Capture of Tho & J.N. Clarke

George Lacy

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The Clarke brothers, Thomas (1840?–1867) and John (1856?–1867) were born at Braidwood and initiated into a life of crime by their father, John, when only boys. By the mid-1860s, the Clarkes were notorious: horse- and cattle-stealing, robbery, assault and murder. The public outcry led to a number of official attempts to eradicate the gang. In 1867, a reward of £5000 for their capture was offered.

The Clarke brothers eventually were cornered in a slab hut in the scrub near Jinden Creek, south of Braidwood. Fifteen troopers surrounded the hut on 28 April 1867. There was a shoot-out and Constable William Walsh sustained gunshot wounds before the brothers surrendered. They were tried and hanged at Darlinghurst Gaol in June 1867.

Sir Henry Parkes used this case to push for public education reforms. The fact that the Clarke brothers had no access to schools and no education was seen as a major contributor to their crimes.

George Lacy (c.1817–1878) was a resident of the Braidwood area, a schoolteacher who also contributed lively drawings of bush life to the Illustrated Sydney News.
Display item Capture of Tho & J.N. Clarke

 

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