John Thompson (bushranger)

John Massey Thompson (born c. 1847) was an Australian bushranger and member of Captain Thunderbolt's first gang. Thompson participated in various raids and robberies until April 1865, when he was seriously wounded in a gunfight and captured by the police. He escaped prison and returned to crime before disappearing into obscurity.

Thompson, 1872

Life

Born in London, England, Thompson was one of 16 children of William and Eliza Thompson (née Massey). The family migrated to New South Wales, Australia in 1852. Thompson worked as a carpenter on Terrehihi Station. In early 1865, after threatening to shoot his employer, Thompson took to the bush and fell in with Captain Thunderbolt, one of the colony's most notorious bushrangers. Joined by accomplices Mary Ann Bugg and Thomas "The Bull" Hogan, they formed a gang that operated mostly in the region around the Culgoa and Bokhara rivers, in the north-western plains.

Thompson was involved in raids on several stations and hotels, as well as various other robberies. In April 1865, he was shot several times during a shootout with the police at the Millie Inn, near Wee Waa, leading to his arrest. The other bushrangers escaped unharmed. Against expectations, Thompson survived his wounds, and was convicted of robbery and sentenced to 15 years. He escaped Tamworth Gaol on 10 June, but was soon recaptured, and spent periods of his incarceration at Cockatoo Island, Darlinghurst Gaol, Parramatta Gaol and Berrima Gaol.

In June 1872, Thompson's sentence was commuted, and he was released. He soon returned to a life of crime, engaging in robberies and other criminal activities in Sydney. He spent most of the following decades in and out of prison before eventually fading into obscurity in the 1890s.

Bibliography

• Baxter, Carol (2011). Captain Thunderbolt and His Lady: The True Story of Bushrangers Frederick Ward and Mary Ann Bugg. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9781742693583.