Captain Moonlite: Broadcast 6.30pm on 14/06/2004 One hour before bushranger Andrew Scott, (Captain Moonlite) was hung on January 20th, 1880, he asked that he be laid to rest beside the grave of gang member and best mate, James Nesbitt. This wish was not to be granted until more than one hundred years later when a couple of local women became interested in Scott’s letters, and the possibility of a gay relationship between the outlaws. GEORGE NEGUS: G'day. Another interesting week ahead, starting with our Monday historical look at things, which tonight takes a quite personal turn with a very leading question - what happens when our individual history, as it were, runs out? And later we'll hear about some pretty elaborate funeral customs. SAM ASIMUS: His last words were, "I ask that my body be given to my friends. PATRICK SULLIVAN, EDITOR 'GUNDAGAI INDEPENDENT': It was a very romantic thing to do. PATRICK SULLIVAN: He was allegedly very articulate, very intelligent, well-educated.
The Australian Bushrangers The Australian Bushrangers Who, What, When, Where Why? The term “Bushranger” has definitely changed over the years. In the very early years, it simply referred to good bush men who possessed the horsemanship, hunting, and survival skills needed for living in the Australian bush, or wild, after they fled Australia’s prison colonies. It’s impossible to say just how many bushrangers walked Australia’s bush, although there had to be hundreds. Australia was originally colonized largely by English criminals. Gold Rush The second major contributing factor to bushranging was the Victorian Gold rush that occurred in the 1850s and 1860s. Dress Bushrangers typically dressed in very cheap, rough clothes. Famous Bushrangers Other resources: Activities: Different Australian history and activities, including bushwalker activities. Related Categories
Captain Moonlite Andrew George Scott (baptised 5 July 1842 – 20 January 1880), also known as Captain Moonlite, was an Australian bushranger. Early peregrinations[edit] Scott was born in Rathfriland, Ireland, son of an Anglican clergyman of Scottish descent.[1] His father's intention was that he join the priesthood, but Scott instead trained to be an engineer, completing his studies in London. The family moved to New Zealand in 1861, with Scott intending to try his luck in the Otago goldfields. After a long convalescence Scott was accused of malingering and courtmartialed. Celebrity criminal[edit] On 8 May 1869, Scott was accused of disguising himself and forcing bank agent Ludwig Julius Wilhelm Bruun, a young man whom he had befriended, to open the safe. Bruun claimed the man sounded like Scott but no gold was found in Scott's possession. Scott resigned his lay-readership, bought two horses, kept a groom and played as a gentleman. However this reputation came back to bite him. Capture of Captain Moonlite
1853 Gold Mining Licence | Australia's migration history timeline | NSW Migration Heritage Centre Era: 1840 - 1900Cultural background: Chinese, EnglishCollection: Powerhouse MuseumTheme:Gold Government Labour Movement Miners Riots Settlement Licence for gold mining, 1853. Courtesy of the Powerhouse Museum Collection Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia. Object Name Gold Mining Licence. Object/Collection Description Licence for gold mining, framed, paper / wood / glass, issued to J McDonnell, printed by John Ferres, Government Printing Office, Victoria, Australia, 1853. In March 1851, Edward Hargraves wrote to the Sydney Morning Herald to announce that he had found payable gold just outside the New South Wales town of Bathurst. Lambing Flat miners’ camp, c.1860s Courtesy State Library of New South Wales With so many people leaving for the gold fields, many businesses found it hard to keep operating. Although there were some remarkable discoveries on the gold fields, few people made their fortune and most drifted back to towns and cities looking for work. Bibliography Websites
Ancient Australian History Captain Moonlight's real name was George Scott. His is one of the strangest stories of any of the bushrangers. In 1869 George Scott was a preacher at the small church in the town of Egerton in Victoria. He admired the Kelly gang, and made a sudden decision to becomes bushranger himself. The bank manager, who knew George Scott well, couldn't believe what was happening. In November l 879, Captain Moonlight and his gang held up a farmhouse at Wantabadgery. Australian gold rush timeline, HSIE, Discovering gold, Gold! Year 6, NSW | Online Education Home Schooling Skwirk Australia The first major mineral discovery - gold - was a watershed (a turning point or landmark) for Australian society. The initial stages of the gold rush were responsible for tremendous changes in the community, bringing Australia's first great waves of immigration from countries other than England and Ireland. Ambitious prospectors from Asia, Europe and America made the trek to the goldfields of Ballarat and Bendigo in Victoria, and Bathurst in New South Wales, in the hope of striking it rich. This influx of people brought many social changes, including an increase in racial tensions with the persecution of some groups, notably the Chinese. Government Surveyor James McBrien discovers traces of gold in the Fish River, east of Bathurst. Explorer and geologist Paul de Strzelecki discovers small amounts of gold in silicate near Hartley in the Blue Mountains. The 1840s Early gold discoveries were greeted with fear. William Campbell finds gold on his sheep run in Strathlodden, Victoria, in 1840.
Early Australian bushrangers McFarlane & Erskine, Gold escort attacked by bushrangers, 187-, print: lithograph. Image courtesy of the : nla.pic-an8420450. Bushranging - living off the land and being supported by or stealing from free settlers - was either chosen as a preferred way of life by escaped or was a result of the lack of supplies in the early settlements. Australia's bushranging period spanned nearly 100 years, from the first convict bushrangers active from 1790 to the 1860s, through the of the 1860s and 1870s who were able to be shot on sight, to the shooting of the in 1880. While many bushrangers had populist reputations for being 'Robin Hood' figures; some bushrangers were brutal and others harassed the and diggers returning from the goldfields. The popularity of bushrangers and their ethos of 'fight before surrender' was commemorated in and . Escaped convicts Bushranging began soon after the . The first bushrangers, 1790s - 1820s Martin Cash - 'The only bushranger to die in his own bed', 1820 - 1840s 1. 2.