Last modified on 20 November 2015, at 21:59

Cookson, 09 09 1911 4

9 September 1911

(full text transcription)

THE NEW GOLD MINE

Next morning four other male visitors were intercepted and stuck up. During their stay at this station the outlaws candidly informed their prisoners that they were going to stick up the bank at Euroa. Accordingly, on the afternoon of the second day, leaving Byrne in charge of the prisoners, the other three started out to work what they called their new gold mine.

First of all they cut the telegraph wires; in fact, they chopped the posts down, to make sure, and were careful to rip off more wire than an ordinary repairer would carry with him. Three or four railway men who saw them at work endeavoured to ??? fere; but in a few minutes they joined all the other prisoners in Younghusband's storeroom.

Carrying a cheque drawn by Mr Macauley on the National Bank for a few pounds, the three bushrangers, all heavilly armed, went to the bank. In the meantime Byrne had apprehended a telegraph line repair who had begun to make trouble. It was after closing time when the others reached the bank, to which they travelled in the cart taken from the hawker. Ned Kelly knocked at the door and persuaded the clerk to open it and cash the cheque he had. No sooner had the bushrangers stepped in than he closed the door, and the unwise clerk found himself looking into the muzzle of the big revolver that was Kelly's favourite weapon. The manager, Mr Scott, was next bailed up. The robbers took £700 in notes, gold and silver. Ned Kelly insisted to the manager that there was more mopney there, and eventually compelled him to open the safe, from which the outlaws got £1500 in paper, £300 in gold, about £300 worth of gold dust, and nearly £100 worth of silver. The behaviour of the outlaws to Mrs Scott was polite and considerate; indeed it was some time before that ladywould believe that the tall kindly mannered man who was speaking to her was the notorious outlaw chief. Mr Scott, before he left the bank, invited the outlaws to drink whisky with him, which they did. They drank each other's health cordially. Then the whole party went to Younghusband's where the rest of the prisoners were. The evening seems to have passed quite pleasantly. At half past 8 the outlaws warned the prisoners not to move for three hours, informing them that they were going. Just before they left Ned Kelly noticed that a Mr MacDougall was wearing a watch, and asked for it MacDougall replied that it was a gift from his dead mother. Kelly declared that he wouldn't take it under any consideration, and very soon afterwards the four of the outlaws left.

It is a remarkable thing that all these stirring events happened without the people in the town knowing anything that was going on.

See previous page / next page


 ! The text has been retyped from a microfiche copy of the original.

We have taken care to reproduce this document but areas of the original text may been damaged.

We also apologise for any typographical errors.

the previous day / next day . . . BW Cookson in the Sydney Sun index Cookson_index.html