Page 6 - eMuse Vol.9 No.09

Captain Thunderbolt aka

Frederick Wordsworth Ward

(17 February 1835 – 16 May 1803)
Gentleman bushranger. Capt. Thunderbolt Statue,
Cnr. New England Highway and
With a name like that, one would think he was a poet rather Thunderbolts Way,
than the longest roaming bushranger in Australian history . Perhaps Uralla NSW.
a hint of literacy crept into his reputation when he became known He worked at many stations over the next ten years including To-
as “The Gentleman Bushranger” . cal. Fred’s horsemanship skills soon became evident. Horsebreak-
Bushrangers weren’t adverse to promotional publicity. His self- ing became one of his most important duties.
styled pseudonym of “Captain Thunderbolt” clearly indicates Fred Fred ran foul with the law in 1856 when his nephew John Gar-
could have taught modern advertising agencies a thing or two. butt became the ringleader of a large horse and cattle stealing
Propaganda and bushmanship were valuable tools in an arsenal of operation. Fred joined in the “family business” boots and all. As
skills which contributed to his lengthy survival on the run. newbees to the stock theft industry, they weren’t very good. All of
At about the time his family moved to Windsor. In 1835, young them were caught and sentenced to ten years hard labour at the
Fred was born the youngest of ten children of convict Michael Cockatoo Island penal establishment . Four years later they earned
Ward, and his wife Sophia. He only stayed with his familiy a short a reprieve with tickets of leave.
time. Fred entered the workforce at the tender age of eleven years Fred found employment with one of his nephews at Cooyar
at Aberbaldie Station” near Walcha, New South Wales. station in the Mudgee district. Here he met and began an affair

6 eMuse September 2020