Review:
Stephan Williams A Ghost called Thunderbolt
A Ghost called Thunderbolt:
The career and legend of Frederick Ward, bushranger throughout northern New South Wales
By Stephan Williams
Published by Popinjay, Woden (ACT), 1987
The career and legend of Frederick Ward, bushranger throughout northern New South Wales
By Stephan Williams
Published by Popinjay, Woden (ACT), 1987
Catalogued Genre: History
True Genre: History
Research: Extensive
Source-references: Moderate in number with some abbreviated almost to the point of uselessness
Accuracy: Mostly but not totally reliable
Stephan Williams’ A Ghost called Thunderbolt is one of the better Thunderbolt works. Published in 1987, it was among a trio that came out around the bi-centenary, all with merit (see also Jim Hobden's Thunderbolt and Bob Cummins' Thunderbolt).
Rather than relying on anecdote, gossip and other secondary source publications, as most previous books and articles about Thunderbolt had done, Williams extensively researched the subject. He examined original records stored in a variety of repositories including the government record repository, State Records of New South Wales (then called the Archives Office of New South Wales, hence his repository abbreviation AO), and he provided source references for these documents. Yet he abbreviated these source-references to the point of being unhelpful even though they were noted in his book on a single line so he had enough space to provide the full reference. It is possible that he did not find these sources himself and, accordingly, failed to understand how the source-referencing system worked. The full references for these sources are provided in the relevant timelines on this Thunderbolt website.
Williams also examined original newspapers, quoted slabs from many, and provided details of the newspaper issue; however, he rarely provided page references which is unfortunate because some of the newspapers were lengthy with very dense text. Additionally, large slabs of his text contained no annotations at all, which is disappointing for a work as important as Williams'.
Some of his analyses were thorough and his accounts accurate, making A Ghost called Thunderbolt a very important addition to the Thunderbolt bookshelves. Where Williams seriously stumbles, however, is in decision to omit a critical piece of information regarding Mary Ann Bugg.
In April 1866 the subject of Mary Ann's vagrancy conviction was raised in Parliament. In the aftermath, the Attorney General requested further information from Thomas Nicholls, the convicting magistrate.[1] Nicholls' resulting report provided extensive information about Mary Ann's background, some of which came from his own personal knowledge of the family, some from information she evidently provided herself.[2]
In his book, Williams transcribed most of Nicholls' report, as shown below (left):[3]
True Genre: History
Research: Extensive
Source-references: Moderate in number with some abbreviated almost to the point of uselessness
Accuracy: Mostly but not totally reliable
Stephan Williams’ A Ghost called Thunderbolt is one of the better Thunderbolt works. Published in 1987, it was among a trio that came out around the bi-centenary, all with merit (see also Jim Hobden's Thunderbolt and Bob Cummins' Thunderbolt).
Rather than relying on anecdote, gossip and other secondary source publications, as most previous books and articles about Thunderbolt had done, Williams extensively researched the subject. He examined original records stored in a variety of repositories including the government record repository, State Records of New South Wales (then called the Archives Office of New South Wales, hence his repository abbreviation AO), and he provided source references for these documents. Yet he abbreviated these source-references to the point of being unhelpful even though they were noted in his book on a single line so he had enough space to provide the full reference. It is possible that he did not find these sources himself and, accordingly, failed to understand how the source-referencing system worked. The full references for these sources are provided in the relevant timelines on this Thunderbolt website.
Williams also examined original newspapers, quoted slabs from many, and provided details of the newspaper issue; however, he rarely provided page references which is unfortunate because some of the newspapers were lengthy with very dense text. Additionally, large slabs of his text contained no annotations at all, which is disappointing for a work as important as Williams'.
Some of his analyses were thorough and his accounts accurate, making A Ghost called Thunderbolt a very important addition to the Thunderbolt bookshelves. Where Williams seriously stumbles, however, is in decision to omit a critical piece of information regarding Mary Ann Bugg.
In April 1866 the subject of Mary Ann's vagrancy conviction was raised in Parliament. In the aftermath, the Attorney General requested further information from Thomas Nicholls, the convicting magistrate.[1] Nicholls' resulting report provided extensive information about Mary Ann's background, some of which came from his own personal knowledge of the family, some from information she evidently provided herself.[2]
In his book, Williams transcribed most of Nicholls' report, as shown below (left):[3]
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You will notice that at the bottom of the first page (page 21), Williams ended with an ellipses (three full stops). This does not mean that further information is to be found on the next page, although in this case there is indeed further information on the next page (as shown to the left). The ellipses means that Williams left out information he considered unimportant for his purposes. So what did the omitted information actually say?
The paragraph from Nicholls' own report is shown below:[2]  For those who can't read the writing, it says: "When Ward came to grief, this woman returned to her father's home and remained there till she obtained employment as a domestic in a family near Dungog, and she remained so employed in the same locality till Ward joined her after his escape from Cockatoo Island."
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Clearly the information Williams omitted stated that Mary Ann remained in Dungog throughout Fred's second stint on Cockatoo Island.
Remember my truth-detection rule of thumb? You can assess the likely accuracy of the unknown information by assessing the accuracy of the known information in the same source.
First of all, let us determine if Nicholls truly did know the Bugg family. Born around 1804, just a few years after Mary Ann's father, Thomas Nicholls arrived with his wife and daughter as free passengers per the Waterloo in 1828 and was listed as a servant to the Australian Agricultural Company at Port Stephens later that year (Mary Ann's father was working for the same company in the same place at the same time). A respected man in the local community, Nicholls became a magistrate in 1858 and died at Stroud in 1878.[4] Clearly Nicholls did know the Bugg family and lived in the same vicinity.
Secondly, let us determine if Nicholls' information could be correct. We know that Fred was imprisoned in September 1861 and returned to Cockatoo Island in November 1861 (see Timeline: 1835-1863). We know Mary Ann gave birth to their daughter at her father's farm at Monkerai, near Dungog, in October 1861 (see Birth Certificate). So these primary sources of information support Nicholls' statements. As it turns out, newspaper columns from local correspondents in the aftermath of Fred's escape from Cockatoo Island report similarly (see Did Mary Ann Bugg help Fred Ward escape from Cockatoo Island?).
That being the case, Nicholl's report is clearly an important primary-source reference to Mary Ann Bugg, her family and her activities.
Remember my truth-detection rule of thumb? You can assess the likely accuracy of the unknown information by assessing the accuracy of the known information in the same source.
First of all, let us determine if Nicholls truly did know the Bugg family. Born around 1804, just a few years after Mary Ann's father, Thomas Nicholls arrived with his wife and daughter as free passengers per the Waterloo in 1828 and was listed as a servant to the Australian Agricultural Company at Port Stephens later that year (Mary Ann's father was working for the same company in the same place at the same time). A respected man in the local community, Nicholls became a magistrate in 1858 and died at Stroud in 1878.[4] Clearly Nicholls did know the Bugg family and lived in the same vicinity.
Secondly, let us determine if Nicholls' information could be correct. We know that Fred was imprisoned in September 1861 and returned to Cockatoo Island in November 1861 (see Timeline: 1835-1863). We know Mary Ann gave birth to their daughter at her father's farm at Monkerai, near Dungog, in October 1861 (see Birth Certificate). So these primary sources of information support Nicholls' statements. As it turns out, newspaper columns from local correspondents in the aftermath of Fred's escape from Cockatoo Island report similarly (see Did Mary Ann Bugg help Fred Ward escape from Cockatoo Island?).
That being the case, Nicholl's report is clearly an important primary-source reference to Mary Ann Bugg, her family and her activities.
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So why did Williams leave out such a critical paragraph from such an important and reliable source? The answer to that question lies in the information he chose to provide about Fred's escape from Cockatoo Island (see adjacent).[5] He reported that Mary Ann probably helped Fred escape after finding work at Balmain, perhaps under the name Louisa Mason. His source? Third-hand information from MacLeod's The Transformation of Manellae (1949), published nearly a century after the events in question.[6]
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Williams also fails to provide any source references to support his claim that police records listed Mary Ann by the name Louisa Mason. In fact, not only does no such evidence exist, Louisa Mason proved to be a different woman entirely (see Who was Louisa Mason?).
When Williams had a choice between a primary source and a more interesting secondary source, he tended to pursue the secondary-source information, a most unfortunate choice for the purposes of historical accuracy. Among other instances, he documented the mythical version of Fred's acquisition of the moniker Captain Thunderbolt, which was extracted from Martin Brennan's Police History.
There were other significant errors in his book including his claim that Mary Ann died in 1867.[7] He extracted most of this information from another secondary-source publication, Charles White's History of Australian Bushrangers.[8] Evidently Williams failed to understand the difference between primary-source and secondary-source references, or how to weight information from contemporary historical sources against second-hand reports made decades after the events in question.
Williams' himself admits that his book is not the definitive work on Thunderbolt. While the errors undermine his work, it still has considerable merit.
When Williams had a choice between a primary source and a more interesting secondary source, he tended to pursue the secondary-source information, a most unfortunate choice for the purposes of historical accuracy. Among other instances, he documented the mythical version of Fred's acquisition of the moniker Captain Thunderbolt, which was extracted from Martin Brennan's Police History.
There were other significant errors in his book including his claim that Mary Ann died in 1867.[7] He extracted most of this information from another secondary-source publication, Charles White's History of Australian Bushrangers.[8] Evidently Williams failed to understand the difference between primary-source and secondary-source references, or how to weight information from contemporary historical sources against second-hand reports made decades after the events in question.
Williams' himself admits that his book is not the definitive work on Thunderbolt. While the errors undermine his work, it still has considerable merit.
Sources:
[1] For more information and source references, see Timeline: 1866
[2] Williams provided only an abbreviated source-reference for this source; the full source-reference is: Colonial Secretary In-Letters: Magistrate Thomas Nicholls to Attorney General, 11 Apr 1866 [SRNSW ref: 4/573 No. 66/1844]
[3] Williams, A Ghost called Thunderbolt, pp.21-22
[4] Sainty & Johnson, Census of NSW Nov 1828 Nos.N0301-4; Maitland Mercury 20 Apr 1858 p.2, 26 Jun 1873 p.1, 25 Jul 1878 p.1
[5] Williams, A Ghost called Thunderbolt, p.25
[6] For more information and source-references, see Did Mary Ann Bugg help Fred Ward escape from Cockatoo Island?
[7] See Did Mary Ann Bugg die in 1867?
[8] Williams, A Ghost called Thunderbolt, p.104
[1] For more information and source references, see Timeline: 1866
[2] Williams provided only an abbreviated source-reference for this source; the full source-reference is: Colonial Secretary In-Letters: Magistrate Thomas Nicholls to Attorney General, 11 Apr 1866 [SRNSW ref: 4/573 No. 66/1844]
[3] Williams, A Ghost called Thunderbolt, pp.21-22
[4] Sainty & Johnson, Census of NSW Nov 1828 Nos.N0301-4; Maitland Mercury 20 Apr 1858 p.2, 26 Jun 1873 p.1, 25 Jul 1878 p.1
[5] Williams, A Ghost called Thunderbolt, p.25
[6] For more information and source-references, see Did Mary Ann Bugg help Fred Ward escape from Cockatoo Island?
[7] See Did Mary Ann Bugg die in 1867?
[8] Williams, A Ghost called Thunderbolt, p.104