Bushranging began soon after British colonization of Australia. Desperate convicts escaped and lived off the land, being supported by or stealing from free settlers. The Australian bushranging period spanned nearly 100 years. Some were seen as Robin Hood figures but others were very brutal.
JULIA: FRANK GARDINER BY ALEX MORRISON
Julia loves Australian history. In regard to Frank Gardiner, she loved the fact that he went from being a bushranger to a businessman. He spent ten years in Darlinghurst gaol and then emigrated to California. She said it was a really good book.
CONNIE: BEN HALL, THE BUSHRANGER BY FRANK CLUNE
Connie enjoyed this book. It was said the author fictionalized the story too much. Ben Hall was a son of convicts. He sorted himself out, leased a property, bought sheep and did well for himself. He sometimes gave shelter to bushrangers and when his wife ran off with one of them, he was heartbroken. He eventually joined the bushrangers when his farm was burnt down by the police. He was well liked by the settlers. The author, Frank Clune was a popular writer in the 40's and 50's. He wrote books for men to read.
BEV: HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN BUSHRANGING BY CHARLES WHITE
Bev read the story about Ben Hall. When his wife left, she took the children as well. Ben Hall became a bushranger but he was considered a good bushranger. He looked after the locals. He was an excellent horseman who knew the bush whereas the troopers were not good at navigating their way through the bush. They also had inferior horses.
SHEILA: BEN HALL - AUSTRALIAN BUSHRANGER SERIES BY JANE SMITH
This book is part of a series made by the Dyslexic association. The book has actual facts about bushrangers. Ben Hall died just before his 28th birthday when he was shot. Bushrangers were usually children of convicts and were usually uneducated. The police were usually uneducated. Apparently he was a nice type of fellow. Sheila thought it was a good book.
DIANE: AUSTRALIAN BUSHRANGERS BY ROBERT COUPEE
This book tells the stories of Australian bushrangers from early colonial days to the Kelly Gang in 1880. Di said some of the bushrangers were horrible. Some chopped each other up and some were cannibals. It was a brutal dictatorship.
JO: NOT YOUR USUAL BUSHRANGER BY PETER MACINNIS
Jo said "besides the famous bushrangers, this book has bushrangers you have never heard of". People travelled by coach and bushrangers would rob them and tie them to trees. The bushrangers would also go to settlers houses and terrorize them. One gang raped a pregnant woman after killing her husband. They were brutal times. The book had a lot of interesting facts about the time. Jo also liked the colonial songs in the back of the book.
VAL: NED KELLY DVD WITH TONY ROBINSON
Val said she learned quite a bit about Ned Kelly from this DVD. At twelve years old Ned lost his father. Val expressed he was a drunken "so and so". Ned Kelly was at a crossroad - he could go one way or the other. He started with horse stealing. He was put into prison for three years and in that time he was brutalized. He was hanged at age 26.
WENDY (1): THE HUNT FOR NED KELLY BY SOPHIE MASSON
This book was about an eighteen year old girl and her brother who are orphans. They go in search of Ned Kelly . They are helped by two people who happen to be Ned Kelly and Steve Hart.
Wendy also read HEROES AND VILLAINS BY EDGAR PENZIG. She said it was supposed to be true facts but it was badly written. The anecdotes are amusing.
PRUE: TRUE HISTORY OF KELLY GANG BY PETER CAREY
The narrative is in first person, from Ned to his daughter. It uses words of the period and colloquialism. It has Irish and Australian influence and humour. The characters are well developed. You felt like you could see it and feel it. It described the harshness of the time and the brutality of the police. She said she really enjoyed it and said it was fantastic. Peter Carey thought we were a nation of orphans.
Prue also read BAD NED. Ned is a bit of a bad boy who makes trouble. This is a junior book. Prue enjoyed it and she thought it was a good book for introducing kids to Ned Kelly.
CHARIS: IN SEARCH OF CAPTAIN MOONLITE BY PAUL TERRY
There is controversy over the spelling of Moonlite. His real name was George Scott. He was born in Ireland and emigrated in the 1860's. He was a popular pastor in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria when things went haywire and he got caught up in a bank robbery. Charis said he was more of a conman than a bushranger. He cheated people out of money. Charis said it was a good book.
JUDY A.: OUT OF THE MISTS, HIDDEN HISTORY OF JESSIE HICKMAN
BY DI MOORE
This is the hidden history of Jesse Hickman, a female bushranger. She was born near Oberon. At eight years old she was given to the circus by her mother. She eventually moved to the Denman area and took up horse and cattle rustling. She died of a brain tumour at age nineteen. The narrative is non fiction first person. The story didn't gel with Judy and she found the dialogue stilted but interesting.
ROSEMARIE: THE LADY BUSHRANGER BY PAT STUDDY- CLIFT
This book is about Jessie Hickman, a female bushranger. There were three female bushrangers. One was part aboriginal called Black Mary. Jessie had a rough childhood. She moved to the Rylstone/Kandos area where her brother lived. She stole cattle. She could survive well in the bush and was an excellent horserider. She married Ben Hickman. She had two gaol terms. Rosemarie said the book was not very enjoyable.
JUDY DE: THE HISTORY OF THE AUSTRALIAN BUSHRANGERS BY GEORGE BOXALL
Judy said it was a bit boring as it was just facts. It is mainly documents and police records. She is only part way through but said it would be a good resource book.
ED: AUSTRALIAN BUSHRANGING BY BILL WANNAN
Ed chose a story about Captain Thunderbolt who was in the New England area. His real name was Fred Ward. He had a Robin Hood reputation. He was born in 1836 in Windsor. He was sent to Cockatoo Island for cattle stealing. He swam across Sydney Harbour to escape and went to Hawkesbury, later to Cessnock.
DIANN: BUSHRANGERS, THE STORY OF AUSTRALIA'S WILD COLONIAL BOYS
BY KENNETH MUIR
This book is divided into different types of convicts. Bushrangers are a part of factual history. Unfortunately they became folk heroes to lower levels of society. Circumstances dictated what happened to them.
PAT: As Pat didn't have time to read a book this month she gave us some interesting facts about bushrangers. They were usually sons of convicts. Frank Gardiner was part of the Wild Colonial boys and was not a nice man. Bold Jack Donahue, who was also part of the Wild Colonial Boys, had a Robin Hood style. The discovery of gold brought a new type of convict. In 1865 an Act brought bushrangers under control. Bushrangers could be shot without a trial.
LESLEY told us that the first bushranger was a black slave called Black Caesar. He was a huge man with an enormous appetite. Governor John Hunter put out a reward of 5 gallons of rum for Black Caesar's capture. She also told us that there were 2000 bushrangers through the 1800's. They had a cultural impact on places, plays, songs, books, movies and art.
KRIS: THE SECRET OF THE BLACK BUSHRANGER BY JACKIE FRENCH
This book is for older children. It's the 3rd in a series that explores the secret history of Australia.
It's written in the 1st person by Barnie Bean. He and Elsie are both orphans living with the chaplain, Mr Johnson and his wife and family. He is the chaplain to the colony in N.S.W. in 1790. There is also a young indigenous girl, Birrung living with the family. The chaplain and Barney help Australia's first bushranger escape. He was a slave of African descent who was sent out on a ship
from England, arriving in Australia in 1788. He was called Black Caesar. Although the book is fiction, Black Caesar did exist and the Johnsons were real characters as well. Kris enjoyed the book.
Next month, October, we are reading a selection of books by the author Rose Tremain - "Restoration", "The Road Home" or "Music - A Silence". Kris
