Musquito
Encyclopedia
Musquito was an Indigenous Australian outlaw
, or bushranger
, based in Van Diemens Land. He was born in Sydney Cove
and transported to Van Diemens Land for murdering his wife.
After his release he turned to working as a Aboriginal tracker
. According to some sources, he supplemented his wages by pimp
ing Aboriginal women to white men. Eventually, he fled to the bush and put together a gang of Aborigines who robbed and murdered white settlers and their farmhands. Eventually captured by an Aboriginal tracker named Tegg, Musquito was convicted of the murder of a Tahiti
an ranchhand named Mammoa while stealing dogs from the Tahitian's employer. Musquito was sentenced to death by hanging
. The sentence was carried out at Old Hobart Gaol on 25 February 1825.
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...
, or bushranger
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...
, based in Van Diemens Land. He was born in Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove is a small bay on the southern shore of Port Jackson , on the coast of the state of New South Wales, Australia....
and transported to Van Diemens Land for murdering his wife.
After his release he turned to working as a Aboriginal tracker
Aboriginal tracker
In the years following British settlement in Australia, aboriginal trackers or black trackers, as they became known, were enlisted by settlers to assist them in navigating their way through the Australian landscape...
. According to some sources, he supplemented his wages by pimp
Pimp
A pimp is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The pimp may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing a location where she may engage clients...
ing Aboriginal women to white men. Eventually, he fled to the bush and put together a gang of Aborigines who robbed and murdered white settlers and their farmhands. Eventually captured by an Aboriginal tracker named Tegg, Musquito was convicted of the murder of a Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
an ranchhand named Mammoa while stealing dogs from the Tahitian's employer. Musquito was sentenced to death by hanging
Death by hanging
Death by hanging may refer to:* Hanging* Death by Hanging, a 1968 film by Nagisa Oshima...
. The sentence was carried out at Old Hobart Gaol on 25 February 1825.