John Tennant (bushranger)

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John Tennant was an Australian bushranger who was active around the Canberra district in the 1820s. Mount Tennent is named after him as it was on the slopes of this steep mountain behind the village of Tharwa where he would hide.

Tennant was born in Belfast, Ireland, and was 29 years old when he was sentenced to transportation to Australia for life in 1823. He arrived in Sydney on 12 July 1824 on the 'Prince Regent'. He was assigned to Joshua John Moore and sent with two other men, James Clarke and John McLaughlin, to establish Moore's property Canberry or Canberra, the first European habitation on the Limestone Plains.

In 1826 Tennant and another man, John Ricks, absconded from their assigned landholder and took to the bush. At about noon on November 21 or 22 1826, he and John Ricks (some references spell it Rix) robbed the camp of James Ainslie, the overseer at Duntroon. He stole nine vests of various colours, foreign and local currency, two silk handkerchiefs, 150 lbs of flour and 29 lbs of Brazilian tobacco. He then hid out on Mount Tennant, then called Mount Currie, and took to the bush.

On January 8, 1828, about 2 a.m., Mr. J. J. Moore's station was stuck up by Tennant and Rix, and all his men rounded up and placed under guard. Mr. Cowan, awakened by the noise, jumped out of bed and armed himself with a musket and handing another to his hutkeeper, William Waterson. The bushrangers demanded that Cowan should open the door and come out, to which Cowan replied that "he would defend his hut to the last." Tennant, whom Mr. Cowan had been able to recognise (the night being moonlight), "making use of horrid oaths and violent threats," said to Cowan, "If you don't come out of the hut I will burn you out." Tennant's companion, who proved to be Rix called out, "Tennant, fire in, what signifies the life of one or two?" Tennant was as good as his word, and actually set the bark roof alight on two occasions, but probably from being damp the bark would not burn. At this juncture, Thomas Leahy, an assigned servant of Mr. J. J. Moore, appealed to Tennant, saving,. "Don't do that, Tennant, Mr. Cowan never did you any harm." Tennant replied, Well, I will not burn the hut, but if anyone, Scotch, Irish, or English came after them, he would have their lives.

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