10 Facts about Captain Thunderbolt

Wednesday, October 14th 2015. | Figures


Facts about Captain Thunderbolt tell you about an Australian bushranger. His real name was Frederick Wordsworth Ward. This man was born in 1835 and died on 25 May 1870. People recognized him more after he was able to escape from Cockatoo Island. If you check the history of Australia, he is considered as the longest roaming bushranger.  At that time, he earned the reputation as the gentleman bushranger. Check other interesting facts about Captain Thunderbolt below:

Facts about Captain Thunderbolt 1: parents

Let’s find the parents of Captain Thunderbolt. His mother was Sophia, while his father was Michael Ward. He was a convict.

Facts about Captain Thunderbolt 2: the year of birth

Thunderbolt was born in 1835. It was the year when his father and mother relocated to nearby Windsor from Wilberforce, New South Wales. Get facts about Australia here.

Facts about Captain Thunderbolt

Facts about Captain Thunderbolt

Facts about Captain Thunderbolt 3: the work

When he was 11 years old, the owners of Aberbaldie station near Walcha employed him. However, he worked for them in a very short period. For the next 10 years, he had worked in different stations in northern New South Wales.

Facts about Captain Thunderbolt 4: horsemanship

Ward has great skill of horsemanship since he had worked in horse stud Tocal. One of his important jobs was horsebreaking.

Captain Thunderbolt

Captain Thunderbolt

Facts about Captain Thunderbolt 5: the early life of his parents

The early marriage life of Sophia and Michael was not known much due to the limited record about it. However, the couple was blessed with 10 children in the family.

Facts about Captain Thunderbolt 6: John Garbutt

John Garbutt was the nephew of Ward. Garbutt’s job was as a ringleader for the cattle and horse stealing operation. Hearing about it, the family of Ward was interested to join the operation.

Captain Thunderbolt Image

Captain Thunderbolt Image

Facts about Captain Thunderbolt 7: the auction

The stealing horses were sold at the auction. Ward had the job to drive the stolen horses to Windsor from Lambs Vallet property of his brother.

Facts about Captain Thunderbolt 8: the convicted ones

Both Garbutt and Ward were convicted since Garbutt stole the horses, while Ward knew that they were the stolen horses and still received and sold them at the auction.

Captain Thunderbolt Facts

Captain Thunderbolt Facts

Facts about Captain Thunderbolt 9: escape from Cockatoo Island

Ward was famous after he was able to escape from Cockatoo Island. He spent two days hiding with his workgang in the island before they swam to leave the island. Get facts about Australian History here.

Facts about Captain Thunderbolt 10: death

Ward was shot when they had a gunfight with the troopers. The back of the left knee was critically injured and made him died.

Captain Thunderbolt Picture

Captain Thunderbolt Picture

Do you have questions on facts about Captain Thunderbolt?


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