Bushrangers, Victoria, Australia 1852, William Strutt, c1887, oil on canvas.
The University of Melbourne Art Collection. Gift of the Russell and Mab Grimwade Bequest 1973. Courtesy the Ian Potter Museum of Art. LON13_BFB_0019
Troopers, Trackers, Bushrangers and their weapons
The three phases of the war against bushrangers
An explanation of the weapons used during the three principal phases of the war against bushrangers on the Australian frontier
The first generation of bushrangers were convict escapers, known as convict bolters. The firearm used during this time (from the late 1780’s to the end of the transportation period in the 1840’s and 50’s) was the flintlock musket.
The age of the Wild Colonial Boys coincided with the gold rushes in NSW and Victoria. Weapons had developed and now had rifles – spiral grooves inside the barrel which caused the musket ball to spin as it travelled the length of the barrel and the spin gave the ball distance and accuracy. During this time, around the 1850’s, an Enfield musket, a percussion cap weapon, would have been used by British troops and colonial police forces.
The Martini-Henry, a breech loader, was a revolution in technology and was brought into service in the 1870’s. It was much faster and it moved away from the use of powder and ball to a bullet. This firearm was used to fight the last of the bushrangers, the Kelly brothers in Victoria and the Governor brothers in NSW.
Acknowledgements
This material was produced originally for our virtual excursion education program: The Law of the Land.
- Filmed on location at Hyde Park Barracks Museum.
- With thanks to Brad Manera, Military Historian and Manager of the Anzac Memorial, Sydney.
- Music by Warren Fahey. ‘The Wild Colonial Boy’, traditional Australian song, composer unknown.
- Produced by Sydney Living Museums
