According to Superintendent Nicolson, during “the months of April and May, the outlaws were in the vicinity of the Greta ranges, and were reduced to great straits. Their horses were worn out, and most of them were abandoned. They were on foot, and used to conceal themselves during the day on the ranges in various … Continue reading Great Straits
One night, Paddy Byrne told Jack Sherritt, “Joe has been home and got some clothes, and cleared out; is not he a bloody smart fellow?” The next morning, according to Jack, “I met two of the cave party—Alexander and Armstrong—and I told them about Byrne being home last night, and they seemed like as if … Continue reading The Cunning of Aaron Sherritt
After the Jerilderie raid, Joe and Dan called at ‘Lord Byron’s’, a shanty in Chiltern owned by Martin Byron and his wife Ellen Byron née Salisbury, an old sweetheart of Joe’s. The “miserable and ragged” outlaws were greatly “in want of food” and Ellen ushered the pair inside, allowing them to warm themselves by the … Continue reading Miserable and Ragged
Shortly after the tragedy at Stringybark Creek, James Wallace was traveling along the Oxley road with a few friends, when Joe passed them riding Music, headed in the direction of Sebastopol.During the Royal Commission, Wallace recounted the following:'I met Byrne one moonlight night on the Oxley road, going in the direction of Sebastopol from Greta. … Continue reading An Encounter on Oxley Road
Out in the ranges of Strathbogie,We do fiercely roam,The caves we seek, our hiding place,Are a wild and barren home.Two thousand pounds are on my head,The bloodhounds on my track.I’ll make them pay and rue the dayTheir mothers gave them birth.I’ll shoot them down like prowling dingo, hawk or carrion crow,Or any other miscreant that … Continue reading The Ranges of Strathbogie
The snippet above is what was read by Joe at Faithfull’s Creek, as recounted by Mrs Fitzgerald: “A copy of The Australasian was lying on the table, and the news it contained concerning the gang was read by him with avidity. He denied the report that certain burned saddles which had been found in the … Continue reading Certain Burned Saddles
On an unknown day in September 1875, Joe rose from his slumber in Aaron’s hut at Sheepstation Creek and saddled his mare for another day of ‘roaming about the Woolshed.’ With his pipe clenched between his teeth and the reins threaded loosely through his fingers, Joe rode on, following the banks of Stoney Creek until … Continue reading Joe Byrne and the Discarded Saddle
On the morning of the 13th of September 1873, the temptation to take Anton Wick’s horse, which hasn’t been ridden for two months, is too great for Joe and he catches the black gelding and takes him up to Kennedy’s yard. Saddling and bridling the horse with either his, or Kennedy’s tack, Joe mounts and … Continue reading The Black Gelding
After the Euroa and Jerilderie bank robberies, the Byrne family had something they had not had before, money. This money was spent paying off long standing debts, new clothing, and purchasing general household items. On one occasion, when Enoch Downes the school inspector, made a visit to the Byrne selection, he paid particular notice to … Continue reading Money for Drapery
In March 1873, a visitor to Beechworth wrote to the editor of the Ovens and Murray Advertiser to express his annoyance at the lack of appropriate signage in the Woolshed. According to the disgruntled gentleman, the Woolshed was full of signage advertising shops in Beechworth, but no actual sign indicating which road one should take … Continue reading A Disgruntled Traveler
An Outlaw’s Journal 