Black Bunny's Bushrangers (T) - The Clarke Brothers Michelago. Michelago, New South Wales, Australia
By Just a cacher on 05-Oct-17. Waypoint GA10906

Bushranger Series - Clarke Brothers Michelago.

Hibernian Inn, Monaro Highway, Michelago

When travelling south along the Monaro Highway, on the left-hand side of the road, just before the turn-off to Michelago village is "Soglio", a derelict house. Due to its abandoned appearance, over the last couple of decades this Monaro landmark has earned a reputation for being a "haunted house".

During the reign of the Clarke gang, it was the Hibernian Inn and located directly opposite was Levy's store (all that remains now is the chimney) which the Clarke gang raided on June 1, 1866. Their haul, which included a large assortment of clothing, food and tobacco, filled 12 three-bushel bags and demonstrates that many bushranging raids were as much for their need of essential supplies as they were for more glittering bounty.

After the raid, the bushrangers headed across the road to the inn where "the publican and barman claimed the bushrangers forced them to drink," while the gang "relieved all hands of their cash and valuables."

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/canberra-life/clarke-gang-peter-c-smiths-book-breathes-life-into-bushrangers-tale-20150511-ggz5a6.html

Bushrangers.

Over 2,000 bushrangers are estimated to have roamed the Australian countryside, beginning with the convict bolters and drawing to a close after Ned Kelly's last stand at Glenrowan.

Bushrangers were originally escaped convicts who had the survival skills necessary to use the Australian bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. By the 1820s, the term "bushranger" had evolved to refer to those who abandoned social rights and privileges to take up "robbery under arms" as a way of life, using the bush as their base.

Bushranging thrived during the gold rush years of the 1850s and 1860s when the likes of Ben Hall, Frank Gardiner and John Gilbert led notorious gangs in the country districts of New South Wales. These Wild Colonial Boys typically robbed small-town banks and coach services.

In other infamous cases, such as that of Dan Morgan, the Clarke brothers, and Australia's best-known bushranger, Ned Kelly, numerous policemen were murdered.

The number of bushrangers declined due to better policing and improvements in rail transport and communication technology, such as telegraphy. Kelly's capture and execution in 1880 effectively represented the end of the bushranging era.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushranger

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