Outlaws Art and Ancestry …. Review
This booklet is full of interesting images but much of this information is incorrect. More detail can be found about each suspected crime on my webpage, www.braidwoodbushrangers.com
The Clarke and the O’Connell Families
* The O’Connell family came from County Limerick. Connell was the anglicised name given to Irish families by the English government. Removing the O from Irish names was one of the ways the British Govt. dehumanised and cancelled the culture of the Irish.
* In the early days before hotels were built every second camp was making sly grog – it was not restricted to John Clarke and we have no real evidence that he was doing this – he was never charged. There will be many instances of no real evidence in the following. In fact he was recorded as being a farmer and a gold miner. As well, he was never charged or convicted of cattle duffing. In point of fact it was some of the wealthy graziers than employed the young lads like Tommy and Johnny Clarke to brand as many calves as they could. Often these calves belonged to neighbours – cattle strayed as there was no fencing. Hugh Wallace of Nithsdale was one of these farmers. Workers were paid in calves as well and it was the opinion of many that this practice led to bushranging.
Troublesome Bushrangers?
* Troublesome to the police – they were better horsemen and could ride faster, they were cheeky, they knew the country better, they had the support of the district and tormented the police as often as they could – a recipe for disaster.
Family life was challenging as Tommy had several warrants out for his arrest.
* Tommy married Charlotte Clarke on 31 January 1863 there were no warrants out for Tommy at this time. The first warrant came in Sept. 1864, this was revoked; the next warrant 13 July 1865 was also revoked and he escaped gaol before the warrant on 19 July 1865 was examined in court. It was also revoked as he did not face these charges when captured.
* The Police Black Book, written at the time, has William Williams helping Tommy escape gaol – not James Dornan.
* Horses may have vanished from the stables of Charles Dransfield and Patrick Mulligan. Pat O’Connell was discharged in court and Tommy’s warrant was revoked. The NSWPG commented that there was no evidence the boys committed these robberies. There was a court case for the horses stolen from John Mellon. Pat was discharged, Tommy’s warrant was cancelled.
* Hugh Wallace might have blamed Tommy for stealing his horses – but the court case found Tommy not guilty.
The Murder of Billy Noonang.
* Smith forgets that it was thought at the time Ellen’s evidence against Old Clarke was payback as he refused to pay her bail when she was arrested for passing stolen bank notes. He also forgets to say that because the police were still collecting evidence eight months later, the witnesses could not remember exactly when they had seen Tommy and Old Clarke at the creek where Billy’s body was later found. Tommy’s father, not Tommy, was charged with this murder.
The Nerrigundah Raid
* There is no evidence to say that the exchange of fire involved Tommy, Johnny or Pat. The clients on the hotel were the first to rush out and seeing William wounded they returned fire. At the inquest different impressions were stated about the exchange of fire, and were conveyed by the witnesses who were the clients in the hotel. There was no conclusive evidence as to what exactly happened and who was involved in the shooting. The murder of O’Grady was an unsolved crime – Tommy and Pat were declared outlaws because they did not surrender by a certain date. Outlawry is not a consequence of an unproven crime.
Robbery at Michelago
* There was no warrant out for the Tommy for this robbery. It was thought that Tommy and Bill Berriman were involved, but Bill was not even in the district.
The Shooting of Pat O’Connell
* From reports at the time the police crept up to their camp and started shooting at the gang. The police did not announce themselves or call out for them to surrender. An outlaw could be shot on sight, if they were escaping, but neither Pat or Tommy were at the camp at that time. Pat was checking the horses and Tommy, who had been identified by the poIice, was not at the camp at all. It was against the law for the police to behave this way. The police also mistakenly thought Thomas Lawler was present, but it was later proven that ha was talking to Sergeant Latimer of Queanbeyan for an hour on the day in question. When the shooting started three men ran across the creek to a scrubby area where they exchanged shots with the police. It appears the police were uncertain of the identity of these men as there were no warrants out for returning fire. Pat was ambushed and shot in the back. It certainly seems that the police did not know exactly who they were shooting at, but that small fact did not worry them.
Robbery at Little Bombay
* Alexander Bradley did not join the gang. The gang were not present at Little Bombay. The bushrangers were not recognised by the owner and magistrate Joseph Taylor. When you read Taylor’s statements in the trial of Alick Bradley and also at the Royal Commission, he does not identify the thieves, except for Alick; he calls the thieves the vagabonds and says he has been robbed often by these type of people. He further claimed that since the increase of population due to the gold rush, crime had increased significantly, irrespective of the bushrangers. Taylor was annoyed that Alick did not receive 15 years gaol – he was only given six years and this was reduced to two years for agreeing to give evidence against Michael O’Connell. In that trial Alick was called a perjurer.
The Capture of Tom O’Connell
* It is claimed here that Tom was firing on the police. But in the court case it was stated by Constable Daniel Byrne
I saw Tommy and Johnny Clarke fire, but not the prisoner. ….. The tracker came up to Tom Connell (prisoner), who had got behind a tree, and had his rifle levelled at me as I approached him. I levelled my rifle at him, and told him to drop his rifle, or I would fire, and to hold his hands over his head, which he did.
It is a pity that proper research is not carried out by people attempting to record history.
Long Jim the Tailor joins the gang
* Again Jim, not William Williams, is helping Tom over the fence at the gaol. As to the robbery of Ah How and Ah Wing at Jembaicumbene, a warrant was issued for James, but not the Clarkes. At this robbery it is claimed that the boys fired at Sergeant Stafford but when Stafford was describing this incident later he must have forgotten they fired at him – or did the newspaper embellish the story?
The Murder of the Specials Constables
* ….they narrowly escaped the bushrangers’ volley being fired into their camp.
No one was ever charged with this particular offence, no one can be blamed. Nor was there any evidence that this actually happened. The bushrangers may have been guilty; it could also be the police, they were not happy about the presence of the specials; or it could have been someone else that was upset about their presence. The specials were camping near the Cooma Road. It had been mizzling rain all day. They were standing around a camp fire of sodden wood when a shot was fired from about 100 yds away. The shot went between the specials. When Kennagh went to get more ammunition their tent was riddled, but he wasn’t wounded. Some sharp shooting there with moist gunpowder at night time too !! But, the good thing about this event was that the specials were able to acquire the extra weapons from Henry Parkes, weapons they had previously been refused.
The State of Crime in the Braidwood District
* Public meetings were held in Braidwood and Araluen, but the interesting information discussed in these meetings has been omitted from this book. The Braidwood meeting was one of blame and hysteria with no concept of the law. Dr Alley put all the ills of the district firmly on the shoulders of the bushrangers, without any consideration of presumption of innocence. He complained about the depredations of the bushrangers and their supporters for the last two years; said the police system was a complete failure; the magistrates were voiceless; the police were totally unfit to cope with the bushrangers; complained of people who enjoyed immunity from the bushrangers; complained that licenses were granted to harbourers and people without character who supplied the bushrangers; that the victims had been buried on the spot in sheets of bark; that a coroner for the district was required; that magisterial enquiries were shams. He was told to behave. Later he further stated that no businessman could go about his business without being waylaid by bushrangers; that instead of paying taxes for an inefficient police system it would be cheaper to pay blackmail to the bushrangers, instead of running the risk of being shot at any moment. He suggested the government should send 100 men to scour the infested districts and secure the perpetrators of the murders. This resolution was unanimously carried. H.A Cobb wanted to suspend the Habeas Corpus Act – the legal order that requires a prisoner to be brought before a court to determine guilt and released if no guilt can be determined. He agreed that one couldn’t move about the district with the fear of being shot. Robert Maddrell thought the suggestion should be moved as an amendment to the resolution. Dr Alley thought this was going too far and Mr Cobb withdrew his suggestion. The magistrate, J.W. Bunn, finally brought some reason to the meeting suggesting that a commission of non-residents inquire into the causes of the situation, to prove public opinion right or wrong. But then he agreed that the Habeas Corpus Act should be suspended.
* The Araluen meeting of 500 people was much more controlled. W.H.Myers, storekeeper and gold buyer
had strong comments about the associations developed in the old convict and squatting system leading to bushranging. Myers claimed the settlers, at first tried to blame the miners for the lawlessness, then they blamed the free selectors. The settlers, had been given vast acreages for services rendered. He also stated that fencing was very limited, cattle strayed, and stockmen were encouraged to brand as many unmarked cattle as they could, to keep up their employer’s numbers. A blind eye was turned to the extra numbers kept by the stockmen as they were paid no wages. Once the stockmen left the employ of the squatter, they did not steal from their former employer, who reciprocated by supporting them when support was needed. The bushrangers did not rob the wealthy farmers. Further, W.H. Myers commented on the blood money pinned onto Carroll. He thought it suggested that the murderers had a knowledge of practices in England, (the old country) which indicated that it was probably not those that were supposed to be the murderers. This statement was met with applause. Would this type of statement be made by someone that had been robbed by the bushrangers on two occasions??
* …. the Superintendent supplied a list of and sympathisers ….. known as the Black Book.
The purpose of the Black Book, as it is stated at the beginning of the Black Book is …
Names and descriptions of persons known or suspected residing within the Police District of Braidwood and the country known as the Jingeras who have been convicted of offences and whose characters otherwise are questionable, together with their police history as far as is known.
I cannot see where it says it was a list of sympathises of the bushrangers.
Harbourers Under Pressure
* Thomas Berry, Michael Griffin and Edward Smith were the only people that hoped to gain rewards by giving information against the boys.
* Of Michael O’Connell …. his role was notable during the bushranging activities. Michael organised the ammunition for his brother’s rifle, and was convicted of providing food to Tommy Clarke. Michael was the patriarch of an Irish family and his role was the primary protector of the family. One brother had been ambushed and shot dead by the police, and Tommy’s father had died in the filthy and unhygienic Goulburn Gaol that was riddled with sickness, while waiting for months in gaol for the police to collect evidence for his trial. Michael was not charged with supplying ammunition.
More Special Police
* James Griffin was initially arrested for the murder of John Carroll. This was from uncorroborated evidence from Edward Smith who was after the reward for the information given to police about the murders. Edward proved to be a perjurer and Judge Alfred Stephen explained to the jury how to treat perjury and advised that James should be found not guilty. The jury took 20 minutes to give their not guilty verdict. Several months later James was charged with the murder of Patrick Kennagh, another of the specials. The same uncorroborated evidence was given in the court but Judge Alfred Cheeke did not explain perjury and James was convicted. The Australian Dictionary of Biography states that Cheeke was not a great lawyer.
More Robberies – More Deaths
* None of the robberies mentioned had warrants for the Clarkes. Bill Scott copped one warrant, but it was revoked. This was a case of blame the bushrangers because we don’t know who it was. The same with the insinuations that the bushrangers had the rifles of the dead specials. That was a story started by Woodland at the capture of the boys, but Sub-Inspector William Wright who was present in the hut talking to the boys about their weapons at the time did not connect the boys with the specials rifles in his report to Orridge nor in the court case. Newspapers sold many papers based on fiction.
* Newspaper nonsense again in the report of the robbery of Myers store on 30 January 1867. The NSWPG does not mention the value of goods stolen, nor does it mention anything about the special’s rifle. There was no warrant out for this robbery. If as the paper suggested that £450 of gold and bank notes were stolen, and if Tommy had said he had the special’s rifle I think the police would have included that in their statement to the gazette and a warrant would be initiated.
* Again there is no evidence that it was the boys that got James Williams the publican of the Boro Hotel, out of bed late at night into a candle lit pub, to rob him. They were supposedly with the Hyland boys of Long Swamp near Tarago. The Hylands were arrested in December 1867, but charges were dismissed as the witness (presumably James Williams) had not appeared at the hearing. They were also discharged from the second charge of aiding and abetting the outlaw Tommy Clarke.
* there is also no evidence that the dead body, found at Manar was Bill Scott. The coroner found the body was unidentified and there was no means of ascertaining the precise cause of death. The height of the deceased did not agree with the height of Bill Scott. Despite the coroner’s verdict, Senior Sergeant Francis Duffy wrote in the Police Diary the next day that the police have ascertained, beyond doubt, that the remains were of Bill Scott. There is a lot of doubt when there is no evidence. This body was badly mauled by wildlife.
Capture of the Clarkes
* Until late March the country had been in the grip of drought for the last three or four years. There were widespread floods throughout the district in every year since 1860 except 1863 and 1865.
* Suddenly they saw the police behind the stack and realised it was a trap. The brothers opened fire ….. No, according to Senior Constable Wright’s report the brothers turned and ran and according to Constable Egan’s evidence in court, he and Walsh heard firing from the stack, which is where one of the police groups were stationed.
* Constable Walsh was shot in the hip …. according to the court case Walsh was shot in the thigh. It was not a serious wound. Walsh was sent off for a five hour return horse ride to gather reinforcements from Ballalaba.
* James Griffin was found guilty of assisting the Clarkes and Bill Scott in the murder of the special police. No, he was not. James was charged with aiding the outlaw Thomas Clarke. James was first arraigned for the murder of John Carroll for which he was found not guilty. He was then arraigned for the murder of Patrick Kennagh for which he was found guilty due to the lack of proper explanation given to the jury – see above in More Special Police. It seems incongruous that James went to trial for these murders when the Attorney General and Inspector of Police had decided there was no evidence to gain a conviction of the Clarkes for this offence.
Snaps of the NSW Police Gazette
* The NSWPG is a very handy document but it has to be treated carefully. The information on crime was sent by the officer in charge at the local police stations. Unless there had been a stated judicial determination on the guilt of the offenders, all descriptions should have said, and usually did state, suspected or alleged. In relation to the boys, often their description was incorrect. Unfortunately there was no apology to previous suspects when other offenders were gaoled. The latest Gazette is now 70 years previous to the current year, to protect individuals, knowing that the information published maybe incorrect.
Robberies with Arms or Violence, or from the Person.
* … the gang then fired upon O’Grady and shot him dead. No one was convicted of this murder due to confused witness statements. With the help of the Chief Inspector of the Eurobodalla police, the sign at Nerrigundah no longer accuses the boys of this murder.
Police Parade 18 July 1866
* The author forgot to mention that there was no dry eyes in the crowd when Pat’s body was brought into town in the back of a cart. Pat was a hero to the locals and described by the press as the best horse rider in the colony – more information that cannot be proven.
Party Time 22 October 1866
* There was no warrant out for the Clarkes for the robbery of Little Bombay, so it is highly unlikely that the camp near the Shoalhaven were the bushrangers.. They were never charged. There was no mention of them in Alick Bradley’s court case, no mention by the owner of Little Bombay – he was a magistrate, he could have charged them – in the court case or in the Royal Commission. Just the newspapers having a field day and relying on poor research by the public.
Midnight Raid
* No evidence for this robbery at Majors Creek either.
Family Visit 25 December 1866
* …. despite her brother Tom’s death sentence …
Tom’s trial and sentence was not until 15 February 1867. A bit of research needed here. He did get the death sentence but it was commuted to life and he was released early as the was not guilty of the charge.
Nocturnal Visit January 1867
* There were no reports of the Clarke gang visiting Jinden House in 1867. Edward Smith had seen them at the cattle camp, south of Jinden a week before the murders, and no one had reported seeing them since that time.
The Clarke Bushrangers have been blamed for many things of which they were never charged or convicted. Their descendants today, are still tormented about these incorrect allegations. If you are going to write about crime you need to keep an open mind, do thorough research and above all understand the law.