they were obliged to give up the chase. The robber who was killed, was
identified as John Thompson, aged sixteen."
The Namoi mail was robbed by one white man and two blacks, near
Tamworth, and on September 17th the mail from Walgett to Singleton was
stuck up at Brigalow Creek. The passengers and driver were conducted
some distance off the road, to where a fire had been kindled, and were
told to "make some tea and enjoy yourselves while we look after the
bags." James Boyd, alias McGrath, and Charles Stanmore were arrested
after a smart chase, and were convicted of having robbed the Walgett
mail. A number of similar robberies occurred from time to time in
various parts of this extensive district, and the police were kept
constantly busy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account