Frank McCallum
Encyclopedia
Francis McNeish McNeil McCallum (Captain Melville) was a notorious bushranger
during the early part of the Victorian Gold Rush
in Australia
.
After being convicted under the alias Francis Melville, McCallum was transported
to Van Diemens Land as a convict in 1838, aged 15, and left for Melbourne
about October 1851.
During 1852 as Captain Melville he was alleged to have led a large band of bushrangers on the roads in the Black Forest between Melbourne and Ballarat, and gained a folkloric reputation through the boldness of his outrages and the chivalry he showed to many, especially women. His name was associated with the Nelson robbery
and St Kilda Road robberies
, probably without foundation as in reality he seems to have spent most of his time bailing up diggers around Mount Macedon, either on his own or with one or two mates.
On Christmas Eve 1852, when under the alias of Thomas Smith, he and fellow bushranger William Robert Roberts were arrested at a brothel in Corio Street, Geelong, and eventually faced Judge Redmond Barry
at the Geelong Circuit Court on 3 February 1853 on three counts of robbery. Barry sentenced both men to twelve, ten and ten years on each count, respectively – in Melville’s case to be served consecutively.
Although employed in chains on the roads of Victoria by the time of the Melbourne Private Escort Robbery
of 20 July 1853, Captain Melville’s name has become associated with it over the years because of the coincidence of one of the Escort robbers, George Melville, using the same surname as his alias.
In 1854 he was one of a party of prisoners based on the prison hulk Success
in Port Phillip Bay who attempted to seize and escape in a boat, during which a warder was killed. Sentenced to death but reprieved, he was then sent to Old Melbourne Gaol, where he was found hanged in his cell on 10 August 1857.
Bushranger
Bushrangers, or bush rangers, originally referred to runaway convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who had the survival skills necessary to use the Australian bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities...
during the early part of the Victorian Gold Rush
Victorian gold rush
The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. In 10 years the Australian population nearly tripled.- Overview :During this era Victoria dominated the world's gold output...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
After being convicted under the alias Francis Melville, McCallum was transported
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
to Van Diemens Land as a convict in 1838, aged 15, and left for Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
about October 1851.
During 1852 as Captain Melville he was alleged to have led a large band of bushrangers on the roads in the Black Forest between Melbourne and Ballarat, and gained a folkloric reputation through the boldness of his outrages and the chivalry he showed to many, especially women. His name was associated with the Nelson robbery
Nelson robbery
The Nelson robbery was one of the major crimes of the Victorian gold rush. It involved the robbery at gunpoint of 8,183 ounces of gold valued at about £30,000 by a party of thieves from the barque Nelson as she lay at anchor in Hobsons Bay off Melbourne on the night of 1–2 April...
and St Kilda Road robberies
St Kilda Road robberies
During the first eighteen months of the Victorian gold rush, the section of St Kilda Road between Melbourne and Canvas Town was the scene of frequent hold-ups by armed bandits and bushrangers, mostly former convicts from Van Diemens Land.-The last major offense:On 17 March 1853, gold-buyer Edward...
, probably without foundation as in reality he seems to have spent most of his time bailing up diggers around Mount Macedon, either on his own or with one or two mates.
On Christmas Eve 1852, when under the alias of Thomas Smith, he and fellow bushranger William Robert Roberts were arrested at a brothel in Corio Street, Geelong, and eventually faced Judge Redmond Barry
Redmond Barry
Sir Redmond Barry KCMG was an Irish colonial judge in Victoria, Australia.-Early life:Barry was the son of Major-General Henry Green Barry, of Ballyclough, County Cork and his wife Phoebe Drought, daughter of John Armstrong Drought and Letita Head...
at the Geelong Circuit Court on 3 February 1853 on three counts of robbery. Barry sentenced both men to twelve, ten and ten years on each count, respectively – in Melville’s case to be served consecutively.
Although employed in chains on the roads of Victoria by the time of the Melbourne Private Escort Robbery
John Francis (bushranger)
John Francis was one of a party of bushrangers who held up the Melbourne Private Escort Company's regular escort of gold from the McIvor diggings at Heathcote, Victoria and Kyneton on the morning of 20 July 1853. At least six men were involved, five of whom including John Francis and his brother...
of 20 July 1853, Captain Melville’s name has become associated with it over the years because of the coincidence of one of the Escort robbers, George Melville, using the same surname as his alias.
In 1854 he was one of a party of prisoners based on the prison hulk Success
Success (prison ship)
Success was a former Australian prison ship, built in 1840. Between the 1890s and the 1930s, she was converted into a floating museum displaying relics of the convict era and purporting to represent the horrors of penal transportation in Great Britain and the United States of America...
in Port Phillip Bay who attempted to seize and escape in a boat, during which a warder was killed. Sentenced to death but reprieved, he was then sent to Old Melbourne Gaol, where he was found hanged in his cell on 10 August 1857.