Bushrangers. Irish bushrangers and beyond The true story of the Irish in Australia would not be complete without a look at Ned Kelly and his gang of bushrangers.
Kelly was well-known for his anti-British sentiment, something he shared with the Irish 'rebels' transported to the colonies years before. The Irish were generally well behaved when they arrived but several bushrangers had Irish roots, including Kelly and Martin Cash. The National Museum collection includes material relating to Kelly and bushrangers including Ben Hall, Frank Gardiner, Johnny Gilbert and Jimmy Governor.
An 1873 prison portrait of Ned Kelly, from the National Museum's collection. The Kelly gang Australia's most famous bushranger is Ned Kelly. Kelly's mother, Ellen, was a free Irish immigrant. Ned Kelly described Irish convicts as a 'credit to Paddy's land', since they had died in chains rather than submit to English rule. Edward 'Ned' Kelly was born in 1854. Outlawed More on the Jerilderie letter The siege at Glenrowan. Ancient Australian History. In the early days of Australia’s history, bushrangers roamed the countryside.
They lived by stealing horses, holding up farms and travelers and robbing banks and stores. Many were escaped convicts. Others were just young men looking for adventure and freedom from the boredom of everyday work. Imagine that you were a convict. Perhaps you worked in a government gang. Convict Bolters: Australia's first bushrangers were escaped convicts called 'bolters' They fled into the bush and survived by stealing from settlers and travellers. Friends and Heroes: Many Australians today think of the bushrangers of the gold rush days as heroes. Bushranger Act: By 1830 there were so many bushrangers roaming around New South Wales that the government passed a special Act to make it easier to catch people who might be bush- rangers.
Jack Donohue: The most famous of the convict bolters was Jack Donahue, an Irishman who arrived in Sydney in 1825, aged eighteen. Early Australian bushrangers. McFarlane & Erskine, Gold escort attacked by bushrangers, 187-, print: lithograph.
Image courtesy of the : nla.pic-an8420450. Bushranging - living off the land and being supported by or stealing from free settlers - was either chosen as a preferred way of life by escaped or was a result of the lack of supplies in the early settlements. Australia's bushranging period spanned nearly 100 years, from the first convict bushrangers active from 1790 to the 1860s, through the of the 1860s and 1870s who were able to be shot on sight, to the shooting of the in 1880. While many bushrangers had populist reputations for being 'Robin Hood' figures; some bushrangers were brutal and others harassed the and diggers returning from the goldfields.
The popularity of bushrangers and their ethos of 'fight before surrender' was commemorated in and . Escaped convicts Bushranging began soon after the . The first bushrangers, 1790s - 1820s Martin Cash - 'The only bushranger to die in his own bed', 1820 - 1840s 1. Bushrangers of Australia. Australian Bushrangers.