A day or two later Mr. Frank was riding from Lambing Flat (Burrangong) to Yass, when he was stopped by seven men whose faces were hidden by black crape veils. They ordered him to "shell out." "I've only thirty bob, boys," he replied. One of the robbers said "Oh, keep it. You'll want that to take you home again." Some of the others said that they knew him and he wasn't "a bad sort," so he could go. They asked him if he had seen any police on the road, and added that they wished to "meet the—— traps." After several minutes spent in conversation they rode off and Mr. Frank continued his journey.
Shortly after this Constables McDonald, Lee, and Nicholls traced John Foley to Mackay's Hotel, Campbell's River, with the aid of a black tracker. McDonald pushed the door of the bedroom in which he was told Foley had been sleeping, but the man inside leaned heavily against it to prevent it from being opened. After a struggle McDonald forced his revolver through the opening and fired round the corner. He did not hit the man inside, but the shot forced him to give way a little. The constable said, "Come along, Foley. We've got you. You can't get away." After a moment's pause Foley replied, "All right. Don't shoot." He stepped back and the door swung open. The police rushed in and handcuffed him. He was taken to Bathurst, where he was charged with having looted Mrs. Anne Webb's store at Mutton Falls, and with having aided and abetted other bushrangers in several robberies on the highway and elsewhere. During the trial it was noticed that Mrs. Foley, the prisoner's mother, was passing in and out of the court and communicating with the witnesses who had been ordered out of court. She was cautioned, but as she persisted in spite of the efforts of the police, she was ordered to be locked up for contempt of court. Timothy Foley, a brother of the accused, was also committed for contempt of court, and was threatened with prosecution for perjury for his attempts to prove an alibi. The prisoner was convicted and was sentenced to fifteen years' imprisonment, the first three years in irons. Another brother, Francis Foley, was sentenced at the same sessions to ten years' imprisonment for having raided the Chinese Camp at Campbell's River. Henry Gibson was also arraigned for bushranging. He admitted that he had been overseer on Ben Hall's station, but denied that he had ever joined Gardiner's gang. He was acquitted by the jury, and the verdict was received with some applause. As soon as order had been restored, the judge remarked that it would perhaps add to the general satisfaction if he informed the court that the prisoner would not go free in spite of his acquittal. He had before him a document which proved that the prisoner was an escaped convict from Victoria, and would therefore be detained until he could be returned to that colony to finish his sentence.
Hitherto the gang had continued to be known as "Gardiner's Gang," although it had been repeatedly asserted in the press that Gardiner had taken no share in the later robberies, and that in fact he had retired from "the profession" several months ago. It was said that notwithstanding the vigilance of the police, Gardiner had succeeded in escaping from New South Wales, taking with him the wife of a respectable farmer in the Burrangong district named Brown. The reports, however, were very contradictory. Sometimes it was said that he had gone to New Zealand. Then that he had made his way to California or to South America. In the meantime the gang continued to be as active as ever under the leadership of Johnny Gilbert and Ben Hall.
Racers as Mounts for the Bushrangers; The Shooting of Lowry; The —— Bushrangers visit Bathurst; They hold the Town of Canowindra for Three Days; Burke Shot by Mr. Keightley; Female Bushrangers; Death of O'Meally at Goimbla; A Newspaper Man and his Wife Stuck Up; Lively Times During the Christmas Holidays.
The chief necessity for a successful career as a bushranger was a good supply of racehorses, and hence it was almost impossible for any person to keep a really valuable saddle horse during this "Reign of Terror," as the newspapers of the district called it. Special raids were organised by members of the gang to obtain a supply of horses, and the bushrangers frequently travelled upwards of two hundred miles to secure a horse which had made a name on the turf. Thus on May 18th Harry Wilson, trainer for Mr. Allen Hancock, was exercising the racer Jacky Morgan, within sight of the police station in the town of Burrowa, when Gilbert rode up and said "I want that horse." "For God's sake don't ruin me, Johnny," exclaimed the jockey. "Hold your—— jaw and get off," was the reply, as the bushranger brought out his ready revolver. The robber specially cautioned Wilson not to "sing out" so that the police could hear, or he'd "be sorry for it," and in spite of his remonstrances the jockey was compelled to dismount and walk home to inform his employer. Mr. Hancock told him to saddle another horse. He then took down his gun carefully, wiped and loaded it, and went away swearing that he would never return until he had recovered Jacky Morgan.
Gilbert also took a racer out of Mr. Hammond's stables at Junee. He stole the racers Chinaman and Micky Hunter from the stables of Mr. J. Roberts at Currawang. When leading Micky Hunter out of his stall Gilbert patted his neck and said, "You're the—— cove we want." Old Comus and several other horses were taken out of Mr. Iceley's stables at Coombing. The old horse had had a good career on the course, and had been set apart for stud purposes, and Mr. Iceley offered a large sum to the bushrangers to leave him alone, but Gilbert said, "There's a good gallop in him yet," and led him away. But the bushrangers did not devote their whole time to capturing race horses. Robberies on the highway continued as frequently as usual. The police, however, were not idle. In August, Sergeant James Stephenson, Constable Herbst, and Detectives Camphin and Saunderson traced Lowry to Thomas Vardy's, Limerick Races Hotel, at Cook's Vale Creek. When asked if there were any lodgers there, Vardy pointed to the door of one of the bedrooms and replied, "Yes, one there." Stephenson knocked at the door, but there was no reply. The sergeant knocked again and called out "Come out Lowry, it's no use." As no answer was returned, the sergeant placed his shoulder against the door, and tried to burst it open. Immediately some one inside fired a pistol, the bullet from which passed through the panel of the door between the two policemen. Stephenson again called on Lowry to come out or it would be "the worse for him," and the bushranger replied "I'll fight you, you——. All of you." He again fired through the door, and the bullet wounded one of the police horses tied to the verandah. Sergeant Stephenson called on Vardy to take the horses to a safe place, and when they were out of sight, he and Constable Herbst again tried to force the door by leaning their combined weight against it. Suddenly Lowry threw the door open, and the sergeant almost fell into the room. The bushranger shouted "Come on, you—— I'll fight you fair," and fired. The police returned the fire. Stephenson, who was inside the room, took steady aim and pulled the trigger. The robber fell, saying "I'm done for! Where's the priest?" The police arrested Vardy and all his family, as well as a man named Larry Cummins, who was in the room with Lowry, but who took no part in the fight. When this ceremony had been completed, Lowry was made as comfortable as circumstances permitted while a messenger was sent off to the nearest town for a doctor. For more than an hour detective Camphin sat by Lowry's side reading prayers from a Catholic prayer-book which Mrs. Vardy lent him. The robber gradually grew weaker and died. His last words were, "Tell 'em I died game." The police borrowed a cart from a farmer who lived about a mile away from the hotel, and the body was placed in it, covered with a blanket, and started away for Goulburn, where this extraordinary funeral cortège arrived the next day, Sunday, just as the people were leaving the churches.
Frederick Lowry was a native of the district, twenty-seven years of age, and six feet two inches in height.
In the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, on August 18th, 1863, Mr., afterwards Sir James, Martin moved that "the alarming state of insecurity of life and property which has so long prevailed through the country districts is in a high degree discreditable to Her Majesty's Ministers in this colony." Mr., afterwards Sir Charles, Cowper, speaking for the Government, said that the police authorities had full power to take all the troopers that could be spared from the more thickly-populated districts to the disturbed area. The discussion on the motion lasted for a week, when it was negatived by forty-four to eighteen votes. The Government was in fact doing all that it could reasonably be expected to do to preserve order, and this was generally recognised, although the Press continued to urge that more energetic measures should be adopted, and bushranging stamped out at any cost. The success of the bushrangers was largely due to the nature of the country, with the features of which they were perfectly familiar. Had there been double the number of police in the district it is barely probable that the outbreak could have been put down much more quickly than it was. The police showed remarkable bravery, but they were unable to follow the bushrangers into the ranges, with the intricacies of which they were unacquainted. It was not the number of bushrangers, but their activity, boldness, and more than all their intimate knowledge of the country, which enabled them to keep so extensive an area of the colony in a ferment for so long a time.
The Carcour mail was stuck up at about a mile outside the town of Blaney on September 23rd. A passenger named Garland refused to "hand out" when ordered. He was told that if he persisted in his refusal he would "get a good hiding." One bushranger stood by his side holding a gun close to Garland's head, while another bushranger felt his pockets. They took out two £1 notes. The coach was then taken up the ridge to about 300 yards from the road. Here there was a level spot fairly clear of timber, and in this little plain were eight men sitting in a ring with a robber standing on guard over them. The coach-driver and the two passengers were ordered to take their seats in the ring while the letters were searched. They obeyed, and were detained more than an hour. One of the prisoners in the ring was a trooper. When the mail had been gone through the bushrangers, one of whom was riding Mr. Daniel Mayne's horse Retriever, told them they might go. Garland said "It's no use going without any money," whereupon a bushranger handed him ten shillings and told him not to growl. It was about five o'clock p.m. when the bushrangers rode off. They were said to be Gilbert, O'Meally, Burke, and another.
A few days later Gilbert and O'Meally went to a cattle station some miles from Burrangong and rounded up the horses. A stock-rider galloped up and ordered them to desist. Gilbert told him that they were troopers and had orders from Her Majesty the Queen to take any horses they required. The stockman then assisted them to catch two of the best.
On Saturday, October 23rd, Hall, Gilbert, O'Meally, Burke, and Vane walked into Mr. Perdrotta's gunsmith's shop in William Street, Bathurst, opposite the School of Arts, and asked to see some revolvers. They were shown a number, but said they were common things and no good. Mr. Perdrotta said he had sold out. There had been a run on revolvers lately on account of the bushrangers, but he expected a new stock up from Sydney in a few days. The robbers laughed heartily, and said that the bushrangers required to be looked after. They promised to call again in a few days. They walked up the street to McMinn's Hotel, and went in as the family were sitting down to tea. Miss McMinn recognised them and screamed. She was ordered to keep quiet, but as this made her scream louder the bushrangers left. The report that the bushrangers were in the town spread like wild-fire, and the streets were crowded with excited people in a few minutes. It was rumoured that the bushrangers had robbed Mr. De Clouett, in Piper Street, and that De Clouett had recognised Johnny Gilbert as a jockey who had ridden for him some years before. The police hastily armed and mounted, when suddenly the bushrangers, mounted on their horses, with revolvers in their hands, dashed through the crowd in Howick Street, shouting, "Two of us is good for forty—— troopers." The crowd scattered to let them pass. The bushrangers rode through the street at a gallop and left the town in the direction of the timbered country, avoiding the roads. The police followed close behind, but the bushrangers had the faster horses and got away.
On October 17th, Mr. Robinson, of Robinson's Hotel, Canowindra, was awakened at about 1.30 a.m. by a loud knocking. He went to the door and asked, "Who's there?" The reply was, "The police." Robinson opened the door and was immediately ordered to "bail up." The visitors were Hall, Gilbert, and O'Meally, the bushrangers. Mr. Robinson gave them £3, which he took from a drawer, and said that was all the money he had in the house. He begged them to go away. They refused, and insisted on every one in the house getting up at once. After some delay the family and Mr. Kieran Cummings, a lodger, were collected in the dining-room. The bushrangers took charge and served out drinks all round. When time for opening the house came, the bushrangers stationed themselves, one at each end of the verandah and the third in the bar. They bailed up fourteen bullock-drivers who were camped near the township, and compelled them to leave their teams in the street as they arrived. The robbers took anything they required or fancied from the drays and marched the drivers into the dining-room of the hotel. During the morning, Messrs. Hibberson, Twaddell, and Kirkpatrick drove up to the hotel in a buggy. They were compelled to alight and go into the dining-room. Ben Hall, seeing that Mr. Kirkpatrick carried a revolver, requested him to "oblige by handing that thing over. Not that we want it, you know; but it might go off by accident." Mr. Kirkpatrick laughed, and gave him the weapon. Hall examined it carefully and said, "We've got better than that. We'll leave it for you at Louden's, at Grubbenbong, so that you may get it when you pass." Mrs. Robinson and the cook were released and ordered to get a "first-class dinner for the gentlemen, and we'll pay for it." The prisoners were well treated. Food was brought in at intervals, and bottles of brandy were placed on the table for all to help themselves as they pleased. Several boxes of cigars were ordered, and these were opened and the cigars thrown along the table. Robinson had promised not to "try any hanky panky," and was allowed to go to the bar. Everything ordered was paid for without delay or dispute. Gilbert walked to the lock-up, called out the solitary policeman who was stationed in the town, and made him march down to the hotel. Here he was given his musket, and ordered to pace up and down before the verandah as if on sentry duty. When they grew tired of showing their contempt for "the force" in this manner the gun was taken away and the policeman conducted into the dining-room and placed with the other prisoners to "enjoy himself like the rest." The robbers drank very little themselves. Occasionally they ordered a bottle of English beer, and drew the cork themselves after having examined it carefully to make sure that it had not been tampered with. On the Wednesday morning Mr. Hibberson begged hard to be allowed to go. He said that he and his friends had enjoyed themselves very much, and would have been willing to stay longer to oblige, but the river was beginning to rise, and if it came down as usual at that time of the year they might not be able to cross for a month. This would interfere seriously with their business. The bushrangers listened to this plea, and then withdrew. After a consultation which lasted several minutes, Hall came back, and said they thought it was "a fair thing." They were very much obliged to the gentlemen for their contributions towards the general amusement, and they graciously gave them permission to fetch their horses from the stable and start. An hour or so later the other persons in the dining-room were told that they might go. This spree must have been an expensive one. The bushrangers only took a few pounds to start with, while they paid for everything that was consumed by the crowd between 1.30 a.m. on Monday and noon on Wednesday. At first there had been a feeling of restraint, caused, perhaps, by fear or uncertainty, but this soon wore off, and the party ended by being a very merry one. Several games were started. Songs were sung, and one of the bullock-drivers had a concertina and played dance music; several of the members of the party danced. The women and children were allowed to go to bed, but the men had to sleep with their heads on the table. The bushrangers only slept for short naps in turn. On leaving Canowindra the bushrangers rode straight to Mr. Grant's place, at Balubula, called him out, and accused him of having given information to the police as to their movements. As a punishment they burned his house, stacks, and standing crop.
A week later, on October 24th, Hall, Gilbert, O'Meally, Vane, and Burke rode up to Assistant Gold Commissioner Keightley's house, at Dunn's Plains, near Rockley, and called on him to come out. Mr. Keightley had been standing on the verandah, and on seeing them coming had rushed in and slammed the door. As he did not obey, the bushrangers fired some shots at the windows. Keightley returned the fire, and Burke fell, crying out "I'm done for." There was very little ammunition in the house and when this was expended Keightley surrendered. He asked only that the women should not be molested. Vane swore he would avenge Burke by shooting Keightley. Mrs. Baldock, wife of the camp-keeper, who was acting as general servant at the time, rushed between the men and pushed Vane back, crying at the time, "Oh! don't shoot him! Recollect his wife and her little baby." Dr. Peechy, who was present, also interfered, but was knocked down with the butt of a revolver. Mrs. Baldock again pushed Vane away, saying, "Don't hurt the doctor. He never did you any harm." Vane was much excited and swore a great deal, but he did not even push the woman away. Presently Hall, who had been some distance away, came up and told Vane to keep cool. He added that it was impossible to say in the mêlée who shot Burke. "Why," he exclaimed, "I might have done it myself." After a short time order was restored, and the doctor then said that Burke was not dead. He offered to go to Rockley for his instruments and to return immediately. Hall said "What's the good? Better shoot him and put him out of his misery." A discussion followed, and at length permission was given to the doctor to go to his house for his instruments, after he had solemnly promised "not to bring the traps" on them. After the doctor's departure O'Meally declared his intention of taking Keightley down the paddock and shooting him. He told the Gold Commissioner "to come on," but Mrs. Keightley rushed between them and said he should shoot her before he took her husband away. Hall again interfered and order was restored. When the doctor returned he found that Burke was dead. A lengthy discussion took place as to what should be done with Keightley. O'Meally and Vane wished to shoot him. Hall and Gilbert were in favour of holding him to ransom, and Mrs. Keightley undertook to pay them £500 if they would spare his life. Finally an agreement was arrived at. Mrs. Keightley was to ride to Bathurst and bring back the money by two p.m. the next day (Sunday). If she failed to return at that time, or brought any one back with her, her husband and Doctor Peechy were to be shot. The distance from Rockley to Bathurst was twenty-five miles, but Mrs. Keightley started without misgiving. The bushrangers refused to stop in the house during the night in case of surprise. They took their prisoners and camped with them on a knoll, some distance away, from the top of which they had a good view of the Bathurst Road for several miles. This they declared would give them time to shoot their hostages and ride away if treachery was attempted. Mrs. Keightley obtained the necessary amount of money from her father, Mr. Rolton, M.L.A., and returned home an hour before the stipulated time. She handed the money to Ben Hall, who complimented her on her endurance and pluck. Then Mr. Keightley and Dr. Peechy were told that they were free, and the bushrangers mounted and rode off. When this outrage was reported, the rewards offered for the capture, dead or alive, of Hall, Gilbert, O'Meally, and Vane, were increased to £1000, while £100 was offered for the capture of any other of their accomplices.
A bullock-driver left Burrangong, after having disposed of his load of produce, and camped near the Burrangong Creek, a few miles from the diggings, when three men with blackened faces, and further disguised with spectacles, called on him. They demanded the £45 which he had received in payment for his load, proving that they had somehow established a very effective system of espionage in the diggings. He admitted that that was the sum for which he had sold his load, but denied having the money, asserting that he had paid it away. They disbelieved him, and searched him and his dray, shaking out his blankets and tarpaulin. They found about £3 in notes and silver, and went off with it. The bullock-driver had been too wide awake for them. He had heard them coming along the road, and knowing how the district was infested with robbers, had hastily thrust his roll of notes under a log near his camp fire.
Peter Toohey was driving the mail coach on the road between Burrangong and Cowra, when he was ordered to bail up by three armed men. Instead of obeying he lashed his horses into a gallop, and did not pull up until he reached Mr. Allen's station at Wattamundera. The bushrangers followed for a mile or more and snapped their revolvers at him, but they were either not loaded or missed fire. In recording this event the Burrangong Courier remarked that this was probably the fastest three miles on record for a "Cobb's coach." This, however, is very doubtful. The Courier does not give the time, but some very tall tales of coach-racing have been given in the Victorian newspapers of the races run by opposition coaches on the roads from Melbourne to Bendigo and from Geelong to Ballarat in early diggings days.
The same paper reported that Constable Clark chased and captured two supposed bushrangers near Marengo on August 30th. When they reached the lock-up they were identified as Kate Meally and Elizabeth Mayhew. They were detained, but the next morning Sergeant Monaghan asked the magistrate to discharge the prisoners, as he had ascertained from enquiries that the girls only went out "for a bit of a spree in their brothers' clothes."
Mr. David Henry Campbell was sitting in his house on the Goimbla sheep station on the evening of November 19th when he heard footsteps on the verandah. Being suspicious as to the character of the visitors, he seized his gun and retreated to an inner room, while his brother William retired by another door. Mrs. Campbell was in the bedroom. The bushrangers came to the front door, and fired into the room. Mr. Campbell returned the fire, and the bushrangers retreated. They went to the stackyard, and fired the barn and haystack. They then returned to the house, which was illuminated by the blazing of the barn and stack. Mrs. Campbell came out of the bedroom, and spoke a few words to her husband. Then she crossed the front parlour in full view of the bushrangers, took a second gun and a powder flask from the corner, and returned to her husband. The bushrangers fired at her, but missed, and they then retreated along the verandah to where the shadow cast by the blazing stack concealed them. After waiting a few minutes Mrs. Campbell, thinking, as she could hear no sound except the roaring of the flames, that the bushrangers had gone away, stealthily crossed the front room and peeped out of the window. She saw three men standing near the stackyard, and went back to inform her husband. Mr. Campbell immediately left the house by the back door, crept gently along the fence, taking care to keep in the shadow, and approached the men as closely as possible without giving them the alarm. He recognised the man nearest to him as O'Meally, and fired. O'Meally fell. Almost at the same moment the police, having seen the reflection of the fire miles away, and had ridden over to ascertain its cause, came galloping up. Hall and Gilbert, the two other bushrangers, hastily mounted their horses and went off under cover of the darkness. O'Meally's body was conveyed to Bathurst, where an inquest was held, and a verdict of justifiable homicide was returned. The Bathurst Times reported that locks of O'Meally's hair were being shown about and sold in the town, and protested against it. The paper said that the authorities had no right to allow this desecration of the body, even of a bushranger and murderer. "The police," it added, "would not have dared to touch his hair had he been alive. Probably Pottinger and the army of troopers that swarmed round Goimbla when the danger was passed each took a lock of his hair in memoriam when their enemy lay prostrate and dead." A public meeting was held in Sydney on March 3rd to consider what means should be adopted to recognise the bravery of Mr. Campbell in daring to resist the bushrangers and shooting O'Meally. A number of prominent men gave addresses, and it was resolved that a public subscription should be taken up to recoup him for the loss of his barn and stacks. The amount collected at the meeting and during a few days after totalled £1100. Mr. Campbell was also awarded a gold medal by the Government.
The violent deaths of Lowry, Burke, and O'Meally, in so short a time, seemed to have very little effect on the gang, which continued its depredations. Neither did these deaths prevent other young men from adopting the "profession of bushranger." In fact the deaths of a few bushrangers appear to have had less effect in deterring the criminally disposed from taking to the roads than the immunity enjoyed by the leaders offered encouragement. Bushranging was increasing instead of diminishing, although for a few months very little was heard of the Hall and Gilbert Gang. There was also some comedy mingled with the prevailing tragedy. For instance, a blackfellow met Alexander Sinclair, near Killoshiel, and enquired how far it was to Bathurst? Sinclair told him, and was immediately ordered to "get off that horse." The rider hesitated, but the darkey pushed him off the saddle, sprang into it himself, and galloped away threatening to shoot Sinclair if he followed, although it is very doubtful whether he had any arms on him. The same blackfellow took possession of another horse in a similar manner a few hours later some miles along the road. He rode both horses until they knocked up, and then abandoned them. They were afterwards found feeding in the bush with their saddles and bridles still on. It was supposed that the blackfellow was just pining for a gallop and adopted this means of gratifying himself. He was not traced.
Sergeant Donohoe captured William Dunne after an exciting chase through the ranges, and as the sergeant did not know his way back to the high road, he compelled his prisoner to lie down and waited patiently until some other policemen went out in search of him. Neither the sergeant nor his prisoner had any food for forty-eight hours. The police also captured George Bermingham. This man was a printer, born in Sydney, and was twenty-one years of age. When taken he was full of braggadocio, boasted loudly of the number of people he had stuck up, and talked familiarly of Vane and Johnny Gilbert. He laughed at the idea of Ben Hall having been shot as had been rumoured, and said, "Wait till he's spent the five hundred quid he got from Keightley, and you'll soon hear of him again." Sergeant Donohoe said he had followed Dunne because he recognised the magnificent chestnut horse he was riding as one ridden by the robbers of the Cooma mail. Dunne and Bermingham were sent to gaol for ten years for having been concerned in this robbery.
In the last week of November, Hall and Gilbert stuck up the Burrowa mail. Hall expressed his disgust at the number of cheques found in the letters, and requested some of the passengers to cash them. As no one volunteered to oblige him he continued—"If I thought it would injure them (the people who posted cheques presumably) I'd burn the—— lot." The two bushrangers sat down to open the letters, leaving the passengers perfectly free. Gilbert took up one letter which had a black border and laid it aside unopened, with the remark "We must respect death." In one of the letters a piece of wedding cake was found, and Gilbert proposed that they should eat it, but Hall objected, saying "It may be a trap." This caution was common to all the bushrangers. They were in constant dread of being poisoned, and were therefore very cautious as to what they ate or drank. One of the passengers, Mr. Robert Handley, described the two bushrangers as being well-dressed, healthy looking, and very civil.
The following morning Hall and Gilbert went to Coffey's Inn, near Burrowa, and ordered breakfast. When they had finished their meal they walked out on to the road and stopped every one who passed, compelling them to go into the bar after handing over their money. Mr. Campbell, however, refused to stand when challenged. He struck spurs to his horse and galloped away. Hall fired at him and then rushed to the verandah and mounted his horse. He galloped only a short distance and then returned, Campbell having too good a start. The bushrangers "shouted" for their prisoners in the bar several times "for the good of the house," and paid for what they ordered. It was said that they spent nearly as much as they had obtained from the persons robbed.
On December 16th Mr. Henry Morgan, one of the proprietors of the Burrangong Star, was driving, with his newly-married wife, between Bowning and Binalong, when he was ordered to bail up by Hall and Gilbert. Gilbert was in high spirits. He exchanged hats with Morgan, and put his poncho on Mrs. Morgan, declaring that she would make "a first-rate bushranger." The newspaper man and his wife were taken into the bush, and detained from eight a.m. till six p.m. During this time Mr. George Franklin and his wife and four bullock drays were stuck up. One of the bullock-drivers named Sheedy had four bottles of gin on his dray, and these were opened and the liquor served round. The robbers asked Mrs. Franklin to cook breakfast "for the crowd," taking the necessary provisions from the loading on the drays. During the afternoon a number of other persons were brought into "the camp." All except one man were allowed to move about freely. This one man was tied, and was spoken to very roughly and uncivilly. The man was supposed to be "a telegram," and this show of harshness "a stall." At six o'clock the camp was broken up, and the prisoners permitted to resume their journeys.
This performance was repeated the next and the two following days, near the same spot, and although the individual losses were generally small, the aggregate amount of money collected must have been considerable. Only in one instance was any violence used. A bullock-driver named Lake refused to turn out his pockets. Gilbert pressed the muzzle of his revolver against Lake's face and said: "If you don't do what you're told I'll shove this down your—— mouth." Hall felt Lake's pockets and took out £5 in notes and some silver. At night, when released, Lake asked for some of his money back to pay expenses along the road. Gilbert replied: "If you're a—— carrier your name's good for what you want. If you hadn't been so —— jolly you'd have got something. We always divide with them that behave themselves."
In the week ending December 23rd, the Molong, the Cooma, the Tuena, and the Hartley mails were stuck up and robbed, proving that either the gang was divided or that more than one party was at work in the district.
A party including Messrs. Sheedy, Bass, Hutchinson, and other residents of the district, with several ladies, when returning home from one of the numerous race parties held during the Christmas holidays, were ordered to "bail up." A lad was leading the racer Black Diamond, owned by Mr. Sheedy, and let him go. Ben Hall was furious. He galloped after the racer, swearing, and tried to head him, but failed. He came back and threatened the boy and Mr. Sheedy, but soon grew cool. The ladies were treated very civilly, but the robbers took watches and other valuables and all the money they could find from the gentlemen. Black Diamond was found safe in his stable when Mr. Sheedy reached home.
A Heavy Sessions at Goulburn; Ben Hall Hard Pushed; An Amateur Mail Robber; Discovery of Frank Gardiner; His Trial and Sentence; The Old Man; A Brush with the Police; The Chinkies show Fight; Messrs. Hall & Co. Take a Lease of the Main Southern Road; Capture of Mount and Dunleavy; Johnny Dunn; A Desperate Duel and Death of Sergeant Parry; A Country Ball and its Sequel.
Bushranging by no means died out with the close of 1863. During the holidays the activity of the robbers continued, and the disease spread to other districts. It will, however, perhaps be better to continue the history of this gang, and return later on to the actions of other gangs elsewhere. On February 7th, 1864, Inspector Brennan and Constables Lovett and Roche went to a sly-grog shanty, as the places where strong drinks were sold without a licence were called, and captured George Lynam and Michael Seary. The horses of the two bushrangers were so exhausted with hard riding that although they mounted and rode away when the police came, they were soon caught, in spite of their long start. They were charged and convicted of having robbed a number of persons at William Sidwell's, Governor's Arms Hotel, Towrang, two miles from Goulburn, in company with James Crookwell and Daniel Matthews. Lynam also, in company with John Southgate, stuck up and robbed Thomas Cummins, Robert Sherwood, and others at Mr. Cornelius O'Brien's Station, near Binalong. They also stuck up Mr. Dwyer's place at Pudman's Creek, and after having made a bundle of all that was worth taking away, compelled Mrs. Ann Dwyer to cook thirty-four eggs and a quantity of bacon for them. They tied Dwyer, struck Mrs. Dwyer, and threatened to burn the place down unless they were told where the money was hidden. Jane Dwyer, daughter of Ann Dwyer, said that when they went in to search the bedroom, Lynam exclaimed, pointing to the crucifix, "There's Jesus Christ. He ought to be burned, and I've a good mind to do it." They smashed the furniture and broke open boxes and cupboards in their search for money. Lynam was sent to gaol for fifteen years, while Seary, Matthews, Crookwell, and Southgate were sentenced to ten years each for some offences, and to fifteen years for others, but as the sentences were all made concurrent all the prisoners were practically sentenced to fifteen years' imprisonment. At the same sessions Charles Jones, alias William Herbert, and Frank Stanley, alias Wright, were sentenced to twelve years for various acts of highway robbery. Some of these young men were said to have assisted in some of the robberies effected by the Hall and Gilbert gang, and were suspected of being on their way to join that gang. James Hill and James Jones went to William Duguid's house at Mils, Twofold Bay, on March 13th, and stuck up all hands. It was early in the morning when they arrived, and they sent everybody about the place into the kitchen and then searched the house. Jones remained on guard while Hill went with the stockman to fetch up the horses. Mr. Duguid warned Jones that he expected the police and advised him to go before they came to avoid bloodshed. Jones laughed, and ostentatiously loaded the double-barrelled gun which he had just taken from Duguid's bedroom. Hill returned with the horses, and while the bushrangers were selecting the ones they liked the police arrived. Sub-Inspector John Garder Hussey challenged the bushrangers and called on them to surrender. For a minute or two the shooting was very brisk, but it did not last long. Jones and Hussey fell wounded almost simultaneously, and Hill ran away. He was followed by Constable Zollner and captured, while Sergeant Chandler secured Jones. The wounds were not very serious, but the bushrangers were sent to gaol for fifteen years. Ah Ling and ten other Chinese were living together in a hut on the Abercrombie Goldfield. On May 2nd John Taylor and Thomas Webb drove the Chinamen into the kitchen and called them up one by one to be robbed. The first victim was Ah Wee. When asked for his gold he replied "No savee." He afterwards said he had none. Webb got a rope, tied it round the Chinaman's neck, and hauled him up to a sapling beam which ran across the building. After hanging for several minutes Ah Wee was let down and asked whether he "saveed now?" He handed out his gold and explained at the trial that it made him "welly sick." Ah Yong, Ah See, and two or three others were served in the same way, and the others gave up their gold without further compulsion. The prisoners were sent to gaol for two years. The session was a remarkably heavy one, and the majority of the cases tried were for robbery under arms.
While the police had been very successful in bringing a number of outsiders to justice, the better known members of the gang continued to keep the district alive. The Yass Courier reported that nearly every one in the district had turned out to hunt Ben Hall, who was reported to have paid them a visit. The bushranger had been so hard pressed that he was forced to abandon Willy the Weasel, owned by Mr. Garry. The horse was completely knocked up, otherwise the bushranger would not have let him go, as he was a favourite. The stock riders of the district had expressed great contempt for the police, their opinions being summed up as follows: "They can't catch him. They don't know how to ride down a hill." Many of the "hills" in the district would be elsewhere considered almost as precipices.
The Young (Burrangong) Daily Tribune the same week reported that a day or two ago Ben Hall walked alone into the stables at Groggan station, Bland Plains, said "Good morning, boys," and then proceeded coolly to tie up the three men and a boy. Having secured these to his entire satisfaction, he walked to the house and asked to see Mr. Chisholm. On that gentleman coming to the door Hall said, "Good morning, Mr. Chisholm. I've come for Troubadour." "You've left him so long you might do without him now," returned Mr. Chisholm. "Oh," exclaimed Hall, "you're getting too—— flash. If you consort with traps you'll have to be taught manners." They walked to the stables, where Hall put saddles and bridles on Troubadour and Union Jack. The last-named had won the Champion Plate at the Wagga Wagga races on New Year's Day, and had only been brought home under police escort a day or two before. Hall also selected two other horses, which he said he "liked the look of," and put bridles on them. He then made Mr. Chisholm fill two three-bushel bags with clothing from the store, and these he packed on the spare horses. Then he mounted Troubadour, and leading the others started away. He had scarcely moved, however, before he pulled up again, and said to Mr. Chisholm, "That's a good looking watch of yours. I want it. Hand it over." Mr. Chisholm did so, and the bushranger then rode off. It may be explained that the reason why no opposition was attempted was because it was believed that Hall had plenty of support if he had required it. He never walked unless he was compelled, and it was thought that his mates with the horses were not far off. It was also suggested that Hall had a bad mount after he lost Willy the Weasel and that he did not wish to let Mr. Chisholm see him riding an inferior horse.
The mail coach from Wagga Wagga having failed to arrive at Cootamundra at the usual time, on May 12th, the contractor, Mr. Burke, supposed that it had been stuck up somewhere along the road and rode out to make enquiries. At about three miles from Cootamundra he found a number of letters lying scattered about the road. He gathered them up and continued his search. At length he found the mail-man drunk in a public-house near Murrumburrah. The fellow had robbed the mail himself, no doubt with the intention of laying the blame on the bushrangers. He was convicted and sentenced to seven years' penal servitude.
The mail was stuck up at Mumble Flat, between Orange and Wellington, on March 1st. A portion of the loading consisted of carbines and revolvers for the police, "all of which," said the Orange Guardian, "were borne off to be used against them."
The Bathurst-Sydney coach was stuck up at Lapstone Hill by three armed men. The passengers were Michael Duffy, Constable McKay, in charge of a female lunatic, and three Chinamen. After having collected the money from the passengers and searched the letters, the robbers extinguished the coach lamps, took the horses out, and drove them up the hill. The driver waited for half an hour, as he had been ordered to do, and then started to catch his horses. This he managed to do with some difficulty, and on his return he drove on to Penrith. From thence the passengers and the broken mail-bags were taken to Sydney by train. John Forster was arrested in a house at Strawberry Hills, Sydney, and charged with having, with others, stuck up and robbed the mail coach between Penrith and Hartley at two a.m. Ah Lung, one of the passengers on the coach, recognised a sash which the prisoner wore round his waist as his property, and said he carried his money in it. Forster was sent to gaol for ten years.
About this time great excitement was caused throughout New South Wales by the report that Frank Gardiner had been discovered and arrested by Detective McGlone on March 3rd, at Apis Creek, on the road from Rockhampton to the Peak Downs diggings, Queensland. Gardiner was keeping a shanty, or roadside store, with Mrs. Brown, who passed as his wife. Gardiner was brought to Sydney and duly committed for trial. In connection with this case Mr. (afterwards Sir) E. Deas Thompson laid a return on the table of the Legislative Assembly showing that the amount stolen by Gardiner previous to his disappearance was about £21,000. Of this total, £13,694 had been stolen in the robbery of the Lachlan Escort, and £5335 had been recovered by the police under Sir Frederick Pottinger. No murders were charged against Gardiner, but he was convicted on three counts for highway robbery. On each of these counts he was sentenced, on the first to twelve years and on the other two to ten years each. The first three years in irons in each case. The sentences were made cumulative, and aggregated thirty-two years. It will be remembered that Captain Melville, the bushranger, was sentenced to a similar term of imprisonment in Victoria about twelve years before, and there were many people in New South Wales who thought that Gardiner had been too harshly dealt with. Such a sentence, they said, deprived a man of all hope, and rendered him desperate, and they would not be surprised if Gardiner rebelled against it as Melville had done. Those who held this view were, however, in the minority. The majority said bushranging must be stamped out at any cost, and until this was effected the sentences could not be too severe.
On the 20th of May Ben Hall, Gilbert, and a new recruit known as "the Old Man," rode up to McGregor's Inn at Bong Bong, where a number of men were on the verandah. The bushrangers ordered these men to "throw your arms up," enforcing the order with revolvers. There were some twenty visitors on the verandah and in the bar, and these were ranged along the wall in the dining room, with Hall on guard. Gilbert and "the Old Man" walked down the yard to the stables, where several racehorses were in the stalls under the charge of Constables Scott and Macnamara, who were escorting them to Burrangong for the races on Queen's birthday. Gilbert called to the constables to "leave those horses." The constables drew their revolvers, and fired by way of reply. The bushrangers fired, and Hall left the dining-room to take part in the scrimmage. For some minutes the shooting was very brisk, but no one appeared to be hurt. The police were on foot and under cover of the stables, but the bushrangers were mounted and in the open yard. Suddenly the firing ceased as if by mutual consent, and Gilbert shouted that they would be back presently. The bushrangers then rode away. As Hall went out of the gate his cabbage tree hat fell off, and a cry was raised that he had been hit. He rode off, however, without showing any symptoms of injury. Believing that the bushrangers had gone for reinforcements the two constables barricaded the stables, and sent a messenger to the nearest police depôt for assistance. About midnight Sir Frederick Pottinger arrived with four troopers, but the bushrangers did not return.
On the following afternoon the mail coach was stuck up at Emu Flat, between Burrangong and Yass. A passenger named Michael Curran saved his gold watch and chain by dropping them among the straw in the bottom of the coach, but a valuable gold ring and £21 in notes were taken from him. Ben Hall also exchanged an old poncho for a valuable rug, and an old clay pipe for a very fine meerschaum. Some distance away Mr. Barnes met the coach, and the driver, J. Roberts, who knew him, warned Barnes that the bushrangers were on the road. Barnes laughed and went on. He was stopped and robbed, and as he did not hand out his money very readily when ordered to do so, he was very roughly treated and was threatened with death. Several teams were also robbed. The bushrangers were riding the racers Teddington, Harkaway, and Troubadour.
During this "reign of terror," the Press, especially of the country districts, continued to urge the necessity for suppressing the "bush telegraphs" and other sympathisers of the bushrangers, and said that while so many who aided them either by giving them information of the movements of the police or providing them with hiding places when they were hard pressed were at large the police had little chance of making headway against the evil doers. The Yass Courier, for instance, spoke of "the wealthy relations—of the bushrangers—with whom the police are afraid to interfere, but whose places never have and never will be stuck up." The paper "perforce refrains from publishing the names of these people on account of the state of the libel law," but it charges them with "comforting and assisting the bushrangers." It seems difficult to understand what the police were expected to do, or to see what action could be taken against a settler because his place was not raided, and who had some more or less distant relative "on the roads." But this serves to show how closely the Press enquired into the antecedents and relationships of the bushrangers.
A man, believed to be Johnny Gilbert, accompanied by a lad named Ryan, stopped to dinner at the Korowatha Inn. They talked freely of bushranging, and laughed at the report that Hall had been hit at McGregor's, as the newspapers had reported. They affirmed that "the traps could not fire straight enough to hit a haystack."
On the 22nd of June, the Bathurst Times said: "After an immunity from bushranging crimes in this district for some months, the gang has appeared once more and commenced operations. On the 18th, the mail coach for Orange and the Lachlan started an hour late from this town in consequence of the heavy mail. There were on board James Nairne and seven passengers. About eighteen miles out, near the turn-off road to Guyong, three men jumped out of the bush and ordered the mail-man to 'bail up.' The coach was taken off the road, where the passengers were robbed and the letters torn open. The driver and passengers were then told that they would be detained until the down mail came. While they were waiting, a little boy was stopped and one pound of tea and 1s. 6d. in money were taken from him. The boy's father, a farmer living near, came out to look for his son, and was run in among the crowd. After some dispute the tea and the 1s. 6d. were given back, but the father and son were compelled to remain until the other coach came by. The down mail, driven by John Fagan, arrived about midnight and was stopped. Fagan was asked what made him so late, and replied that the roads were bad with the rains. The letters were opened, except those in the registered bag, which the robbers missed. About two a.m. the robbers told their prisoners that they might go, and walked away." It was said that this was not the Gilbert and Hall gang, as the robbers had no horses. The police started in pursuit from Bathurst and Orange as soon as news of the robbery reached these towns.
Ben Hall and his gang stuck up and robbed Pearce and Hillier's store at Canowindra, and held the town for the day as on a previous occasion. The following afternoon, June 23rd, they called at Mr. Rothsay's station, took four horses from the stables, and set fire to a stack containing about 14 tons of hay as a "caution to traitors."
Ben Hall, Johnny Gilbert, John Dunleavy, and James Mount (hitherto known as "the Old Man") stuck up the Carcour and Cowra coaches. They then rode on to the Half-Way House Hotel and compelled the landlord to hand over £76. They held the road for several hours, robbing all who passed, and bringing them to the hotel, where they "shouted for all hands" several times. This time the bushrangers drank port wine. They took several well-bred horses from the stables. One of these got loose and galloped along the road. He was followed by Dunleavy, who failed to head him. The horse was caught next day and sent to Bathurst for safety.
Two armed men endeavoured to stick up the Chinese Camp at Gilmandyke Creek, near Rockley. The Chinese fought bravely, returning the bushrangers' fire in a spirited manner with shot guns. A bushranger named Clayton was wounded and captured, when the other man rode away. The Chinese were highly commended for their pluck, and several of the newspapers said that they had set a good example for white men to follow.
Hall and Mount went to Mr. Jamieson's station on the Bland River, and informed the proprietor that they intended to stop for the night. They called the men up, asked their names and how much money each one had. Having obtained this information they announced that they did not intend to take anything from any one. Possibly this decision may have been due to the fact that the total amount acknowledged to be in the possession of those present was small. Whether this was so or not, however, matters little. They ordered supper to be served, and made all present sit down to the table in the dining-room. When the meal was over and the table cleared, Mr. Jamieson was asked to bring out some rum from the store. A pint pot, filled with hot water with plenty of salt in it, was placed on the table, and Hall announced that if any one present refused to sing or to contribute in some other way to the general amusement, he would be compelled to swallow the contents of this pannikin. Then they made a night of it. In the morning half the men were lying on the ground in a drunken sleep, but the bushrangers were quite sober, having drunk very little. They spent half-an-hour in the stable cleaning their horses, had breakfast, and rode away, declaring that they had enjoyed themselves immensely, and thanking Mr. Jamieson for the entertainment he had afforded them.
They called at the next station and took the racehorse "Plover" out of the stable. Mount ordered the stockman to fetch the horses out of the paddock, as he wanted to select one or two of the best stock-horses. While they were talking, the stockman moved round from Mount's right hand side to the left. The bushranger immediately shifted his revolver from the right hand to the left, remarking quietly: "I can shoot just as straight left-handed as right." Hall said he had enjoyed many a good laugh at the newspaper yarns about himself. He added that Brown's men were "jolly good fellows." In the evening they stuck up the Gundagai mail near Jugiong. When opening the letters Hall found a bulky roll of bank notes. "Ah!" he said, "This is what I like." He took a number of newspapers away with him, "just to see what they say about me." From thence they rode straight to the Chinese camp at Wombat, "to give the Chinkies a lesson." The Chinese were very slow in producing their gold, and the bushrangers fired in among them, killing one and wounding another. The next day, Sunday, they stuck up a number of Chinamen on the road and took their gold, but did not ill-treat them. In the afternoon they went to Mr. McCarthy's store in Jugiong and compelled him to open the door. They selected a quantity of clothing and drapery, which they placed on a spare pack horse they had with them. In the evening they stuck up the Gundagai mail within a mile of the place where they had stuck it up a few days before. Hall took out a roll of half notes from one packet. "This is a green trick, this is," he said, holding them up. "It's little trouble to us to match half notes." This series of outrages, following so closely one on the other, naturally stirred the police up to increased activity, and the bushrangers were so closely followed that a brush took place between them and the police in the last week of October. In this fight, which lasted only a very short time, Dunleavy was severely wounded and surrendered, while Mount was captured.
James Mount was an escaped convict, out on a ticket-of-leave. He was forty-five years of age, but had been called "The Old Man" before his name was known, to distinguish him from the young men and boys who formed the body of this gang. Mount was tried and convicted of highway robbery in Bathurst, and was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment.
In commenting upon the capture of Mount and Dunleavy the Goulburn Herald announced that their loss to the gang had been to some extent compensated for by the accession of Johnny Dunn, who was born in Murrumburrah. Earlier in the year 1864 Dunn had won the principal prize at the Yass race meeting with the Binalong horse, Ringleader. He was an excellent rider, and would no doubt give the police some trouble.
"Messrs. Hall, Gilbert, and Dunn seem to have obtained a lease of the Main Southern road," said the Yass Courier of November 19th. They robbed the up and down mails from Gundagai two consecutive weeks. On the last of these four robberies the coach was bailed up at Deep Creek, near Jugiong, at about four p.m. Messrs. Bradley and Sheahan, passengers, had alighted to walk up the steep hill, and were some hundred yards or so ahead of the coach, when three men suddenly appeared from behind the scrub and ordered them to "bail up." "All right," replied Mr. Sheahan, holding his hands above his head. Hall said, "That'll do. We've got a little township of our own up there. Come on." He pointed up the hill as he spoke. They followed him until they came to a small, clear spot, surrounded with high trees and scrub. Here they saw twelve bullock drays and a number of men. Several horses were hitched to the trees round the clearing, and the men who owned them, as well as the bullock-drivers and some footmen, were seated on the ground. When asked for his money Sheahan replied, "Got none. Search if you like." "Oh, you're not a bad sort," said Hall, "we'll take your word for it." Bradley took out a cheque for £1, saying, "That's all I've got. I brought it to pay my way on the trip." Hall put his hand into Bradley's pocket, and finding nothing there told him to keep the cheque. A cask of port wine, which was found on one of the bullock drays, was tapped, and the wine was handed round to all present in a quart pot in which tea had been made, as was evident by its colour. When the letters had been searched, the bushrangers told the company that they might go.
Expecting that the return mail would be robbed again next day Mr. Ross, police magistrate, and Constable Roche in private clothes went as passengers, while Inspector O'Neil and Sergeant Edmund Parry rode beside the coach on horseback. At Black Springs, near Jugiong, the bushrangers appeared as had been anticipated, and on emerging from the bush one of them shouted out, "Hullo, here's the bobbies." Hall said, "There's only two. Rush the——." The three bushrangers then rode forward shouting "Come on, you——, fight like men." Sergeant Parry rode forward and encountered Gilbert, and a desperate duel on horseback with revolvers took place until Parry fell. In the meantime Inspector O'Neil had kept under cover of the coach and managed to keep the other two bushrangers at bay until Parry fell, when he surrendered. Mr. Ross fired several shots, but what became of Constable Roche is not known. He was not captured or wounded. He simply disappeared in the scrub. When all was quiet Gilbert dismounted, turned over Parry's body, and remarked coolly "He got it in the cobbera. It's all over with him. Well, I'm sorry for it. He's the bravest trap I've met yet." The coach was taken off the road to where several bullock teams, two horse carts with their Chinese owners, a buggy with Mr. and Mrs. Hayes, and several footmen and horsemen—among whom was Constable McLaughlin, who had fired away his ammunition before he surrendered—were collected together. The robbers searched the letters as usual, took all the police horses and arms, collected the money, watches, and other valuables from the crowd and rode away saying "We'll rob the mail to-morrow if all the—— traps in the colony are here." Whether this threat was mere braggadocio, or whether the bushrangers intended to draw the police here so that they might operate in safety elsewhere, has been frequently argued without any definite result. The police were on the road, and the bushrangers did not put in an appearance. That is what is known. The day following, however, the gang stuck up the Binalong mail, and after searching the letters, burned letters and papers to "put a stop to the—— English correspondence."
A day or two later, "Messrs. Hall & Co." took possession of the road between the Fourteen Mile and the Fifteen Mile rushes at Burrangong and bailed up about thirty men, women, and boys. A bridle took the fancy of one of the gang, and he insisted on taking it and giving his own in return. With this exception, and the taking of a quantity of bread and butter found on the drays bailed up, nothing was stolen. The bushrangers explained that they expected some gold buyers along the road, and when they came the camp would be broken up. In the meantime they wanted every one to enjoy the picnic. The women were set to work to cut up and serve out the bread and butter. Fires were lighted and tea made. Then races and other sports were organised for the boys. One of the bailed-up men was a newsvendor, and the bushrangers "borrowed" his papers and took it in turn to lie down and "read the news." At last one of the boys contrived to sneak away unseen, and as soon as his escape was discovered the camp was broken up and the robbers rode away.
On December 19th, the Hon. William Macleay, M.L.C., was driving in a buggy from Towrang to Shelly's Flat, when he noticed a large crowd a little way ahead. He sent his coachman on with the buggy and got down to make enquiries. As he drew near he saw that a number of people were standing round two bullock drays, while one or two men were breaking open the boxes on the drays. Mr. Macleay asked a man what was the matter, and the man motioned to him to keep quiet. Mr. Macleay conjectured that it was the bushrangers robbing the drays, and withdrew as quietly as he had joined the crowd. He walked on to Plum's Inn, where he found a wedding party enjoying themselves. He told the landlord what he had seen and his suspicions, and advised those present to take precautions to avoid being robbed. Some time later the bushrangers came up, and seeing a number of men on the verandah with guns and revolvers in their hands, fired. Mr. Macleay immediately returned the fire. The bushrangers drew together some distance away, and held a consultation. They apparently decided that the risk was too great, as they went off along the road. For beating off the bushrangers, and proving that a show of resistance might prevent robberies, Mr. Macleay was awarded a gold medal by the New South Wales Government. As a per contra, the fact that the bushrangers robbed the drays openly in the main road in this instance, instead of taking them into the bush, was cited as evidence that they were growing bolder and more careless of the police.
Hall, Gilbert, and Dunn rode up to a store at Binda, owned by an ex-policeman named Morris, on December 21st, and took about £100 from his cashbox. They informed Morris that a ball was being held at the Flag Hotel, and insisted on himself and Mrs. Morris dressing themselves, and accompanying the bushrangers to the ball. Morris at first objected, but finally gave way. When they reached the Flag Hotel the bushrangers mixed freely with the crowd, dancing and otherwise enjoying themselves. Presently some "bush telegraph" informed the bushrangers that Morris had been sounding several of the men present as to the probability of effecting a capture. Gilbert and Dunn drew their revolvers and started to look for Morris, who, having been informed of what had transpired, jumped through an open window, and ran towards where the bushrangers' horses were tied to trees. His intention was to take one and ride for the police. The bushrangers, however, caught sight of him and divining his intention ran and fired at Morris. This compelled him to turn aside and take refuge behind a tree. The bushrangers made no attempt to follow him. They removed their horses to a safer place, then walked to the store, piled a quantity of brushwood on the verandah, and set fire to it. Then they mounted their horses, and sat and watched the blaze until the house was well alight, when they rode off. There were more than a hundred persons at the ball, but no attempt was made to prevent the bushrangers from burning down the store. In connection with this "act of vengeance" Christina McKinnon and Ellen and Margaret Monks were arrested and charged with having aided and abetted in burning down Morris's store. The girls had been dancing with the bushrangers, and had accompanied them when they went to the store. The police said that they were well known as "bush telegraphs," and cited instances in which it was supposed that they had given notice to the bushrangers of the approach of the police. Margaret Monks was discharged, but the other two were sent to gaol, the evidence showing that they had assisted the bushrangers in piling wood on the verandah of the store.
Mr. D. Davis, auctioneer, of Yass, had been conducting a sale at Murrumburrah, and was returning home on December 30th when he was stuck up. He had on him £109 1s. 5d., the proceeds of the sale, principally in cheques. When these were handed out Ben Hall was in a furious rage, and threatened to burn them. Gilbert proposed that he should gallop on and "change them before they're stopped." There was £1 5s. 6d. in cash, and of this they kept £1, returning the silver. They then rode rapidly away. Nothing more was heard of the cheques, the only thing known of them being that they were never cashed.
Meeting the Gold Escort; Murder of Constable Nelson; A Brush with the Police; Attempt to Stick Up the Araluen Gold Escort; Death of Constable Kelly and Pluck of Constable Burns; Sir Frederick Pottinger Resigns; Death of Ben Hall; Sketch of his Life; Death of Johnny Gilbert; Record of John Dunn and the Gang; Capture and Trial of Johnny Dunn; His Execution; Fate of the Chief Members of the Gardiner Gang.
Like many other young men I spent a few years on the diggings in hopes of making "my pile," and early in 1865 I, in company with two mates, left the King's Plains, where we had just finished working out a hole, and started for Apple Tree Flat, near Mudgee, where a rush had recently taken place. We were well mounted, and had a packhorse which "belonged to the firm." One of my mates was a keen sportsman, and his horse had won several prizes at those country meetings known as "Publican's Races," from the fact that they were organised by a publican and held near his house for obvious business reasons. We were travelling steadily along the road leading from Blaney to Bathurst, near Back Creek, when we saw the Government Gold Escort in the distance. The police authorities of New South Wales had learned a lesson from the Great Escort Robbery of 1862, and no longer mounted all the police on the coach or drag in which the gold was conveyed to Sydney. At the place we had arrived at the road, a chain and a half wide (99 feet), had been cleared through a stretch of heavy forest timber. It ran as straight as possible as far as the eye could reach, and was bordered on either side by a dense growth of timber and scrub rising to a height of from 200 to 300 feet like a wall of greenery. In the centre of the roadway was a metalled or gravelled road about fifteen feet wide. The remainder on either side was graded to near the timber line, where a small cutting to carry off surface water was made. We rode on the soft grassy side slopes and left the metalled or gravelled road for vehicles. It was in the centre of this gorge in the forest that we first sighted the escort. First rode a single trooper; at fifty yards distance came two more; then, at about the same distance, came the escort cart, drawn by four horses, the driver and another policeman sitting on the front seat, while a third trooper sat behind. A mounted trooper also rode one on each side of the cart. Fifty yards further back were two more troopers, while the rear was brought up by another single trooper. The troopers had their carbines ready in their hands, the butts resting on their thighs. When the leading trooper came within hail of us, he cried "Halt," and raised his rifle. We halted. The two troopers behind him came forward at a rapid pace until they were near enough to support him, if necessary. The cart stopped, and the other troopers gathered round it ready to defend it. The sergeant in charge inquired what our names were, where we were going, and what was our business. We told him. He said our horses were superior to those usually ridden by diggers. We replied that we didn't care about riding old screws. He asked whether the two guns we carried were loaded. We informed him that one was loaded with shot in case we came across a duck or a pigeon. He told us to sit up straight and follow him. Then he motioned to the two troopers just behind him. He led the way while the troopers followed behind us. We all kept to the side of the road; the cart having been drawn up on the other side. The other troopers sat on their horses, carbine in hand, as we passed. It was a most impressive show of force out there in the bush. The sergeant and two troopers conducted us for about a hundred yards past the cart and then pulled up. The sergeant said it was difficult to tell what men were by their appearance. He advised us to be very careful, and asked if we had any gold or money with us. We told him that we had been at Lambing Flat, and knew what the state of the country was. We did not feel disposed to carry gold or very much money with us while there were banks in every town. He said we were right and wished us good day after telling us to ride straight on and not attempt to turn back. We laughed and said we were travelling in the opposite direction and had no desire to turn back. In talking the matter over in our camp that night we decided that great as the improvement in the escort service had been it would not be impossible to rob the escort again. If, for instance, we had been part of a gang of bushrangers, sent to draw the attention of the police to us, while another portion of the gang had been hidden in the scrub, opposite where the cart stood, the troopers might have been shot down almost without a chance of defending themselves. However, the escort protection seems to have been sufficient, as it was not robbed again, although one or two attempts were made in other districts.
During the first week or two of 1865 very little was heard of Messrs. Hall & Co., but on January 26th the three principal members of the firm (Hall, Gilbert, and Dunn), stuck up Mr. Kimberley's store in Main Street, Collector. Dunn was stationed on guard on the verandah while Hall and Gilbert went inside to select such articles as they required or fancied. Constable Nelson, the only policeman stationed in the little town, was at the lock-up, and on being informed of what was going on he loaded his carbine and walked down the street towards the store. Dunn saw him coming and withdrew out of sight behind the fence at the corner of the verandah, and when the constable was only a few yards distant the robber fired at him. The constable fell, and Dunn, coming out of his hiding-place, walked to where he was lying, put his revolver close to the constable's head, and fired again. Hearing the shots, Hall and Gilbert came out, and on seeing what had been done, held a whispered consultation, and then mounted their horses and rode away. They went straight to Alfred Cramp's farm at Binda, and ordered dinner. While they were still at table a party of police galloped up, dismounted, and rushed into the front door of the house as the bushrangers went out of the back door. A few shots were fired, but the bushrangers mounted and escaped, owing to the superiority of their horses. The news of Constable Nelson's death had been conveyed to the police at once, and they had followed close on the tracks of the bushrangers.
In February a number of persons were stuck up near Illalong, on the road between Yass and Burrangong. The robbers were said to have no connection with the firm of Hall & Co., as they robbed their victims of their coats and vests. The Hall gang never did this. If they saw a man with a coat or vest, or any other article of clothing to which they took a fancy, they would exchange with him, but they only stole clothes from the stores. However, while the police were out in search of these plebeian bushrangers, they happened to come across Hall and Gilbert at Lodge's Inn, Breadalbane Plains, and captured their horses. It was supposed that the two robbers had been sleeping in the barn. They rushed out when the police came, and went across a cleared paddock, both parties firing their revolvers. Constable Wiles was wounded, and Ben Hall was supposed to have been wounded, as he fell. He was up again in a moment, however, and succeeded in reaching the timber, the ground being too rough and heavily-timbered for the police horses to make their way through it.
A daring attempt was made by Hall and three others to stick up the Araluen escort on March 16th. The bushrangers fired from behind trees as the escort cart was going up Major's Creek Mount, at the same place where a similar attempt had been made about two and a half years previously. Constable Kelly fell wounded, and died a few days later. Constable Burns, who was driving, jumped off the cart, put a stone behind the wheel, and then fired, shouting "Come on." Mr. Blatchford, J.P., who had been riding beside the driver, remained on his seat until a voice from behind the trees cried out, "Shoot the—— on the cart." He then jumped down quickly, but was wounded in the leg. He fell, but got up again immediately and ran down the hill to Noonan's Hotel for assistance. Constable Stapleton and his companion forced their horses up the steep cutting which bordered the road, and disappeared among the trees. Burns, thus left alone with the cart, sheltered himself behind it as well as he could, and kept blazing away coolly from his cover. Suddenly, Constable Stapleton and his companion attacked the robbers in the rear. Gilbert turned sharply, and said, "You're a—— good shot, take that," and shot the constable's horse. The two policemen, however, kept up the firing, and the bushrangers mounted their horses and rode away. Mr. Blatchford presented Constable Burns with a cheque for £50, as a reward for the pluck he had shown in defending his charge.
It was at about this time that Sir Frederick Pottinger, who was in command of the police in this district, was charged with having neglected his duty. Sir Frederick had ridden in a gentleman's race on the Wowingragong course. It was rumoured that the bushrangers, for whom he was supposed to be looking, had been on the course too, and had not been recognised. Sir Frederick was called to Sydney to attend an inquiry, and resigned his position in the force. About a month later he died from the effects of a wound from a pistol, accidentally fired by himself.
The gang yarded a mob of horses at a station near Murrumburrah and picked out several of the finest horses, which they took away, leaving their own knocked-up horses in their place. They rode to Wombat, where they stuck up a mob of Chinamen, one of whom was shot to make the others "shell out" their gold more quickly. Then the bushrangers travelled to Forbes, and on the following day robbed Mr. Jones's store of £81 in cash and a quantity of clothing and drapery. Information was given to the police in the town as soon as the robbers left the store, and a party of police with two black trackers followed them. On the following evening, May 5th, they came on two hobbled horses feeding near the Billabong Creek. These were recognised as horses which had been ridden by the bushrangers, and the police watched them carefully without allowing themselves to be seen. This was not difficult, as there were thick patches of scrub about the flat. Half-an-hour later a man came out of one of these patches of scrub, unhobbled the horses, and led them away for about two hundred yards to where there was better grass. It was at that time too dark to distinguish him. He rehobbled the horses and retired into the scrub once more. The police drew up closer to this patch with great caution and watched till morning. At daybreak the man appeared again and looked round to ascertain whether the horses were in sight, and Inspector Davidson immediately recognised him as Ben Hall and called on him to stand. Hall turned to go back into the patch of scrub, and the inspector fired at him. Sergeant Condell and the four policemen also fired, and Hall stopped and leaned on a sapling for support. Then Constable Hopkiss took steady aim and fired again, and Hall let his revolver fall from his hand. The police went forward and Hall said "I'm hit. Shoot me dead." He relaxed his hold on the sapling, staggered forward and fell. The police rushed up, but he died before any attempt could be made to staunch the blood. On the body being examined one rifle and six revolver bullet wounds were found, any one of which should have proved fatal. The bushrangers' horses were soon caught, the body was strapped on one of them, and the party returned to Forbes. The police were much surprised to find Hall alone, but conjectured that Gilbert and Dunn had gone down the Lachlan River to some of the great stations to procure horses, all the racehorses about Burrangong having been pretty well exhausted. The two captured with Hall were in very poor condition, and had evidently been ridden hard. It was supposed that they had knocked up, and that Hall had stayed behind while his companions sought fresh mounts. He thought he was quite safe in the scrub, so far away from his usual haunts.