'Attacking the mail, bushranging, NSW 1864'

• This asset is a depiction of an attack by bushrangers during the gold rush era of the 1850s to the 1870s - roads from the gold fields were often plagued by bushrangers in both New South Wales and Victoria; the discovery of gold created the breeding ground for frequent activity by young Australian-born 'wild colonial Boys'; between 1862 and 1867, bushrangers killed 20 men and 20 police were wounded; during the same period, 23 bushrangers were killed or hanged.
• It suggests that bushrangers, who regularly roamed in gangs, were often well equipped with horses and weapons - these were frequently stolen from the police or wealthy landowners; bushrangers were familiar with the country and were sometimes supported by local people.
• It shows the Royal Mail, probably a Cobb and Co coach, painted in the red and straw of the New South Wales fleet and displaying the Royal monogram - before the banking industry gave customers the security of cheques, cash was often posted in letters and passengers often carried valuables, making the Royal Mail a favourite target for bushrangers; governments and private business interests organised ‘gold escorts’ of mounted police or hired guards.
• It reveals that the open wagon was heavily loaded with mail and passengers, both on top and in the 'hind boot' - Cobb and Co was a mail contractor for the Postmaster-General's Departments in both NSW and Victoria (the colonial forerunners of Australia Post) and was renowned for its speed and reliability in getting the mail through on time.
• It gives an indication of the firearms used by the bushrangers - the weapons depicted are probably pistols, Colt revolvers and shotguns; the pistol was the unreliable flintlock muzzle-loaded type and the shotgun was possibly the percussion Constabulary carbine used by police; Colt revolvers fired five shots and the Carbine was a four-shot revolving rifle; bushrangers usually carried several weapons, including knives.
• It shows examples of colonial clothing - clothing worn by the bushrangers includes the Crimean shirt (a garment without buttons and with a wide V-neck and collar, long sleeves and slits at each side), long boots and cabbage tree hat; the passengers are in more formal attire, indicating relative affluence, with top hats, bowler hats and dress coats depicted; one passenger, seen trying to escape, is wearing a monkey jacket or type of waistcoat that was also common apparel of the times.
• It shows that the coach was unprotected - the police forces were understaffed and poorly trained, and policemen had deserted the force in droves in the rush for gold; even protected coaches were in danger from the well-organised gangs of bushrangers: Frank Gardiner's gang robbed the Eugowra gold escort in 1862 of £14,000, at a time when a policeman's annual wage was £60.
• It is an example of the work of S T Gill that depicts colonial life in the mid-19th century - after becoming bankrupt in South Australia, Gill tried prospecting in Victoria but found he could make a better living working at his art; for 15 years he recorded the lives and occupations of people on the gold fields before spending eight years in Sydney; his many artworks provide an insight into the lives of the pioneers.

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