Jack Donahue
Encyclopedia
Jack Donohue was a bushranger
in Australia
. He had numerous ballads written about him, including Bold Jack Donahuehttp://members.ozemail.com.au/~clancyann/rebelgirlhistory.html.
Jack Donahue was born in Dublin in 1806. He supported Irish nationalism
and at the age of 20 was sentenced to be transported for life to New South Wales, Australia after being accused of attempted felony.
Donahue arrived in January 1825 with 200 other convicts and was assigned to work as a servant to a settler named John Pagan on a farm at Parramatta
. He was supervised during the day, but managed to escape in the night. Later, he was punished and had to work in chains for a road gang
. Eventually, Donahue was sent back to work on a pig farm belonging to Major West at Quakers Hill.
Donahue again escaped to the bush with two men named Kilroy and Smith. He formed a gang known as "The Strippers." They were given this name because they stripped wealthy land owners of their clothes, money and food. The servants who worked in the farms helped the bushrangers by providing information about their masters and the whereabouts of people. These servants sometimes would give them food and shelter.
In the early years as a bushranger, Donahue was taken into custody with his gang, but he managed to escape while his companions were sentenced to death. He was managed again to escape a police shoot out. People called him the "Bold Jack Donohue," but the police considered him a dangerous criminal. In 1829, a reward of 20 pounds was offered for his capture. It was increased to 200 pounds a year later. On 1 September 1830, a group of soldiers and police caught Donahue and his gang. In the ensuing battle, Donahue was shot in the head, dying from the wound. After his death, Donahue became something of a hero.
Bushranger
Bushrangers, or bush rangers, originally referred to runaway convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who had the survival skills necessary to use the Australian bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. He had numerous ballads written about him, including Bold Jack Donahuehttp://members.ozemail.com.au/~clancyann/rebelgirlhistory.html.
Jack Donahue was born in Dublin in 1806. He supported Irish nationalism
Irish nationalism
Irish nationalism manifests itself in political and social movements and in sentiment inspired by a love for Irish culture, language and history, and as a sense of pride in Ireland and in the Irish people...
and at the age of 20 was sentenced to be transported for life to New South Wales, Australia after being accused of attempted felony.
Donahue arrived in January 1825 with 200 other convicts and was assigned to work as a servant to a settler named John Pagan on a farm at Parramatta
Parramatta, New South Wales
Parramatta is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Parramatta River. Parramatta is the administrative seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Parramatta...
. He was supervised during the day, but managed to escape in the night. Later, he was punished and had to work in chains for a road gang
Chain gang
A chain gang is a group of prisoners chained together to perform menial or physically challenging work, such as mining or timber collecting, as a form of punishment. Such punishment might include building roads, digging ditches or chipping stone...
. Eventually, Donahue was sent back to work on a pig farm belonging to Major West at Quakers Hill.
Donahue again escaped to the bush with two men named Kilroy and Smith. He formed a gang known as "The Strippers." They were given this name because they stripped wealthy land owners of their clothes, money and food. The servants who worked in the farms helped the bushrangers by providing information about their masters and the whereabouts of people. These servants sometimes would give them food and shelter.
In the early years as a bushranger, Donahue was taken into custody with his gang, but he managed to escape while his companions were sentenced to death. He was managed again to escape a police shoot out. People called him the "Bold Jack Donohue," but the police considered him a dangerous criminal. In 1829, a reward of 20 pounds was offered for his capture. It was increased to 200 pounds a year later. On 1 September 1830, a group of soldiers and police caught Donahue and his gang. In the ensuing battle, Donahue was shot in the head, dying from the wound. After his death, Donahue became something of a hero.
External links
- Jack Donahoe at the University of New England
- Bold Jack Donahoe Song
- John Donahoe at Australian Dictionary of Biography Online