http://www.herbertonss.eq.edu.au/landofoz/bushrangers/bushranger.html
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. He was probably born in 1835 at about the time his family moved from Wilberforce to Windsor. The family then moved to Maitland in about 1846. Untitled Document Out of convenience, or to pursue a political agenda, the British colonisation of Australia is often termed a "white settlement" or a "white invasion." Such terms are inaccurate considering that Convicts of African extraction walked among those of British extraction (and Convicts of Greek, Italian, French and Indian extraction). Although their numbers were small, they had a level of influence that vastly exceeded their small numerical status, and so ensured that the colonial experience had a definitive shade of colour. These black Convicts included Billy Blue; the operator of a ferry service between Nth Sydney and Circular Quay.
The Australian Bushrangers The Australian Bushrangers Who, What, When, Where Why? The term “Bushranger” has definitely changed over the years. In the very early years, it simply referred to good bush men who possessed the horsemanship, hunting, and survival skills needed for living in the Australian bush, or wild, after they fled Australia’s prison colonies. Now, the term is used to refer to criminals who attacked travelers on the road in the bush. It’s impossible to say just how many bushrangers walked Australia’s bush, although there had to be hundreds.
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]
John (Johnny) Gilbert John Gilbert (1842?-1865), bushranger, was born in Hamilton, Canada, son of William John Gilbert. In October 1852 he arrived at Melbourne in the Revenue with his family. 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.
John Dunn (bushranger) Memorial to Nelson at Collector Inscription on memorial to Nelson John Dunn (14 December 1846 – 19 March 1866) was an Australian bushranger. He was born at Murrumburrah near Yass, New South Wales. He was 19 years old when he was hanged in Darlinghurst Gaol.[1] He was buried in the former Devonshire Street cemetery in Sydney. In May, Hall, Gilbert, and Dunn were proclaimed outlaws; the passing into law the Felons Apprehension Act 1865, which allowed known bushrangers to be shot and killed rather than taken to trial, this put them outside the law and liable to be killed by anyone.
Ben Hall (bushranger) Ben Hall (9 May 1837 – 5 May 1865) was an Australian bushranger of the 19th century. He and his various companions roamed an area of NSW from Bathurst to Forbes, south to Gundagai and east to Goulburn. He was known as "Brave Ben Hall" and has become part of Australian folklore. Ben Hall carried out many audacious raids, some of which were intended to taunt the police.[2] Unlike many bushrangers of the era, he was not directly responsible for any deaths, although several of his companions certainly were [2] He was shot dead by police in May 1865 at the Billabong Creek.
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.
Bushranger History[edit] More than 2000 bushrangers are believed to have roamed the Australian countryside, beginning with the convict bolters and drawing to a close after Ned Kelly's last stand at Glenrowan.[3] 1850s: gold rush era[edit] The bushrangers' heyday was the Gold Rush years of the 1850s and 1860s as the discovery of gold gave bushrangers access to great wealth that was portable and easily converted to cash. Their task was assisted by the isolated location of the goldfields and a police force decimated by troopers abandoning their duties to join the gold rush.[3]
Francis (Frank) Gardiner Francis (Frank) Gardiner (1830-1903?), bushranger, was born in Scotland, son of Charles Christie and his wife Jane, née Whittle. The family reached Sydney in the James in 1834 and settled at Boro near Goulburn. He went to Victoria and in October 1850 as Francis Christie was sentenced to five years' hard labour at Geelong for horse stealing. Next March he escaped from Pentridge gaol and returned to New South Wales. 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.
Ben Hall Ben Hall (1837-1865), bushranger, is believed to have been born on 9 May 1837 at Maitland, New South Wales, son of Benjamin Hall and his wife Elizabeth; both parents were ex-convicts. He became a stockman and with John Macguire leased a run, Sandy Creek, near Wheogo. On 29 February 1856 at Bathurst he married according to Roman Catholic rites Bridget Walsh of Wheogo. Australian bushranger Frank Gardiner - Gunslingers - Family History & Genealogy Message Board - Ancestry.com.au Francis Gardiner went by many aliases, including "Darkie" Clark, "The Highwayman", "The King of the Road", the "Father of Bushranging", the "Prince of Tobymen", and Francis Christie, whom most believe was his real name. Frank Gardiner was born in Scotland around 1830, and became skilled at riding and shooting while growing up on a farm at Boro, Australia. He was tall (five foot - eight), with black hair, dark eyes, and was very polite, a gentleman to the core and Australia's "Most Wanted" bushranger and first world famous celebrity. He began his crime career as a horse thief in 1850 when he was arrested for horse stealing and sent to the Pentridge Stockade at Melbourne, and escaped.