Dan Morgan (bushranger)
| Dan Morgan | |
|---|---|
Dan Morgan, 1864
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| Born |
John Fuller 30 April 1830 Appin, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 9 April 1865 (aged 34) Peechelba, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation | Bushranger |
Dan Morgan (30 April 1830 – 9 April 1865), born John Fuller, was an Australian bushranger. Nicknamed "Mad Dog", he was known for his erratic behaviour and often violent mood swings, and was regarded in his time as "the most bloodthirsty ruffian that over took to the bush in Australia".
After killing a trooper in July 1864, the Government of New South Wales put a £1,000 bounty on Morgan's head. He was shot and killed after holding up Peechelba Station in Victoria.
His exploits inspired the 1976 Ozploitation film Mad Dog Morgan, starring Dennis Hopper in the title role.
John Fuller was born in Appin,New South Wales, Australia on 30 April 1830 to George Fuller and Mary Owen.
At one time there was a press controversy as to Morgan's proper name, some holding that it was Moran, while others maintained that it was Owen. All are agreed that Morgan was not his real name. Official records show that he was the illegitimate son of a woman named Mary Owen, but known as "The Gipsy." His father was George Fuller, well known about the Haymarket in Sydney, where he plied a vegetable and fruit barrow.
As a child, John Fuller was adopted by a man known as "Jack the Welshman". In 1847 the youth left his foster parent at Campbelltown, and found employment on a station on the Murrumbidgee as a stock-rider. Proving efficient, he worked at the station for seven years. Although suspected of stock theft from the late 1840s, Fuller's known criminal record began on 10 June 1854 when, under the name "John Smith" (occupation: jockey), he was sentenced to twelve years' hard labour for highway robbery at Castlemaine, Victoria.
Released in June 1860 from the prison ship Success on a ticket-of-leave for good behaviour, Fuller failed to report to the police in the Ovens police district. On June 22, 1863, the following news item appeared - "On Friday afternoon news came into Albury that three of the young Purtells and two young men named Pabst were stuck up by a couple of men answering to the description of Morgan and his mate. The lads were preceding from Ten Mile Creek to attend some races at Merritt's Cookardinia Inn. They were robbed of three races horses and three saddles and bridles; also of fifteen shillings in cash. One of the horses has since returned to Ten Mile Creek minus the saddle and bridle". In August that year, he stole a prized horse belonging to the Evans family, who held the Whitfield run in the upper King River valley. Evan Evans, with fellow squatter Edmond Bond, tracked Fuller to his camp. Jack was badly wounded but escaped into the eastern Riverina and western slopes of New South Wales. His mother, in the meantime, had married, and was living at Bathurst, so young Owen decided to visit her, and stole two horses to make the trip. Along the road, he had one encounter with a party of police who were after him for stealing the horses, but he managed to evade arrest.
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Wikipedia