An Escape from Norfolk Island; Stealing a Government Boat; The
Convicts of New South Wales; A Terrible Indictment; Thomas Willmore;
Murder of Philip Alger; Murder of Malachi Daly; Fight between two
Bushrangers; Hunting down Willmore; His Capture while Asleep; The
Last of the Van Diemen's Land Bushrangers; Wilson and Dido; Some
Minor Offenders; An Unfounded Charge; Change of Name to Rid the
Island of Evil Associations.
The rush of men of all sorts from all parts of the world to the great
goldfields of Victoria, although it no doubt attracted the majority
of the desperate characters from the neighbouring colonies, did not
entirely free them from bushrangers. It is necessary, therefore, to
devote our attention to these, and Norfolk Island claims first place.
On March 15th, 1853, a few months before the penal settlement on the
island was finally broken up, a number of convicts were employed
in loading the store ship _Lord Auckland_. The ship lay off in the
roads, and the goods were taken out to her in boats rowed by convicts,
under the charge of soldiers. One boat, manned by the convicts Dennis
Griffiths, James Clegg, Thomas Clayton, Robert Mitchell, Joseph Davis,
Patrick Cooper, Jeremiah O'Sullivan, John Naisk, and "Ginger," was on
its way to the ship with a load. When it was at about a quarter of a
mile from the shore the convicts suddenly rose up, rushed the soldiers,
and threw them overboard. No other boat was near, and this gave the
convicts the opportunity they had been looking for. One constable was
left on board, and Bordmore, the coxswain, seized the gunwale of the
boat and held on. The convicts resumed their oars and pulled as hard
as they could, but as Bordmore refused to let go, and stopped the way
of the boat, he was taken on board again and set to his old work of
steering. He was, however, ordered on pain of death to steer for the
main land. On April 11th they reached Stradbroke Island, off Moreton
Bay, but in taking the boat through the surf she stranded. The men on
board, however, all got safely on shore. The constable and coxswain,
with convict Mitchell, were left near the landing-place while the other
eight walked along the coast to seek for food, of which they were much
in need. They found the hut of Ferdinand Gonzales, a fisherman, and
tried to induce him to lend them his boat to take them to the mainland.
They represented themselves as having been shipwrecked, but Gonzales
did not believe them, and refused to trust them with his boat. They
went away, and Gonzales walked to where they had said their boat had
been capsized to ascertain whether their story was true or not, and
during his absence they returned, stripped his hut of all that was
eatable or of value, and stole his boat. They pulled round the coast
out of sight, and then sent Clegg and Griffiths to fetch the constable
and the others, but the two officers had in the meantime secured
Mitchell, and now arrested Clegg and Griffiths. The other six runaways
waited for a time, and then started for the mainland. On the Monday
following a fisherman named Thomas Duffy went from the mainland to the
island, and he consented to land the constable, the coxswain, and their
three prisoners at Moreton Bay, from whence they marched to Brisbane,
where the prisoners were lodged in gaol. In a few days complaints of
robberies having been committed along the coast were received, and
the Customs boat, with six armed constables on board, was despatched
to capture the runaways. They were told to call at Cleveland Point to
pick up the Chief Constable, who had gone to the coast by land. When
near the mouth of the Brisbane River, on passing a patch of scrub,
the constables suddenly became aware that another boat was alongside,
and that they were threatened by six men armed with pistols. This
completely turned the tables. The constables were compelled to hold
up their hands, and were towed into the scrub, where they were forced
to land and strip. The convicts took the constables' clothes and gave
them their own rags in exchange, and then, having made them get into
Gonzales' old boat, ordered them to "be off." There was nothing else
to be done, and the would-be captors returned to Brisbane as rapidly
as they could, only to be arrested as the runaways. However, they soon
established their identity, and were released. In the meantime the
runaways, being decently dressed and having a first-class boat, pulled
to the barque _Acacia_, which was lying at the mouth of the river
waiting for the mails, before beginning her voyage to Sydney. They told
their old story about being shipwrecked mariners, and were believed and
invited on board, where they were hospitably feasted. The constables
were blamed for not having given notice to the vessels lying at the
mouth of the river, of the fact that these convicts were at large,
but they had not yet reached that part of the river when they were
captured themselves, and if they had gone to these vessels in Gonzales'
battered boat and in the tattered raiment of the runaways, they would
not only not have been believed, but might have been detained or sent
to Brisbane as the runaways they resembled. It was a very trying and
difficult position in which they were placed. When the convicts left
the _Acacia_ where they had been so well entertained, they pulled to
the house of Mr. Watson, the chief pilot, and robbed him of provisions,
a gold watch and chain, and about £40 in money. They stove in his boat
to prevent him from going to the mainland to report, but left him a
bottle of rum out of his store to "keep his spirits up a bit." Mr.
Watson, however, managed, when they had gone away, to patch up his
boat so as to enable him to cross the narrow strait which separated
Pilot Island from the mainland, and very soon several boats, manned by
constables and volunteers, were searching the scrubs and islands near
the mouth of the river in hopes of being able to capture the runaways.
On May 12th, Eugene Lucette was rowing near the mouth of the river,
when he discovered the stolen Customs Officer's boat among the mangrove
bushes. He towed the boat up the river and restored it to its proper
owners. Mr. W.A. Duncan, J.P., Mr. Shendon (the customs officer), Mr.
Sneyd (the chief constable), and a party of the water police-constables
started in pursuit. They had some black trackers with them, and these
soon found a camp among the mangroves where the convicts had recently
been staying. The tracks were patiently followed by the blacks for
some distance, and at length the party was found near the Cleveland
Road, about eight miles from Brisbane. They were in a very weak
condition, having had no food, they said, for four days, and were
easily captured. They had tried to make a living by bushranging along
the coast, having landed at several points and robbed the few settlers
there were there then. At Wide Bay they had come on a large camp of
natives who appeared so hostile that the convicts had been afraid to
land, and had therefore worked their way back to Moreton Bay with the
intention of going up the country to look for work, as they were tired
of living by robbery. They had a number of watches and other articles
of value, two guns and two pistols, all loaded. They were tried on two
charges, viz:--stealing the Customs Officer's boat, the property of
Her Majesty, &c., and stealing a boat belonging to Ferdinand Gonzales,
fisherman, and were convicted. They were sentenced to fifteen years'
penal servitude.
These men had been sent to Norfolk Island for bushranging and other
crimes committed in Van Diemen's Land, and therefore had nothing to
do with New South Wales until they landed at Moreton Bay as escapees.
Griffiths, Clegg, and Mitchell were sent back to the island in
charge of the constable and coxswain who had captured them, and who
were officials under Mr. John Price, Commandant of the island. The
six convicted of stealing the Government boat at Brisbane were not
retransported to the island, but were accommodated in the gaol at
Moreton Bay.
It may be as well to state here that transportation to New South
Wales ceased in 1841, and only two vessels conveying convicts reached
that colony afterwards. These conveyed some prisoners who were
supposed to be reformed characters, and were known in Australia as
"Pentonvillains," from the name of the Reformatory in London through
which they had passed. They were sent out in consequence of an
agitation on the part of the wealthier settlers for the revival of
transportation, but so much indignation was aroused among the mass of
the colonists that no further attempts of that kind were made. The
agitation was supported by the Governor, Sir Charles A. Fitzroy, who
said in his despatch to Earl Grey, that "out of about 60,000 persons
transported hither, 38,000 are reformed and respectable members of the
community. Of the residue, deaths and departures from the colony will
account for the greater part; and I am enabled to state that only 372
out of the whole are now undergoing punishment of any kind." At the
date of this despatch, January 6, 1850, the colony of New South Wales
included the whole of the eastern side of Australia, Victoria being
then the Port Phillip District, and Queensland the Moreton Bay District
of this colony. The southern portion, or Port Phillip District, was
erected into an independent colony about a year later, and I have dealt
with the bushranging there during the gold digging era. In New South
Wales robberies were also very frequent, although the condition of the
colony was never so desperate as that of Victoria. In August, 1853,
the _Bathurst Free Press_ said:--"For some time past the neighbourhood
of King's Plains has been adding to a murderous notoriety.... There
bloodshed in its most awful shape, murder, appears to be reduced to
a science, and the stereotyped phrase 'Murder will out' has lost its
meaning. An unfortunate old man, remarkable for nothing so much as
his hospitality, is slaughtered like a sheep and deposited under a
heap of stones.... Some fifteen years have rolled over his grave,
his death is still enveloped in mystery. A woman in the prime of
life is shot dead in her house; the walls being bespattered with her
blood. A helpless old shepherd ... who had excited the cupidity or
revenge of some miscreant, is discovered in the bush, so cut, bruised,
mangled, and disfigured that words are wanting to describe the tigrish
bloodthirstiness of the murderer.... A resident of Bathurst ... starts
for that bloodstained region one day in perfect health, ... and the
only evidence of him, living or dead, are the merest fragments of
calcined bones ... and a few hairs which have been pronounced to be
those of a human being."
The indictment was a terrible one and was no doubt true, and the
paper was perfectly justified in urging the Government to make
more strenuous efforts to stamp out bushranging. Nevertheless the
murders spoken of here belong to a bygone age, the perpetrators
having probably been attracted, like the majority of their class,
to the Victorian goldfields. That was the focus to which all such
enterprising scoundrels were drawn, and there the majority met the
fate they so richly deserved. A few robberies were committed on the
roads in the Bathurst district and in other parts of the colony, but
the greatest number of such crimes took place in the Manaro district
and along the road leading to Victoria. The only bushranger in New
South Wales who became notorious at this time was Thomas Willmore. He
had been under butler to a gentleman in England, and at the age of
fourteen was transported to "Botany Bay," for having stolen a number of
silver spoons and other plate from his employer. He was first sent to
Pentonville and was then sent to the colony as a reformed character,
being among the last of the English convicts sent to New South Wales,
where he and his companions were known as "Earl Grey's pets." He was
granted a ticket-of-leave soon after landing and was assigned as
servant to a settler in the Wellington district. Soon after reaching
the place he quarrelled with a fellow servant and fired a pistol at
him. The bullet struck a button and glanced off, and the man escaped,
while Willmore, to avoid a trial, took to the bush. He gained a living
by highway robbery for some months. One day he met Philip Alger, near
Tomandra, on the Big River. Alger was riding a very fine horse and
Willmore claimed it as one which had been stolen from him, and for
which he said he had offered a reward. He demanded that the horse
should be given to him at once. Alger swore he had purchased the horse
honestly, and from a man whom he knew, and declined to part with it.
Willmore ended the dispute summarily by drawing a pistol and shooting
Alger in the stomach. Willmore was aware that Alger had a considerable
quantity of gold on him, as the man had foolishly shown it in a hut
where both had lodged during the previous night; but Willmore did not
search the body and the gold was found on it when it was discovered.
He seems to have been satisfied with the horse. He mounted it and rode
towards Wellington. At Montefiore he bargained with Malachi Daly for a
cart, offering for it a quantity of gold dust, which he had no doubt
stolen from some other victim, in exchange. They could not come to an
agreement, but continued their journey towards Wellington together the
next day. At about nine miles from Wellington on the road to the Big
River the road goes down a very steep hill, and both men dismounted to
lead their horses down. Daly was just starting when Willmore stepped
before him, pistol in hand, and demanded his money and gold. Daly
protested that he had left it at his hut, and Willmore called him a
"liar." They disputed for a few minutes, and then Willmore shot Daly
through the head. On searching the body Willmore found only thirty
shillings and a deposit receipt for £11, which was of no value to any
one except the depositor. Later on Willmore boasted that he got £40
from Daly; but, in his last confession, he said he had only asserted
that he had found £40 on Daly's body because he did not wish it to be
known that he had "killed a man for thirty bob." Willmore was only just
riding away from where Daly's body was lying when he was ordered to
bail up by another bushranger. Instead of complying with this request
Willmore drew his pistol and fired, both men shooting at the same time.
Willmore's horse bolted, and ran for some considerable distance before
he could pull him up. When he had once more brought him under control
Willmore wheeled his horse round, and galloped back to the scene of
the encounter. He tracked his late opponent for a mile or more. He
felt certain that he had not missed, and expected to find the body
lying somewhere in the bush. Gradually he became convinced that he had
been mistaken, and that the bushranger had escaped, and gave up the
search, feeling "very sorry" that he had not fired straighter. During
the following three or four weeks he stuck up and robbed a number of
people on the roads between Wellington and Mudgee, until at length
it was resolved at a public meeting to hunt him down. A large party
assembled by appointment, and this was divided into several smaller
bands, each of which was to travel through the district by a specified
route, and all were to meet again at a certain time and place and
report. One party, under the leadership of Mr. Cornish, got on his
track and followed it for two days. On the third day they discovered
him asleep on Ponto Island in the Macquarie River, where he had made a
camp among the scrub. He was conveyed to Bathurst, tried and convicted
of murder and hung. Great satisfaction was expressed at his capture
having been effected without further loss of life, and Mr. Cornish and
the men under him were highly complimented for the skill they had shown
in tracking him to his lair and their caution in effecting his capture
without waking him, as it was highly improbable that he would have
surrendered without a fight, and his skill and coolness were such as to
make it almost certain that one man at least would have been shot. In
reporting his trial the _Sydney Morning Herald_ compared him with "that
monster Lynch," and congratulated the colony on having got rid of "such
a savage."
In Van Diemen's Land the interregnum between the two bushranging eras
was shorter than in New South Wales. In fact, in spite of the assertion
that bushranging had been suppressed with the breaking up of the Cash
and Kavanagh gang, robberies took place occasionally with only short
intervals between them. As a rule, however, there was nothing very
remarkable in them, and only a few seem worthy of notice here. On
February 19th, 1846, Henry Ford and Henry Smart stuck up and robbed a
small farmer named Robert Stonehouse, on the Tamar River. They then
compelled Stonehouse, under threats, to accompany them to the next
farm and call out his neighbour, John Joynes. When Joynes opened the
door the bushrangers rushed in. They tied Joynes and Stonehouse and
ransacked the house, taking everything of value. When they left they
walked along the road and robbed every one they met. On March 5th they
went to Mr. Philip Oakden's house and rang the bell. Mr. Oakden went
to the door and was immediately confronted with a gun and ordered to
stand. Mr. Oakden informed the robbers that Mrs. Oakden was very ill
and requested them not to make a noise. He said he would give them all
he had in the house if they would go quietly and not alarm his sick
wife. He gave them three £1 notes and some silver. The robbers insisted
on going in and searching the drawers for jewellery, but took nothing.
They then asked Mr. Oakden for his gold watch. He gave it to them and
they left, taking Mr. Oakden with them. They stopped at the Rev. Dr.
Browne's house and made Mr. Oakden enquire whether his friend was at
home. On Dr. Browne coming to the door he was bailed up, and Ford
asked him "How much money have you got?" "None," replied Dr. Browne.
"Take care I don't find you out in a lie," cried Ford; "where's your
money?" They went in and began searching the drawers and cupboards, and
while they were thus employed Chief District Constable Midgeley, who
had heard that the bushrangers were in the town, came in with another
constable, and taking the bushrangers unawares captured them, though
not without trouble. When called on to surrender Ford tried to get out
his pistol, but Midgeley said, "If you stir you'll be settled quick."
Ford and Smart were convicted of highway robbery and death was recorded
against them, but the sentences were commuted to imprisonment for life.
A carrier was stopped on the Brighton Road by two armed bushrangers
on Sunday, December 6th, 1846. A carpet bag, containing some dress
clothes belonging to Lieutenant Lloyd, of the 96th Regiment, which were
being sent to Hobart Town for safety, was stolen. The coat and vest
buttons were faced with gold. Several other articles were taken from
the carrier's cart. For this robbery Richard Gordon was apprehended
by District Constable Goldsmith and Constable Daley. On the following
day Henry Jenkins, alias "Billy from the Den," was also captured by
the police. Billy had broken out of Oatland's Gaol about three months
previously, and had been living by highway and other robberies since.
The clothes were offered to Mr. Roberts, a pawnbroker in Hobart Town,
and he, suspecting that they were stolen, communicated with the
police, who also arrested Michael Cogan, a marine store dealer, as an
accomplice.
On December 31st, a party of constables out seeking for bushrangers
found a boat containing provisions, wearing apparel, &c., on the
east bank of the River Tamar, about eight miles from George Town.
Another boat was reported to have been stolen from Mr. Coulson. The
police watched by the boat all day and night. On the next morning,
Sunday, they saw two men pulling another boat towards the spot and hid
themselves in the scrub. When the men landed, the constables appeared
and the men ran away. The constables followed, and ran down one man
named Jones. The other bushranger, George Jamieson, was captured by Mr.
Hinton and his crew at the Marine Station, near the Heads. Jamieson was
seen in the scrub, near the station, and one of the men, in accordance
with Australian custom, invited him into the hut to have some food.
Jamieson accepted the invitation and, while he was eating, Mr. Hinton
came in and recognised him. When Mr. Hinton said that he should arrest
him Jamieson replied, "I'll be---- if you do," and took a tomahawk from
under his jumper. He was immediately seized from behind by one of Mr.
Hinton's men and was handed over to the police.
The bushrangers Wilson and Dido were the most notorious about this
time. They were watching Mr. James Clifford's house, at Piper's
River, on September 16th, 1846, and when Mr. Clifford came out they
rushed upon him, took him inside, tied him, and took wearing apparel,
ammunition, and other articles out of the drawers and boxes. In
January, Mr. Rees and Mr. Stevenson started from Campbelltown in a
gig for St. Patrick's Head. On reaching the fourth gate on the road,
known as Davidson's gate, they saw two men with guns. At first they
took these men for constables. Stevenson got down to open the gate,
and while he was doing so Rees became aware of the character of the
two armed men who were approaching, and called out to Stevenson, "Make
haste! Here's the bushrangers!" Stevenson tried to jump into the gig,
but before he could do so the men were upon him. They presented their
guns and called upon the travellers to surrender. They then ordered
Rees to drive the gig off the road into the timber. Mr. Rees objected,
and the bushrangers told him he need not fear, as they intended to
act honourably. "But what do you want?" asked Rees. "We want to rob
you; we want your money," was the reply. "Then," said Mr. Rees, "why
not take it here and let us go on?" The bushrangers made no reply,
but took the horse by the head and led him away. When the gig was in
among the timber the robbers took £18, a gold watch and chain, and a
gold pencil case, from Mr. Stevenson; and £8 and a silver watch from
Mr. Rees. They also took two dress suits and two top coats from the
gig, and then ordered the gentlemen to take off their boots. "What
for?" asked Mr. Rees. "Because we want them," was the reply. "But,"
cried Mr. Rees, "how are we to get home?" "Oh, you're all right. You
can ride while we have to walk," said the bushranger. "But----" began
Mr. Rees, when he was interrupted with, "Oh, no more nonsense. If you
don't make haste we'll strip you." Stevenson took off his boots, and
Rees thought it prudent to follow his example. They returned to their
homes in Campbelltown two and a-half hours after they had left, and
deferred their visit to the Heads to another day. On the 27th the
police were informed that Dido, the bushranger, had been seen in a hut
in Prosser's Forest. A party of constables started immediately, and
reached the place at one a.m. Everything was quiet, and the constables
walked very cautiously, fearing that if they stepped on a stick and
broke it the noise would waken the bushranger should he be there. The
constables took up positions round the hut to prevent escape, and
then District Constable Davis, who was in command, suddenly burst in
the door. Dido sprang out of the bed and fell on his knees on the
floor begging for mercy. He was secured without resistance. In the
hut were a double-barrelled gun and a pistol, both loaded ready for
use. Mr. Rees's watch and some of Mr. Stevenson's clothes were found
in the hut. When brought up at the police court Dido said he had been
transported in the name of William Driscoll, but his proper name was
Timothy. Mr. Tarleton, the magistrate, made some remarks on the folly
of men taking to the bush. Dido replied that he should have been happy
enough if he had not been betrayed. He might have lived in luxury for
life. The man who betrayed him had been his best friend, but he became
jealous and gave him up. He had been sixteen times in Launceston. He
had been drinking about town all day on Christmas Day. He had been
hocussed and had not been well since. Wilson and he had quarrelled and
they had parted. Wilson was all right. He had a nice little patch of
cultivation, with plenty of flour and some sheep. He was not likely to
be taken. In spite of this assertion, however, Wilson was captured a
few days later while drinking at Pitcher's Inn on the Westbury Road.
He showed a pistol and this excited suspicion, so Mr. Pitcher sent a
servant to inform the police. Constable Leake came and found the man
asleep in a hut at the rear of the public-house. He handcuffed him and
took him to Launceston in a cart. He was identified as Dido's mate and
was committed for trial at the same time.
Robberies of a similar character to these took place from time to time,
but after the discovery of gold in Australia in 1851 the great object
of the disaffected in Van Diemen's Land was to get to the mainland. No
doubt many of these men made their way across the Straits in stolen
boats, but the majority paid their passages out of the proceeds of
their robberies. Probably it was in consequence of this exodus that
no bushrangers became notorious in Van Diemen's Land at this time,
and a few examples of the crimes committed during the later days
of the epoch will suffice. About the beginning of 1853 a desperate
attempt was made by nine bushrangers, who had been convicted and were
being taken from Launceston to Hobart Town, to escape from the two
constables who had them in charge. The prisoners had been very rowdy
since leaving Launceston, and when the party was near Bagdad, Convict
John Jones suddenly snatched the musket from Constable Doran and felled
the constable with a blow. Jones then shouted "Now well fight for
it." Constable Mulrooney rushed at Jones and endeavoured to wrest the
musket from him, but the other prisoners forced him back. The prisoners
were handcuffed together in threes, and this no doubt hampered their
movements, but they contrived to get Mulrooney down and beat him with
their handcuffs. Convict McCarthy presented the musket at Mulrooney and
pulled the trigger, but finding that the gun was not loaded he, in a
rage snapped the stock across his knee. In doing this the bayonet fell
off and both sides struggled to obtain possession of it. At this moment
two men appeared along the road, and hearing the noise they hastened
forward. One of them was an assigned shepherd of Captain Chalmers and
was armed with a double-barrelled gun. Constable Mulrooney was shouting
"murder," and the shepherd came to his assistance. The convicts then
gave up the struggle and fell into rank. They were taken to Bagdad,
and from thence a stronger guard was sent with them until they were
safely confined in the Pentonville gaol.
The bushrangers Dalton and Kelly stuck up and robbed the Halfway House
near Campbelltown in January, 1853. On the following day they went
to Mr. Simeon Lord's house, Bona Vista, near the river, and bailed
up about thirty people, including the District Constable of Avoca,
the watch-house keeper, and another constable. The watch-house keeper
was shot dead. There were several ladies in the house, and these were
ordered to go into one room and stay there. The robbers ransacked the
house in their search for jewellery and other portable property. They
collected between £100 and £200, besides several gold and a number of
silver watches, rings, &c. When they had obtained all that they could
they compelled Mr. Frank Lord to accompany them to the stables, where
they selected two of the finest horses, with saddles, bridles, and
spurs. Mounting these horses, the robbers rode away to Mr. Duxbury's
Inn at Stoney Creek, where they bailed up twelve men, including two
mounted constables. They collected about £50 more and Mr. Duxbury's
gold watch. On leaving the inn they went along the road, and met Mr.
Sykes, recently returned from Melbourne. They robbed him of about £75,
returning the odd six shillings to enable him to continue his journey.
They told Mr. Sykes that they intended to rob Captain Creer's and
other houses along the Esk Valley, and, when they had collected all
they could, to go to the diggings in Victoria. On the following day
they visited Vaucluse, but Mr. and Mrs. Bayles were away from home
and they got no money. They, however, took some jewellery from the
drawers and some provisions from the kitchen. During the following
week they continued their depredations and then went to the coal mines
on the river Mersey, and stole a whale boat. They impressed four men
at work there into their service and put to sea, but the wind was so
tempestuous that they were driven back and landed on the coast near
Port Sorell, where they were captured.
In February, 1853, a man named Robinson, who had recently returned
from the Victorian diggings, shot a shoemaker named William Moonan,
while he was waxing a thread. The murderer dragged the body from the
hut to the Swan River and threw it in, and then returned to steal
what little money there was in the place. The bushrangers Maberley,
Hickson, and Poulston committed a number of daylight burglaries in
the neighbourhood of Sandy Bay, robbing the houses of Messrs. Stacey,
Frodsham, Power, and Dunkley. From Dunkley's they took more than twenty
pounds' worth of goods. They had supper at Mr. Winter's and then went
to camp in the bush not far away.
Moses Birkett and Peter Perry were captured in a cave about this time.
The cave was on the shores of Lake Crescent, and a large quantity of
stolen property was found hidden there. Besides the guns and pistols,
a couple of sheep shear blades, mounted on long wooden handles were
found, and it was supposed that these had been used in the murder of
George Kelsey, at Lemon Springs.
Thanks to the activity of the police and the assistance they received
from the civilians, such malefactors were gradually captured and
dealt with. Some of the Victorian papers charged the Government of
Van Diemen's Land with conniving at the escape of expirees from the
island to Victoria, but there does not appear to be any foundation for
this charge. It is quite possible that neither the authorities nor
the public were sorry to be relieved from their company, but we have
merely to read the accounts published at the time, to realise that all
was done that was possible to suppress bushranging in Van Diemen's
Land at this time, and that the escapes of these criminals across the
Bass's Straits could not very well be prevented. It was in 1853 that
transportation to the island ceased. A few years later, responsible
government was established, and the name of the island was changed
from Van Diemen's Land to Tasmania, with the object of getting rid as
much as possible of old associations. Very shortly afterwards, the
papers once more said that bushranging had been stamped out in the
island, and this time they were justified in the assertion. No doubt
the larger settlements on the mainland offered better chances to the
enterprising Tasmanians, whether they were "old hands" or not. Tasmania
has, perhaps in consequence of this custom of young men going to seek
their fortunes in Melbourne or Sydney, progressed less rapidly than
some of the other colonies, but it has progressed, and this progression
has been as peaceful and as innocent as possible under present social
conditions, and the island which was once infamous has for many years
been remarkably clear from criminal offences.