THE bushranger era has been embedded in the Australian psyche for as long as I can remember.
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Born of a violent convict past, the armed marauders made life hell for police and early settlers along the frontier for decades in five states in 19th century Australia.
Prolific Lake Macquarie author and bushwalker Gregory Powell has turned the spotlight on these wild colonial boys (who were often armed to the teeth) in probably the most comprehensive book ever tackled on the subject.
Entitled Bushranger Tracks II - Beyond the Legends, the book is a companion piece to Bushranger Tracks (2016) that dealt with outlaw exploits in NSW and Victoria only. The latest book covers often overlooked sites and colourful characters in Tasmania, Queensland and WA instead, drawing on Powell's research and photography over 51 years to provide an invaluable national field guide to bushrangers.
"While there's mention of NSW legends from Ben Hall to Thunderbolt, this time I've tried to provide a comprehensive guide to the other three states which had convicts and gold, which led to bushranging outbreaks," Powell says.
"I know from the first book there's a high demand for more information on our early history, especially in country areas often affected by the gangs. I go to places like Armidale, Gunnedah, Wangaratta, Glenrowan, of all places, and Uralla.
"Both books together now cover all the main bushranger sites in Australia. That's never been done before."
Powell's interest in Australia's colonial outlaws started in 1968 when he went camping near the notorious Stringybark Creek ambush site in Victoria. That's where three policemen were shot dead by Ned Kelly in October 1878.
"I'm no bushranger expert, and don't claim to be one, but I do believe I'm an authority on bushranger sites where the spirit of those times is to be felt," he says.
"And my latest book is just as much about police as the bushrangers and their robberies. It looks at the law and order side of things in an age of violence.
"To fully appreciate the bravery and commitment of colonial police you have to examine the history of bushranging. Take the NSW bushranger Frank Gardiner. His example was the beginning of the careers of many bushrangers.
"Gardiner was behind the (brazen) robbery of the gold escort coach at Eugowra Rocks between Forbes and Orange in 1862. Later captured, he was finally freed but was exiled overseas from Newcastle Harbour."
Powell delves deeply in his new book by first exploring Tasmanian history with scoundrels like Martin Cash, Michael Howe and the convict cannibal Alexander Pearce, who fled into the wilderness from Macquarie Harbour.
Powell reveals that, unlike later mainland gold rush robbers, the Tasmanian convict 'bolters' believed they had little choice but to resort to bushranging to survive. It seems the harsh Van Diemen's prison system made criminals even more desperate. To make matter worse, many early convicts there had military training and were veterans of the Napoleonic campaigns. They were used to surviving in the bush and familiar with weapons.
Forget the antics of Ned Kelly, Ben Hall and Captain Starlight, Powell says one of the most fascinating individuals was a lesser-known outlaw who roamed for a while in Newcastle. Now, that's not Newcastle NSW, as you might reasonably expect. It's the 'other' old Newcastle, in WA.
"The bushranger was known as Moondyne Joe, or Joey Johns you might say, as his real name was Joseph Bolitho Johns," Powell says.
Moondyne Joe became a bit of a legend in WA as, besides being a bushranger, he made a habit of breaking out of prison.
"While being pursued by police, Joe made a name for himself trying to rival the great schemes of the eastern bushrangers such as Kelly, Frank Gardiner and Ben Hall," he says.
"Joe's most ambitious robbery was in what was once called Newcastle over there north of Perth in the 1860s. Today it's called Toodyay. The name of the town was changed from Newcastle to Toodyay (in 1911) to avoid confusion with our Newcastle NSW. I've visited there. It's very much like the township of Morpeth, near Maitland.
"But the old jail in Toodyay is still called Newcastle. It's a mystery why.
"Joe was a chronic escape artist from prison, but he was finally caught and with good behaviour he received his ticket-of-leave (or parole), being freed in June 1873."
Powell says Busselton, about 200 kilometres south of Perth, is perhaps best known today for having the world's longest wooden jetty. It stretches 1.8 kilometres into the Indian Ocean. But, it was where Moondyne Joe was sent because it was far enough away from Perth to keep him out of trouble. The jetty was begun in 1853 for loading cargoes in the shallow waters. In Joe's era it was only about 319 metres long.
Even in enforced retirement from crime, Joe remained very well known. Powell writes that Joe worked in the Busselton and Fremantle areas and, in January 1879, he married a widow in Fremantle. At the time, Joe was in his 50s and wife Louisa was 26. In 1880, the couple lived in Busselton and it may have been around this time that a popular photo was taken with Joe dressed in an animal hide cape and holding a tomahawk.
"This same image (pictured) is now everywhere in WA. It's on interpretive signs and where he was actually captured, on the cover of books and at his limestone cave. It's unusual as it was taken after his bushranging career was over, he's not carrying a gun and heaven knows what his animal skin outfit represents," Powell says.
In January 1900, Joe was found wandering aimlessly around South Perth and sent for medical treatment. Now old and confused, he probably thought he was back in jail and escaped three times before being sent to Fremantle Prison for his own protection. He was then sent a local asylum where he died in August 1900 and was buried in a pauper's grave.
There's an odd sequel to his passing. A stone cover was later added to his grave with the word 'RHYDDID', which apparently is Welsh for 'freedom'.
"He was earlier a chronic escape artist, remember," Powell says.
Bushranger Tracks II -Beyond the Legends, published by New Holland, $27.