Bushrangers originally referred to runaway convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who had the survival skills necessary to use the Australian bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. The term bushranger then evolved to refer to those who abandoned social rights and privileges to take up robbery under arms as a way of life, using the bush as their base. These bushrangers were roughly analogous to British highwaymen and outlaws of the American Old West, and their crimes often included robbing small-town banks or coach services. Undoubted Australias most famous Bushranger was Ned Kelly, who is looked in by some as a Robin Hood type character who stood up to the corrupt officials of the time. Bold Jack Donohoe had several ballads penned to commemorate his exploits in NSW, and even several versions of the most famous bushranging ballad of them all - The Wild Colonial Boy. This song became Australias first unofficial anthem and the anthem of the 19th century. Australias bushranging period spanned nearly 100 years, from the first convict bushrangers active from 1790 to the 1860s, through the outlawed bushrangers of the 1860s and 1870s who were able to be shot on sight, to the shooting of the Kelly Gang in 1880.
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 10:20:05 +0000
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