Featuring rare period photos, this highly illustrated history tells
the story of the frontier outlaws who defied the authorities on the wild
Australian frontier in the Victorian era, and the Crown forces who
eventually hunted them down.
The first bushrangers or frontier outlaws were escaped or time-expired
convicts, who took to the wilderness--the bush--in New South Wales and
on the island of Tasmania. Initially, the only Crown forces available
were redcoats from the small, scattered garrisons, but by 1825 the
problem of outlawry led to the formation of the first Mounted Police
from these soldiers.
The gold strikes of the 1860s attracted a new group of men who preferred
to get rich by the gun rather than the shovel. The roads, and later
railways, that linked the mines with the cities offered many tempting
targets and were preyed upon by the bushrangers.
This 1860s generation boasted many famous outlaws who passed into legend
for their boldness. The last outbreak came in Victoria in 1880, when the
notorious Kelly Gang staged several hold-ups and deliberately ambushed
the pursuing police. Their last stand at Glenrowan has become a
legendary episode in Australian history. Fully illustrated with some
rare period photographs, this is the fascinating story of Australia's
most infamous outlaws and the men tasked with tracking them down.
