Michael Cotter & Family Bailed Up
On the evening of 19th March 1857 a travelling hawker set up camp beside a creek near Michael Cotter's hut. Michael Cotter worked as a shepherd and caretaker of Mrs Gibson's Taylor Creek property near Wallah Wallah and was still away from the hut at the time. At home was his wife and children.
While sitting on a log, the hawker, Mr Thomas Kerr was approached by three men with blackened faces one who drew a double barrelled shotgun and another who drew a double barrelled pistol on him.
Kerr was forced into the hut with the family while his dray was emptied of it's money till and a number of expensive items of clothing and cutlery. He was told to stay in the hut for half an hour and not raise the alarm to give the bushrangers time to escape, but it was then that Michael Cotter and a companion arrived home where they too were forced into the hut with the threat that they would "blow (his) brains out" should he look at them closely.
In the morning Cotter helped repack the ransacked dray and with Kerr they followed four or five horse tracks to William Corcoran's hut, though Corcoran was not home.
William Corcoran and John Purtle were bought to trial, with Scotchie still at large. The prisoners were acquitted in the end as Michael Cotter who knew Corcoran well did not recognise him as one of the black faced men. Purtel wasn't recognised by face and the voice had been disguised so it wasn't possible to convict him on evidence either.
The details of the case can be found in the following articles.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/64987744
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/118310744
There are many mile markers and landmarks given in the articles that help to pinpoint the location of Cotter's Hut. Here are some tidbits of information that I will try to track next.
While sitting on a log, the hawker, Mr Thomas Kerr was approached by three men with blackened faces one who drew a double barrelled shotgun and another who drew a double barrelled pistol on him.
Kerr was forced into the hut with the family while his dray was emptied of it's money till and a number of expensive items of clothing and cutlery. He was told to stay in the hut for half an hour and not raise the alarm to give the bushrangers time to escape, but it was then that Michael Cotter and a companion arrived home where they too were forced into the hut with the threat that they would "blow (his) brains out" should he look at them closely.
In the morning Cotter helped repack the ransacked dray and with Kerr they followed four or five horse tracks to William Corcoran's hut, though Corcoran was not home.
William Corcoran and John Purtle were bought to trial, with Scotchie still at large. The prisoners were acquitted in the end as Michael Cotter who knew Corcoran well did not recognise him as one of the black faced men. Purtel wasn't recognised by face and the voice had been disguised so it wasn't possible to convict him on evidence either.
The details of the case can be found in the following articles.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/64987744
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/118310744
There are many mile markers and landmarks given in the articles that help to pinpoint the location of Cotter's Hut. Here are some tidbits of information that I will try to track next.
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