Life on the goldfields: bushrangers - the lure of gold

When gold was discovered in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales in 1851, and then throughout the colony, it attracted prospectors from all over the world. But there was one type of gold seeker who was not welcome, and that was the bushranger.

Bushrangers varied in character from the petty thief to the cold-blooded murderer. There were so many of them making such pests of themselves that people referred to them as ‘infesting’ the bushland. They ranged from the failed digger who found it easier to rob his more successful neighbour, to those who made a ‘profession’ of robbing the gold buyers at inns and banks, and ‘bailing up’ the ‘gold escort’ mail coaches. The years between 1851 and 1880 were bushranging's golden days.

Topics covered in this Primefact include:

• wild colonial boys;
• where the gold began;
• the Forbes to Orange escort robbery at Eugowra;
• Frank Gardiner – the father of bushranging.