Online Newspapers
Many of the newspapers listed on this website - for example, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Empire, and the Maitland Mercury - are now accessible online via Trove. You can check these out for yourself. Write down the newspaper, issue and page provided on the website, use the Trove hyperlink to access the Online Newspapers website, then call up the specific newspaper and issue of interest. Alternatively, you can use the advanced search facilities to find the article. Typing "Thunderbolt" and a range of dates will often allow you to access the article.
Many of the incorrect claims about Fred Ward and Mary Ann Bugg have been propagated or repeated because it was difficult to confirm or refute them - particularly for the ordinary person who was forced to trust those making such claims because they themselves did not know how to find the correct information. This website is all about historical transparency so let me show you, as an example, how to find the report of the Magisterial Inquiry into Thunderbolt's death to determine if his body was actually identified at that time (those claiming that he escaped to America say that his body was not identified at the inquiry; see Fact Sheet on the Death of Thunderbolt by Barry Sinclair).
1. Click on the Trove hyperlink, which will bring up the Home page for the digitised newspapers (as shown below). The important left side of the page is shown below:
Many of the incorrect claims about Fred Ward and Mary Ann Bugg have been propagated or repeated because it was difficult to confirm or refute them - particularly for the ordinary person who was forced to trust those making such claims because they themselves did not know how to find the correct information. This website is all about historical transparency so let me show you, as an example, how to find the report of the Magisterial Inquiry into Thunderbolt's death to determine if his body was actually identified at that time (those claiming that he escaped to America say that his body was not identified at the inquiry; see Fact Sheet on the Death of Thunderbolt by Barry Sinclair).
1. Click on the Trove hyperlink, which will bring up the Home page for the digitised newspapers (as shown below). The important left side of the page is shown below:
2. On the middle left-hand side of the page, you will see a reference to the Sydney Morning Herald. Click on that newspaper. The following page will be displayed:
3. Go to the Section "by Date" (middle left) and you will see that the year 1842 is displayed. Click on the down arrow and then click on the year 1870. This will display the months for that year.
4. Click on "June" (highlighted above) then move your cursor to the right and click on the number 1 (for Wednesday, 1 June 1870). This will bring up the first page of the issue for 1 June.
4. Click on "June" (highlighted above) then move your cursor to the right and click on the number 1 (for Wednesday, 1 June 1870). This will bring up the first page of the issue for 1 June.
5. On the top line above the newspaper banner, slightly to the right of centre, you will see the word "Page 1" and a down arrow. Move the down arrow until you get to page 5 and it will bring up the page below.
6. The report on "The Shooting of Thunderbolt" covers the three right-hand columns (as shown below). You can enlarge the newspapers screen itself to make it easy to read.
Once you have read this report for yourself, you will see that not only did the police identify the body as that of Frederick Ward via the body's markings, but other individuals did so as well from personal knowledge. What's more, they testified to that effect under oath in a court of law. Moreover, as you will read, many members of the broader community put their hands in their pockets and raised a reward for Constable Walker for ridding them of the bushranging menace. Government conspiracy? The police, the medical examiner, private individuals, and the rest of the community would have needed to be in on the conspiracy and to have kept quiet about it for 140 years. Really???
For a more detailed analysis of the evidence showing that Fred Ward did indeed die in 1870, see When did Fred Ward die?
6. The report on "The Shooting of Thunderbolt" covers the three right-hand columns (as shown below). You can enlarge the newspapers screen itself to make it easy to read.
Once you have read this report for yourself, you will see that not only did the police identify the body as that of Frederick Ward via the body's markings, but other individuals did so as well from personal knowledge. What's more, they testified to that effect under oath in a court of law. Moreover, as you will read, many members of the broader community put their hands in their pockets and raised a reward for Constable Walker for ridding them of the bushranging menace. Government conspiracy? The police, the medical examiner, private individuals, and the rest of the community would have needed to be in on the conspiracy and to have kept quiet about it for 140 years. Really???
For a more detailed analysis of the evidence showing that Fred Ward did indeed die in 1870, see When did Fred Ward die?
