Bloodthirsty Morgan; Morgan's Opinion of the Police; Murder of
Sergeant McGinnerty; Murder at the Round Hill Station; A Pseudo
Morgan; Morgan Threatens to Brand all Hands; He Shoots Sergeant
Smyth; Challenged to Visit Victoria; He Accepts the Challenge; His
Death at Peechelba.
Daniel Morgan began his career as a bushranger shortly after the
Great Escort Robbery, by sticking up travellers on the roads about
Wagga Wagga. His head-quarters generally were said to be in the huge
patch of scrub, which stretched away southward, from the Murrumbidgee
River across the low ranges between Wagga Wagga and Narrandera. He
was credited with being the most bloodthirsty of the New South Wales
bushrangers after Willmore. We have seen that some of the members
of the chief gang of this era held human life very cheaply, but it
was the general opinion that, except in the case of a few Chinamen,
these bushrangers murdered only when on the warpath. In many cases
they met the police boldly, and fought with some degree of fairness;
while Morgan, on more than one occasion, fired on unarmed, and in some
cases sleeping men. For some months he pursued his career without
much interference from the police, and it was said that some of the
members of the Hall and Gilbert gang had made a raid to the Southern
district. When it became apparent that he had no connection with
that gang and continued his depredations alone, a party of police
was detailed to hunt him down about the middle of 1863. In August of
that year, this party of police tracked him for several days, and
came on his camp on the 22nd. A desperate fight took place, in which
Morgan's mate was severely wounded and crawled into the bush to die.
This man was known as "German Bill." On the other side, Mr. Bayliss,
J.P., a volunteer who accompanied the police, was severely wounded.
He recovered, however, and was awarded a gold medal by the New South
Wales Government for bravery in opposing bushrangers. Morgan made his
escape in the scrub. Later on the same day a shepherd was shot dead on
Brookong station, and it was supposed that the murderer was in league
with Morgan. About Christmas Morgan with three companions watched
the road, near Narrandera, with the intention of sticking-up several
wealthy squatters who were in the habit of travelling to Melbourne at
about that time of the year. Fortunately for themselves, they that year
took a cross track, and thus escaped the meeting. While waiting Morgan
took about 2lb. of cheese from a bullock driver named John Cole. There
were several cheeses in the dray, and when Morgan said he should "like
a bit" Cole offered him one, and told him to "take the lot." Morgan
replied that "the---- traps would risk their necks climbing over the
area railings for a leg of mutton. I don't know what they'd do for a
whole cheese, but this lump's enough for me." He afterwards remarked
that the police generally were "a sour milk lot."
During the next few months robberies occurred in various parts of the
extensive tract of country between Wagga Wagga and Deniliquin, and
were, of course, all attributed to the Morgan gang. On April 16th,
1864, Mr. George Elliott, of Burrangong, with a stockman named Donnelly
reached Deniliquin, with a mob of horses for sale. In consequence of
some rumours which spread through the town, Mr. Elliott was closely
questioned by the sergeant of police, and after some hesitation
admitted that he had been stuck up by Morgan and robbed of £127 17s.
and a bay horse with saddle and bridle, on the road between Narrandera
and Jerilderie. He said that when he got rid of his horses he would
have to return home by the same route, and thought it prudent to hold
his tongue, "the least said the soonest mended," as there was no saying
whom he might meet on the road.
In June, Sergeant McGinnerty and Constable Churchley were riding
along the road to Tumberumba, when they overtook a horseman near
Copabella. McGinnerty civilly said "Good-day" as they passed, in the
usual Australian fashion. The man looked at him and replied, "Oh,
you're one of the---- wretches looking for bushrangers, are you?" and
hastily drew a revolver and shot McGinnerty through the breast. The
sergeant's horse bolted, and the bushranger galloped after him into
the bush. Constable Churchley rode back to Copabella for assistance,
and on his return with a party and fresh horses found McGinnerty's hat
lying in the road, and opposite to it, at some distance away, the body.
It was supposed that the bushranger had placed the hat on the road
to indicate where the body was, and to facilitate its discovery. The
robber must have ridden straight from the scene of this cold-blooded
murder to the Round Hill station, where he mustered all the men and
drove them into the carpenter's shop. He then went to the house,
called out the proprietor, Mr. Watson, and led him to the door of the
carpenter's shop. He enquired whether the men had sufficient rations.
"If they haven't," said Mr. Watson, "they've only got to say so and
they'll get more." "Well, I'm Dan Morgan, I just wanted to know, and
you'd better give them a nobbler," replied the bushranger. Mr. Watson
said he'd no objection to the men having a nobbler, and sent to the
house. The messenger returned with four bottles of spirits, and each
man was given a nobbler in a pannikin. The men laughed and took it as a
good joke. One of them asked the bushranger whether he had "stolen his
stirrup irons from Mr. Johnstone?" Morgan with a curse immediately drew
his pistol, and fired into the room. The men ran out. Morgan followed
them, shouting, "You---- wretches, do you want to give me away?" He
fired several times, until John McLean fell wounded. By this time the
men had sheltered themselves behind trees. Seeing no one to shoot at
Morgan dismounted, lifted McLean carefully on to his horse, and led the
animal to the house. Mr. Watson and some of the women took McLean in,
and Morgan mounted and rode away. Then it was discovered that another
man, John Heriot, was lying wounded in the carpenter's shop. Heriot's
injury consisted of a broken leg, and he was placed in a buggy and
conveyed with as little delay as possible to the hospital at Albury.
But McLean's wound was too serious to admit of his removal, and he died
after lingering in pain for two or three days. At the inquest held on
the body, Edward Smith, stockman at the Round Hill station, deposed
that Morgan had called at the station two days after the attack to
enquire how McLean was, and had sat at the bedside for several hours.
At that time there were numerous parties of police and civilians
searching the country round in all directions in hopes of finding him.
A verdict of wilful murder was returned against Daniel Morgan on June
23rd, and a few days later a proclamation was issued by which the
reward offered for his capture dead or alive was increased from £500 to
£1000.
A man walked into the bar of the Five Mile Creek Inn, near Bogolong,
and called for a nobbler of brandy, which was supplied him. He then
demanded another, which the barman refused to give him until he had
paid for the one he had drank. "Be careful what you do," exclaimed
the customer, "I'm Dan Morgan." He drew out a pistol, and the barman
rushed from behind the counter, jumped through a window, and ran. The
customer followed him to the window, but the barman could not say how
much further. The barman, however, ran right round the house. When he
returned to the window through which he had made his escape, he saw
the bushranger's pistol lying on the sill. He grasped it, and having
recovered from his momentary panic, walked into the bar in time to see
the pseudo Morgan helping himself out of a bottle. The barman at once
grappled with him, and the cook, the only other man in the house at
the time, hearing the scuffling, came in. The man was soon secured,
and in due time was handed over to the custody of the police. He was
identified as a fiddler, who travelled about the country playing for a
living. He was sent to gaol for a few months as a caution not to obtain
grog again under false pretences by personating a bushranger.
Morgan, with three mates, visited Yarribee station, stuck up Mr. Mate,
the overseer, with two bushmen and the bullock-driver, and tied their
hands behind them. He demanded the key of the store, which was given
to him. He opened the door and selected a quantity of articles which
he packed on a horse. He served out tobacco, gin, and porter to the
men whom he had made prisoners, having added several, who had arrived
at the station after he began operations, to their number. The liquor
had its effect, and some of the men became uproarious. Morgan swore at
them and ordered them to be quiet, and as they did not obey he brought
out the station brand--P.T.--put it in the fire, and swore he would
brand every one of them on the cheek. Whether the threat frightened
the men into quietness, or whether the bushranger thought better of
his purpose, is not known. Morgan, however, rode away with his plunder
without using the branding-iron.
Under the heading--"Comforting Bushrangers," the _Deniliquin Chronicle_
of the 18th December said:--"Mr. ---- we hear has given orders that
whenever Morgan calls at his station he is to be given everything he
wants, and when he does not call food is to be taken into the bush
and left for him." The paper goes on to accuse the unnamed squatter
with "holding a candle to the devil." But it is difficult to see where
the blame comes in. The stations were from twenty-five to fifty miles
apart, and except at lambing and shearing times had few men employed
on them. The police in the district were not very numerous, and even
if they had been very much stronger than they were they could not have
prevented a daring, reckless man like Morgan from setting fire to the
grass. It was so easy at that time for even an offended bushman to
have revenge, for any real or supposed slight or injury, by starting
a blaze which would destroy the grass over hundreds of square miles
before it could be stopped, and this might go very far towards ruining
a squatter. In face of this danger a few clothes or a quantity of
food was a trifling loss. Certainly Morgan never did fire the grass,
because, perhaps, there was no profit in it for himself, but there can
be no doubt that he would have done it had he desired to have revenge
on any particular run holder.
One of the many stories told about the brutality of Morgan was that
he went to a cattle station near Jerilderie, and asked to see the
overseer. The overseer's wife informed him that her husband was away at
a back station mustering and branding, and that she and the children
were the only persons at home at the head station. Morgan replied
that he was sorry for it. He'd travelled to the station specially for
the purpose of shooting the overseer, who was too friendly with the
police. He then demanded a sum of money which he said he knew the
overseer had recently received. The woman declared that her husband
had no money at the station, or if he had that she was not aware where
he kept it. Morgan refused to believe her. He made her boil him a
number of eggs, declaring that he would eat nothing else, as there was
too much strychnine and arsenic about these stations. When these were
ready he examined them carefully, rejecting all which had cracks in the
shells and eating the sound ones only. He then made up the fire until
there was a big blaze, when he once more asked her for the money, and
as she persisted in declaring that she had none he seized her by the
shoulders, forced her back until she was seated on the blazing logs,
and held her there until her clothes were on fire. Then he allowed her
to get up, and seizing a bucket of water standing near he dashed it
over her to put the fire out. Notwithstanding this she was severely
burned. When he mounted and rode away he said he would soon be round
again and hoped then to find the overseer at home.
Sergeant Smyth and Constables Cannon, Baxter, and Reed, who were out
seeking for the bushranger Morgan, camped one night in September
near Kyamba. They had put up a tent and were seated inside. They had
a candle and this threw their shadows on the canvas and afforded a
magnificent mark, which the bushranger could not resist firing at. The
shot wounded Sergeant Smyth, but he and the constables rushed out of
the tent and blazed away, but without seeing their assailant. It was
supposed that this attack was made by Morgan, but nothing was seen of
the bushranger. Sergeant Smyth fired twice after being wounded and then
he fainted. He was taken without delay to Doodal Cooma station and a
doctor was found, but he never rallied and died a fortnight later.
It was said that Morgan was on the Wagga Wagga race course at the
Christmas races, and that he had lunch at the booth where the
magistrates, the police inspectors, and the leading merchants and
shopkeepers of the town went, and that afterwards he rode into the town
itself without being recognised by the police.
On March 18th, 1865, he stuck up Mr. Rand's station at Mohanga,
collected all the men in one room, and ordered Mr. Rand to fetch some
grog from the store. This having been done, Morgan asked one of the
men whether he could play the concertina, and being answered in the
affirmative, told him to get his instrument and "amuse the company."
When all was ready the bushranger said to Mr. Rand: "I understand you
are a good dancer. Will you favour the company with a reel?" Mr. Rand
said he should be only too pleased, and began at once. Morgan watched
him critically and applauded every now and then, but when Mr. Rand
stopped, he raised his pistol and said: "Once more, please, you dance
very nicely," and thus he kept the squatter jigging till midnight, when
he was allowed to retire. In the morning Morgan took from the store a
quantity of clothing and some other articles, including a gun. He then
asked for a horse, saddle, and bridle, to pack his plunder on, and got
them.
At Jerilderie, when engaged in one of his usual robberies, he spoke in
the most contemptuous terms of the police. He said that the Victorian
police had been blowing that they would soon catch him if he crossed
the border, and declared that he would soon show them that they were
no smarter than the New South Wales police, who were "frightened to go
near any place where they thought they might find him." A Beechworth
paper, commenting on this report, challenged Morgan to cross the
Murray, and prophesied that if he dared to do so he would be either
dead or in gaol within forty-eight hours. This challenge, it was said,
gave great umbrage to the bushranger, who had apparently, owing,
perhaps, to his long immunity from arrest, developed the belief that he
was invincible. He was reported to have referred to it frequently, and
to have asserted his intention to cross the Murray River and "take the
flashness out of the Victorian people and police." Accordingly, early
in April, he made a raid south of the Murray. Mounted on Mr. Bowler's
racing mare, Victoria, Morgan stuck up Mr. McKinnon's station on the
Little River. He crossed the King River, and set fire to Mr. Evans's
barns and granary for "having shot my fingers off," an event which had
taken place some time previously, in one of his many encounters on the
"other side." Morgan then stuck up and robbed a number of carriers
on the road between Wangaratta and Benalla. He also stuck up Mr.
Warby's station, and on the evening of April 8th arrived at Peechelba
station, owned by Messrs. Macpherson and Rutherford. Morgan rode up
and knocked at the door of Mr. Macpherson's house. It was opened by
Mr. Macpherson's son. Morgan, pistol in hand, ordered him to bail up.
Then everybody in the house were called in and compelled to range
themselves in line along the wall of the dining-room. A housemaid named
Alice Macdonald, thinking he was joking, refused to stand up against
the wall "like a child." Morgan took her by the arm to force her into
line, when she smacked his face. Raising his pistol he said, "My young
lady, I must take the flashness out of you. Do you know who I am?"
"No," replied the girl. "Well, I'm Morgan. Will you take your place?"
The girl pouted but did as she was told. Morgan placed two revolvers
on the table and sat down. He said he had had no sleep for three
nights, but he hoped to return to New South Wales next day and have a
good sleep. He asked a servant to make him some tea and allowed her to
leave the room. Then he said that he had heard music as he approached
the house, and he asked which of the ladies played? On being told
"Miss Macpherson," he asked her to favour him with a tune. She replied
"Certainly, Mr. Morgan." "Call me Morgan," he said, "I hate to be
Mistered." Mr. Macpherson asked him what had induced him to lead such a
life? "I was forced to it," he replied. "I was tried at Castlemaine for
a crime of which I was innocent and received a heavy sentence. Well, I
escaped from the stockade and there you are. What else could I do?"
The party sat all night, and Morgan chatted freely, but his vigilance
relaxed so that Alice Macdonald contrived to slip out without being
seen and went to Mr. Rutherford's house, about a quarter of a mile
away, and informed Mr. Rutherford of what had taken place. She went
back again immediately in case the bushranger should miss her. Morgan
informed the company that he was born at Appin, in New South Wales,
and that his parents were still living. In the meantime Mr. Rutherford
mustered all the men on the station and despatched a messenger to the
police at Wangaratta. He posted sentinels all round Mr. Macpherson's
house, hiding them behind bushes or any other cover. In the morning
Morgan ate a hearty breakfast and then walked out on the verandah.
Mr. Macpherson invited him to take a glass of whisky and poured out
some for himself. Morgan replied that he rarely drank. He was almost
a teetotaller. However, not wishing to appear churlish, he accepted
half a glass. He went into a bedroom to wash his hands and face and
comb his hair, and Alice Keenan, one of the servants, took advantage of
the opportunity to carry a can of coffee to the watchers outside. When
Morgan had washed he stepped out on the verandah again and reminded
Mr. Macpherson that he had promised to let him have a fresh horse. Mr.
Macpherson replied that he had not forgotten it. He called to his son
and they walked together towards the paddock to catch the horse, while
Morgan waited on the verandah. They had not gone far, however, when
Morgan started to follow them, and John Quinlan shot him from behind
a bush. The bushranger fell, crying "Why didn't you challenge me?" He
was carried indoors, and every attention possible was paid to him, but
he died at about half-past one, or, as nearly as could be ascertained,
forty-eight hours after he crossed the Victorian border.
The £1000 reward was divided as follows:--John Quinlan £300;
Alice Macdonald £250; James Frazer, who rode into Wangaratta and
back--forty-two miles--in three hours and a-half, £200; Donald Clarke,
who fetched guns from the school house, cleaned and loaded them, £100;
Alice Keenan, who communicated between the parties inside and outside
the house, £50. The remaining £100 were given to Mr. Rutherford and
Inspector Singleton (£50 each) to be divided among the civilians and
the police who took part in the capture, according to the merits of
their performances.
The news of the death of Morgan was received generally throughout
Australia with satisfaction. There were a few people whose love of
fair play impelled them to express the opinion that he should have
been challenged, but the majority held that he was little better
than a wild beast, and should be treated accordingly. He had given
no notice to Sergeants McGinnerty and Smyth, nor to the unarmed men
among whom he had fired at the Round Hill Station, and it is doubtful
whether those who declared that he should have been accorded "fair
play" would, knowing the character of the man, have risked their lives
by challenging him in circumstances similar to those in which he
was captured. There was a tendency among a portion of the people of
Victoria to glorify that colony at the expense of the mother colony
over the capture of Morgan. It was said that bushrangers would never
receive the public sympathy and support in Victoria which they did in
New South Wales, and attributed this to the fact that Victoria had
never had a penal settlement within its borders. There has always
been an absurd jealousy between the people of Melbourne and those
of Sydney, and there can be no doubt that it has been somewhat of a
disadvantage to the colonies generally. In this case there is no ground
for believing that the character of the people of New South Wales,
which was a penal colony, differs in any essential degree from that of
the people of any other portion of Australia. As a matter of fact, the
Australias are so intimately connected together,--it is so easy for
the residents of one colony to make their way into any other colony,
and the people as a body are more prone to moving about than those of
any other civilised country,--that any claim of superiority either in
extraction, morals, or in any other particular, by the residents of any
one colony over those of any other colony is absurd. It is true that
there was no English penal settlement within the present bounds of the
colony of Victoria, but in former times that colony was a portion of
the penal colony of New South Wales, while the founders of Melbourne
came from another penal colony, namely, Van Diemen's Land. Many of the
early settlers were emancipated convicts from either one or the other
of these penal settlements. But even if this had not been the case,
the whole population of Australia was so thoroughly intermixed during
the great rushes to the Victorian diggings that there is absolutely
no excuse for any pretence of superiority on this account in this the
smallest of the colonies on the main land. I do not say this out of
any ill-feeling towards Victoria, or with the desire to glorify any
other colony, at her expense, but simply to point out the folly of such
petty and absurd jealousies as have tended to keep the colonies apart
hitherto. As a plain matter of fact South Australia is the only one of
the seven colonies which can claim not to have had a convict origin.
That colony was founded directly from England by a syndicate. All the
other colonies were either portions of or were founded from New South
Wales, about the convict origin of which colony there can be no doubt.
But even South Australia, wedged in as it is between what have been two
convict colonies, could not escape the contagion. But, judging from
the statistics, Australia as a whole does not appear to have suffered
much, now that the bushrangers have been disposed of. The percentage
of crime in each of the colonies is lower than in most other civilised
communities, and the "convict colonies," as they were called, do not
show a higher percentage of crime than the "free colonies." I have
already pointed out that the condition of Victoria, during the years
1853-55, was worse than that of any of the so-called convict colonies
at any time, so far as the number and ferocity of the bushrangers were
concerned, and we shall soon see that Victoria can produce native-born
bushrangers as well as New South Wales. Only a few months after the
poeans of self-glorification had been sung by the Victorian press over
the death of Morgan in that colony, the same papers lamented the fact
that while bushranging appeared to have been stamped out in the mother
colony, it still flourished in Victoria.