Bushrangers
By Karstena Matee
In what era were bushrangers active?
Bushrangers were active in the 1800's till the 1900's.
What weapons did bushrangers use?
The term bushranger is uniquely Australian and refers to someone who lived in the bush and who used firearms (guns) to steal from travellers and farmers.
Why did people want to become Bushrangers?
There are many reasons why men (and sometimes women) became bushrangers. By the 1840s bushranging had almost ceased to exist. The discovery of gold in the 1850s changed that. Many people left their farms to try their luck at the diggings, leaving people to steal cattle and horses from farms. Gold was also stolen from successful miners or from the coaches transporting the gold to the city.
Who was the first bushranger?
The first bushranger was John Caesar11 (alias Black Caesar), a former West Indian Negro slave and petty thief. Black Caesar escaped into the bush in 1790 with a musket where he later joined five or six other escaped convicts. This was the first of many attempts by Black Caesar, who survived by hunting and fishing in the bush as well as receiving food and musket shot provided by sympathetic settlers. Black Caesar's repeated escapes caused Governor John Hunter12 to offer a reward of five gallons of rum, which eventually resulted in him being captured and shot.