Bathurst Rebellion
The Bathurst Rebellion of 1830 was an outbreak of bushranging near Bathurst in the British penal colony (now the Australian state) of New South Wales.
The rebellion involved a group of escaped convicts who ransacked villages and engaged in shootouts over the course of three weeks. Led by 25-year-old English-born convict Ralph Entwistle, the group numbered up to 80 men at its peak, making it the largest convict uprising in New South Wales history since the Castle Hill rebellion of 1804. The rebels became known as the Ribbon gang on account of Entwistle wearing "a profusion of white streamers about his head".
Background
Entwistle was a
The rebellion
In late September 1830, Entwistle and his men began raiding farms, seizing firearms and liberating convicts in the process. The gang had grown to 50 members by the time they arrived at the farm of Thomas Evernden, seeking revenge, but the magistrate was absent.[2] When the farm's overseer, James Greenwood, refused to allow Evernden's convict servants to join the gang, Entwistle and his men threatened to shoot him dead.[3] Greenwood still refused, saying they were "not game enough" to shoot him, at the same time baring his chest. Entwistle and two other bushrangers, Gahan and Kearney, fired immediately, killing Greenwood.[4]
When news of the murder reached Bathurst, the locals met at the courthouse to rally support for the settlement's six troopers. Twelve men volunteered, including pastoralist and politician William Henry Suttor, who was chosen as the volunteers' leader, with his brother Charles second in command.[2] By this stage, the Ribbon Gang had trekked to the Abercrombie River, and at Trunkey Creek, the hard core of the group, led by Entwistle, splintered off and headed for the Abercrombie Caves.[3] Most of the other forcibly recruited convicts returned to their assigned farms. Suttor's volunteers, together with the troopers under the command of Major Donald McPherson, set out for the caves, passing through stations the gang had ransacked, and the next day near sundown, with the assistance of two Aboriginal trackers, found and cornered the gang—now reduced to 20 men. Over 300 shots were fired in the ensuing gunfight, and several men on both sides were wounded, at least two bushrangers mortally.[5] As night fell, the volunteers were forced to retire to Bathurst, allowing time for the Ribbon Gang to move to a more secure location beyond the caves—a bald hill, now known as Bushranger's Hill.[6]
The next battle of the Bathurst Rebellion involved a police party led by Lieutenant James Brown of the
Aftermath
On 30 October 1830, the bushrangers were put on trial in the Bathurst Court House by the order of Governor Ralph Darling. They were tried by a Special Commission and a jury of military officers, with His Honor the Chief Justice of New South Wales Francis Forbes present.[5]
Ralph Entwistle, William Gahan, Michael Kearney, Patrick Gleeson, Thomas Dunn and John Shepherd were convicted of the murder of James Greenwood and hanged. The remaining bushrangers— Robert Webster, James Driver, Dominic Daby and John Kenny— were hanged for plundering farmhouses.[5] The public execution took place on 2 November in Bathurst on the site of what is now known as Ribbon Gang Lane. After being kept on display for a day "as a warning", the bodies were buried in two mass graves, five in each.
Legacy
In the early 1900s, a caretaker of the Abercrombie Caves discovered buried in the mud floor of one of the caves a set of convict era leg irons, thought to have been dropped by one of the soldiers sent to hunt down the Ribbon gang. The cave subsequently became known as Bushrangers Cave.
Australian folk and country singer Lionel Long included a song titled "Bathurst Rebellion" on his 1963 album The Bold Bushrangers.
References
- ^ Fry 1993, p. 145.
- ^ a b "Hayseed" (30 September 1903). "Annals of the Turf in N. S. Wales", Sydney Sportsman. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
- ^ a b c Jones 2003.
- ^ "Supreme Court", The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (11 November 1830). Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ a b c Batman, Oxley (26 August 1950). "Bathurst Convict Uprising", The World's News. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
- ^ Powell 2016, p. 22.
- ^ a b Powell 2016, p. 23.
- ^ Powell 2016, p. 24.
Bibliography
Books
- Bialowas, Henry (2010). Ten Dead Men: A Speculative History of the Ribbon Gang. ISBN 978-0-646-54418-2.
- Connor, John; ISBN 9781742241616.
- ISBN 9781863330978.
- Greaves, Bernard (1964). The Story of Bathurst. Angus and Robertson.
- Powell, Gregory (2016). Bushranger Tracks: Across New South Wales and Victoria. New Holland Publishers Pty, Limited. ISBN 9781742577784.
- ISBN 978-0-9803466-6-4.
Webpages
- Jones, Andrew (2003). "It all started with a skinny dip". Lateline. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
Further reading
- Coulthard-Clark, Chris (2001). Where Australians Fought: The Encyclopaedia of Australia's Battles (Second ed.). St Leonards: Allen and Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-611-2.
- Bushrangers at Abercrombie Caves
External links
- The Bathurst Rebellion - Forgotten Australia
- A Concise Guide to the Bathurst Rebellion - A Guide to Australian Bushranging