To Those that Wait by Narelle Fernance

Is it possible that when Thunderbolt was shot at Kentucky Creek…it wasn’t Fred Ward lying dead in the bloodied water? 

History reports that the body of a man shot at Kentucky Creek, near Uralla, on the Northern Tablelands of NSW Australia in 1870, was identified by independent witnesses, being a Cockatoo Island prison guard; Fred’s Cooyal Station mate; Will Monckton (Thunderbolt’s apprentice); and by the local constabulary as being that of Thunderbolt.

The Cooyal Station mate, having witnessed the unjust treatment of Fred at the Maitland Courthouse, wouldn’t he be keen for Fred to get some respite? Wouldn’t Will Monckton, who thought of Fred as a father figure, want to give Fred an even break? Will had enjoyed riding the ranges with Thunderbolt, the impromptu parties that he led at local inns, the bush yarning by the campfire — there was more to bushranging than taking valuables from rich people on a stagecoach!

Both men had enjoyed Fred’s company and knew, that by identifying the body as Fred, they would leave the ‘Colony-Gates’ wide open for Fred to escape to America, just as he had dreamed of.

In addition, young Will Monckton had been told, that the rest of his prison sentence would be quashed, if he agreed to tell the authorities what they wanted to hear!

Thus, with Thunderbolt officially dead, would not Fred be free to collect his illicit takings from the various hiding places, pay to continue his education, and dress to a suitable level to be accepted as a business gentleman of means?

Then, could he not have moved on to the Northwest Territories in Canada and on to Ottawa in the East?