Frederick Wordsworth Ward Bushranger Captain Thunderbolt Overview - Bushranger Thunderbolt and Mary Ann Bugg. Captain thunderbolt's hideout. Captain thunderbolt. The World of Ned Kelly. Australian Bushrangers. Australian Crimes - BUSHRANGERS. Frederick (Captain Thunderbolt) Ward. Frederick Ward (1835-1870), bushranger, alias 'Captain Thunderbolt', was born at Windsor, New South Wales.
He was working as a drover and horse-breaker at Tocal station on the Paterson River when arrested with James Garbutt and indicted for stealing and receiving seventy-five horses at Maitland on 21 April 1856; Ward was sentenced to ten years' hard labour on 13 August on the receiving charge. Released conditionally from Cockatoo Island late in July 1860, Ward worked as a horse-breaker at Cooyal near Mudgee until his ticket-of-leave was cancelled on 17 September 1861 for 'absence from Muster' and he was tried on 3 October for horse-stealing. Returned to Cockatoo Island to complete his original sentence with an additional three years, Ward escaped with Frederick Brittain about 11 September 1863. in 1864-65 Ward lived quietly with his 'wife', Mary Ann, née Bugg, a half-caste Aboriginal, on the Culgoa River near Bourke with two children.
Citation details. Captain Thunderbolt - Tocal's bushranger. Thunderbolt didn't kill anyone Thunderbolt was involved in several shootouts with police, so the fact that he never killed anyone may have been luck, but it added weight to the belief that Thunderbolt was the Gentleman Bushranger, the last of the professional highwaymen.
This reputation was earnt by not harming women, often giving some money back, and shouting for everyone at pubs using stolen money. The illusion of the gallant highwayman suited Thunderbolt as he was regularly assisted by a sympathetic public. Thunderbolt is credited with committing up to 200 crimes. It is surprising that during so many hold-ups not one person was killed, although he shot at police and was once wounded himself. Photograph: Uniformed police of the 1860s.
Notes 1. 2.Further information is also available in the book Captain Thunderbolt - Horsebreaker to Bushranger which you can buy from Tocal [details] Captain Thunderbolt. Frederick Ward Frederick Wordsworth Ward (aka Captain Thunderbolt) (1835–25 May 1870) was an Australian bushranger renowned for escaping from Cockatoo Island, and also for his reputation as the "gentleman bushranger" and his lengthy survival, being the longest roaming bushranger in Australian history.[1] Early years[edit] Frederick Ward was the son of convict Michael Ward ("Indefatigable" 1815) and his wife Sophia, and was born in 1835 around the time his parents moved from Wilberforce, New South Wales to nearby Windsor.[2] Ward entered the paid workforce at an early age, and was employed at aged eleven by the owners of Aberbaldie station near Walcha as a "generally useful hand" although he remained with them for only a short time.[3] He worked at many stations in northern NSW over the next 10 years, including the famed horse-stud Tocal, and his horsemanship skills soon became evident.
Escape from Cockatoo Island[edit] Bushranging years[edit] Legacy[edit] Cultural depictions[edit] Captain Thunderbolt - Tocal's bushranger. Thunderbolt's Cottage Fred Ward worked at Tocal before becoming the notorious bushranger Captain Thunderbolt.
Fred was the youngest of 11 children of Michael and Sophia Ward. Captain thunderbolt grave.