Annexures, Resources, References and
- Paintings by Patrick Morony see
www.nla.gov.au/catalogue/pictures
- The Lachlan Living History Group. Barry Ledger
- The Attack on Goimbla Station by Barry Ledger / published in
Eugowra Newsletter, Vol 5, Sep-Oct 2002
- Eugowra its History and Development by Bill Banham
- Edgar Penzig – numerous publications
- "You’ll Never Take Me Alive" Nick Bleszynski
- "Wild Colonial Boys" Frank Clune
- Parish Maps: Waugan, Goimbla, Bandon, Eugowra
- Edna Dowd and Family
- Eugowra Historical Museum and Bushranger Centre
- Elaine Cheney, Curator Eugowra Historical Museum and Bushranger
Centre
In
1935 the late Mr. George Burgess wrote this account of
.
THE HOLDUP AT ESCORT ROCK.
"About the time gold was discovered in big quantities in N.S.W. it was quite a common sight to see hundreds of Chinese passing through the district, from the Ironbarks across to Lambing Flat and walking in single file, with hats as big as small umbrellas and bamboos across their shoulders carrying all their requirements in two baskets.
At that time Harry the
German discovered gold on the
The railway ran only a few
miles from
My father had four horses and a dray, and wished to take advantage of the great prices. In June 1862 he loaded up with one ton of hay, cut in trusses, tied with stringy bark, half ton of potatoes, and 500cwt bacon and he engaged Dick Bloomfield as driver and I was sent as offsider - or as called in those days, his billy-boiler.
The first night we camped at Nyrang Station, near Boree, the next night at Cudal (a few houses and a hotel kept by Mr. T. O’Brien), the third night at Toogong where we got well and truly bogged in the Boree Creek, and had to wait until we were pulled out by a bullock team.
The fourth night was spent at Murga, and on the following day at about 11 o’clock I went into a pine scrub about two miles from Eugowra to cut a whip handle, and when I came out I saw the driver in conversation with a man wearing white moles and Wellington boots, and a red comforter around his head, and his face blackened, who I afterwards heard was the notorious Frank Gardiner.
He was leaning on a double barrelled gun, and he said, ’I want you fellows. Come along’.
We then turned a corner in the road and came in sight of two bullock teams right across the road. Ours was put in the same position and made a barricade. Our hats were pulled over our faces and tied in that position with handkerchiefs. My hat, which was an old cabbage tree one, had a hole in the crown, and I could see what was going on. We were placed behind a small rock, and threatened under pain of death not to look up or remove our hats. There were about seven of us in all, including a swagman.
In about twenty minutes’
time along came the gold escort of four horses, manned by four police. A
strange thing - two mounted troopers were a few miles ahead of the escort, and
never knew that it was stuck-up until they reached
When the escort came up against the barricaded road, about seven bushrangers, who were concealed behind the rocks, rushed out and fired a volley at the coach, saying ’Bail Up !" The shots frightened the horses and they became frantic. John Fagan, the driver, jumped off his seat and tired to steady them, but they did not go 20 yards before the coach was upset, and all was in confusion in a few minutes, all the occupants scampered into the scrub in the direction of Eugowra Station, then owned by a Mr. Clements, who galloped to Forbes to inform the police.
In a very quick time the
coach was rifled, the gold of about 5000 ounces was packed on the coach horses
and when everything was in readiness, one of the bushrangers came over to us,
took off our blindfolds, broke open a case of grog from one of the teams and
gave us a drink and £ 1 each.
With my £ 1 I ate lollies
continuously for about two weeks. As we pushed our way on towards Eugowra we
saw the bushrangers pass over the mountains in the direction of the
In due course we reached Forbes, a huge canvas town of nearly 30,000 people.
In those days there was no decent water supply, no sanitary conveniences - dysentery and typhoid raging, and many a poor fellow went under. All our produce we sold like hot cakes. Every little clump of men was talking of the escort robbery, and speculating whether they would ever be caught. On our return trip our greatest problem was where to hide the proceeds of our sale, which was about £ 100, as we expected at every turn of the road to hear someone say ‘Bail Up!’ So in the centre of the only remaining truss of hay we planted it.
I suppose I am now the only
person living who witnessed the greatest gold escort robbery in
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Croote
Cottage
Gooloogong
NSW
Convicts built Croote Cottage for Captain
Coulston in 1827. Only a few years before, the explorer Evans in 1815, and
Oxley in 1817, had opened up the country west of the
Croote is believed to be an Aboriginal word
meaning "good water"
John Dowd bought the cottage from Capt.
Coulston in 1847. It has remained with the Dowd family ever since.
It was Edna, a nurse who married into the
Dowd family, who recognised Croote Cottage’s heritage value, and restored it
over many years to its original condition, furnishing it to the Colonial period
as it is today.
The Dowd family had emigrated from
John Dowd had purchased "Croote",
the land & cottage, from the NSW Government on March 9 1847. The property
of 160 acres cost him 160 pounds, and the deed stated that he…"pay to
the Crown the quit rent of one peppercorn per year, if demanded"
What a shock it must have been for the
family to travel to such an isolated place, on the other side of the world, to
suffer extremes of temperature, attacks by blacks and bushrangers, and to be
left to defend their home when John went to Sydney Town each year to sell his
wool and other produce, and stock up on supplies for the year ahead.
The cottage was built with a shingle roof
and shutters instead of windows. The external walls were made of rammed earth
(Pise) eight inches thick, providing insulation from the cold winters & hot
summers. Holes of various sizes, called loopholes, were made in the walls
through which Captain Coulston, and later the Dowd family could observe, &
if necessary shoot their black attackers and other unwelcome visitors.
Inside there was an open fireplace with two
urns for hot water and a fuel stove. The kitchen table was made from planks,
and there were two homemade benches for seating. Water was drawn from a well
not far from the kitchen, winched up in a bucket on a windlass. It was cold and
clear, and very precious. A cellar beneath a trap door in the back room was
excavated from the earth, with steps leading down to a small room where the
Dowd family women & children would hide during raids by Aborigines or bushrangers
The notorious bushranger, Ben Hall raided
Croote, and found John Dowd, by then an old man, sick in bed. The story goes
that Ben felt sorry for John and offered him a roll of notes (money) to pay for
a Doctor.
Declining the offer, John advised Ben to
give up his lawless lifestyle, but the bushranger’s reply was "too late
now, old chap!" and with that he galloped off.
Ben Hall, "gentleman bushranger", was actively robbing settlers
and travelers in the 1860s. In 1862 he was a member of Gardiner’s Gang of
bushrangers, which held up the gold escort coach at Eugowra Rocks. Hall later
raided Goimbla Station near Eugowra, with John O’Meally and John Gilbert.
During the raid, O’Meally was shot. His body was buried in the old
When you visit Croote Cottage you will be
charmed by its simplicity and authenticity, and appreciate the resourcefulness
and stamina of our forebears.
Edna Dowd & Eugowra visitor Bob Roach on the verandah of Croote Cottage in September 2002, two months after Edna’s 90th birthday.
Edna today lives in Canowindra, and the
cottage is maintained with help from friends and family.
Croote Cottage is situated about 5 kms from Gooloogong
along the
Gooloogong is half an hour’s drive west of Cowra, and
half an hour south east of Forbes & Eugowra. Canowindra is a short drive to
the north, and Grenfell is half an hour’s drive to the south. Parkes &
Orange are about an hour’s drive from Gooloogong.
Take a stroll over the beautiful old
river bridge. Visit the old
Accommodation is available at the Gooloogong Hotel or at
hotels and B&Bs in nearby Canowindra & Eugowra. Motel accommodation is
available at Canowindra, Forbes, Cowra & Grenfell.
Food and meals can be purchased locally at the take-away
shop and the Gooloogong Hotel.
John Bow – At the age of 14 John Bow started work as a
stockman. He acted as a ‘Bush Telegraph’ for Frank Gardiner and was the
youngest member of that gang. The gang robbed the Eugowra gold escort on Sunday
the 5th June, 1862, and Bow was arrested at Nolan’s Station 21st August 1862.
He was tried and sentenced to be hanged. As he was 20 years old at the time the
public submitted 15,000 signatures and three days before the date due his
sentence was commuted to penal servitude for life. In 1874 Bow was given a
special pardon, after 12 years of goal. After he was released he took up a
selection near
- I knew John personally and classed him to be a gentleman).
Dust of Times available from Lake Cargelligo Historical Society at a cost of
$10.00 (Plus Postage) 02 6898 1384 (Jan Johnson)
Back for more information on the robbery
Back for more information on Eugowra
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