Mary Ann Bugg - Aboriginal Bushranger, Worimi woman & 'Thunderbolt's Gin'

| Captain Thunderbolt 1951 | Copyright & access issues | Chronology of references | Mary Ann Bugg |

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Mary Ann / Maggie
3. Baxter controversy 2011
4. References

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1. Introduction

When one speaks of the Australian bushranger tradition, the first thing that comes to mind is usually the Kelly Gang, led by Ned Kelly (1854-1880), and their Victorian adventures during the second half of the nineteenth century. As such, bushranging in Australian history is generally considered a male domain, and rightly so. However, there can be said to have been at least three notable exceptions, Jessie Hickman, Mary Cockerill, and the subject of this article Mary Ann Bugg (1834- 1905), the partner of Fred Ward (1835-1870), also known as Captain Thunderbolt. Mary Ann was an Australian Aboriginal, 'a proud Worimi woman', as noted in her McCrossin's Mill Uralla Museum webpage. Mary Ann's mother was Indigenous and her father a convict. She was intimately connected with Ward from 1860 through to 1867, bearing three of his children and collaborating with him during his time as a bushranger. She played an important role in his life and that of their family, and facilitated him becoming the longest serving Australian bushranger, operating for a decade during the 1860s.

A book featuring Mary Ann was published by Carol Baxter in 2011 and over the years numerous articles and websites / blogs have appeared bringing to light her exploits and the important role she played not only in the Captain Thunderbolt story, but also in her own as a mother and community member. The present blog brings together material pertaining to Mary Ann Bugg and some of the controversy surrounding her life, and specifically her time with Frederick Ward which, due to their notoriety, is well documented. Having said that, there is also much confusion around the subjects of Ward and Bugg, and this continues to the present day.

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2. Mary Ann / Maggie

Mary Ann, being Aboriginal, was subject to the extreme racism and abuses handed out by non-Indigenous society in Australia throughout her lifetime. She and her children were discriminated against, as was Ward in publically being in an open relationship with her. Evidence that this controversy had not dissipated can be seen in the fact that almost a century later - during 1951 - her true story was specifically altered in the Australian cinema and television film Captain Thunderbolt directed by Cecil Holmes. In the script written by Creswick Jenkinson, Mary Ann Bugg, the partner of Frederick Ward, is turned into Maggie, the partner of Alan Blake, Ward's partner in crime. In that film, Thunderbolt's childhood sweetheart and love becomes the non-Indigenous Joan. The script does contain a marriage ceremony between Maggie and Alan, however that scene was censored out of the film as shown on television and apparently in overseas release, such as in England. The image of a white man marrying an Aboriginal woman was apparently too controversial for cinema release during the 1950s, such was the racism still present and supported across most levels of Western society.

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2. The Baxter book controversy 2011

In 2011 Carol Baxter published her book Captain Thunderbolt & His Lady. In it she included the statement that, according to her research, Bugg died in 1905, not 1867 as previously reported. This gave rise to a considerable controversy and numerous letters to the editor is local newspapers. This was the second major controversy in the Captain Thunderbolt story. The other was around the issue of whether Ward was shot and killed by the police in 1870, or whether it was his partner who died - as presented in the 1951 Captain Thunderbolt movie - and that the real bushranger actually escaped to the United States where he started a new life and passed away in old age.

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3. References

Baxter, Carol, Captain Thunderbolt & His Lady, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 2011.

-----, Bushranger Thunderbolt and Mary Ann Bugg [website], 2011.

Bierens, Kali. The Captain’s Lady: Mary Ann Bugg, Honours Thesis, University of Tasmania, 2008.

Bushrangers & Bloodborne: Ep.3 Mary Ann Bugg, Always Something Productions, 16 November 2022, YouTube, duration: 42.49 minutes.

Dulaney, Michael, Mary Ann Bugg, the Aboriginal bushranger erased from Australian folklore, ABC News, 17 November 2019.

Mary Ann Bugg [webpage], McCrossin's Mill Uralla Museum, Uralla Historical Society, 4 June 2021.

Mary Ann Bugg - Flirting in the 1800s, Sheilas, 8 August 2018, YouTube, duration: 1.12 minutes.

Mary Ann Bugg [audio], What You Should Know - Australia, 20 June 2022, YouTube, duration: 13.47 minutes.

Mary Ann Bugg [webpage], Wikipedia, accessed 10 May 2024.

The Captain's Lady - The Ballad of Mary Ann Bugg [song], Bill 'Swampy' Marsh, 28 March 2018, YouTube, duration: minutes.

Tisdell, Steph, Mary Ann Bugg - The first female Aboriginal bushranger [video], Drunk History Australia, 2021, duration: 6.33 minutes.

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| Captain Thunderbolt 1951 | Copyright access issues | Chronology of references | Mary Ann Bugg |

Last updated: 10 May 2024

Michael Organ, Australia