One of the men supplying the gang with food during the month of November was ‘strong sympathiser’ Ben Gould, a hawker Ned had befriended during his younger years. It was noted by the police that Gould was ‘buying up large quantities of sausage and supplying it to the outlaws.’
Constable Johnston believed that Gould was delivering the provisions up into the Strathbogie Ranges, where the Joe and the gang were reputed to have a hideout.
On the 21st of December, The Weekly Times addressed Gould’s actions:
‘It is said that lately he has been in the habit of obtaining supplies of quantities of German sausage from Melbourne, which disappeared as soon as he received them; and when any one asked him what on earth he wanted with so much of “that stuff?” He would gruffly tell them to go and mind their blank business.’
An Outlaw’s Journal 