FREDERICK WARD
aka
CAPTAIN THUNDERBOLT
Timelines
Copyright Carol Baxter 2011
Bushranger Captain Thunderbolt
Carol Baxter is the author of the book, Captain Thunderbolt and His Lady: The true story of bushrangers Frederick Ward and Mary Ann Bugg (Allen & Unwin, 2011). It was published to critical acclaim and is being turned into a TV series.
While researching Fred Ward's life and exploits, Carol discovered that many of the claims made about him are wrong. In this series of timelines, she lists the FACTS and documents the historical sources that record these facts.
Sep-Oct 1865: Having left Mary Ann Bugg in the Tamworth district with her children, Thunderbolt was joined by Patrick John Kelly (see Accomplices).
Shortly before 16 Oct 1865: Thunderbolt and another man (suspected to be Kelly) robbed magistrate Hugh Bryden of Collymongle (near Mogil Mogil) when he was near Old Oreel, about 35 miles west of Millie on Thalaba Creek. [1]
Late Oct 1865: Thunderbolt joined by ‘Jemmy the Whisperer’ (see Accomplices).
Late Oct 1865: Senior Constable Roche of Wee Waa was out searching for information about Thunderbolt’s whereabouts without success (according to a correspondent on 8 Nov) as the gang was apparently back somewhere in the mountains; Thunderbolt was reported to keep his woman and children in an isolated spot, using the place as their rendezvous when not on the road. [2]
Early Nov 1865: Report by someone who rode with them that Thunderbolt, Kelly and another (probably Jemmy) had crossed the Barwon and were returning to their headquarters in the Warrego district having been to the Namoi for fresh horses; also mentioned another recruit named Billy McDougal who had scouted for them at the Namoi but who was not with them. [3]
7 Nov 1865: Thunderbolt, Kelly, Jemmy & another two men (identities unknown) visited the almost completed police station on the Bokhara River, then robbed Mr Thorold’s Dumble station on the Bokhara and stole a revolver from Superintendent Alfred Trotter and a £5 note from a Brisbane visitor (presumably the ‘Mr Kennedy of Queensland’ mentioned in another report), the latter reporting that the robbers wanted only firearms and money and included outlaw John Dunn (‘fair hair and thin light whiskers and moustache’; however Dunn had auburn hair and as Strickland was working as a horsebreaker in the Wammerawa Creek district, south-west of Walgett, between Aug/Sep and Dec 1865 so this was undoubtedly an error and probably a reference to Jemmy); the gang also robbed Curriwillinghi the same day (near current Hebel QLD) and some hawkers and travellers including a man named Rogalsky and Mr Peberdy Jnr. [4]
Pre-20 Nov 1865: Report from Walgett that four policemen and a blacktracker were pursuing Thunderbolt & gang; Pre-29 Nov: police return to their quarters after unsuccessfully chasing them for two weeks; gang reported to have left the district (evidently leaving the two unidentified members behind). [5]
Nov-Dec 1865: Rumours in Roma, Queensland, that Thunderbolt was responsible for the spate of robberies in the vicinity; these were undoubtedly incorrect as Thunderbolt was active in NSW and heading south-east to the Tamworth district. [6]
3 Dec 1865: Property stolen from blacksmith William Muir of Barraba, apparently by Ward & Kelly. [7]
4 Dec 1865: Reward of £100 for Thunderbolt’s apprehension announced, having been requested by Inspector General of Police on 29 Nov. [8]
After 4 Dec 1865: Thunderbolt’s gang stole the racehorse Eucalyptus from Mr Duff at Werris Creek (presumably on their way from Barraba to Quirindi), and were rumoured to have visited Mr Single’s place at Werris Creek and Mr Ferrier’s at Breeza. [9]
8 Dec 1865: Thunderbolt’s gang robbed Benjamin Cook’s Bird in Hand inn and the hamlet of Quirindi, arriving around 11am and partying until late afternoon when the Wallabadah troopers arrived; they returned about 9pm and remained for another two hours until the troopers returned. [10]
8 Dec 1865: On the Breeza road north-west of Quirindi, Thunderbolt’s gang reportedly robbed William Matthews of Murrurundi around 4pm that same day, taking a mare and money[11]
NB. This does not quite fit with the other known details so perhaps the robbery occurred on the 7th.
9 Dec 1865: Around 9am, Thunderbolt’s gang robbed John Martin Davis’ Freemason’s Arms at Currabubula. [12]
10 Dec 1865: Thunderbolt & Jemmy robbed Acheson, the Gunnedah-Tamworth mailman, a few miles beyond Carroll then took the mail-bag with them to Carroll. [13]
10 Dec 1865: Thunderbolt’s gang robbed William Griffin’s Albion Inn at Carroll around 4/5pm and remained carousing; two constables stumbled upon them around 8/9pm, and Kelly and Fred fled on horseback as the police fired at Fred; Jemmy fired back, helping Fred to escape, and wounded Constable Lang in the process. [14]
Mid-Dec 1865: Police searched for the gang, following leads that took them to Narrabri; Fred was trying to catch some horses on the Wallah run and demanded assistance from an Aboriginal man who refused; Fred shot at him twice; reports suggested that the gang was heading back to the Culgoa district; the police had returned to the stations by 22 Dec. [15]
23 Dec 1865: According to newspaper reports, Thunderbolt, Dunn & two others robbed Mr Rouse’s station on the Macquarie River, however this was not Thunderbolt who was near Collarenebri at the time. [16]
27 Dec 1865: Thunderbolt’s gang robbed Messrs Bagot’s Mogil Mogil and Goondoobline (Gundabluie) stations and John Eckford’s Burren Burren station, not far from the Queensland border (Bagot’s robbery report in the Police Gazette said Mooney station and lists the wrong date), taking four horses, saddles and a gun from Goondoobline. [17]
NB. As the gang then struck Collarenebri itself, they appear to have been heading south, indicating that they robbed Goondoobline first, then Burren Burren which lies immediately north of Mogil Mogil, then Mogil Mogil; this also suggests that at some point after leaving the Narrabri district they crossed the border into Queensland to elude the police then from somewhere between Curriwillinghi (now Hebel) and Mungindi headed south towards Collarenebri.
27 Dec 1865: At 8pm Thunderbolt’s gang robbed Mr Fletcher’s store at Collarenebri then William Earl’s public house across the river where they remained partying until after 2am; they then headed east. [18]
30 Dec 1865: Thunderbolt’s gang bailed up Henry Chambers’ Meroe inn (Moree). [19]
Late Dec 1865: Report on 30 Dec 1865 that police from Cannonbar had encountered Thunderbolt’s gang and that Dunn was wounded and captured (NB. Thunderbolt & Dunn never joined forces); Dunn reported on 10 Jan to be recovering from the effects of his wounds; he escaped soon afterwards and was recaptured on 15 Jan 1866 near Dubbo police barracks; he was later executed at Sydney (for full details see Newspapers Online). [20]
6 Jan 1866: Report that four armed men, supposed to be Thunderbolt’s gang, held up station near Dubbo [from Western Post]; reports prove unfounded. [21]
Early Jan 1866: Some months prior to Apr 1866 (according to reports), Thunderbolt’s gang stole a horse from Mr King of Eulowrie Station on the Horton River, 16 miles south-west of Bingara. The horse was recovered in April 1866 by the Nundle police. [22]
NB. This robbery probably occurred while Thunderbolt’s second gang headed south from Moree early in Jan 1866 as Thunderbolt rode the horse back to the Gloucester district; the gang was probably still together at the time as Jemmy the Whisperer later robbed the same property.
Early Jan 1866: Thunderbolt’s gang split up, apparently soon after the Eulowrie robbery, leaving Kelly and Jemmy to continue their own bushranging spree alone (for further information about his accomplices (see Accomplices); Thunderbolt headed south-south-east towards the Wallabadah district and Mary Ann (for further information about Fred’s activities, see Timeline for 1866.
Late Jan 1866: Police capture bushranger near Mudgee who was reported to be member of Thunderbolt’s gang; proved to be a man named Lloyd with no connection to Thunderbolt. [23]
Feb 1866: Walgett police patrolling the Upper Barwon found one of Thunderbolt’s camps with three exhausted horses, one stolen by Thunderbolt’s second gang from Bagot’s Goondoobline station on 27 Dec 1865 (NB. The camp was being used by Kelly & Jemmy at the time – see above); meanwhile, police keep watch on gunyah near Merriwa for a few days thinking it was Thunderbolt’s hideout but discover their error when the bushmen owners return. [24]
Sources
[1] Maitland Mercury 24 Oct 1865 p.4, 23 Nov p.4, 16 Dec p.2; Brisbane Courier 14 Nov 1865 p.2 (from Tamworth Examiner 11 Nov); Sydney Morning Herald 21 Nov 1865 p.2; Sydney Mail 25 Nov 1865. Re Bryden’s location near Old Oreel: NSW Government Gazette 1848 p.1228
[2] Maitland Mercury 14 Nov 1865 p.3
[3] Brisbane Courier 2 Dec 1865 p.5 (from Toowoomba Chronicle 26 Nov)
[4] NSW Police Gazette 1865 p.406; Brisbane Courier 2 Dec 1865 p.5 (from Toowoomba Chronicle 26 Nov); Sydney Morning Herald 21 Nov 1865 p.2, 19 Dec 1865 p.7, 20 Dec 1865 p.2 (from Maitland Mercury); Maitland Mercury 23 Nov 1865 p.4, 28 Nov 1865 p.3 (from Tamworth Examiner 25 Nov)
[5] Maitland Mercury 5 Dec 1865 p.3, 16 Dec 1865 p.2
[6] Brisbane Courier 16 Dec 1865 p.4
[7] NSW Police Gazette 1865 No. 51 (20 Dec 1865) p.442; Samson Directory 1867-68 p.445; Greville’s Directory NSW 1875-77, p.34
[8] CSIL: Inspector General of Police to Principal Under Secretary, 29 Nov 1865 [SRNSW 4/646 Item 69/278 No.65/5452]; NSW Government Gazette 1865 No.256 (5 Dec 1865) p.2735
[9] Maitland Mercury 16 Dec 1865 p.5; Sydney Morning Herald 21 Dec 1865 p.2; Armidale Express 23 Dec 1865 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner 16 Dec)
[10] NSW Police Gazette 1865 No.50 (13 Dec 1865) pp.432 & 436; Brisbane Courier 13 Dec 1865 p.2; Maitland Mercury 14 Dec 1865 pp.2 & 3(x2), 16 Dec 1865 p.5(x2), 21 Dec 1865 p.3, 27 Jan 1865 p.2; Armidale Express 23 Dec 1865 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner 16 Dec), Sydney Morning Herald 13 Dec 1865 p.4, 21 Dec 1865 p.2; Re Cook family/inn: NSW Government Gazette 1865 p.2045, Maitland Mercury 24 Mar 1866 p.3, 25 Oct 1866 p.4
[11] Armidale Express 23 Dec 1865 p.4 & Hobart Mercury 6 Jan 1866 p.3 (from Tamworth Examiner 16 Dec); NSW Police Gazette 1865 No.50 (13 Dec 1865) p.432
[12] Armidale Express 23 Dec 1865 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner 16 Dec), 10 Feb 1866 p.2; Maitland Mercury 16 Dec 1865 p.5. Re Davis: Greville’s NSW Directory 1875-77, p.207; NSW Government Gazette 1865 p.1694, 1875 p.3973
[13] NSW Police Gazette 1865 No.50 (13 Dec 1865) p.432; Armidale Express 23 Dec 1865 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner 16 Dec); Argus 14 Dec 1865 p.5; Maitland Mercury 14 Dec 1865 p.2
[14] NSW Police Gazette 1865 No.50 (13 Dec 1865) p.437, No. 52 (27 Dec 1865) p.451; Armidale Express 23 Dec 1865 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner 16 Dec), 13 Jan 1866 p.4a; Sydney Morning Herald 21 Dec 1865 p.2, 26 Oct 1866 p.6; Argus 14 Dec 1865 p.5; Brisbane Courier 15 Jan 1866 p.4; Maitland Mercury 14 Dec 1865 p.2, 16 Dec p.5, 25 Oct 1866 p.2; Clerk of the Peace –Maitland Circuit Depositions: Re Patrick John Kelly [SRNSW 9/6490]
[15] Sydney Morning Herald 21 Dec 1865 p.2, 29 Dec p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner 23 Dec)
[16] Argus 29 Dec 1865 p.5; Brisbane Courier 30 Dec 1865 p.5, 17 Jan 1866 Supp. p.1
[17] NSW Police Gazette 1866 No.4 (24 Jan 1866) p.28 (incorrectly lists crime as 22 Dec 1865); Maitland Mercury 9 Jan 1866 p.2 (x2: one from Tamworth Examiner 6 Jan)
[18] Armidale Express 13 Jan 1866 p.4 & Brisbane Courier 15 Jan 1866 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner 6 Jan); Clerk of the Peace – Depositions for Maitland Circuit: Re Patrick John Kelly: William Earl’s statement, 13 Mar 1866 [SRNSW 9/6490]
[19] NSW Police Gazette 1866 No. 3 (17 Jan 1866) p.18; Sydney Morning Herald 10 Jan 1866 p.5 (from Tamworth Examiner 6 Jan); Boughton, C.F. ‘No. 27: Adjacent Districts’ unattributed article [ML ref: Frederick Ward newspaper cuttings]
[20] Argus 1 Jan 1866 p.5, 11 Jan 1866 p.5, 17 Jan 1866 p.5; Brisbane Courier 2 Jan 1866 p.2
[21] Brisbane Courier 8 Jan 1866 p.4, 15 Jan 1866 p.4
[22] NSW Police Gazette 1866 No.17 (25 Apr 1866) p.148, No.19 (9 May 1866) p.168
[23] Argus 29 Jan 1866 p.5; Sydney Morning Herald 8 Feb 1866 p.5 (from Mudgee Liberal)
[24] Maitland Mercury 22 Feb 1866 p.2, 27 Feb p.2
Jan/Feb 1866: Fred returns to Mary Ann at her residence near Parnell's station (apparently near his Tulcumbah run bordering the Borah Ranges) and takes his family and Mary Ann’s female assistant back to the Gloucester district. [1]
22 Feb 1866: Thunderbolt robs hut of John Higgins junior at Berrico near Gloucester; reported by Higgins on 19 March. [2]
Early Mar 1866: Four armed men held up Tininboro (Tinnenburra) Station, Cuteabuora (Cuttaburra) Creek, Queensland, and stole four horses and clothing, then reportedly headed towards NSW; Sergeant Cleary and the Bourke police followed three of them down the Bogan River where Charles Donnelly was shot dead and Samuel Taylor and Daniel Clarke apprehended; initial reports incorrectly claimed that Thunderbolt and his gang had been apprehended. [3]
22 Mar 1866: Female informant arrived in Stroud and reported that she had been with Thunderbolt for ten months engaged to assist Mary Ann during her confinement and that Thunderbolt had kept her with them since then, tied up, that she had escaped nine days previously (13 Mar) from their camp near the headwaters of the Little Manning River (now Upper Manning – the vicinity of Barrington Tops National Park) and had made her way to Stroud and was willing to guide them back to his camp. [4]
23 Mar 1866: Thunderbolt chased by Sub-Inspector Henry Garvin, Senior Constable James Buckland and blacktracker Peter from Port Macquarie police, and Senior Constable John Coady of Manning River police, but escaped when Senior Constable Buckland’s horse fell and when the blacktracker turned back because he thought Thunderbolt was about to shoot him; the police returned and took Mary Ann, the children and the horses with them, leaving Mary Ann and the children at Mr Hooke’s Curricabark station in the care of the constable and tracker, and taking the horses and revolver on to Taree; Mary Ann escaped with the children soon afterwards. [5]
Re Augustus Hooke, Curricabark station. [6]
23 Mar 1866: Senior Sergeant Richard Underwood of Dungog police along with Senior Constable Henry Finlay and Constable Cleary of Stroud and the disguised female informant set off after Thunderbolt; 28 Mar: discover three horses, saddles and bridles and a revolver near one of Thunderbolt’s camps. [7]
27 Mar 1866: Senior Sergeant Thomas Kerrigan and Constable William Scully of Maitland police arrested Mary Ann Ward at Pigna Barney Creek (about 50 miles east of Murrurundi) on a charge of vagrancy (NB. date from Kerrigan’s own statement); then or shortly afterwards they encountered the Dungog/Stroud force; Kerrigan, Scully and Finlay headed towards Stroud with Mary Ann and her infant in one group, while the older girls travelled with Underwood’s group and the female informer; 30 Mar: Kerrigan and men arrived at Stroud with Mary Ann and her infant and lodged her in the lock-up; 31 Mar: ‘Mary Ann Ward’ tried at Stroud Police Office by Thomas Nicholls JP of the Stroud Bench for vagrancy under the Vagrant Act and sentenced to six months imprisonment in Maitland Gaol (includes physical description); her older daughters arrived in Stroud the same day; 4 Apr: received at East Maitland Gaol with her three children. [8]
Re: Thomas Nicholls was born c.1804, arrived with his wife Maria and daughter Ann as free passengers per the Waterloo in 1828, was listed as a servant to the Australian Agricultural Company at Port Stephens in 1828, became a magistrate in 1858 and died in 1878. [9]
31 Mar 1866: Report from Manning River that Thunderbolt somewhere in the mountains between Gloucester and New England; 7 Apr: Report from Manning River that no further news had been heard of Thunderbolt suggesting that he had left the district; 8 Apr: Report that Thunderbolt breakfasted at Tambar Springs public house, west of Currabubula (some 110 miles west of Pigna Barney Creek (NB. possibly incorrect); 14 Apr: Tamworth Examiner reported that Thunderbolt believed to be somewhere in the Tomullah Ranges at the back of the Denison Diggings (near Gundy), or about the head of the Gloucester River (Barrington Tops); 19 Apr: Brisbane Courier reported that Thunderbolt believed to have crossed into Queensland (NB. probably incorrect). [10]
5 Apr 1866: Member of the Legislative Assembly, David Buchanan, brought Mary Ann’s case before the House alleging that her conviction under the Vagrancy Act was a cruel injustice; 6 Apr: the Attorney General’s office wrote to the Stroud magistrate asking for details of Mary Ann’s conviction; 7 Apr: letter to editor of SMH regarding injustice of Mary Ann’s conviction; 11 Apr: Magistrate Nicholls replied, providing biographical information as well as the requested information; 16 Apr: Attorney General received Nicholls’ report and wrote his own report about Mary Ann’s conviction; 17 Apr: Colonial Secretary’s office receives all the paperwork for the Governor’s consideration; 18 Apr: NSW Governor remits Mary Ann’s sentence; 28 April: Maitland Mercury published letter to editor claiming that the arguments in Parliament were ‘stump oratory’; May: the SMH’s Wandering Reporter, who travelled the countryside during the Parliamentary recess, reported that the facts about Mary Ann’s case had been grossly distorted. [11]
Mid-Apr 1866: Williams River nominee, Mr Jacobs, refers to the police’s failure to capture Thunderbolt but success in capturing his wife. [12]
18 Apr 1866: Mary Ann Ward discharged from Maitland Gaol after her sentence was remitted by the Governor. [13]
14 Jun 1866: Man (supposedly Thunderbolt) robbed the Tenterfield mail-man, Patrick Wade, about 5 miles from Deepwater (between Tenterfield and Glen Innes – about 200kms north of Tomullah Ranges).
NB. Description sounds like Thunderbolt except that mailman said he was of “repulsive” appearance with bushy eyebrows; unlikely to be member of Jemmy’s gang as it was about 180kms from last robbery on 6 Jun. [14]
Jun-Nov 1866: South Australia. 20/21 Jun: Man reported to be Captain Thunderbolt captured by police and committed for trial in Adelaide; 28 Jun: ‘Captain Thunderbolt alias Harry Allen’ committed for trial on another highway robbery charge; 25 Sep: threatening letter sent by fake Captain Thunderbolt to Hon. H.B.T Strangways, M.P.; 29 Oct: South Australian government offer £100 reward for capture of Thunderbolt, the bushranger, who is said to have found his way across the border into this colony; 8 Nov: three men supposed to be part of Thunderbolt’s gang brought up in Police Court and remanded until the 12th. [15]
NB. As Fred had been keeping a low profile, some thought that this was the real Captain Thunderbolt.
Aug 1866: Early in the month, Mary Ann passed through Tamworth looking for Fred.
NB. In 1924 the Northern Daily Leader published a letter from a female reader who met Mary Ann (whom she called Rosey) while Mary Ann was trying to find Fred at this time. The letter contained a significant piece of information that was never revealed in the press, indeed that can only be determined by reading between the lines of her son’s birth registration in 1868 (which lists no father and Mary Ann under the surname Baker): that Mary Ann later worked at the Carroll inn. This information was confirmed by another reader the following week. Apart from the incorrect name ‘Rosey’, the information contained in the woman’s report varies only slightly from the known facts, the type of small lapses that occur over time – surprisingly small considering that 60 years had passed. She reported that after leaving gaol in April 1866, Mary Ann stayed with Fred's relations for a time then borrowed money to purchase a horse and headed north to find Fred, a journey confirmed by other sources. [16]
Aug 1866: Report that Thunderbolt had been seen near the Namoi River. [17]
11 Aug 1866: Sale at Taree of Thunderbolt’s stolen horses found by Port Macquarie police at his camp on 23 Mar 1866. [18]
22 Aug 1866: Thunderbolt robs the Tamworth-Warialda mailman, Thomas Hitchener, at Dead Horse Gully, five miles south of Manilla; early Sep: report that no traces found of Thunderbolt since the mail robbery; late Sep: press concludes that Thunderbolt has again gone into retirement. [19]
Oct 1866: Warrant issued for arrest of Joe Freeman, aged about 29 with “repulsive countenance”, suspected of receiving cheques from Thunderbolt. [20]
NB. This could perhaps be the Deepwater mail robber.
Nov/Dec 1866: Report that Thunderbolt or lookalike seen near Walcha. [21]
Late 1866: Report from Curriwillinghi that after robbing the Warialda mail Thunderbolt made his appearance again in the vicinity of the Birree and Narran but his visit was so quiet and secret that it was difficult to get any authentic information respecting his movements or indeed concerning him at all. [22]
Late 1866: John McQuade, suspected of supplying Ward alias Thunderbolt with provisions, is arrested by Armidale police, charged with vagrancy and sentenced to three months imprisonment in Port Macquarie Gaol. [23]
Sources
[1] Maitland Mercury 29 Mar 1866 p.2
[2] Manning River News 24 Mar 1866 p.2; NSW Police Gazette 1866 No.13 (28 Mar 1866) pp.109 & 112, No.22 (30 May 1866) p.195; Empire 29 Mar 1866 p.5
[3] QLD PG Vol. III No. 5 (2 May 1866) p.40, NSW Police Gazette 1866 No.14 (4 Apr 1866) p.123; Sydney Morning Herald 3 Apr 1866 p.4 (from Dubbo Despatch 30 Mar)
[4] Maitland Mercury 29 Mar 1866 p.2
[5] NSW Police Gazette 1866 No.15 (11 Apr 1866) p.128; Manning River Times 31 Mar 1866 p.2, 7 Apr p.3; Maitland Mercury 3 Apr 1866 pp.2 & 5; Singleton Times 7 Apr 1866 p.3 (from Empire); Sydney Morning Herald 19 Apr 1866 p.2. Names/identities of policemen: Sub-Inspector Henry Garvin, Port Macquarie, in NSWPG 1865 p.395, 1866 p.26, Maitland Mercury 1 Aug 1882 p.6; Senior Constable James Buckland, Port Macquarie, in NSWPG 1862 p.198, 1866 pp.195, 390 & 424, 1867 p.2; Senior Constable John Coady in Police Service Registers [SRNSW 8/3251 No.598; Reel 3043]
[6] Greville’s Official Post Office Directory, 1875-77, p.277; Maitland Mercury 15 Nov 1859 p.1, 15 Mar 1860 p.2, 28 Aug 1860 p.1, 28 Jun 1862 p.3, 11 Sep 1862 p.2
[7] NSW Police Gazette 1866 No.18 (2 May 1866) p.158Names/identities of policemen: Senior Sergeant Richard Underwood, Dungog, in NSWPG 1866 pp.32, 125 & 209; Senior Constable Finlay, Stroud, in NSWPG 1866 p.23 & Police Service Registers [SRNSW 8/3251 No.404; Reel 3043]; Constable Cleary, Stroud, in NSWPG 1867 p.293
[8] NSW PG 1866 No.14 (4 Apr 1866) p.122, No.18 (2 May 1866) p.160; Maitland Mercury 3 Apr 1866 pp.2 & 5, 7 Apr p.5; Singleton Times 7 Apr 1866 p.3 (from Empire); Sydney Morning Herald 19 Apr 1866 p.2; Manning River News 31 Mar 1866 p.2, 7 Apr p.3; Maitland Gaol - Entrance Book: Mary Ann Ward, 1866 [SRNSW 5/747 – 1866 No.115; Reel 2368] & [SRNSW 5/790 – 1866 No.115; Reel 2370] & Description Book [SRNSW 5/759 – 1866 No.115; Reel 2371 & Record of Prisoner convictions and sentences, 1866 [SRNSW 2/2120 p.488]; CSIL: Re Mary Ann Ward, 1866 [SRNSW 4/573 File 66/1844]. Names/identities of policemen: Senior Sergeant Thomas Kerrigan & Constable William Scully, both Maitland, also in Police Service Registers [SRNSW 8/3251 Nos.414 & 439; Reel 3043]
[9] Sainty & Johnson, Census of NSW Nov 1828 Nos.N0301-4; Maitland Mercury 20 Apr 1858 p.2, 26 Jun 1873 p.1, 25 Jul 1878 p.1
[10] Brisbane Courier 20 Apr 1866 p.2, 24 Apr p.3 (from Maitland Ensign 23 Apr); Maitland Mercury 14 Apr 1866 p.2, 19 Apr p.2 (from Tamworth Examiner 14 Apr)
[11] Sydney Morning Herald 6 Apr 1866 pp. 3 & 4, 7 Apr p.8, 11 May p.5, also 5 Apr 1890 p.9 (Obit of David Buchanan); Maitland Mercury 28 Apr 1866 p.3; CSIL: Re Mary Ann Ward, 1866 [SRNSW 4/573 File 66/1844]; Attorney General – Register of Letters received: Re Mary Ann Ward, 1866 [SRNSW 5/4663 Nos.66/667 & 66/743]
[12] Maitland Mercury 21 Apr 1866 p.3
[13] Maitland Gaol - Entrance Book: Mary Ann Ward, 1866 [SRNSW 5/790 – 1866 No.115; Reel 2370]; Maitland Gaol – Discharge Book: Mary Ann Ward, 1866 [SRNSW 7/789 – 1866 Apr 18]; NSW PG 1866 No.18 (2 May 1866) p.160
[14] NSW Police Gazette 1866 No. 25 (20 Jun 1866), p.224; Maitland Mercury 19 Jun 1866 p.2, 23 Jun p.3; Armidale Express 16 Jun 1866 p.3 (x2), 23 Jun p.3 (x2)
[15] Argus 22 Jun 1866 p.5, 29 Jun p.5, 23 Jul p.6, 1 Oct p.6, 30 Oct p.5; 9 Nov p.5; Maitland Mercury 1 Nov 1866 p.2, 13 Nov p.5
[16] Armidale Express 1 Sep 1866 p.3 & Maitland Mercury 28 Aug 1866 p.2 (from Tamworth Examiner 25 Aug); Northern Daily Leader 23 Dec 1924 p.1
[17] Manning River News 28 Aug 1866 p.2
[18] Manning River News 18 Aug 1866 p.2; Maitland Mercury 23 Aug 1866 p.3
[19] NSW Police Gazette 1866 No. 35 (29 Aug 1866), p.315; Armidale Express 25 Aug 1866 p.3; Maitland Mercury 25 Aug 1866 p.5, 28 Aug p.2 (from Tamworth Examiner 25 Aug), 4 Sep p.6 (from Tamworth Examiner 1 Sep), 13 Sep p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner 8 Sep); The Empire 1 Sep 1866 p.3; Singleton Times 5 Sep 1866; Sydney Morning Herald 22 Sep 1866 p.8
[20] NSW Police Gazette 1866 No. 44 (31 Oct 1866), p.389
[21] Maitland Mercury 11 Dec 1866 p.5 (from Armidale Express 8 Dec)
[22] Brisbane Courier 28 Mar 1867 p.3
[23] NSW Police Gazette 1867 No. 1 (2 Jan 1867), p.7
1867 Jan 4 4 Jan: Information reached Paterson that Thunderbolt was in the upper portion of district; 5 Jan: Senior Constable Johnstone set off in pursuit; 6 Feb: a party of young male residents joined Johnstone and on the same day they came across Thunderbolt and Mary Ann on horseback with a child reported to be around 15 months old; they chased Thunderbolt but he escaped. [1]
1867 Jan 6 + Mary Ann arrested near Henry Jarrett’s Allyn Vale property (on Allyn River near Eccleston) by Senior Constable James Johnson, Paterson Police, charged with having goods in her possession that were suspected of being stolen (7 yards of calico, 5½ yards of derry and 2 pieces of tweed), and taken to the Paterson lock-up; the police took custody of her horse, saddle and saddle bags and reported them to be stolen; 8 Jan: Mary Ann brought before Edward G. Cory Esq. JP of the Paterson Bench and remanded for a week; 15 Jan: Mary Ann again brought before the Paterson Bench and depositions taken then she was remanded for a week so she could find evidence of legal purchase of the stolen goods; 24 Jan: Mary Ann again brought before the Paterson Bench and could produce no evidence of her legal possession of the goods so Cory found her guilty and sentenced her to 3 calendar months’ imprisonment in Maitland Gaol; 25 Jan: Mary Ann received at East Maitland Gaol from Paterson; Feb: Mary Ann petitioned the Governor to examine her case; mid-Feb: Edward Denny Day, Maitland Gaol’s Visiting Magistrate, made enquiries at Wolfe and Gorrick and took their draper, Frederick D. Edwards, to the gaol where Edwards picked Mary Ann out of a group of women as the purchaser of the goods in question; 14 Feb: letter to editor of Maitland Mercury complained of ‘gross injustice’ in Mary Ann’s case; 16 Feb: Paterson correspondent of Maitland Mercury reported on the public interest in her case and the ‘absurd’ grounds for her conviction; 25 Feb: Draper Edwards made a statement identifying the derry cloth but not the calico; 26 Feb: Maitland’s Police Superintendent Morisset sent Edwards’ statement to the Colonial Secretary and reported the results of his own enquiries. [2]
1867 Jan 17 No news reported of Thunderbolt in the Paterson district. [3]
1867 Feb 3 Thunderbolt robbed Warialda-Tamworth mailman, Abraham Bowden, near Manilla and also took cheques and silver from his companion, Mr Dorrington, but returned the silver before he rode off towards Manilla; policemen from Barraba and Warialda who were passing through Manilla chased him but he escaped with Constable Norris’ extra horse, leaving behind his own packhorse with saddlebags containing £427 in notes and cheques. [4]
1867 Feb mid Thunderbolt joined by Thomas Mason (see Accomplices).
1867 Feb 25 Thunderbolt and Thomas Mason robbed Samuel Cooke, storekeeper, at Moonan/Denison Diggings, and stole goods and horse, also Richard Simpson, innkeeper, of cash and gold and Fred the Tailor of a horse (as well as another horse); at Simpson’s, Neil McInnes attempted to seized Thunderbolt and a warrant was later issued charging Thunderbolt with shooting at McInnes with intent to murder him; early Mar: the police returned home after an unsuccessful search (NB. The Maitland Ensign’s Upper Hunter correspondent reported that three men attempted to assist McInnes but that they soon let go and bolted, however witness depositions make no mention of any assistance). [5]
1867 Mar1 Mary Ann Ward discharged from Maitland Gaol, the remainder of her sentence having been remitted. [6]
1867 Mar 16 Magistrate George Lethbridge writes to the Governor suggesting that Thunderbolt be offered a conditional pardon in return for joining the police force to assist in improving their horsemanship; Governor’s reply states that he cannot be given a pardon but if he surrenders himself he will not be hanged. [7]
1867 Apr mid Thunderbolt seen near Slocomb’s place not far from Goonoo Goonoo, near Tamworth, and the following day two horses were missing. [8]
1867 Apr 21 Thunderbolt & lad (Mason) robbed the Bendemeer-to-Tamworth mail coach driven by Mr Brereton some three miles south of Bendemeer; afterwards they rode in the direction of Hall’s Creek near Manilla then headed for the Byron Plains/New England locality. [9]
1867 May 2 Mason takes cheques to Bonshaw store on the Sovereign (now Dumaresq) River, 50 miles west of Tenterfield and swaps them for rations. [10]
1867 May 8+ Singleton Times wrote that the ‘abominable pest’ Thunderbolt was still transacting his nefarious games throughout the northern districts with impunity and that the Government needed to take action; Empire complains about police and bushrangers. [11]
1867 May 8 Thunderbolt & Mason robbed Bonshaw hotel and store (and get cheques back – clever thinking!) then head in direction of McIntyre River, Queensland. [12]
1867 May 22 Thunderbolt & Mason rob the Warialda-Tamworth mailman, Thomas Hitchener again, at Long Flat near Manilla. [13]
1867 May 25 Reward raised to £200 for apprehension of Frederick Ward in response to letter from Inspector General of Police dated same day; letter also mentioned that the best bush constables from the south, no longer needed because of the Clarke’s apprehension, were being sent north to track Thunderbolt; complaints made about using rewards to capture criminals. [14]
1867 May 30 Thunderbolt & Mason robbed the northern mail coach driven by William Thom four miles south of Wallabadah as he travelled towards Murrurundi. [15]
1867 Jun + Early Jun: Large parties of police arrived in Murrurundi district to search for Thunderbolt; 12 Jun: Telegram sent from Sydney that a party of special police had been despatched after Thunderbolt (were these the ); 24 Jun: SMH writes that, with the imminent execution of the Clarke brothers, Thunderbolt was the only bushranger of consequence still at large; 30 Jun: Thomas P Panton writes to Colonial Secretary offering his services as a secret police officer sent on commission to track Ward; 4 Jul: reply from Henry Parkes that there is a reward for Ward’s apprehension but he would be willing to meet him. [16]
1867 Jul 26 Thunderbolt & Mason robbed mail coach driven by Wilkinson heading north to Tamworth at Loder’s Ridges between Murrurundi and Wallabadah; report in early August that there was good reason to believe that it was not Ward and Mason who robbed the mail; however the ‘native trooper’ who reported his endeavours to catch Thunderbolt in the Empire in Dec 1867 dismissed the claim that it wasn’t Thunderbolt as the trooper himself had been searching in the mountains between Narrabri and Barraba and had heard that Thunderbolt was heading down to Murrurundi to rob the mail. [17]
1867 Aug 6 Thunderbolt & Mason rob Cassilis, Merriwa and Muswellbrook mail near Hall’s or Wybong Creek not far from Denman; warrant issued by Muswellbrook bench for their arrest; later comment that teacher's salary cheques were among the items stolen. [18]
1867 Aug 7 Reward notice published in Queensland Police Gazette; reports that Thunderbolt and his boy companion are supposed to be in Queensland. [19]
1867 Aug mid 11 Aug: report that Thunderbolt, his apprentice and lady had been seen about Breeza Plains; 13 Aug: Thunderbolt visited a Mr Logan and two girls at Mr Shepherd’s Terragong station about 2 miles from Merriwa and gave his horse a feed (NB. Tamworth Examiner on 17 Aug mentions the Breeza sighting as occurring ‘on Sunday last’ – that is, the 11th – then reports the Merriwa horse-feeding as occurring ‘on Tuesday night’, which suggests that it was the 13th, however it is more likely that the horse-feeding actually occurred on the previous Tuesday, the night of the robbery, as Breeza, where they were spotted on the 11th, was 70 miles north of Merriwa, and the Borah Ranges, where they were spotted around the 22nd, another 45 miles north again; it would be illogical for Thunderbolt to backtrack in such a way and easy enough for the press to make such an error); 21 Aug: telegram that Thunderbolt continues depredations in the north. [20]
1867 Aug 22 In the Legislative Assembly, Mr Pickering asked the Colonial Secretary about the government’s actions or intended actions to capture Thunderbolt; Mr Parkes responded that it would be injudicious to state publicly what steps were being taken. [21]
1867 Aug 22+ 22 Aug: Police received information about Thunderbolt’s camp in the Borah ranges between the Manilla and Namoi Rivers; 22-23: Senior Constables Dalton and Cantrill attempted to ambush the camp overnight but in the morning found that Thunderbolt, Mason and Mary Ann had left (NB. the newspapers state that this ambush occurred on the night of Friday 23/Saturday 24 Aug however the Tamworth Police Superintendent’s letter regarding the reward for Mason’s apprehension describes the events of those few days, clearly drawing his information from the troopers’ own reports; as this spreads the various incidents over a longer period of time, which seems more likely, I have used the dates provided by the troopers rather than the newspapers); 23 Aug: the two policemen discovered the bushrangers on a higher part of the mountain and chased them but they escaped so the police returned to the first camp and seized their horses; 24 Aug: Thunderbolt steals a horse and two saddles from William Legard, free selector near Kihi Creek (now Maules Creek), and later that day Constables Rixon & Rixon encounter them on the ranges but they again escape; 28 Aug: police escort Warialda-Tamworth mail and encounter Thunderbolt, Mason and Mary Ann on the Borah Ranges and in the ensuing chase, Thunderbolt and Mason are separated; 7 Sep: report that police believe that Thunderbolt has escaped from the Borah ranges. [22]
1867 Aug late Thunderbolt reportedly robbed a young man named Fitzpatrick about 10 miles from Tamworth towards Peel River but as he didn’t press charges the report was doubted. [23]
1867 Sep 4 Thomas Mason caught by Narrabri police at Old Oreel station near Millie (see Accomplices).
1867 Sep 21 Thunderbolt robs the northern mail-coach driven by Smith as it travelled south and was about four miles from the Chain of Ponds (near Liddell). [24]
1867 Sep late Police encounter Thunderbolt (heading towards Monkerai) at Gum-flat, a mountain glen near the junction of the Little and Chichester Rivers; on 28 Sep Sgt Shannon arrived in Bandon-grove to get assistance of black tracker to follow Thunderbolt’s trail; at some stage during this trip south he left his jaded horse at St Clair and stole two others. [25]
1867 Sep late Mr James Bruce, member of the Bush Missionary Society travels to many districts including "Monkerey River (one of the haunts of Thunderbolt. [25a]
1867 Oct 8 Thunderbolt robs mailman Smith again between Grass-tree Hill and Chain of Ponds at 2 or 3am; one of the stolen cheques was cashed at Cullen’s Fitzroy Hotel at Singleton around 6am the same day but not apparently by Thunderbolt who was chased by the police north to Murrurundi before they lost in a short distance beyond the town. [26]
1867 Oct + 12 Oct: Report in Singleton Times that when Cullen (apparently of the Fitzroy Hotel, Singleton) had recently visited the Borah Ranges (date unknown) he had found the “late female companion” of the bushranger Ward residing at Mr Hook’s station at Keepit on the Namoi (NB. Mary Ann appears to have remained there for some time after Fred and Mason fled the police at the Borah ranges and were separated); 29 Oct: report that Mrs Thunderbolt hiding in the Scone district, that she had been seen frequently in the area and was likely being sheltered at Denison Diggings. [27]
1867 Oct 17+ 17 Oct: Question in Legislative Assembly about need for guard for northern mail; report mid-Nov that northern mail now has guard being Singleton and Tamworth but not from Tamworth to Armidale. [28]
1867 Oct late Thunderbolt rides with the postman from Kitton’s [property] to the Bradford’s, Mount Hope near Mount Dangar, on the Goulburn River about 20 miles from Denman, and purchases supplies from Mrs M. Bradford; he tells the postman that he crossed the Manilla Mountain coming down the country. [29]
1867 Oct 28 Chief Justice Alfred Stephen at the Wagga Wagga Circuit Court appeals to the youth of the colony not to romanticise the bushranging lifestyle, that Thunderbolt was the only long-lasting bushranger and that he would undoubtedly be caught or shot eventually. [30]
1867 Nov Reference to horses and notes recovered from Thunderbolt and now in hands of Maitland Police. [31]
1867 Nov mid Thunderbolt seen between Chain of Ponds and Jerry’s Plains – police in pursuit; around 11 Nov he was seen at Jerry’s Plains where he gave an acquaintance £5; the next day he purchased goods at Aberdeen then went to Segenhoe where he took a half-caste girl living with “Cranky Bob”, supposedly to help his lady who was in an “interesting” situation, although “corrected” reports stated that he had eloped with her and that she took ill from exposure and was taken into Cassilis (but Cassilis is incorrect). [32]
1867 Nov 15 Thunderbolt again visited Mrs Bradford and purchased a 13 pound cheese; in the evening Mrs Bradford’s son-in-law William Kirk (who resided about a mile from her on the Goulburn River), called at Constable McMorrow’s and informed his wife that a man supposed to be Ward had been hanging about the Goulburn River for three weeks; Constable McMorrow was at Muswellbrook at the time and did not return until the 16th; the same day Sergeant Thompson of the Muswellbrook police was at the Goulburn River only 12 miles from Mrs Bradford’s but heard nothing of Thunderbolt being in the vicinity. [33]
1867 Nov 16 Thunderbolt reportedly seen at St Heliers near Muswellbrook (40 miles from Mrs Bradford’s), and Sergeant Thompson and the Muswellbrook police head off in pursuit; later it was reported that Ward was at St Heliers for some time before taking the horse and half-caste from Segenhoe, that he was seen there and had torn up cheques and papers at his camp. [34]
1867 Nov 17 Constable McMorrow visited Mrs Bradford’s to make enquiries but could not remain to undertake a search as he was employed on mail guard duty between Denman and Cassilis. [35]
1867 Nov 17+ Report that the woman who usually accompanied Thunderbolt was brought in to Mrs Bradford’s in a dying state [apparently some time between 17th and 21st as Ward making “anxious enquiries” on the latter]; later claim that the police received “[no] information of his whereabouts from Bradford or anyone else until after the death of the half-caste”. [36]
1867 Nov 20 Mr Kirk’s boy reported to Constable McMorrow that Thunderbolt had returned but McMorrow was about to serve guard duty on the mail and could not act on the information, and told the boy that he thought some of the Muswellbrook police would visit Mrs Bradford’s place that day, but they didn’t. [37]
1867 Nov 21 That morning Thunderbolt visited Kirk’s making anxious enquiries. [38]
1867 Nov 22 Thomas Hungerford wrote to Sub-Inspector Thorpe, Singleton police, that Thunderbolt was in the district and had visited Mrs Bradford three times during the week to get provisions; Mrs Bradford said that she would have captured Ward if she had any help as he kept playing with her children when he was there. [39]
1867 Nov 23 Thunderbolt again visited Mrs Bradford and informed her that he had a dying woman in the bush; Mrs Bradford wrote to Parliamentarian James White of nearby Martindale that the woman was in a dying state, if not already dead; James White wrote to Sub-Inspector Thorpe, Singleton Police, complaining about the lack of response to their information that Thunderbolt was in the district; in the aftermath, letters and reports went back and forth alleging the police’s want of energy and zeal in pursuing Ward although the eventual conclusion that there was no truth to the allegations. [40]
1867 Nov 23/4 Thunderbolt seen at Boggabri and cantered towards the Merriwa mail coach but upon seeing an armed man he rode away.
NB. Morisset’s letter, written on 6 Dec said that this incident occurred on 23 November (Saturday) but the Singleton Times said it occurred ‘on Sunday afternoon last’. [41]
1867 Nov 24 Louisa Mason died at Mrs Bradford’s at 9am; reference a short time later that the woman carried away by Thunderbolt from Chain of Ponds to wait upon his female associate has been brought dead into Aberdeen, probably from natural causes accelerated by exposure. [42]
1867 Nov/Dec Thunderbolt seen in Scone district; presumably returned to Mary Ann at this time. [43]
1867 Nov/Dec Mary Ann fell pregnant. [44]
1867 Dec 3 Police encountered Thunderbolt about 12 miles south-west of Manilla: a woman greeted them loudly then they saw a horseman riding away and they chased him, realising it was Thunderbolt, but he escaped; there is no suggestion that this was Mary Ann as there is no reference to her as being ‘half-caste’. [45]
Sources
[1] Maitland Mercury 12 Jan 1867 p.8, 9 Feb p.5; NSW Police Gazette No. 4 (23 Jan 1867), pp.30 & 33
[2] Maitland Mercury 12 Jan 1867 p.8, 15 Jan p.3, 19 Jan p.5, 26 Jan p.5, 2 Feb p.5, 7 Feb p.4, 9 Feb p.5, 14 Feb p.3, 16 Feb p.4; NSW Police Gazette 1867 No. 4 (23 Jan 1867), pp.30 & 33, No. 6 (6 Feb 1867), p.49; Maitland Gaol - Entrance Book: Mary Ann Ward, 1867 [SRNSW 5/747 – 1867 No.28; Reel 2368] & also [SRNSW 5/790 – 1867 No.28; Reel 2370] & Discharge Book [SRNSW 7/789 – 1867 Mar 1 No.28]; CSIL: Re Mary Ann Ward, 1867 [SRNSW 4/590 No.67/1050]; Attorney General – Register of Letters received: Re Mary Ann Ward, 1867 [SRNSW 5/4663 Nos. 67/334 & 67/423]; Maitland Ensign 9 Mar 1867 p.2. Location of Allyn Vale: Entry for Henry Jarrett in Greville's 1872 Post Office Directory [http://addison.homedns.org/transcriptions/grevilles/names_a_to_z/j.htm]. Re Edward Denny Day: Obit in Sydney Morning Herald 12 May 1876 p.5; ADB Vol.1 p.300; Free Settler or Felon – Edward Denny Day
[http://www.jenwilletts.com/edward_denny_day.htm]. Info for Edward Denny Day: Edward Denny Day: Obit in Sydney Morning Herald 12 May 1876 p.5; ADB Vol.1 p.300
[3] Maitland Mercury 19 Jan 1867 p.5, 26 Jan p.5. Re Wolfe & Gorrick: Maitland Family History Circle – James Ephraim Wolfe [http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ausmfhc/Early_Maitland-People2.html#James Ephraim Wolfe]
[4] NSW Police Gazette 1867 No. 6 (6 Feb 1867), p.44, No. 7 (13 Feb 1867), p.54, No.11 (13 Mar 1867), pp.87 & 88, No.19 (8 May 1867) p.150; Sydney Morning Herald 5 Feb 1867 p.5, 8 Feb p.5; Armidale Express 16 Feb 1867 p.2 (from Tamworth Examiner Feb 9); Maitland Mercury 12 Feb p.2 (from Tamworth Examiner 9 Feb); Maitland Ensign 9 Feb 1867 p.3; Brisbane Courier 6 Feb 1867 p.2, 9 Feb 1867 p.5, 14 Feb 1867 p.3 (latter from Sydney Morning Herald – no date); Argus 6 Feb 1867 p.5, 9 Feb 1867 p.5; Empire 23 May 1867 p.3 & Singleton Times 22 May 1867 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner)
[5] NSW Police Gazette 1867 No. 9 (27 Feb 1867), p.69, No.10 (6 Mar 1867) p.77, No.11 (13 Mar 1867) pp.86, 87 & 88, No.19 (8 May 1867) p.154; Brisbane Courier 4 Mar 1867 p.3 (from Singleton Times 27 Feb), Maitland Mercury 28 Feb 1867 p.3 (abridged from Singleton Times 27 Feb), 5 Mar 1867 p.3 (from Maitland Ensign); Clerk of the Peace – Depositions for Maitland Circuit, 1867: Thomas Mason, No. 956 & 957 [SRNSW 9/6501]; Maitland Ensign 13 Mar 1867 p.4. Reference to Simpson’s inn: NSW Government Gazette 1865 p.2049
[6] Maitland Gaol – Discharge Book: Mary Ann Ward, 1867 [SRNSW 7/789 - 1867 Mar 1, No.28]; Maitland Ensign 9 Mar 1867 p.2
[7] CSIL: from George Lethbridge, 16 Mar 1867 [SRNSW 4/592 No.67/1687]
[8] Singleton Times 1 May 1867 p.3 (from Tamworth Examiner 26 Apr)
[9] NSW Police Gazette 1867 No.17 (24 Apr 1867) p.133; Sydney Morning Herald 23 Apr 1867 p.4; Maitland Mercury 25 Apr 1867 p.2, 30 Apr p.2 (from Armidale Express 27 Apr); Armidale Express 27 Apr 1867 p.2; Singleton Times 1 May 1867 p.3 (from Armidale Express 27 Apr), 22 May (from Tamworth Examiner 18 May)
[10] Hobart Mercury 1 Jun 1867 p.3 (from Tamworth Examiner)
[11] Sydney Morning Herald 9 May 1867 p.5 (from Singleton Times 8 May); Empire 31 May 1867 p.4
[12] NSW Police Gazette 1867 No.20 (15 May 1867) p.156; Brisbane Courier 25 May 1867 p.5 (from Warwick Argus); Singleton Times 22 May 1867 p.3 (from Tamworth Examiner 18 May 1867); Armidale Express 18 May 1867 p.2, 25May 1867 p.2 (including extract from Tamworth Examiner 18 May); Maitland Ensign 29 May 1867 p.4; Maitland Mercury 21 May 1867 (from Armidale Express 18 May); Sydney Morning Herald 30 May 1867 (from Armidale Express 25 May)
[13] NSW Police Gazette 1867 No.22 (29 May 1867) p.172; Sydney Morning Herald 24 May 1867 p.4, 29 May p.5 (from Tamworth Examiner 25 May) also Maitland Mercury 28 May p.2 & Singleton Times 29 May p.2 & ME 29 May p.4 from same Tamworth Examiner; Maitland Mercury 25 May 1867 p.5
[14] CSIL: Inspector General of Police to Principal Under-Secretary, 25 May 1867 [SRNSW 4/646 Item 69/278 No. 67/3513]; NSW Police Gazette 1867 No.22 (29 May 1867) p.171; Sydney Morning Herald 29 May 1867 p.5, 4 Jun 1867 p.6; Maitland Mercury 30 May 1867 p.3; Empire 31 May 1867 p.4 (from Maitland Ensign)
[15] NSW Police Gazette 1867 No.23 (5 Jun 1867) p.180; Sydney Morning Herald 31 May 1867 p.4; Maitland Mercury 1 Jun 1867 p.4, 4 Jun 1867 p.2 & p.3 (from Tamworth Examiner 1 Jun) also Sydney Morning Herald 5 Jun 1867 p.4, ME 5 Jun 1867 p.2, Armidale Express 8 Jun 1867 p.3 & Singleton Times 5 Jun 1867 p.3 from same Tamworth Examiner; Brisbane Courier 5 Jun 1867 p.3
[16] Maitland Mercury 8 Jun 1867 p.2, 11 Jun 1867 p.3 (from Tamworth Examiner 8 Jun); Armidale Express 8 Jun 1867 p.3; Argus 12 Jun 1867 p.5; Sydney Morning Herald 24 Jun 1867 p.4; CSIL: From Thomas P Panton, 30 Jun 1867 [SRNSW 4/599 No. 67/4314]
[17] NSW Police Gazette 1867 No.31 (31 Jul 1867) p.232, No.32 (7 Aug 1867) p.237; Brisbane Courier 29 Jul 1867 p.2; Armidale Express 3 Aug 1867 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner 27 Jul); Maitland Mercury 27 Jul 1867 p.5, 30 Jul p.2(x3); Sydney Morning Herald 27 Jul 1867 p.7; Empire 12 Dec 1867 p.2 (see also Queanbeyan Age 11 Jan 1869 p.4 & 18 Jan p.4 for policeman's recollections - online)
[18] NSW Police Gazette 1867 No.33 (14 Aug 1867) p.242, No.37 (11 Sep 1867) p.272; Argus 10 Aug 1867 p.5; Maitland Mercury 8 Aug 1867 p.3, 13 Aug 1867 p.3; Sydney Morning Herald 12 Aug 1867 p.5 & Empire 12 Aug 1867 p.5 (both from Maitland Ensign 10 Aug); Sydney Morning Herald 26 Sep 1868 p.4
[19] QLD PG Vol.IV No.9 (7 Aug 1867) p.60
[20] Maitland Mercury 20 Aug 1867 p.3 & Armidale Express 24 Aug p.3 (from Tamworth Examiner 17 Aug); Argus 22 Aug 1867 p.5; Sydney Morning Herald 23 Aug 1867 p.5
[21] Sydney Morning Herald 23 Aug 1867 p.2; Maitland Mercury 24 Aug 1867 p.5, 27 Aug p.2; Bell’s Life in Sydney 24 Aug 1867 p.2
[22] Sydney Morning Herald 4 Sep 1867 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner 31 Aug); Maitland Mercury 12 Sep 1867 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner 7 Sep); NSW Police Gazette 1867 No.37 (11 Sep 1867) p.272; CSIL: Police Supt Garland, Tamworth to Inspector General of Police, 20 Mar 1868 [SRNSW 4/646 Item 69/278 No. 68/1624]; Empire 12 Dec 1867 p.2
[23] Maitland Mercury 10 Oct 1867 p.3 (from Tamworth Examiner 5 Oct)
[24] Argus 15 Oct 1867 p.5 (from Singleton Times 9 Oct 1867); Armidale Express 28 Sep 1867 p.3 (from Sydney Morning Herald 23 Sep 1867); Armidale Express 5 Oct 1867 p.4 (from Maitland Mercury’s Singleton correspondent); Empire 25 Sep 1867 p.5; Maitland Mercury 24 Sep 1867 p.3, 26 Sep p.3
[25] Maitland Mercury 1 Oct 1867 p.2, 3 Oct p.3, 22 Oct p.3 (from Singleton Times 19 Oct); Armidale Express 12 Oct 1867 p.4
[25a] Sydney Morning Herald 22 Sep 1868 p.3 (Report from Annual Meeting)
[26] NSW Police Gazette 1867 No.41 (9 Oct 1867) p.296; Sydney Morning Herald 9 Oct 1867 p.5; Maitland Mercury 10 Oct 1867 p.2 (x2 – one from Singleton Times 9 Oct), 22 Oct p.3 (from Singleton Times 19 Oct). Reference to Grass Tree Hill being 20 miles north of Singleton in SMH 21 May 1864 p.5 also mentions of Liddell in other refs which is south of Muswellbrook; other references to both Chain of Ponds and Grass Tree Hill see Maitland Mercury 6 Feb 1866 p.2
[27] Maitland Mercury 15 Oct 1867 p.5 (from Singleton Times 12 Oct), 31 Oct p.3; Armidale Express 9 Nov 1867 p.4 (from Maitland Mercury). Mr J Hooke, Keepit run [Maitland Mercury 5 May 1868 p1]
[28] Armidale Express 26 Oct 1867 p.2, 23 Nov p.3
[29] CSIL: Constable Patrick McMorrow to Sergt Thompson, Muswellbrook Police, 17 Nov 1867, & also Mrs Bradford to Mr White, 18 Nov 1867 [SRNSW 4/609 Item 67/7083]
[30] Sydney Morning Herald 6 Nov 1867 p.2
[31] NSW Police Gazette 1867 No.46 (13 Nov 1867) p.330
[32] Maitland Mercury 21 Nov 1867 p.3 (from Singleton Times 16 Nov), 28 Nov p.4; Empire 21 Nov 1867 p.8 (from Maitland Ensign 18 Nov), 11 Dec p.4
[33] CSIL: Constable Patrick McMorrow to Police Sergt Thompson, 17 Nov 1867, & also Supt Morisset, Office of the Inspector of Police, East Maitland, to Inspector General of Police, Sydney, 6 Dec 1867 [SRNSW 4/609 Item 67/7083]
[34] CSIL: Superintendent Morisset to Inspector General of Police, 6 Dec 1867 [SRNSW 4/609 Item 67/7083] & John H. Keys to Supt Morisset, 30 Nov 1867 [SRNSW 4/616 Item 68/140]
[35] CSIL: Superintendent Morisset to Inspector General of Police, 6 Dec 1867 [SRNSW 4/609 Item 67/7083]
[36] CSIL: Memo by James White, 5 Dec 1867; Supt Morisset to John H. Keys, 2 Dec 1867 [SRNSW 4/616 Item 68/140]
[37] CSIL: Superintendent Morisset to Inspector General of Police, 6 Dec 1867 [SRNSW 4/609 Item 67/7083]
[38] CSIL: James White to Sub-Inspector Thorpe, Singleton Police, 23 Nov 1867 [SRNSW 4/609 Item 67/7083]
[39] CSIL: Thomas Hungerford to Sub-Inspector Thorpe, Singleton Police, 18 Nov 1867 [SRNSW 4/609 Item 67/7083]; also John H. Keys to Superintendent Morisset, 30 Nov 1867 [SRNSW 4/616 Item 68/140]
[40] CSIL: Re Frederick Ward at the Goulburn River in Nov 1867 [SRNSW 4/609 Item 67/7083; & 4/616 Item 68/140]
[41] CSIL: Superintendent Morisset to Inspector General of Police, 6 Dec 1867 [SRNSW 4/609 Item 67/7083]; Sydney Morning Herald 28 Nov 1867 p.4 (from Singleton Times); Maitland Mercury 28 Nov 1867 p.4
[42] Maitland Mercury 28 Nov 1867 p.4 (& Sydney Morning Herald 29 Nov 1867 p.4 & Armidale Express 7 Dec 1867 p.4 from same);Empire 3 Dec 1867 p.5 (from Maitland Ensign); Argus 9 Dec 1867 p.5 (from Singleton Times); Armidale Express 7 Dec 1867 p.4
[43] Argus 9 Dec 1867 p.5 (from Singleton Times)
[44] Birth Certificate: Frederick Wordsworth Baker, 1868 [RBDM 1868/0016881]; Baptism: Frederick Wordsworth Ward, 1868 [SRNSW 5/4036 Part 51, p.13; Reel 4519]
[45] Maitland Mercury 10 Dec 1867 p.3 (from Tamworth Examiner 7 Dec); CSIL: Re Frederick Ward at the Goulburn River [SRNSW 4/616 No.68/140]
1867 Dec late Reportedly joined by William Simmons: born 1836 Germany, reportedly arrived per Walter Morris (came 1849, 1853, 1854 but no hits yet in indexes), sawyer, 5’6”, dark hair, dark eyes. [1]
1867 Dec 24 Store robbed at Ollera station, 14 miles north-west of Guyra. [2]
1868 Jan 5 Thunderbolt and a masked man stuck-up Sandy Creek Farm near Ollera. [3]
1868 Jan 10/11 Robbery of northern mailman (Mr Wardrop) near Ben Lomond by one man with a black, curly, well-oiled beard however no suggestion made at the time that it was Thunderbolt, only later. [4]
1868 Jan 12+ 12 Jan: the masked man, Williams Simmons, arrested by Constables McDonald and Daly for stealing and receiving stolen goods from Ollera; 4 Feb: wife Sarah Simmons and stepdaughter Charlotte Ramage brought up on charges of being in possession of stolen goods from the robbery and stepdaughter said that Simmons and Thunderbolt committed the robbery; 24 Mar: tried at Armidale Quarter Sessions for the store robbery, convicted, and sentenced to ten years’ hard labour on the roads; 6 Apr: tried at Armidale Circuit Court for “robbery under arms” (the Sandy Creek Farm robbery) associated with Thunderbolt and convicted; 8 Apr: sentenced to fifteen years roads; mid-1868: rewards paid for apprehension of one of Thunderbolt’s accomplices; mid-1874: released from Darlinghurst Gaol and sent “to exile”. [5]
1868 Jan 13 Walgett-Wee Waa mailman robbed near Bungle Gully station but mailman claimed that the robber was not Thunderbolt as he knew him. [6]
1868 Jan 17 Bushranger robbed northern mailman (Mr Wardrop) again near Ben Lomond with mate nearby; again no suggestion until later that it was Thunderbolt. [7]
1868 Jan 18 Murrurundi correspondent reported that since mail had been guarded to Tamworth there had been no more depredations from Thunderbolt but a few miles beyond that the mail had been recently robbed with impunity. [8]
1868 Jan mid Fred joined by young William Monckton; described by Warwick Times as an “ugly youth with two of his front teeth protruding”. [9]
1868 Jan 28 Bushranger (believed to be Thunderbolt) and boy aged about 12 [Monckton] rob northern mailman (William O’Dell) about 8 miles above Tamworth and 7 miles from Moonby around 1.30am; bushranger fired shot in the air to induce the guard to show himself and the boy rode off; bushranger accompanied the coach for some distance and when guard did not show himself, he forced the driver to stop and took all the mailbags with him; he also stole three half-sovereigns from the only passenger, Rev. Mr Sturton; the Armidale Telegraph reported that the mailman said there was a youth with Ward and that as Dorrington the jockey (mail robber of a couple of weeks previously) was short, Thunderbolt’s companion was believed to be Dorrington. [10]
1868 Jan 30 Two armed men rob northern mailman (again William O’Dell) six miles south of Bendemeer, one of whom was recognised as being the mail robber of 28 Jan; all the mail bags were again taken as well as £1 note and a gun from one of the two passengers; the Police Gazette reported that the robbers were supposed to be Ward and Kelly (latter identity unknown). [11]
1868 Feb 4 Sarah Simmons and her daughter Charlotte Ramage were brought up on charges of having stolen goods in their possession, goods recognised as being from the Ollera store robbery at Sandy Creek on 25 December; Mrs Ramage signed a statement claiming that her stepfather William Simmons and Thunderbolt were the robbers. [12]
1868 Feb 6 Armed man (supposedly Thunderbolt) robbed mailman (Mr Wardrop) near Ben Lomond and took the letters, leaving the newspapers behind; as he had no coat on, it was presumed that his hiding place was not far distant. [13]
1868 Feb 13 Report in Empire (taken from Braidwood Dispatch) that Senior Sergeant Byrne was being relocated to Tamworth to help capture Thunderbolt. [14]
1868 Feb 13 Report in Armidale that Thunderbolt robbed a shepherd on the Tilbuster station about four miles from town; another report around the same time said that a traveller had been stopped at Tilbuster station and asked to give up what money he had, but the report was not believed to be true. [15]
1868 Feb 15 Notice in newspaper ‘To the bushrangers stopping the north mail on Ben Lomond and their associates’ by ‘Sarah’ requesting that bushrangers put back in bag all letters not containing money and hang it on trees so they may be found and posted again. [16]
1868 Feb 16 George Gibson robbed of two horses and a saddle at Four Mile Station, McDonald River, near Bendemeer, supposedly by Thunderbolt; later reported to be a different man. [17]
1868 Feb 17 A “well-connected” young man named Watt committed a number of robberies on the Great North Road in the vicinity of Doughboy Hollow while claiming to be Thunderbolt but was caught the same day. [18]
1868 Feb 19 Letter published in the Empire complaining about the police’s failure to capture Thunderbolt and explaining why. [19]
1868 Feb 24 Report from Bundarra correspondent that two horses supposed to be Thunderbolt’s had been brought into the pound from the Abington run. [20]
1868 Feb 28 Parcel of cheques found under log in Ben Lomond, presumed to have been left there by Thunderbolt. [21]
1868 Feb 29 Poorly-written letter to editor supposedly by German immigrant (seemingly facetious) which remarks, among other things, that “Policemen here very good indeed – they catch three Thunderbolts in one week and put them in the lock-up”. [22]
1868 Feb late Rumour scotched of a meeting between Inspector Brown and Thunderbolt. [23]
1868 Mar 1 Young Millis came upon Thunderbolt & boy at their camp on his father’s Guyra run; later that day Thunderbolt & boy visited Mr Rae’s Faulkner’s hotel and bought goods. [24]
1868 Mar 19 Thunderbolt and the boy [Monckon] robbed the Tenterfield-to-Queensland mail, thirteen miles on the NSW side of Maryland, but found no money. [25]
1868 Mar 19 Thunderbolt & Monckton robbed Wirth’s German musicians (three or four men) on the same road near Maryland, stealing about £16 in cash; Wirth complained that it was hard to take money from poor men, and that the sum stolen was from a few days playing; according to the Warwick Times, Thunderbolt replied that “he did not care – if it was his own brother he would take it, but coolly said if the party would give him their names and addresses, he would return the money to them if he succeeded in sticking up some person who had a good sum; reportedly he did give them back 5 shillings at the time; John Wirth evidently exaggerated the story as his son Philip later wrote in his autobiography, The Life of Philip Wirth, that his father was carrying £70 at that time which he intended sending to his mother, that Thunderbolt apologised for taking the money but promised to return it if Wirth called at the Post Office in Warwick as he was passing through town, and that, to his father’s surprise, Thunderbolt kept his word. [26]
1868 Mar 19 Thunderbolt & Monckton robbed two travellers of £6. [27]
1868 Mar 19 Thunderbolt & Monckton rob Nicholas Hart (ration-carrier of Maryland station) of £105 on the same road near Maryland; on his horse Minstrel, Hart had won the Tenterfield Town Plate with a purse of 70 sovereigns the day previously; Hart complained that he was a poor man and the horse had won him the money; Thunderbolt returned £5 of the money. [28]
1868 Mar 20 Thunderbolt & Monckton robbed Messrs Smith and Pery, the Merry Go Round proprietors, at the Bluff. [29]
1868 Mar 21 Thunderbolt & Monckton stole two horses from Deepwater station leaving two others in their place; took Deepwater horses to the neighbouring station, Ranger’s Valley, to be shod; posse including J McMaster, Manager of Ranger’s Valley, set out after them with a black tracker but lose their trail. [30]
1868 Apr 13 Muswellbrook correspondent wrote that a young shepherd living at St Helier’s found a bundle of cheques worth £300; presumed to be cheques planted by Thunderbolt. [31]
1868 Apr 15 Rumour that Thunderbolt in Armidale created great excitement but proved false. [32]
1868 Apr 17 Report that Thunderbolt seen at Goonoo Goonoo near Tamworth; Police Magistrate, Mr Irving, suffered injury while searching for him. [33]
1868 May 6 Thunderbolt & Monckton stole two horse at Abington station belonging to Inspector Brown who had stopped at the station for the night; two knocked up horses left in their place. [34]
1868 May Report that Thunderbolt going to stick-up Owen’s Inn at Carlisle Gully near Bendemeer; police went there about midnight and hid themselves for a week without success; Thunderbolt later spent the night there, only revealing his identity the next morning. [35]
1868 May 17 Thunderbolt reportedly seen at a station near Tamworth looking for a horse. [36]
1868 May late Dorrington, remanded on charges of criminally assaulting a young girl, tells police that Thunderbolt had wanted Dorrington to join him, but that he (Dorrington) had declined. [37]
1868 May c20 Report that Thunderbolt seen near Falconer riding one of Inspector Brown’s horses, and had the boy in his company. [38]
1868 Jun 10 Rumour that Thunderbolt at Roma races proves false. [39]
1868 Jun 18 Armidale & Tenterfield mailman stopped at the Bluff, New Tenterfield by Thunderbolt and the boy, and robbed. [40]
1868 Jun 25 Thunderbolt on his own robbed two Chinese men near Bingara. [41]
1868 Jun 27 Editorial regarding Thunderbolt, the police and rewards. [42]
1868 mid-year Report that Ballarat miner walking from the diggings at Gympie, Queensland, back to Ballarat (1700 miles) met Thunderbolt (who was on foot) during the journey but both were armed and nothing came of it; miner reached Ballarat again in October 1868. [43]
1868 Jul early Thunderbolt reported still to be in the Tenterfield district. [44]
1868 Jul 19 Thunderbolt and mate reportedly slept the night at Mr Ewen’s inn, Carlyle’s Gully (near Uralla), and paid their expenses. [45]
1868 Jul 21 Thunderbolt & youth robbed Mrs Jackson’s store at Maitland Point at the Rocky River Diggings; Mr Weston was in the house at the time and was the person actually robbed which led to reports that Mr Weston’s store was robbed. [46]
1868 Jul late Report that Muswellbrook police have good horses which would help in catching Thunderbolt. [47]
1868 Aug 1 Report that Thunderbolt had stolen a horse from Paradise Creek station; soon after he stuck up an outstation at Moredun, then robbed a Chinese man, then stole two horses from Moredun but the residents managed to get them back. [48]
1868 Aug early Thunderbolt seen in vicinity of Glen Innes and police pursue him. [49]
1868 Aug mid On Friday night (13? Aug) boy spotted on back of mail coach as it neared Carlyle Gully; he had unbuckled most of the straps but escaped in the darkness; believed to be Monckton. [50]
1868 Aug 15 John Moore claimed to be Thunderbolt when he robbed a man near Scone; apprehended and charged. [51]
1868 Aug 20 Son Frederick Wordsworth born at Carroll near Tamworth to Mary Ann Baker of Carroll, aged 29 years; birth registered on 16 Sep 1868 at Tamworth by Mary Ann Baker; baptised as Frederick Wordsworth, son of Frederick Wordsworth and Mary Ann Ward of Carroll, on 29 Aug 1868 in Wesleyan-Methodist ceremony, Tamworth circuit (at which time birth-date noted as 26 Aug 1868; NB. as the numbers ‘6’ and ‘0’ are easily mistaken, it is likely that the child’s birth day listed on either the baptism entry or the birth-certificate was a mistaken transcription of an original handwritten reference); never married according to death certificate; died 21 Jun 1937 at Moree (parents listed as John Burrows, miner, and Mary Ann Boggs); informant brother A Burrows of Scarborough. [52]
1868 Sep 7 Thunderbolt and Monckton robbed hut of Ah Moor, Chinaman, at Grove Station near Bundarra (one report said Manalla), stealing 40 £1 notes, two sovereigns and some opium. [53]
1868 Sep 29 Angledool station (near Goodooga) stuck up by two men, one calling himself Thunderbolt; NB. Almost certainly Curriwillinghi bushrangers – see 6 Oct 1868. [54]
1868 Oct 2 Two armed men came down from the Moonby Ranges and stuck-up some stores in the village of Moonby (near Tamworth); one 35-ish, one 40-ish, no suggestion that one was Thunderbolt; suggestion that these were same men as the Curriwillinghi robbers (see 6 Oct) but this almost certainly incorrect; man named Bellinger arrested a couple of weeks later. [55]
1868 Oct 6 Affray with police near Curriwillinghi (near Goodoga) involving two men, one believed to be Thunderbolt (but called by his companion “Frank” and later proved to be Frank Pearson alias Dr Pearson alias Captain Starlight) and the other Charles Rutherford (alias William Bedford, etc); Rutherford shot Senior Constable McCabe who eventually died from his injuries; the pair separated early in Dec 1868; Pearson was captured by Bourke police late Dec 1868, tried at the Bathurst Circuit Court on 26 Apr 1869 and sentenced to death although sentence later commuted to life imprisonment; Rutherford continued to commit crimes until 5 Sep 1869 when he accidentally shot himself during a hold up and died the following day. [56]
1868 Oct mid A man named Bellinger, supposed to be one of Thunderbolt’s gang, captured near Bendemeer. [57]
1868 Oct 14 Thunderbolt & Monckton stuck up Mr Maund’s store at Wellingrove. [58]
1868 Oct/Nov Report that Thunderbolt visited Wilcannia during races there and robbing Mr Collins; later report said Mr Collins knew nothing about it and intimated that the whole claim was incorrect (which is likely as no other references suggest that Thunderbolt travelled as far west. [59]
1868 Nov 2 Horse stolen from Jacob Muller, Toowoomba carrier, near Whetstone station on the McIntyre River near Yetman, supposedly by Thunderbolt. [60]
1868 Nov 13 Thunderbolt reportedly robbed the northern mail travelling between Yetman on the McIntyre and Goondiwindi in Queensland; later report said it wasn’t Thunderbolt. [61]
1868 Dec 2 Thunderbolt robbed Chinamen at Oban diggings; one report said the boy was with him, another that he wasn’t; this is the last reference to Thunderbolt and Monckton together. [62]
1868 Dec Late November or early December 1868 Monckton left Thunderbolt; Monckton stated that he left Ward about 5 weeks prior to his apprehension on 6 January 1869. [63]
1868 Dec 18 Thunderbolt robs northern mailman (Bowden) between Bingara and Warialda, some four miles from Bingara. [64]
? FW mentions to a man he had just bailed up that he used to live with a gentleman squatter and that in one season they had run in and branded 700 head of cattle which they all knew to be “nuggets”. [65]
1868 Dec 24 Reward for apprehension of Frederick Ward raised to £400 after request by Inspector General of Police dated 1 Dec. [66]
1868 Dec 30 Letter sent by Colonial Secretary, Sydney, to Colonial Secretary, Brisbane, requesting their co-operation with a view to capturing Thunderbolt; reply 6 Jan 1869. [67]
1869 Jan 6 Thunderbolt’s mate, William Monckton, captured at Wellingrove and lodged in the Glen Innes lock-up. [68]
Sources
[1] NSW Police Gazette 1868 No.1 (1 Jan 1868) p.3, No.8 (19 Feb 1868) p.59, No.14 (1 Apr 1868) p.102, No.17 (22 Apr 1868) p.126, 1874 No.25 (24 Jun 1874); CSIL: Inspector General of Police to Principal Under Secretary, 22 Jul 1868 [SRNSW 4/646 Item 69/278 No.68/3914]
[2] NSW Police Gazette 1868 No.1 (1 Jan 1868) p.3, No.8 (19 Feb 1868) p.59, No.14 (1 Apr 1868) p.102, No.17 (22 Apr 1868) p.126, 1874 No.25 (24 Jun 1874); CSIL: Inspector General of Police to Principal Under Secretary, 22 Jul 1868 [SRNSW 4/646 Item 69/278 No.68/3914]; “Reminiscences of Mrs Susan Bundarra Young (formerly Mrs James Buchanan) of Bundarra” in Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society Vol.8 (1923) pp.394-407; Armidale Express 28 Mar 1868 p.2, 8 Feb p.2, 11 Apr p.2 (trials of Simmonds etc.); constables responsible for Simmond’s apprehension receive reward Armidale Express 5 Sep 1868 p.2
[3] Empire 17 Jan 1868 p.2 (from Armidale Telegraph 11 Jan); Maitland Mercury 14 Jan 1868 p.3; NSW Police Gazette 1868 No.1 (1 Jan 1868) p.3, No.8 (19 Feb 1868) p.59, No.14 (1 Apr 1868) p.102, No.17 (22 Apr 1868) p.126, 1874 No.25 (24 Jun 1874); CSIL: Inspector General of Police to Principal Under Secretary, 22 Jul 1868 [SRNSW 4/646 Item 69/278 No.68/3914]; “Reminiscences of Mrs Susan Bundarra Young (formerly Mrs James Buchanan) of Bundarra” in Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society Vol.8 (1923) pp.394-407; Williams, A Ghost called Thunderbolt, pp.106-9
[4] Armidale Express 8 Feb 1868 p.3; Maitland Mercury 21 Jan 1868 p.2, 25 Jan 1868 p.4, 11 Feb 1868 p.2 (from Armidale Telegraph 8 Feb)
[5] NSW Police Gazette 1868 No.1 (1 Jan 1868) p.3, No.8 (19 Feb 1868) p.59, No.14 (1 Apr 1868) p.102, No.17 (22 Apr 1868) p.126, 1874 No.25 (24 Jun 1874); CSIL: Inspector General of Police to Principal Under Secretary, 22 Jul 1868 [SRNSW 4/646 Item 69/278 No.68/3914]; “Reminiscences of Mrs Susan Bundarra Young (formerly Mrs James Buchanan) of Bundarra” in Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society Vol.8 (1923) pp.394-407; Williams, A Ghost called Thunderbolt, pp.106-9
[6] Maitland Mercury 21 Jan 1868 p.2
[7] Armidale Express 8 Feb 1868 p.3; Maitland Mercury 21 Jan 1868 p.2, 25 Jan 1868 p.4, 11 Feb 1868 p.2 (from Armidale Telegraph 8 Feb)
[8] Maitland Mercury 21 Jan 1868 p.3
[9] Brisbane Courier 25 Mar 1868 p.2 (from Warwick Times 21 Mar 1868)
[10] Maitland Mercury 4 Feb 1868 p.3 (from Armidale Express 1 Feb 1868 – article p.2 damaged); Empire 6 Feb 1868 (from Armidale Telegraph)
[11] NSW Police Gazette 1868 No.6 (5 Feb 1868) p.38; Maitland Mercury 4 Feb 1868 p.3 (from Armidale Express 1 Feb 1868 – article p.2 damaged); Empire 6 Feb 1868 p.3
[12] Armidale Express 8 Feb 1868 p.2
[13] NSW Police Gazette 1868 No.7 (12 Feb 1868) p.46; Brisbane Courier 8 Feb 1868 p.4; Armidale Express 8 Feb 1868 p.2; Maitland Mercury 8 Feb 1868 p.5, 11 Feb 1868 p.2 (from Armidale Telegraph 8 Feb)
[14] Empire 13 Feb 1868 p.3 (from Braidwood Dispatch)
[15] Maitland Mercury 18 Feb 1868 p.3 (x2)
[16] Armidale Express 15 Feb 1868 p.2
[17] NSW Police Gazette 1868 No.9 (26 Feb 1868) p.62; Maitland Mercury 27 Feb 1868 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner 22 Feb)
[18] Empire 12 Mar 1868 p.2
[19] Empire 19 Feb 1868 p.3
[20] Maitland Mercury 7 Mar 1868 p.3 (from Armidale Express 29 Feb 1868)
[21] Empire 2 Mar 1868 p.3
[22] Maitland Mercury 29 Feb 1868 p.3
[23] Armidale Express 29 Feb 1868 p.2
[24] Empire 11 Mar 1868 p.2, 13 Mar p.3; Maitland Mercury 12 Mar 1868 p.3 (from Armidale papers)
[25] NSW Police Gazette 1868 No.13 (25 Mar 1868) p.92; Brisbane Courier 21 Mar 1868 p.4, 25 Mar p.2 (from Warwick Times 21 Mar); Armidale Express 28 Mar 1868 p.3
[26] Brisbane Courier 21 Mar 1868 p.4, 25 Mar 1868 p.2 (from Warwick Times 21 Mar); Armidale Express 28 Mar 1868 p.3; Monckton Three Years with Thunderbolt, Chapter VII; Wirth, Philip The Life of Philip Wirth, Coogee (NSW), c1935
[27] Clarence & Richmond Examiner 31 Mar 1868 p.3 (from their own Tenterfield correspondent)
[28] NSW Police Gazette 1868 No.14 (1 Apr 1868) p.100; Brisbane Courier 21 Mar 1868 p.4, 25 Mar 1868 p.2 (from Warwick Times 21 Mar); Armidale Express 28 Mar 1868 p.3
[29] Armidale Express 28 Mar 1868 p.3
[30] CSIL: Re Frederick Ward at Deepwater [SRNSW 4/624 No.68/2145]; Clarence & Richmond Examiner 31 Mar 1868 p.3
[31] Maitland Mercury 18 Apr 1868 p.6
[32] Brisbane Courier 11 May 1868 p.3 (from Armidale Telegraph)
[33] Armidale Express 2 May 1868 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner 25 Apr); Sydney Morning Herald 12 May 1868 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner)
[34] Maitland Mercury 12 May 1868 p.3 (from Armidale Express 9 May)
[35] CSIL: Re Thunderbolt’s expected visit at inn at Carlisle Gully near Bendemeer [SRNSW ref: 4/649 No. 69/1193]; see also William Monckton’s Three Years with Thunderbolt, Chapter 9
[36] Sydney Morning Herald 20 May 1868 p.5 (from Newcastle Chronicle)
[37] Armidale Express 6 Jun 1868 p.2 (from Tamworth Examiner 29 May)
[38] Maitland Mercury 30 May 1868 p.2
[39] Brisbane Courier 19 Jun 1868 p.3
[40] NSW Police Gazette 1868 No.26 (24 Jun 1868) p.190; Brisbane Courier 19 Jun 1868 p.2; Argus 19 Jun 1868 p.5; Armidale Express 4 Jul 1868 p.4
[41] NSW Police Gazette 1868 No.27 (1 Jul 1868) p.196; Armidale Express 11 Jul 1868 p.3 (from Tamworth Examiner 4 Jul); Sydney Morning Herald 8 Jul 1868 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner); Empire 15 Jul 1868 p.3
[42] Armidale Express 27 Jun 1868 p.2
[43] Hobart Mercury 20 Oct 1868 p.3
[44] Clarence & Richmond Examiner 14 Jul 1868 p.2
[45] Maitland Mercury 25 Jul 1868 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner 25 Jul); Armidale Express 1 Aug 1868 p.3
[46] NSW Police Gazette 1868 No.31 (29 Jul 1868) p.224; Armidale Express 25 Jul 1868 p.2; Empire 1 Aug 1868 p.3 (from Armidale Telegraph); Maitland Mercury 28 Jul 1868 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner 25 Jul); Empire 1 Aug 1868 p.3
[47] Maitland Mercury 30 Jul 1868 p.4
[48] Maitland Mercury 6 Aug 1868 p.4, 13 Aug 1868 p.3 (from Armidale papers, 1 Aug)
[49] Empire 12 Aug 1868 p.3
[50] Maitland Mercury 27 Aug 1868 p.3 (from Armidale Telegraph 22 Aug)
[51] Maitland Mercury 29 Aug 1868 p.6
[52] Birth Certificate: Frederick Wordsworth Baker [RBDM 1868/0016881]; Baptism: Frederick Wordsworth Ward [SRNSW 5/4036 Part 51, p.13; Reel 4519]; Death Certificate: Frederick Wordsworth Burrows [RBDM 1937//0016011]
[53] NSW Police Gazette 1868 No.38 (16 Sep 1868) p.272; Sydney Morning Herald 9 Sep 1868 p.9, 14 Sep 1868 p.5; Maitland Mercury 15 Sep 1868 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner 12 Sep)
[54] Armidale Express 17 Oct 1868 p.2 (from Tamworth Examiner 10 Oct)
[55] Brisbane Courier 20 Oct 1868 p.2, 4 Nov 1868 p.6 (from Tamworth Examiner 3 Oct 1868); Sydney Morning Herald 15 Oct 1868 p.5, 19 Oct 1868 p.5; Armidale Express 17 Oct 1868 p.2 (from Tamworth Examiner 10 Oct)
[56] NSW Police Gazette 1868 No.21 (20 May 1868) p.154, No.43 (21 Oct 1868) p.312, No.49 (2 Dec 1868) p.350, 1869 No.1 (6 Jan 1869) pp.2 & 6, No.2 (13 Jan 1869) p.8, No.19 (12 May 1869) p.145, No.38 (15 Sep 1869) p.295 (plus numerous additional references to crimes committed by one or both within this period); Brisbane Courier 20 Oct 1868 p2., 24 Oct 1868 p.6 (from Dubbo Dispatch), 27 Oct 1868 p.3, 4 Nov 1868 p.2, 2 Dec 1868 p.2; Hobart Mercury 31 Oct 1868 p.4 (from Maitland Mercury), 11 Nov 1868 p.3; Argus 19 Nov 1868 p.7 (from Sydney Morning Herald 12 Nov 1868); CSIL: Senior Sergeant Andrew Cleary to Supt of Police, Bathurst [SRNSW 4/649 No.69/938]; see Online Newspapers for further information
[57] Brisbane Courier 16 Oct 1868 p.2
[58] Armidale Express 24 Oct 1868 p.4; Sydney Morning Herald 29 Oct 1868 p.5; Clerk of Peace depositions – Armidale Circuit: R. vs Monckton [SRNSW 9/6522 No.174/8]; Monckton Three Years with Thunderbolt, Chapter VII
[59] Empire 19 Nov 1868 p.3; Argus 17 Nov 1868 p.5
[60] QLD PG Vol. V No.12 (2 Dec 1868) p.94; Maitland Mercury 19 Nov 1868 p.4
[61] Argus 28 Nov 1868 p.5; Sydney Morning Herald 25 Nov 1868 p.5 (from Tamworth Examiner); Maitland Mercury 26 Nov 1868 p.4; Empire 14 Dec 1868 p.3
[62] Armidale Express 12 Dec 1868 p.2; Hobart Mercury 18 Dec 1868 p.2; Sydney Morning Herald 23 Dec 1868 p.4
[63] Clerk of Peace depositions – Armidale Circuit: R vs Monckton [SRNSW 9/6522 No.174/8]
[64] NSW Police Gazette 1868 No.52 (23 Dec 1868) p.370; CSIL: Telegram from Supt Garland, Tamworth, to Inspector General of Police, 21 Dec 1868 [SRNSW 4/646 Item 69/278]; Empire 30 Dec 1868 p.2 & Maitland Mercury 29 Dec 1868 p.3 (both from Tamworth Examiner 26 Dec); Sydney Morning Herald 30 Dec 1868 p.5
[65] Argus 19 Nov 1868 p.5
[66] CSIL: Inspector General of Police to Principal Under-Secretary, 1 Dec 1868 [SRNSW 4/646 Item 69/278 No.68/6742]; NSW Police Gazette 1868 No.53 (30 Dec 1868) p.376; Maitland Mercury 29 Dec 1868 p.3; NSW Government Gazette 1868 p.4617
[67] CSIL: Re co-operation of Queensland authorities with a view to capturing Thunderbolt [SRNSW 4/646 Item 69/278 Nos.68/6742 & 69/278]; NSW Police Gazette 1868 No.53 (30 Dec 1868) p.376; Argus 8 Jan 1869 p.5
[68] SMH 8 Jan 1869 p.5, 13 Jan 1869 p.4; Maitland Mercury 9 Jan 1869 p.2
1869 Feb 13c On or before 13 Feb, Thunderbolt stole racehorse Talleyrand owned by Frank Wyndham Esq of Coolatie near Warialda, from Gragine, Reedy Creek; Wyndham offered reward; report that Ward’s niece [daughter of his sister Sarah Ann Ward] was married to stockman on Gragine station[1]
1869 Mar 24 Fred Ward charged with stealing horse &c. owned by Charles Fendelow of Gineroy at Burning Mountain Inn near Murrurundi; horse later found in the bush[2]
1869 Apr 5 Joseph Bellinger convicted of being an accessory before and after the fact in a mail robbery committed by Frederick Ward and William Tavener in January 1868 and of feloniously harbouring and maintaining the felons; sentenced to two years hard labour in Parramatta Gaol[3]
1869 Apr 24 At Tabbill Creek, Hanley’s Flat near Dungog, Alexander Allen robbed Ann McNamara while claiming to be Thunderbolt[4]
1869 Jun 9 Thunderbolt robbed Warwick Chaffe at Tarpaulin Creek, ten miles south of Barraba[5]
1869 Jun The Argus reported that Thunderbolt had reappeared in his old haunts and resumed his criminal career but was probably referring to Rutherford who in other reports claimed to be looking for Thunderbolt[6]
1869 Jul mid Thunderbolt has robbed the northern mail near Cassilis, according to Argus, but no similar reports in other online newspapers.[7]
1869 Sep Report that concerns about activities of Thunderbolt and others in the north had led the NSW and Queensland governments to work together to apprehend them[8]
1869 Sep late Reports that two armed men robbed a hawker named Gordon on the Mehi (Gwydir) River; a couple of days later a coloured man named Allen was robbed on the Barwon River, fourteen miles from Collarenebri; 28 Sep: Mr Bagot’s Gundabluie station was robbed; no suggestion in the various reports that Thunderbolt was one of these men and the description indicates that the man aged about 30 was clean shaven while the other had a thin fair beard so probably not Thunderbolt but probably the same men committing all three crimes[9]
1869 Oct 9 Robbery of Walcha-Armidale mailman claimed by some to be Thunderbolt but the bushranger said to his victim that it was his first mail robbery and the description said “black hair and whiskers” so was unlikely to be Thunderbolt[10]
1869 Nov 8+ Thunderbolt stuck up Mr Brown’s store at Little River and stole two Crimean shirts, a pair of tweed trousers, a pair of elastic side boots and a small looking glass; he then left and crossed over the Leather Jacket range to the Clarence river district[11]
1869 Nov 11 Thunderbolt called at Mr Devlin’s in the Clarence river district and purchased some rations[12]
1869 Nov 12 Thunderbolt visited Newton Boyd station in the same district and enquired for the superintendent, Mr Skinner, who was absent, then said that he only wanted horse-nails; the servant pointed them out and he took a few; he called at the camp of Road Superintendent Mr Houison and enquired if he was around; took letters from camp to Mrs Brown at Broadmeadows[13]
1869 Nov 12-14 Seen loitering in the bush between Broadmeadows and Newton Boyd stations[14]
1869 Nov 15 Thunderbolt bailed up the Browns at Broadmeadows then Road Superintendent Houison’s camp where he stole a revolver and some cartridges for a needle gun and Mr Houison’s horse Regulator; then asked for bread at Brown senior’s residence before galloping off into the bush; Mr Houison, Sub-Inspector Wright and a trooper pursued Thunderbolt for a couple of days but could not find him[15]
1869 Dec Hawker robbed of £40 in money and goods near Mihi Mihi Creek station; believed to be Thunderbolt[16]
1869 Dec late Thunderbolt said to have recently paid a visit to Rhodes’ station near the Big Hill on the Newton Boyd Road (Clarence River district) “evidently on the lookout for another Regulator”; soon afterwards left the locality and believed to have headed in the direction of Harness Cask River[17]
Sources
[1] NSW Police Gazette 1869 No.9 (3 Mar 1869) pp.65- 66, No.11 (17 Mar 1869) p.82; Sydney Morning Herald 3 Mar 1869 p.5; Maitland Mercury 4 Mar 1869 p.1
[2] NSW Police Gazette 1869 No.13 (31 Mar 1869) pp.97-98, No.15 (14 Apr 1869) p.111
[3] NSW Police Gazette 1869 No.15 (14 Apr 1869) p.113; Maitland Mercury 25 Mar 1869 p.3, 13 Apr 1869 p.2; Empire 31 Mar 1869 p.4, 14 Apr 1869 p.4; Sydney Morning Herald 24 Mar 1869 p.5, 14 Apr 1869 p.2; CSIL [SRNSW ref: 4/657 No. 69/3361]
[4] Maitland Mercury 5 Jun 1869 p.2
[5] Armidale Express 26 Jun 1869 (from Tamworth Examiner 19 Jun); NSW Police Gazette 1869 p.189
[6] Argus 24 Jun 1869 p.5; see Trove online newspapers for references to Rutherford
[7] Argus 15 Jul 1869 p.5
[8] Maitland Mercury 9 Sep 1869 p.1
[9] Armidale Express 16 Oct 1869 p.2 & Sydney Mail 16 Oct 1869 (from Tamworth Examiner); NSW Police Gazette 1869 p.323
[10] Sydney Morning Herald 13 Oct 1869 p.5 (from Armidale Telegraph); Illustrated Sydney News 27 Oct 1869 p.2
[11] Clarence & Richmond Examiner 23 Nov 1869 p.2; Armidale Express 27 Nov 1869 p.2
[12] Clarence & Richmond Examiner 23 Nov 1869 p.2
[13] Clarence & Richmond Examiner 23 Nov 1869 p.2
[14] Clarence & Richmond Examiner 23 Nov 1869 p.2
[15] Clarence & Richmond Examiner 23 Nov 1869 p.2; NSW Police Gazette 1869 No.47 (24 Nov 1869) p.363; Armidale Express 27 Nov 1869 p.2; Brisbane Courier 1 Dec 1879 p.3; Sydney Morning Herald 24 Nov 1869 p.4; NSW Police Gazette 1869 No.47 (24 Nov 1869) p.363
[16] Sydney Morning Herald 23 Dec 1869 p.3 & Empire 23 Dec 1869 p.3 (both from Tamworth Examiner); Hobart Mercury 25 Dec 1869 p.2
[17] Clarence & Richmond Examiner 4 Jan 1870 p.2
1870 Jan 2 Mailman Abraham Bowden robbed on the Tamworth-Warialda Road aabout 8 miles south of Barraba; reportedly not Thunderbolt (as Thunderbolt had previously robbed Bowden, this conclusion is probably correct but see 7 Jan below). [1]
1870 Jan 7 Thunderbolt robbed mailman at Moredun as he travelled from Inverell to Armidale (some reports say Saturday 8 Jan); Armidale Telegraph reported dryly that “We might also presume that it was this man who robbed the Warialda mail a week previously as the description of the bushranger tallies with the Inverell mailboy’s account, [were it not that] the decided negative given by the Tamworth Examiner forbids such a conclusion”. [2]
1870 Feb Man arrested at Ipswich thought to be Thunderbolt; a policeman was sent up to identify him but was uncertain so Senior Sergeant Kerrigan, who had encountered Thunderbolt in the past, was sent up and proclaimed that it was a miserable imposter who probably just wanted a free trip to NSW. [3]
1870 Mar 31 Thunderbolt stuck up the Tenterfield-Sydney mailman about four miles from Deepwater. [4]
1870 Apr 18 Thunderbolt robbed hawker named Ward on Paradise Run near Inverell and robbed him of £20; NB. The hawker, Ward, was among the witnesses who identified Fred Ward’s body at the magisterial inquiry on 26 May 1870 (see that date). [5]
1870 May Report on police efforts to capture Thunderbolt. [6]
1870 May 25+25 May: Thunderbolt (Fred Ward) committed various robberies in and around Blanch’s inn near the Big/Split Rock (which lies 7kms south of Uralla [7]), then was pursued by Constable Alexander Binning Walker for some 6 or 7 miles in a circuitous route before they arrived at Kentucky Creek (according to Sydney Morning Herald's special correspondent who sat in on the magisterial enquiry the following day, at that point Walker was "pulled up by a water hole directly in front of him and about 350 yards long"), near its intersection with Chilcott Creek/Swamp (name used variously in original records); Kentucky Creek itself takes a sharp L-shaped turn at that point so it is much longer than is suggested by Cunningham's re-enactment photo held by the Heritage Centre, Armidale; 26 May: magisterial inquiry held before Police Magistrate Buchannan who decreed that the dead body was that of Frederick Ward who died by a “a gunshot wound inflicted by a member of the Police Force whilst in the execution of his duty” (see Death Myths); Walker provided his own detailed statement at that time - communicated to Sydney by the Sydney Morning Herald's special correspondent - and provided another report for the police authorities on 29 May, and the consistency between these reports indicates that he was telling the truth (Senior Constable John Mulhall's statements, by contrast, varied significantly in each retelling, a sign that he was lying); 28 May: William Monckton confirmed that the dead body was indeed that of Frederick Ward and signed a statement to that effect; 29 May: body buried at Uralla; Jun: letters were sent to the Armidale Express demanding an investigation of Mulhall’s actions in view of the noteworthy discrepancies between his written and verbal statements; [8] 7 Jun: case of Michael A. Coughlan vs Constable Cotter heard in Armidale Police Court, Coughlan being the man responsible for the horse Thunderbolt was riding when Walker shot him. [9]
Sources
[1] Maitland Mercury 7 Jan 1870 p.2, 11 Jan 1870 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner)
[2] Brisbane Courier 11 Jan 1870 p.2; Maitland Mercury 13 Jan 1870 p.2, 18 Jan 1870 p.2 (from Armidale Telegraph)
[3] Sydney Morning Herald 12 Feb 1870 p.7, 17 Feb 1870 p.5, 26 Feb 1870 p.7, 17 Mar 1870 p.5; Empire 16 Feb 1870 2 (from Queensland Times), 14 Mar 1870 p.4; Maitland Mercury 1 Mar 1870 p.3, 5 Mar 1870 p.2
[4] Maitland Mercury 5 Apr 1870 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner 2 Apr), 12 Apr 1870 p.2 (from Armidale Telegraph); Brisbane Courier 7 Apr 1870 p.2 (from Tenterfield and Glen Innes Times 2 Apr), 14 Apr 1870 p.3 (from Tenterfield and Glen Innes Times 9 Apr)
[5] NSW Police Gazette 1870 No.17 (27 Apr 1870) p.115
[6] CSIL: re Thunderbolt [SRNSW ref: 4/695 No. 70/3670]
[7] Thunderbolt's Rock [http://www.bigtrip.com.au/things-to-see/australia/nsw/thunderbolts-rock.html]
[8] Death Certificate: Frederick Ward alias ‘Thunderbolt’ bushranger [RBDM 1870/2470]; NSWPG 1870 No.22 (1 Jun 1870) p.148; Sydney Morning Herald 27 May 1870 p.5 (x2), 28 May p.7, 1 Jun p.5, 8 Jun p.3, 20 Jun p.5, 16 Jul p.4; Armidale Express 11 Jun 1870 p.2, 18 Jun p.2, 25 Jun p.2, 9 Jul p.2, 30 Jul p.2, 20 Aug p.2; Maitland Mercury 28 May 1870 pp.2 & 3, 31 May p.2 (from Armidale Express 28 May), 7 Jun p.3 (from Armidale Telegraph); Empire 1 Jun 1870 p.2; Manning River Times 4 Jun 1870 p.2, 9 Jul p.4; Town & Country Journal 4 Jun 1870 p.24 (part from the Armidale Telegraph]; Brisbane Courier 11 Jun 1870 p.2; Queenslander 11 Jun 1870 p.10 (from Armidale Express 4 Jun), 18 Jun p.4; Argus 11 Jun 1870 p.6; Hobart Mercury 14 Jun 1870 p.2; CSIL: re Giovanni Cappasotti [SRNSW 4/703 No.70/6938], Re Huxham’s horse [SRNSW 1/2252 No.74/1909]; re Reports [SRNSW 1/2326.2 File 76/2239 No. 70.4440 &c]; see also Thunderbolt file at State Records, Sydney and Kingswood and the Heritage Centre at Armidale. Senior Sergeant John George Balls of the Armidale station testified at the inquiry on 26 May 1870 that he knew Frederick Ward on Cockatoo Island and could identify the dead bushranger as Fred Ward. Balls was indeed the Task Work Clerk on Cockatoo Island on 31 October 1861 (four days before Fred returned there from Mudgee), and joined the police force on 1 May 1862; Sources: SMH 1 Nov 1861 p.8; Police Service Registers [SRNSW 8/3251 – B – No.380; Reel 3043]
[9] Armidale Express 11 Jun 1870 p.2