The Long Tailor - II

Down near Dalgety they found a dead tailor.

A little while back I posted research around the death of the Long Tailor.

A quick update on what I have been doing.

I have been following the threads from that supposed accidental death in 1867.

The threads have moved in strange and unpredictable directions.  They have gradually ensnared all three registrars of the nearby court districts and have engaged a surprising group of colonial officials and police. The events have become intertwined with the establishment of today's system of free education and the shooting of Prince Alfred, the first member of the British royal family to visit Australia in 1868.

While riding with the Clarke gang, the Long Tailor traveled with them into a mountain fastness in the Tinderrys Range.  In preparation for a photoshoot at the site, I have been exploring the old bridle paths leading to the natural stone gut (or 'gate') used by the gang.

The forest at the top of the Range have been burnt by a fierce fire - and the bush is only starting to regenerate.  Still - there were some wonderful flashes of color in the bush.

Round Flat Trail, top of Tinderry Range

Round Flat Trail, top of Tinderry Range

Tinderry Range - detail

This week I have spent some time in the archives reading notes from court officials and police involved in the events.  I also traveled back to Majors Creek to talk to residents and trace some of the old roads and homesteads in the area.  There are some fine stone buildings in district - living reminders of the wealth that once came from the gold fields here

St Andrews Anglican Church, Majors Creek

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Then on to the Braidwood memorial of the savage killing of Carroll and his special constables by the Clarke Gang in the desolation of Jinden.

Carroll and special constable memorial, Braidwood cemetery  

Away from the government memorials, a kinder story is told of the Clarke brothers.  It is hard to reconcile these two views, only time seems to be quietly eroding the different perspectives.

Over the next couple of weeks I will travel to Cooma, Ulladulla and Sydney.  Interestingly, before he met up with the Clarke gang, the Long Tailor worked for the Registrar of the Magistrates Court at Ulladulla.  During the period I am examining, the Registrar, Wareham established a fine colonial residence a little inland from the sea, at a property close to both the private town of Milton and the Government settlement of Ulludulla.

A special thanks to all those who have helped me this week :)

Peter Quinton
Palerang  May 2014