Mounted Police in N.S.W.

A history of heroism and duty since 1821

by John O’Sullivan

Rigby, 1979, [First Edition], ISBN 0727007955, black and white photographic plates, hardcover, dustjacket

Very Good Condition, minor edge and shelf wear, minor rubbing and bumping to edges and corners, no inscriptions, dustjacket shows minor edge and shelf wear with minor rubbing and bumping (see photographs)

“This book is based on the often forgotten fact that the true heroes of the Outback in the early days were not the bushrangers, murderers, and other criminals, but the men who braved great dangers to bring them justice.
Two of them were Constables Miles O’Grady and Daniel Byrne.  O’Grady was ill with cholera when, on 9 April 1866, he rose form his sick bed to shoot it out with the Clarke gang, known as the ‘bloodiest bushrangers’.  He was shot dead.
Byrne, almost single-handed, fought off the Ben Hall gang when they attacked a gold escort at Major’s Creek on 13 March 1865.  With only the cart wheels for protection he withstood their fire for three-quarters of an hour.
These gallant exploits were symbolic of the harsh duties demanded of the Mounted Police.  They were the only representatives of the law in the tumultuous new settlements of goldrush days.  They had to track down crazed criminals, control riots, police the settlements, and live under appalling conditions at minimal pay.  Many settlers were ex-convicts embittered against the law, and mounted troopers received far more abuse than praise.  Administrators of the force were not always ideal men for the job, and such characters as Sir Frederick Pottinger were publicly ridiculed.”