For two long years, Tom and John Clarke had terrorised south eastern NSW. Between 1865 and 1867 the Braidwood based brothers committed countless robberies, assaults and murders. This was the end of their bushranging days.
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At 6 in the morning, on Wednesday April 9, John and Tom Clarke emerged from their hut. The brothers were saddling their horses when a hail of bullets began to rain down on them. As the brothers rushed towards shelter, they drew their rifles and began to shoot.
That was the scene in Braidwood this weekend, as the Historical Society re-enacted the capture of these infamous bushrangers. One hundred and fifty years on, another pair of Clarke brothers were centre stage. Tom and Luke Clarke played the part of their famous ancestors. The brothers are fifth generation descendants of a brother of the bushrangers.
Over 3000 people gathered to watch the event. The crowds watched as uniformed police officers set a trap for the Clarkes. As the Clarkes emerged from their slab hut, they began to shoot. Puffs of gunsmoke filled the air as the brothers raced inside. Half an hour of shooting followed, during which the crowds could see the barrels of the Clarkes’ guns poking out from the windows of the hut.
In 1867, after six hours of shooting and hopelessly outnumbered, the Clarkes surrendered. On June 25 they were hanged for their crimes.
This marked the end of the reign of bushrangers in NSW.
A few skittish horses aside, the event went to perfectly to plan. “The cast did a terrific job when you consider that there’s 20 actors, all local people, never done anything like this before and we had two hours of rehearsals this morning,” said Peter Smith President of the Historical Society.
“The week has been terrific, the publicity and the interest has just been amazing.”
“It’s not only important for Braidwood, it’s important for the history of the whole of NSW and the police,” he said.
More to come.