Australian bushrangers: Six of the best places to explore their history

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Australian bushrangers: Six of the best places to explore their history

By Brian Johnston
McCrossin's Mill Museum is a goldmine of bushranger artefacts.

McCrossin's Mill Museum is a goldmine of bushranger artefacts.Credit: Destination NSW

THUNDERBOLTS WAY, NSW

Named for bushranger Frederick Ward, alias Captain Thunderbolt, this lush 290-kilometre route links pretty Gloucester, inland from Newcastle, to Inverell, taking in a scenic chunk of the Northern Tablelands. The first section is particularly glorious, corkscrewing its way to Carsons Pioneer Lookout. Wool towns Walcha and Uralla have sites associated with the bushranger and his Aboriginal accomplice Mary Ann Bugg (aka Mrs Thunderbolt). Uralla is graced with a dashing equestrian statue celebrating Captain Thunderbolt, who famously escaped from incarceration on Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour. Shot in Uralla in 1870, the bushranger is buried in the Pioneer Cemetery. McCrossin's Mill Museum has related artefacts. See uralla.com

NED KELLY TOURING ROUTE, VIC

Glenrowan boasts several sites dedicated to our most famous bushranger.

Glenrowan boasts several sites dedicated to our most famous bushranger.Credit: David Hannah/Visit Vistoria

Track our most famous bushranger along a 650-kilometre tourist trail round trip from Melbourne through north-east Victoria. At Benalla, you can see the courthouse cell where Kelly was incarcerated for riding a horse on the footpath. The Kelly Museum has interesting artefacts, and the Regional Art Gallery a Sidney Nolan tapestry showing the Kelly Gang's capture. Glenrowan and Beechworth have several more related sites and tours devoted to the bushranger. At Stringybark Creek, the Kelly Tree marks where he shot three policemen: perhaps the place to reflect on the true nature of our bushrangers. See nedkellytouringroute.com.au

TABLELANDS WAY, NSW

Gulgong retains some 150 heritage listed buildings.

Gulgong retains some 150 heritage listed buildings.Credit: Destination NSW

The 600-kilometre Tablelands Way, skirting the Blue Mountains' western edge, links Canberra with Muswellbrook in the Upper Hunter Valley. Gold-rush towns, coaching routes and rugged landscapes easy to disappear into made this prime bushranger territory. Bold Jack Donahue (1820s) and Ben Hall and Patrick Daley (1860s) are the most notorious but Jessie Hickman (1910) was infamous in her day as The Lady Bushranger. Donahue's gang was known as The Strippers for relieving people of their clothes as well as money. Of several delightful historical villages, Gulgong retains some 150 listed buildings. Its Pioneer Museum has a colonial-era pub and marvellous Cobb & Co. coach of the type bushrangers held up. See tablelandsway.com.au

AUGATHELLA, QLD

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Augathella was home to Australia's last bushrangers.

Augathella was home to Australia's last bushrangers.Credit: Sam Thies/Tourism ~amp~ Events Queensland

Augathella north of Charleville in central Queensland is a stop on the Matilda Highway and one of few places beyond Victoria and NSW with strong bushranger connections. The Kenniff Brothers, billed as Australia's last bushrangers, were jailed here in the very early 20th century for cattle and horse rustling and holding up the general store. The police station and watch house still stand. The story is related on the town's murals, and a self-guided history walk takes you to bushranger and settler sites, including a coolabah tree where the Kenniffs habitually tethered their horses when they rode into town. See experiencecharleville.com.au

FORBES, NSW

Gold-rush town Forbes still retains some impressive colonial-era buildings.

Gold-rush town Forbes still retains some impressive colonial-era buildings.Credit: Destination NSW/Don Fuchs

Forbes, today a charming NSW Central West agricultural town, was founded after gold was discovered in 1861 and retains some impressive bank buildings with lovely colonial-era facades. With gold came bushrangers, most prominently Frank Gardiner and Ben Hall. An exhibition in the District Historical Museum outlines Hall's career and displays his police records, death certificate and bullet-damaged coin. Hall was shot dead in 1865 and now lies in an appealing cemetery plot surrounded by a white picket fence. Other bushrangers and Ned Kelly's sister Catherine lie nearby (the Kelly sisters did much to abet their brother). Nearby Eugowra has murals depicting bushranger scenes, and a bushranger museum complete with pistols and startling paintings. See amazingforbesnsw.com

HERITAGE HIGHWAY, TAS

Look out for roadside sculptures depicting stage coaches being held up by bushrangers.

Look out for roadside sculptures depicting stage coaches being held up by bushrangers.Credit: Alastair Bett

Although more associated with convicts, few places evoke the bushranger era more than the 200 kilometres between Hobart and Launceston thanks to historic villages such as Kempton, Oakland and Ross and their still-standing courthouses and police stations. The best-known bushranger was Irishman Martin Cash, who escaped twice from Port Arthur but eventually earned his ticket of leave to become one of few bushrangers to expire of old age. Aboriginal woman Mary Cockerill was a member of the notorious infamous Whitehead Gang. Keep an eye out for roadside metal sculptures depicting several stage coaches and a bushranger holding up a horseman in a Georgian top hat. See discovertasmania.com.au

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