Ben Hall Australian Bushranger and Legend
Ben Hall was an Australian bushranger and legendary figure of the 1800s. Born on May 9, 1837, in Wallis Plains, New South Wales, he became one of the most notorious outlaws in Australian History, known for his daring robberies, audacious escapes, and close-knit gang of fellow bushrangers. Despite his criminal exploits, however, Hall was also celebrated as a charismatic figure, a Robin Hood-like hero to some, who defied authority and fought against the injustices of colonial society.
Hall’s life began under challenging circumstances. Benjamin Hall Sr.’s father was a convict who had been transported to Australia for stealing a horse. At the same time, his mother, Eliza Somers, was the daughter of an Irish political prisoner.
In 1856, at 19, Ben married Bridget (Biddy) Walsh (1841–1923) in Bathurst. Kitty, one of Bridget’s sisters, was married to a Wheogo stockman named John Brown, but in 1862 she became the mistress of Frank Gardiner bushranger and legend; another Walsh sister Ellen married John Maguire. On August 7 1859, Ben and Biddy had a son named Henry. In 1859-60, Ben Hall and John Maguire jointly leased the “Sandy Creek” run of 10,000 acres (40 km²) about 50 km south of Forbes.
Ten thousand acres might sound like a lot of land, but a run wasn’t fenced or cleared in those days. Often a run was impenetrable bush. Times were tough with droughts, floods and bushfires. Labourers deserted the lease runs for gold prospecting in the 1850s.
Growing up under harsh conditions with few accessible prospects, Hall turned to crime early on. By his mid-twenties, he had become a well-known bushranger, robbing travellers and stealing livestock across the countryside.
So like the Australian legends: Jack Riley, the original man from Snowy River, and Ned Kelly, Ben Hall had Irish roots. However, Ben Hall predated Jack Riley and Ned Kelly. Ben’s bushranger activities were well established when Ned Kelly was born in 1855, and Jack Riley was setting foot on Australian soil for the first time in Sydney at 13 in 1851. Ned’s bushranger activities came at the tail end of the main bushranger period in Australian History, which ran from around 1870 till 1880. Jack Riley’s activities as a legendary horseman in the Upper Murray and its surrounds were in a similar time frame. However, the Gold Rush from the 1850s impacted all three dramatically. It provided opportunities to the underclass unheard of till then.
It was in 1862 that Hall’s notoriety reached new heights. Along with his gang of bushrangers, which included the likes of John Gilbert, John Dunn, and Frank Gardiner, Hall embarked on a spree of robberies that targeted banks, coaches, and gold shipments throughout New South Wales. The gang’s tactics were bold and audacious, often involving elaborate planning and cunning disguises to evade capture.
At the height of his fame, Hall became a folk hero to the Australian public. Newspapers reported his exploits with relish; many saw him as a symbol of resistance against the harsh and oppressive colonial regime. Despite his criminal status, Hall was known for his charm and good looks, and his exploits were often romanticised in the popular imagination.
However, Hall’s reign as a bushranger was short-lived. In May 1865, he was finally cornered by police in the town of Forbes, New South Wales. A shootout ensued, and Hall was shot dead, ending his brief but illustrious career as a bushranger.
Despite his violent end, Hall’s legacy endured. In the years and decades after his death, he became an iconic figure in Australian folklore, the subject of countless books, songs, and movies. His life and exploits were celebrated as symbols of Australian defiance and anti-authoritarianism, and his name became synonymous with the rugged, independent spirit of the Australian bush.
Today, Ben Hall is remembered not only as a notorious bushranger but also as a complex and enigmatic figure who embodied the Australian character’s best and worst. His story is a testament to the power of myth and legend to shape our understanding of History and to the enduring appeal of outlaws and rebels who defy authority and challenge the status quo.
One of the reasons why Ben Hall remains such a compelling figure is the complexity of his character. On the one hand, he was a violent criminal who committed numerous robberies and murders as a bushranger. But, on the other hand, he and his gang were well-liked by the underclass, like Ned Kelly. Similarly, Banjo Patterson depicted Jack Riley as the triumphant underdog in the Man from Snowy River poem.
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At the same time, however, Hall was also known for his compassion and sense of justice. He was said to have never harmed anyone who did not pose a threat to him or his gang, and he often helped the poor and disadvantaged, earning him the nickname “the Gentleman Bushranger.” Many also saw his exploits as a form of resistance against the corrupt and oppressive colonial government, which was seen as favouring the rich and powerful at the expense of the working class. This motif is similar to Ned Kelly’s legend and, to a lesser extent Jack Riley’s.
It is this mix of violence and compassion, of criminality and heroism, that makes Hall such a fascinating and enduring figure. Like Ned Kelly and Jack Riley, he embodied contradictions and paradoxes transcended in Australian minds by their charisma and legend.