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Exposing an Exposé - the Thunderbolt conspiracy claims

9/2/2012

The following is the synopsis from Exposing an exposé: fact versus fiction in the resurrection of Captain Thunderbolt by David Andrew Roberts and Carol Baxter (Journal of Australian Studies, Vol. 36 No. 1, March 2012, 1-15):

In March 2010, the NSW Legislative Council passed a remarkable motion demanding the release of archival records relating to the death of the bushranger, ‘‘Captain Thunderbolt’’, who was shot by police in the New England (NSW) in May 1870. The interest in this 140-year-old episode from the colonial past reflects a suspicion that the police shot the wrong man in 1870 and that the colonial authorities engaged in a high-level conspiracy to conceal this from the public. More seriously, it has been alleged that the NSW government actively maintained a strict censorship over secret documents that reveal the true circumstances of the bushranger’s death. Even more remarkable is the fact that the Legislative Council motion was employed to advance the claims made in an historical novel. This article considers the alternative account of Thunderbolt’s death presented in Gregory Hamilton and Barry Sinclair’s Thunderbolt: Scourge of the Ranges (2009), and investigates the allegations concerning the censorship of historical records in the service of an ongoing state and police conspiracy. We demonstrate that the case made in the novel, and promoted in the NSW Parliament, has been built on a misrepresentation of the nature and practice of state record-keeping in NSW.

An extract from the article (the first three pages) can be found at Exposing an exposé

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"Historians demolish bushranger conspiracy theory"

6/2/2012

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Today, the University of New England published the following press release:

Historians from the University of New England have put paid to a long-running conspiracy theory surrounding the death of the bushranger Frederick Wordsworth Ward. The outlaw, popularly known as Captain Thunderbolt, was shot by police at Uralla, New England, in May 1870, although there have been persistent doubts surrounding the circumstances of his death.
    Dr David Andrew Roberts, a Senior Lecturer in Australian History, and Carol Baxter, an Adjunct Lecturer in the University’s School of Humanities and author of Captain Thunderbolt and His Lady (Allen & Unwin, 2011), have conducted extensive research into allegations that Thunderbolt escaped from NSW and lived out his final days in America.
    In March 2010, the NSW Legislative Council demanded the release of archival records that were expected to throw new light on the bushranger’s death. It was thought that these documents could prove that the police had shot the wrong man in 1870, and that the colonial government had engaged in a high-level conspiracy to conceal this from the public. The Parliament’s request for documents was ultimately rejected by the NSW Lieutenant Governor, James Spigelman, on the grounds that Thunderbolt’s death had no bearing on the conduct of the current State Government.
    The exhaustive research of Roberts and Baxter, to be published in detail in the next issue of the International Australian Studies Association’s Journal of Australian Studies, has proved the allegations of a conspiracy to be entirely baseless. “There is no supportable evidence that secret documents concerning the death of Thunderbolt exist, or any reasonable grounds for assuming that they might,” the researchers conclude.
    “It’s quite remarkable that the powers of the Parliament should have been used to investigate a 140-year-old episode from the colonial past,” Dr Roberts said. “What’s even more remarkable is that those powers were used to elevate a wild conspiracy theory that had been put forward in an historical novel.”
    In their novel Thunderbolt: Scourge of the Ranges (Phoenix Press, 2009), Hamilton and Sinclair claimed that the police had manipulated the official inquiry into the capture of the bushranger by falsifying documents and witness statements. They further accused the then NSW Labor government of perpetuating the conspiracy by keeping the documents hidden from the public.
    Roberts and Baxter suggest that the conspiracy theory presented in the novel, and then promoted in the NSW Parliament, was built on a misrepresentation of the nature and practice of State record-keeping in NSW. “It’s not unusual for historical literature to offer sensational alternatives to historical fact,” Dr Roberts said. “But it’s quite another matter for the powers of government to be used in an attempt to validate such radical and serious claims. Some will feel that there are questions to be asked of senior NSW politicians who supported those allegations. What did they hope to achieve?”
    The paper by Roberts and Baxter is being published in advance of a documentary-drama on the controversy, titled Empty Grave: the Thunderbolt Mystery, made by the Queensland-based filmmakers Evolution Studios.

To see the press release itself, go to:
http://blog.une.edu.au/news/2012/02/07/historians-demolish-bushranger-conspiracy-theory/

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Resurrecting Thunderbolt Seminar

28/10/2011

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Yesterday, Dr David Andrew Roberts, Senior Lecturer in History at the University of New England, gave a research seminar titled Resurrecting Thunderbolt: History, Fiction and Politics in an Age of Confusion. This was one of a series of research seminars held at the university, all being open to staff, students and the public. With almost record attendance, David's seminar was very well received, showing that confusion about the events that occurred 140 years ago has still not been resolved and that the subject continues to intrigue the public. The full seminar will eventually be accessible via podcast however, for now, a brief extract is shown below.

On 18 March 2010 the New South Wales Legislative Council demanded the NSW Governor
release allegedly censored documents relating to the death of the celebrated bushranger,
'Captain Thunderbolt', who was shot dead by police at Uralla in May 1870. Remarkably, the
renewed interest in this 140-year-old episode from the colonial past was motivated by claims
made in a self-published novel. Scourge of the Ranges (2009) is an historical fiction that
proposes that the colonial authorities shot the wrong man in 1870 and then engaged in a
high-level conspiracy to conceal this from the public. More seriously, the authors allege that
the conspiracy is enduring, that the NSW government actively maintains a strict censorship
over secret documents that reveal ‘the shabbiest official cover-up in our sad, inauspicious
history’. While it is not unusual for historical literature to sensationalise itself on the basis of
newly discovered ‘facts’, real or imagined, the use of the powers of the Legislative Council to
sanction and validate such serious claims warrants a reasoned response, particularly as far
as they reflect on the nature and integrity of governance and state record keeping in NSW.

Who says that history is dead and buried? Keeping watching this blog as more will be revealed soon ...

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Announcement: Interview with Fran Kelly on ABC's Radio National

10/10/2011

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At last, my interview with Fran Kelly on her Breakfast programme has aired after being pre-recorded a few weeks ago. Go to Reviews for a link to that interview and others, or click here for a direct link to the Podcast.
The attack against the claims that the government conspired to hide the truth about Fred Ward's death has begun. Keep watching this space for further information.

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Exposing an Exposé - the Thunderbolt conspiracy claims

"Historians demolish bushranger conspiracy theory"

Resurrecting Thunderbolt Seminar

Announcement: Interview with Fran Kelly on ABC's Radio National

'Bolt & Bugg Blog

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