He arrived in Sydney from Dublin as an 18-year-old in January 1825 to serve a life sentence on a settler’s farm in Parramatta.ĭonohoe escaped with two other convicts and together they formed a gang known as ‘The Strippers’ – named after their technique for taking everything from wealthy settlers.
‘Bold Jack’ John DonohoeĪnother Irish convict-turned-bushranger was ‘Bold Jack’ John Donohoe. Together, they stole from wealthy settlers and inns without violence, earning them the title of ‘Gentlemen Bushrangers’. After negotiating the release of hostages, police set fire to the building at around 3pm in an attempt to drive the bushrangers from its shelter.ĭuring one escape attempt, Cash joined forces with experienced bushrangers George Jones and Lawrence Kavanagh to form a gang called ‘Cash & Co.’. On 28 June 1880, the Gang made their final stand against police at the Glenrowan Inn, Victoria. “When they raided the bank at Jerilderie, they burnt the mortgage papers of small scale farmers who were indebted to the bank,” says Associate Professor Hamish Maxwell-Stewart from the University of Tasmania.”There’s a definitely political agenda to some of that activity.” Between 18, they robbed the National Banks in Euora and Jerilderie. In their brief years as outlaws, the Kelly Gang murdered three police officers (Sergeant Michael Kennedy and Constables Thomas Lonigan and Michael Scanlan) and former-friend-turned-police-informant Aaron Sherritt. Seared into the collective psyche of the Australian public is a curious sense of national pride towards the infamous Ned Kelly and his gang of bushranging outlaws, younger brother Dan Kelly and friends Steve Hart and Joe Byrne. Screen grab from the 1906 film, The Story of the Kelly Gang – thought to be the world’s first feature length film, based on the notorious gang of bushrangers.