Bushrangers

Went to Nelligen today. This is a small town ( pop 228) on the banks of the Clyde river. There's not much there, just a few dwellings and a small trade servicing the tour boats on the Clyde which make a brief stop there. It's very picturesque.

In the 1860s, in the height of the gold rush, gangs of bushrangers operated in the area, robbing shipments of gold, and generally upsetting the peace. They were most likely Australian-born descendants of the original convicts brought here in the 1780s.

The most famous was Ned Kelly, but the most bloody were the Clarke Brothers, Thomas and John, who were said to be responsible for 36 robberies and 5 murders. They were cornered in 1866 by militia aided by Aboriginal trackers,

and chained to this tree (above) to await the boat to Sydney (there were no roads back then) where they were executed in June 1867. Their notoriety led to the passing of legislation authorising citizens to kill criminals on sight.

Australian attitudes to bush ranging were not all hostile. Some saw it as romantic, with a touch of Robin Hood about it. The Victoria state cricket team's adopted nickname of Bushrangers highlights this ambivalence. Anyway, that's today's lesson over. 

Saw an unusual sight this morning: an SUV towing a boat. Not very unusual, you might think? Well, the boat was fixed to the front of the car and was being pushed. Not entirely legal, I suspect, even here.