Bushrangers of the Tablelands region

Two distinct types of bushranger haunted the developing colony of New South Wales. The first became active around the 1830s. They were embittered men, often former convicts, who rebelled against the harsh administration. The second wave occurred around the 1860s. These were more enterprising characters, who sought to steal a part of the newly made fortunes of the gold fields.
 

Bushrangers were always up to something and lived their lives plotting, stealing, or on the run from the law. They did not usually survive long. In most cases it was only a matter of time before they were captured, shot or hanged. Although they are largely remembered for their most horrible deeds and miserable ends, not everyone held the bushrangers in contempt. For many in the community the bushrangers were heroes, standing up to a harsh and self-serving government. Bushranging became a community movement, not just the acts of reckless young individuals.

Ben Hall was one of the most infamous bushrangers. He had a short career, which ended in a hail of bullets in 1865. He was just 26 years old. By 1863 he had been regularly holding up mail coaches, together with gang members John Dunn and Johnny Gilbert. Gilbert was shot dead in 1865. Dunn was captured in February 1866 and hanged for murder. Hall was considered by many to be a ‘gentleman bushranger’. It is said that he never harmed a woman or robbed a poor person, and that he even left his victims with some travelling money.

The Tablelands region has spawned many tales of bushrangers and their activities. In Upper Lachlan Shire there was the hold up of Kimberley’s Commercial Hotel (now the Bushranger Hotel), The Ribbon Gang of the Abercrombie Caves, and much more besides. Elsewhere there was the hold up of the Mudgee Mail at Mount York, the story of the gentleman bushranger, the Ben Hall gang’s shootout at Rockley, the bushranger who discovered the Jenolan Caves, and the bushranger from Goulburn who caused a constitutional crisis in the NSW government.

Upper Lachlan Shire

The whole of The Tablelands area was plagued by bushrangers, but the rolling hills and twists and turns of the roads of Upper Lachlan Shire proved the perfect place for these outlaws to commit their crimes. This landscape provided great cover and helped these outlaws to disappear and evade capture.
 

Collector was the site of one of the most famous bushranger crimes. In 1865 Ben Hall’s gang held up Kimberley’s Commercial Hotel (now the Bushranger Hotel). When the local policeman came to investigate he was shot and killed by the gang’s lookout. Laggan had its fair share of incidents too. Its four stores were regularly plundered and the Shamrock Inn was frequented by Ben Hall, Frank Gardiner, John Gilbert and Johnny Dunn. In Bigga the violent bushranger John Piesley murdered his childhood friend, and at Abercrombie Caves you can see where the Ribbon Gang made their hideout. But the bushrangers did not have it all their own way in Upper Lachlan Shire. Crookwell saw the capture of Fred Lowry and Larry Cummins at the Limerick Races Inn, and Thalaba was the site of the accidental death of bushranger John Cummins. He was shot by his brother, who was trying to rescue him from the police.

Lithgow Shire: Mount York

The hold up of the Mudgee Mail
Fred Lowry, one of Ben Hall’s gang, committed the second biggest stagecoach robbery in NSW history. Lowry held up the Mudgee Mail on Mount York (known then as Big Hill). The robbers stole 5700 pounds in bank notes (equivalent to $250,000 today). Eye witnesses claim Fred Lowry was carrying seven revolvers around his waist that day. After Lowry escaped the victims made their way to Hartley for help. The police found him at the Limerick Races Hotel near Crookwell, 50 miles from Goulburn. In the resulting shootout Lowry was hit in the neck, and died soon after. He sent a message to his family that he had ‘died game’.
 

Mudgee

Captain Thunderbolt, the gentleman bushranger
Captain Thunderbolt was most famous for a stick-up at Flat Rock near Uralla. He is also remembered for breaking out of Cockatoo Island, which was believed to be an ‘escape proof’ gaol. Captain Thunderbolt was considered a gentle and courteous bushranger. He sometimes even ate meals with his victims. His gentle manner is said to be the reason why his career lasted longer than that of any other bushranger. It continued until May 1870 when he was shot dead by a policeman called Constable Walker, after a long chase on horseback.

Captain Starlight, the Rylstone born bushranger

Captain Starlight was born in Cudgegong to a respectable family. He originally operated in his local area, but moved to better cattle rustling territory in Queensland. His biggest feat was stealing 1,000 head of cattle in northern Queensland and herding them many thousands of kilometres to the Adelaide markets. This was a remarkable feat, given that the same journey led to the death of explorers Burke and Wills just nine years before. Captain Starlight was so admired as a hero that it was impossible to find a jury to convict him. He went on to become a property manager, one of very few bushrangers who were able to settle down into a respectable life.

Oberon

The shoot out at Rockley
Rockley, near Oberon, had a brush with Ben Hall’s gang. On October 24th 1863 Hall and his gang rode into Dunns Plain near Rockley, home of Harry Keightley. Keightley stood up to his unwelcome guests and a battle began, which resulted in the death of Mickey Burke. Burke, one of Hall’s gang, was wounded in the stomach and then took his own life. Keightley was captured by Hall when his ammunition ran out. Using Keightley as a hostage, Hall forced Keightley’s wife to ride to Bathurst to claim the five hundred pound reward for killing Burke. You can see the spot where Burke died by taking the Trunkey Creek road out of Rockley. After 1 km turn right toward Newbridge. Dunns Plain property is 2.8km along the left hand side of the road. The stand of non-native trees near a shed marks the spot of where Burke was shot.
 

Jenolan Caves

The bushranger who discovered Jenolan Caves
In around 1838 James Whalan, from Tarana, was in pursuit of a bushranger by the name of James McKeown. McKeown was an escaped convict who wrought havoc on the local stores and was known to be a cattle thief. After a chase of 20 miles the bushranger suddenly disappeared, passing through an open arch. Whalan went on to name this arch the Devil’s Coachhouse. During his search Whalan found a garden that had been cultivated by McKeown, who had made the caves his home. The following day a search party captured Whalan in his hiding place, a huge hole in the mountain, now known as McKeown’s Hole.
 

Goulburn

The height of the bushranging movement
Springfield Estate, along Braidwood Road in the Goulburn district, was the location of one of Ben Hall’s famous shootouts. The shootout occurred after Hall had been caught in the act of stealing horses. Today a plaque outside the property marks the spot
 

The community of Goulburn became very concerned about the growing sympathy for bushrangers. The bishops of Goulburn called a public meeting to see what they could do about this “bushranging movement”. Sympathisers would exchange the bushrangers’ exhausted horses for their own rested animals, or they would offer them refuge from pursuing troopers. In exchange for their support these sympathisers gained protection from the crimes of the bushrangers.

The bushranging movement became so powerful that it led to the fall of the New South Wales government. Frank Gardiner, a bushranger born in Scotland and raised in the Boro district of Goulburn, is held responsible for bringing it down.

When Gardiner was sentenced to hang there was a great public revolt. Many people signed a petition demanding that he was pardoned. The pardon was duly granted by Governor Hercules Robinson. Henry Parkes, the Premier of New South Wales, insisted that only the elected government of the day, not the Governor, had authority in such matters. This caused a constitutional crisis with the Governor refusing to play second fiddle to the Legislative Assembly. Gardiner was pardoned on condition that he left the country. He relocated to California. Parkes’ government fell and was defeated in the subsequent election.

The bushranging movement was checked eventually, after Goulburn magistrates suggested a law that made harbouring bushrangers a criminal offence.

Country roads are often narrow and winding.
Bends and curves are often dangerous due to a build up loose dirt and stones.
Be prepared for changing road conditions and surfaces in wet weather.
Always drive to the conditions, which is not necessarily the posted speed limit.
 

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Bushrangers of the Tablelands region (12 images)