Australia In History: Robbery Under Arms

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The discovery of gold in the colonies of New South Wales and Victoria in 1851 saw the arrival of thousands of gold-seekers from around the world. Among them were hundreds of 'vandemonians', convict escapees and absconders who were not eager to dig for gold, but were happy to steal it from the diggers. These hard men who had suffered the lash across their backs, and endured deprivation and debasement, rarely sought to redeem themselves in honest labour on the diggings. They took to the roads, and took from the fortunate diggers all that they had, often leaving travellers tied to trees in the thick forests leading to the diggings. Robbery Under Arms tells the stories of some of the most feared early bushrangers: the Eureka Gang, George Melville, Captain Melville, and Black Douglas, 'the scourage of the traveller'.