According to a report from December 1878, Joe was seen playing billiards in Wangaratta by a man who knew him. ‘I saw a resident of Wangaratta today who is quite positive, from what he heard at the time, that Joseph Byrne, one of the gang, was in a public billiard-room in that township one evening during the present week. He says that Byrne was recognised by a young man who knows him well, and that when he saw he was noticed he left the room, and, having given a whistle, was joined by another man, and they then rapidly made off before any information could be given to the police authorities.’
The Argus, December 21 1878.
An Outlaw’s Journal 