Harry Redford
Encyclopedia
Henry Arthur "Harry" Readford (sometimes spelt "Redford" in Queensland,) was a well known Australia
n cattle thief or cattle 'duffer'. It is widely believed that the Captain Starlight character in Rolf Boldrewood
's novel Robbery Under Arms
was based on Readford as Readford's 1870 cattle drive was a major story arc
in the book.
Readford was the better known of two bushranger
s known by the name of Captain Starlight. The other being Frank Pearson
. Neither were kn own as Captain Starlight prior to the publication of the novel in 1889. Boldrewood himself claimed that the Captain Starlight character in his novel was a composite of several bushrangers that included Henry Readford and Frank Pearson but that the primary inspiration was Captain Midnight.
of New South Wales
to a respectable family. He originally operated locally but later moved to Queensland
where there were more opportunities for rustling.
. Realising that remote parts of the property, which stretched some 228 km (141.7 mi) along the Thomson River
, were seldom visited by station workers he devised a plan to steal some of the station's cattle. With two associates, George Dewdney and William Rooke, he built stockyards in an outlying part of the property, and gradually assembled a mob of about 1,000 cattle, which he then took from the property, all without any of the station workers realising what was going on.
He knew the cattle would be recognised from their brands as being stolen if he tried to sell them in Queensland, so he headed for South Australia
through the Channel Country
and the Strzelecki Desert
. Only ten years earlier explorers Burke and Wills had set out to cross the continent along the same track, and died in the attempt. As a droving
exercise, it was a remarkable achievement, as anyone who has travelled the present-day Strzelecki Track
will know. Three months and 1287 km (799.7 mi) later he exchanged two cows and a white bull for rations at Artracoona Native Well near Hill Hill Station. They then moved the remainder of the mob to Mt Hopeless and then sold them for £5,000 (2009:A$250,000) at Blanchewater Station, east of Marree
.
Workers at Bowen Downs eventually discovered the yards, and the tracks heading south. A party of stockmen and Aboriginal tracker
s set out on the trail, many weeks behind Readford. They eventually reached Artracoona where they recognised the white bull.
Readford was apprehended in Sydney
in 1872, and faced trial in Roma
. However, the jury were so impressed by his achievements that they found him not guilty, whereupon the judge is said to have remarked, "Thank God, gentlemen, that verdict is yours and not mine!" In response to the verdict, the Government shut down the Roma District Court
for eight months.
In 1881, several counts of horse stealing resulted in Readford being jailed for eighteen months in Brisbane
. After his release, he drove cattle from the Atherton Tableland
to Dubbo. In 1883, on behalf of Macdonald, Smith and Co., Readford drove 3,000 cattle which were the first mob taken to Brunette Downs near Corella Creek on the Barkly Tableland in the Northern Territory
where he was the station manager. In 1899 he became the manager of McArthur River Station]].
In 1901 Readford set off from Brunette Downs to explore Central Australia but drowned while trying to swim across Corella Creek which had flooded due to heavy rain.
Readford became something of a national hero, and the character Captain Starlight in Rolf Boldrewood’s
book Robbery Under Arms
was based in part on his exploits. An annual Harry Redford Cattle Drive commemorates his exploits as a drover. A range of riders from the city and country participate in this droving expedition for their choice of three days to three weeks.
"Harry Redford, The Movie" was produced in 2008 as a 20-minute DVD in widescreen PAL format by the Brisbane Video Makers Association. To purchase a copy, contact the Association at PO Box 419, Coorparoo Qld 4151.
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...
n cattle thief or cattle 'duffer'. It is widely believed that the Captain Starlight character in Rolf Boldrewood
Thomas Alexander Browne
Thomas Alexander Browne was an Australian writer, who sometimes published under the pseudonym Rolf Boldrewood and best known for his novel Robbery Under Arms.-Biography:...
's novel Robbery Under Arms
Robbery Under Arms
Robbery Under Arms is a classic Australian novel by Rolf Boldrewood . It was first published in serialised form by The Sydney Mail between July 1882 and August 1883, then in three volumes in London in 1888...
was based on Readford as Readford's 1870 cattle drive was a major story arc
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
in the book.
Readford was the better known of two bushranger
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...
s known by the name of Captain Starlight. The other being Frank Pearson
Frank Pearson
Frank Pearson was an Australian bushranger. He called himself "Captain Starlight" and claimed he was the inspiration for the character Captain Starlight in Rolf Boldrewood's novel Robbery Under Arms, although the author denied this claim.Pearson was one of two bushrangers known by the name of...
. Neither were kn own as Captain Starlight prior to the publication of the novel in 1889. Boldrewood himself claimed that the Captain Starlight character in his novel was a composite of several bushrangers that included Henry Readford and Frank Pearson but that the primary inspiration was Captain Midnight.
Early life
Henry Arthur Readford (b. Dec 1841 d. March 1901) was born near Mudgee in the Cudgegong DistrictCudgegong River
The Cudgegong River is a tributary of the Macquarie River in New South Wales. It rises near Rylstone and flows generally north-west past Mudgee it flows past the edge of Gulgong and then into Lake Burrendong which is created by Burrendong Dam on the Macquarie River. Windamere Dam on the Cudgegong...
of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
to a respectable family. He originally operated locally but later moved to Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
where there were more opportunities for rustling.
Bowen Downs Station
In 1870, Readford was working as a stockman on Bowen Downs Station near Longreach in QueenslandQueensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. Realising that remote parts of the property, which stretched some 228 km (141.7 mi) along the Thomson River
Thomson River
Thomson River may refer to:*Thomson River , western Queensland, Australia*Thomson River , Victoria, Australia...
, were seldom visited by station workers he devised a plan to steal some of the station's cattle. With two associates, George Dewdney and William Rooke, he built stockyards in an outlying part of the property, and gradually assembled a mob of about 1,000 cattle, which he then took from the property, all without any of the station workers realising what was going on.
He knew the cattle would be recognised from their brands as being stolen if he tried to sell them in Queensland, so he headed for South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
through the Channel Country
Channel Country
The Channel Country is region of outback Australia located mostly in the state of Queensland but also in portions of South Australia, Northern Territory and New South Wales. The name comes from the numerous intertwined rivulets that cross the region, which cover 150,000 km²...
and the Strzelecki Desert
Strzelecki Desert
The Strzelecki Desert is located in the Far North Region of South Australia, southwest Queensland and western New South Wales. It is positioned in the northeast of the Lake Eyre Basin, and north of the Flinders Ranges. Two other deserts occupy the Lake Eyre Basin—the Tirari Desert and the...
. Only ten years earlier explorers Burke and Wills had set out to cross the continent along the same track, and died in the attempt. As a droving
Drover (Australian)
A drover in Australia is a person, typically an experienced stockman, who moves livestock, usually sheep or cattle, "on the hoof" over long distances. Reasons for droving may include: delivering animals to a new owner's property, taking animals to market, or moving animals during a drought in...
exercise, it was a remarkable achievement, as anyone who has travelled the present-day Strzelecki Track
Strzelecki Track
The Strzelecki Track is an outback track in South Australia, mostly unsealed but with a few short sealed sections to facilitate overtaking, linking Innamincka to Lyndhurst...
will know. Three months and 1287 km (799.7 mi) later he exchanged two cows and a white bull for rations at Artracoona Native Well near Hill Hill Station. They then moved the remainder of the mob to Mt Hopeless and then sold them for £5,000 (2009:A$250,000) at Blanchewater Station, east of Marree
Marree, South Australia
Marree is a small town located in the north of South Australia. It lies North of Adelaide at the junction of the Oodnadatta Track and the Birdsville Track, above sea level. The area is the home of the Dieri people. At the 2006 census, Marree had a population of 70.The town was home to Australia's...
.
Workers at Bowen Downs eventually discovered the yards, and the tracks heading south. A party of stockmen and Aboriginal tracker
Aboriginal tracker
In the years following British settlement in Australia, aboriginal trackers or black trackers, as they became known, were enlisted by settlers to assist them in navigating their way through the Australian landscape...
s set out on the trail, many weeks behind Readford. They eventually reached Artracoona where they recognised the white bull.
Later life
In April 1871 Readford married Elizabeth Jane Scuthorpe at Mrs Elizabeth Nevell's home in Lewis Street, Mudgee, NSW. The couple had at least one child, a daughter, Jemima Mary Elizabeth in 1872.Readford was apprehended in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in 1872, and faced trial in Roma
Roma, Queensland
Roma is a town in the western Darling Downs area of Queensland, Australia, by rail WNW of Brisbane. It is situated at the junction of the Warrego and Carnarvon highways...
. However, the jury were so impressed by his achievements that they found him not guilty, whereupon the judge is said to have remarked, "Thank God, gentlemen, that verdict is yours and not mine!" In response to the verdict, the Government shut down the Roma District Court
Roma Courthouse
Roma Courthouse is located at 141 McDowall Street, Roma in Queensland, Australia. Constructed in 1901, the heritage-listed courthouse is a rendered masonry building, which is still in use today...
for eight months.
In 1881, several counts of horse stealing resulted in Readford being jailed for eighteen months in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. After his release, he drove cattle from the Atherton Tableland
Atherton Tableland
The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia. It is located west to south-south-west inland from Cairns, well into the tropics, but its elevated position provides a climate suitable for dairy farming. It has an area of around...
to Dubbo. In 1883, on behalf of Macdonald, Smith and Co., Readford drove 3,000 cattle which were the first mob taken to Brunette Downs near Corella Creek on the Barkly Tableland in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
where he was the station manager. In 1899 he became the manager of McArthur River Station]].
In 1901 Readford set off from Brunette Downs to explore Central Australia but drowned while trying to swim across Corella Creek which had flooded due to heavy rain.
Readford became something of a national hero, and the character Captain Starlight in Rolf Boldrewood’s
Thomas Alexander Browne
Thomas Alexander Browne was an Australian writer, who sometimes published under the pseudonym Rolf Boldrewood and best known for his novel Robbery Under Arms.-Biography:...
book Robbery Under Arms
Robbery Under Arms
Robbery Under Arms is a classic Australian novel by Rolf Boldrewood . It was first published in serialised form by The Sydney Mail between July 1882 and August 1883, then in three volumes in London in 1888...
was based in part on his exploits. An annual Harry Redford Cattle Drive commemorates his exploits as a drover. A range of riders from the city and country participate in this droving expedition for their choice of three days to three weeks.
Further reading
- Clune, Frank (1945) Captain Starlight: Reckless Rascal of "Robbery Under Arms" Melbourne, Hawthorn Press
- Deckert, John, Harry Redford - Captain Starlight?
- Dwyer, Andrew (2007) OUTBACK- Recipes and Stories from the Campfire Miegunyah Press ISBN 978-0-522-85380-3
- McCarthy, Patrick, Starlight. The Man and the Myth. Hawthorn Press Melbourne 1972
- McCarthy, Patrick, The Man Who was Starlight : The Life and times of Henry Readford, stock thief, pathfinder and folk hero. (ISBN 004909033X) Sydney: Allen & Unwin : 1987.
- Strzelecki Creek National Heritage Place, http://www.aussieheritage.com.au/listings/sa/Innamincka/StrzeleckiCreekNationalHeritagePlace/11792
- Morrison, John, Harry Readford's Outback: Limited Edition Art and Story Book. (ISBN 978-0-9806176-1-0) Acumen Media Pty Ltd : 2010.
"Harry Redford, The Movie" was produced in 2008 as a 20-minute DVD in widescreen PAL format by the Brisbane Video Makers Association. To purchase a copy, contact the Association at PO Box 419, Coorparoo Qld 4151.