Timeline: 1870
This Timeline documents all the information discovered for Frederick Ward for the year 1870, with associated source-references. Many of the referenced newspapers are now accessible online (see Online Newspapers).
Copyright Carol Baxter 2011
Copyright Carol Baxter 2011
1870 Jan 2 Mailman Abraham Bowden robbed on the Tamworth-Warialda Road aabout 8 miles south of Barraba; reportedly not Thunderbolt (as Thunderbolt had previously robbed Bowden, this conclusion is probably correct but see 7 Jan below)[1]
1870 Jan 7 Thunderbolt robbed mailman at Moredun as he travelled from Inverell to Armidale (some reports say Saturday 8 Jan); Armidale Telegraph reported dryly that “We might also presume that it was this man who robbed the Warialda mail a week previously as the description of the bushranger tallies with the Inverell mailboy’s account, [were it not that] the decided negative given by the Tamworth Examiner forbids such a conclusion”[2]
1870 Feb Man arrested at Ipswich thought to be Thunderbolt; a policeman was sent up to identify him but was uncertain so Senior Sergeant Kerrigan, who had encountered Thunderbolt in the past, was sent up and proclaimed that it was a miserable imposter who probably just wanted a free trip to NSW[3]
1870 Mar 31 Thunderbolt stuck up the Tenterfield-Sydney mailman about four miles from Deepwater[4]
1870 Apr 18 Thunderbolt robbed hawker named Ward on Paradise Run near Inverell and robbed him of £20; NB. The hawker, Ward, was among the witnesses who identified Fred Ward’s body at the magisterial inquiry on 26 May 1870 (see that date)[5]
1870 May Report on police efforts to capture Thunderbolt[6]
1870 May 25+25 May: Thunderbolt (Fred Ward) committed various robberies in and around Blanch’s inn near the Big/Split Rock (which lies 7kms south of Uralla[7]), then was pursued by Constable Alexander Binning Walker for some 6 or 7 miles in a circuitous route before they arrived at Kentucky Creek (according to Sydney Morning Herald's special correspondent who sat in on the magisterial enquiry the following day, at that point Walker was "pulled up by a water hole directly in front of him and about 350 yards long"), near its intersection with Chilcott Creek/Swamp (name used variously in original records); Kentucky Creek itself takes a sharp L-shaped turn at that point so it is much longer than is suggested by Cunningham's re-enactment photo held by the Heritage Centre, Armidale; 26 May: magisterial inquiry held before Police Magistrate Buchannan who decreed that the dead body was that of Frederick Ward who died by a “a gunshot wound inflicted by a member of the Police Force whilst in the execution of his duty” (see Did Fred Ward die in 1870?); Walker provided his own detailed statement at that time - communicated to Sydney by the Sydney Morning Herald's special correspondent - and provided another report for the police authorities on 29 May, and the consistency between these reports indicates that he was telling the truth (Senior Constable John Mulhall's statements, by contrast, varied significantly in each retelling, a sign that he was lying); 28 May: William Monckton confirmed that the dead body was indeed that of Frederick Ward and signed a statement to that effect; 29 May: body buried at Uralla; Jun: letters were sent to the Armidale Express demanding an investigation of Mulhall’s actions in view of the noteworthy discrepancies between his written and verbal statements[8]; 7 Jun: case of Michael A. Coughlan vs Constable Cotter heard in Armidale Police Court, Coughlan being the man responsible for the horse Thunderbolt was riding when Walker shot him[9]
Sources:
[1] Maitland Mercury 7 Jan 1870 p.2, 11 Jan 1870 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner)
[2] Brisbane Courier 11 Jan 1870 p.2; Maitland Mercury 13 Jan 1870 p.2, 18 Jan 1870 p.2 (from Armidale Telegraph)
[3] Sydney Morning Herald 12 Feb 1870 p.7, 17 Feb 1870 p.5, 26 Feb 1870 p.7, 17 Mar 1870 p.5; Empire 16 Feb 1870 2 (from Queensland Times), 14 Mar 1870 p.4; Maitland Mercury 1 Mar 1870 p.3, 5 Mar 1870 p.2
[4] Maitland Mercury 5 Apr 1870 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner 2 Apr), 12 Apr 1870 p.2 (from Armidale Telegraph); Brisbane Courier 7 Apr 1870 p.2 (from Tenterfield and Glen Innes Times 2 Apr), 14 Apr 1870 p.3 (from Tenterfield and Glen Innes Times 9 Apr)
[5] NSW Police Gazette 1870 No.17 (27 Apr 1870) p.115
[6] CSIL: re Thunderbolt [SRNSW ref: 4/695 No. 70/3670]
[7] Thunderbolt's Rock [http://www.bigtrip.com.au/things-to-see/australia/nsw/thunderbolts-rock.html]
[8] Death Certificate: Frederick Ward alias ‘Thunderbolt’ bushranger [RBDM 1870/2470]; NSWPG 1870 No.22 (1 Jun 1870) p.148; Sydney Morning Herald 27 May 1870 p.5 (x2), 28 May p.7, 1 Jun p.5, 8 Jun p.3, 20 Jun p.5, 16 Jul p.4; Armidale Express 11 Jun 1870 p.2, 18 Jun p.2, 25 Jun p.2, 9 Jul p.2, 30 Jul p.2, 20 Aug p.2; Maitland Mercury 28 May 1870 pp.2 & 3, 31 May p.2 (from Armidale Express 28 May), 7 Jun p.3 (from Armidale Telegraph); Empire 1 Jun 1870 p.2; Manning River Times 4 Jun 1870 p.2, 9 Jul p.4; Town & Country Journal 4 Jun 1870 p.24 (part from the Armidale Telegraph]; Brisbane Courier 11 Jun 1870 p.2; Queenslander 11 Jun 1870 p.10 (from Armidale Express 4 Jun), 18 Jun p.4; Argus 11 Jun 1870 p.6; Hobart Mercury 14 Jun 1870 p.2; CSIL: re Giovanni Cappasotti [SRNSW 4/703 No.70/6938], Re Huxham’s horse [SRNSW 1/2252 No.74/1909]; re Reports [SRNSW 1/2326.2 File 76/2239 No. 70.4440 &c]; see also Thunderbolt file at State Records, Sydney and Kingswood and the Heritage Centre at Armidale. Senior Sergeant John George Balls of the Armidale station testified at the inquiry on 26 May 1870 that he knew Frederick Ward on Cockatoo Island and could identify the dead bushranger as Fred Ward. Balls was indeed the Task Work Clerk on Cockatoo Island on 31 October 1861 (four days before Fred returned there from Mudgee), and joined the police force on 1 May 1862; Sources: SMH 1 Nov 1861 p.8; Police Service Registers [SRNSW 8/3251 – B – No.380; Reel 3043]
[9] Armidale Express 11 Jun 1870 p.2
1870 Jan 7 Thunderbolt robbed mailman at Moredun as he travelled from Inverell to Armidale (some reports say Saturday 8 Jan); Armidale Telegraph reported dryly that “We might also presume that it was this man who robbed the Warialda mail a week previously as the description of the bushranger tallies with the Inverell mailboy’s account, [were it not that] the decided negative given by the Tamworth Examiner forbids such a conclusion”[2]
1870 Feb Man arrested at Ipswich thought to be Thunderbolt; a policeman was sent up to identify him but was uncertain so Senior Sergeant Kerrigan, who had encountered Thunderbolt in the past, was sent up and proclaimed that it was a miserable imposter who probably just wanted a free trip to NSW[3]
1870 Mar 31 Thunderbolt stuck up the Tenterfield-Sydney mailman about four miles from Deepwater[4]
1870 Apr 18 Thunderbolt robbed hawker named Ward on Paradise Run near Inverell and robbed him of £20; NB. The hawker, Ward, was among the witnesses who identified Fred Ward’s body at the magisterial inquiry on 26 May 1870 (see that date)[5]
1870 May Report on police efforts to capture Thunderbolt[6]
1870 May 25+25 May: Thunderbolt (Fred Ward) committed various robberies in and around Blanch’s inn near the Big/Split Rock (which lies 7kms south of Uralla[7]), then was pursued by Constable Alexander Binning Walker for some 6 or 7 miles in a circuitous route before they arrived at Kentucky Creek (according to Sydney Morning Herald's special correspondent who sat in on the magisterial enquiry the following day, at that point Walker was "pulled up by a water hole directly in front of him and about 350 yards long"), near its intersection with Chilcott Creek/Swamp (name used variously in original records); Kentucky Creek itself takes a sharp L-shaped turn at that point so it is much longer than is suggested by Cunningham's re-enactment photo held by the Heritage Centre, Armidale; 26 May: magisterial inquiry held before Police Magistrate Buchannan who decreed that the dead body was that of Frederick Ward who died by a “a gunshot wound inflicted by a member of the Police Force whilst in the execution of his duty” (see Did Fred Ward die in 1870?); Walker provided his own detailed statement at that time - communicated to Sydney by the Sydney Morning Herald's special correspondent - and provided another report for the police authorities on 29 May, and the consistency between these reports indicates that he was telling the truth (Senior Constable John Mulhall's statements, by contrast, varied significantly in each retelling, a sign that he was lying); 28 May: William Monckton confirmed that the dead body was indeed that of Frederick Ward and signed a statement to that effect; 29 May: body buried at Uralla; Jun: letters were sent to the Armidale Express demanding an investigation of Mulhall’s actions in view of the noteworthy discrepancies between his written and verbal statements[8]; 7 Jun: case of Michael A. Coughlan vs Constable Cotter heard in Armidale Police Court, Coughlan being the man responsible for the horse Thunderbolt was riding when Walker shot him[9]
Sources:
[1] Maitland Mercury 7 Jan 1870 p.2, 11 Jan 1870 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner)
[2] Brisbane Courier 11 Jan 1870 p.2; Maitland Mercury 13 Jan 1870 p.2, 18 Jan 1870 p.2 (from Armidale Telegraph)
[3] Sydney Morning Herald 12 Feb 1870 p.7, 17 Feb 1870 p.5, 26 Feb 1870 p.7, 17 Mar 1870 p.5; Empire 16 Feb 1870 2 (from Queensland Times), 14 Mar 1870 p.4; Maitland Mercury 1 Mar 1870 p.3, 5 Mar 1870 p.2
[4] Maitland Mercury 5 Apr 1870 p.4 (from Tamworth Examiner 2 Apr), 12 Apr 1870 p.2 (from Armidale Telegraph); Brisbane Courier 7 Apr 1870 p.2 (from Tenterfield and Glen Innes Times 2 Apr), 14 Apr 1870 p.3 (from Tenterfield and Glen Innes Times 9 Apr)
[5] NSW Police Gazette 1870 No.17 (27 Apr 1870) p.115
[6] CSIL: re Thunderbolt [SRNSW ref: 4/695 No. 70/3670]
[7] Thunderbolt's Rock [http://www.bigtrip.com.au/things-to-see/australia/nsw/thunderbolts-rock.html]
[8] Death Certificate: Frederick Ward alias ‘Thunderbolt’ bushranger [RBDM 1870/2470]; NSWPG 1870 No.22 (1 Jun 1870) p.148; Sydney Morning Herald 27 May 1870 p.5 (x2), 28 May p.7, 1 Jun p.5, 8 Jun p.3, 20 Jun p.5, 16 Jul p.4; Armidale Express 11 Jun 1870 p.2, 18 Jun p.2, 25 Jun p.2, 9 Jul p.2, 30 Jul p.2, 20 Aug p.2; Maitland Mercury 28 May 1870 pp.2 & 3, 31 May p.2 (from Armidale Express 28 May), 7 Jun p.3 (from Armidale Telegraph); Empire 1 Jun 1870 p.2; Manning River Times 4 Jun 1870 p.2, 9 Jul p.4; Town & Country Journal 4 Jun 1870 p.24 (part from the Armidale Telegraph]; Brisbane Courier 11 Jun 1870 p.2; Queenslander 11 Jun 1870 p.10 (from Armidale Express 4 Jun), 18 Jun p.4; Argus 11 Jun 1870 p.6; Hobart Mercury 14 Jun 1870 p.2; CSIL: re Giovanni Cappasotti [SRNSW 4/703 No.70/6938], Re Huxham’s horse [SRNSW 1/2252 No.74/1909]; re Reports [SRNSW 1/2326.2 File 76/2239 No. 70.4440 &c]; see also Thunderbolt file at State Records, Sydney and Kingswood and the Heritage Centre at Armidale. Senior Sergeant John George Balls of the Armidale station testified at the inquiry on 26 May 1870 that he knew Frederick Ward on Cockatoo Island and could identify the dead bushranger as Fred Ward. Balls was indeed the Task Work Clerk on Cockatoo Island on 31 October 1861 (four days before Fred returned there from Mudgee), and joined the police force on 1 May 1862; Sources: SMH 1 Nov 1861 p.8; Police Service Registers [SRNSW 8/3251 – B – No.380; Reel 3043]
[9] Armidale Express 11 Jun 1870 p.2