Conman, Bushranger and Gay Icon

 

I like to keep my blogs relatively topical so as Sydney is hosting World Pride it was decided a gay icon was needed and there were a few candidates. I finally chose a man who was many things: conman, criminal, bushranger as well as a gay icon.

ANDREW GEORGE SCOTT aka CAPTAIN MOONLITE

Scott was born in Ireland in mid 1842, the son of Thomas Scott, an Anglican man of the cloth, and his wife Bessie. It is written that Scott was a handsome, charismatic and intelligent child who, as a young adult, was known for his impulsive acts of violence.

The family, including his younger brother Thomas sailed to Auckland New Zealand on the “Black Eagle”. His father took charge of Christ Church, Coromandel, and his brother was ordained a priest. Scott was a teacher and entered the Auckland Militia in 1864 but in late 1867 he arrived in Australia. In April 1868, he was appointed as a paid lay preacher of the Church of Holy Trinity, Bacchus Marsh. Scott had grandiose plans to be an engineer but in early 1869 he was sent as a lay reader to Egerton near Ballarat, where he made friends with the local schoolmaster, James Simpson and Mr. Ludwig Julius Bruun, Agent for the town’s branch of the London Chartered Bank. As Brunn was returning to the Bank late on 8^th May, Scott disguised in a mask and cloak, attacked him and forced him to hand over the contents of the safe. Scott then made Bruun write a note stating his resistance to the robbery; Scott signed it with the moniker of “Captain Moonlite”.

Andrew George Scott aka Captain Moonlite - Wikipedia

Bruun claimed the man sounded like Scott, but no evidence of the crime was found in Scott’s possession. Scott then accused Bruun and Simpson of the crime who then became the focus of Police suspicion. Scott took this opportunity to leave for Sydney as soon as possible.

Scott resigned his lay readership, bought some horses, kept a groom and lived the high life. Towards the end of 1870 he begun passing valueless cheques and fraudently bought the yacht “Why-Not”, arranged a skipper and a young lady to accompany him but was arrested by the water police as he tried to sail to Fiji. He was sentenced to twelve months in Maitland Gaol, some his time being spent in Parramatta Lunatic Asylum, feigning madness. During this sentence he was charged with the robbery of the Egerton Bank. Scott received ten years hard labour and one year for escaping whilst on remand!

Whilst in Pentridge prison he gained the reputation of being a great confident speaker and many of the younger vulnerable men were drawn to him. Scott only served two-thirds of his sentence and upon release was spotted frequently lecturing on the horrors of the justice system accompanied by James Nesbitt, a young man he had met whilst on the inside. He and James appeared to have a close relationship. Nesbitt, coming from a home ruled by the drink and the fists of his father, was drawn to the grandiose Scott. Scott in turn was no doubt flattered by the attention afforded him by the quiet Nesbitt, who saw the older man as a somewhat “father” figure.

James Nesbitt - Wikipedia

During this time the authorities and tabloid press attempted to link Scott with all manner of unsolved crimes, and it would seem that he decided to live up to his reputation.

Scott assembled a gang of young men with Nesbitt as his second. They were Thomas Rogan, Thomas Williams, Gus Wreneckie and Graham Bennet. All had met Scott through his lecture tours and were, no doubt impressed with his views, which appealed to displaced young men.

The gang commenced their careers as bushrangers near Mansfield Victoria. They then travelled north across the border of NSW to actually look for work, as whilst in the state of Victoria, Police surveillance stopped any opportunity for legitimate employment.

Finding work in NSW was not as easy as Scott thought and decided to hold up the Wantabadgery Station near Wagga Wagga in November 1879, being refused work and on the point of starvation. Scott also robbed the Australian Arms Hotel of alcohol and took prisoner the residents of nearby properties, the number totalling twenty-five.

One man, Ruskin, attempted to escape but was soon found. A party of four mounted troopers arrived but Scott’s gang captured their horses and held them down with gunfire for several hours until they retreated to get reinforcements.

At this time the gang then holed up in the farmhouse of Edmund McGlede until surrounded by further Police reinforcement led by Sergeant Carroll.

As Wreneckie was running from a fence to reach a better position he was fatally shot. The Police gradually advanced and drove the remaining gang members into the back kitchen. Sergeant Carroll led an assault and during this attack Senior Constable Edward Webb-Bowen was fatally wounded from a bullet fired by Scott.

From accounts it is believed at this stage that Scott wanted “to go out all guns blazing” but was talked down by Nesbitt, who when attempting to lead Police away from the house so Scott could escape was fatally shot. When Scott witnessed this, he ran to the young man and whilst distracted, McGlede disarmed him and with the other gang members wounded, the fighting came to an end. Rogan managed to escape but was later found under a bed in the house.

According to newspaper reports at the time, Scott wept openly at the loss of his dearest companion, kissing him passionately and souveniring a lock of Nesbitt’s hair which he later fashioned into a tight curl to wear as a ring.

Scott denied shooting Webb-Bowen. Witnesses stated that Scott was armed with a Snider rifle when the Policeman had died from a bullet from a Colt pistol. Scott was found guilty nevertheless despite deflecting as much guilt from his gang with the jury recommending mercy for three of them.

Scott and Rogan were hanged together in Sydney at Darlinghurst Gaol at 8am on 20^th January 1880. Both were taken down and buried in unmarked graves in Rookwood.

Scott wrote a series of letters whilst awaiting his hanging. In them he pronounced his love for Nesbitt with his final wish to be buried in the same grave as his companion.

“My dying wish is to be buried beside my beloved James Nesbitt. The man with whom I was united by every time which could bind human friendship, we were one in hopes, in heart and soul and this unity lasted until he died in my arms.”.

So what happened next…

The Reverend Thomas Scott, Andrew George Scott’s father, died in 1882 in NZ. He had changed his will three years earlier with no mention of Andrew.

James Nesbitt’s father continued on a life of crime and was in and out of gaol many times. He died in Melbourne Gaol in 1892. An inquest heard he had a brain disease.

Thomas Williams was hanged in July 1885 for attempting to murder a fellow prisoner in Parramatta Gaol. In his testimony amongst other things, he stated that his life in serious crime started when he was led astray by Captain Moonlite.

Graham Bennet whose death sentence had been commuted to life imprisonment was released in late 1885. It is believed that a letter written by Williams prior to his execution swayed the authorities.

The widow of Senior Constable Edward Webb-Bowen had difficulties coming to terms with her husband’s death. She received a pension and became a landlady in Double Bay. She moved to Adelaide and battled problems with alcohol, dying alone in 1911.

Senior Constable Edward Webb-Bowen grave at Gundagai Cemetery - Monument Australia with thanks

In 1995, 115 years after his death and due to the lobbying carried out by Christine Ferguson and Samantha Asimus, Scott’s remains were exhumed and removed to Gundagai.

The funeral procession was carried out in colonial period costume and Scott was laid to rest under an old gum tree as close to the known whereabouts of Nesbitt’s grave whose exact components have been lost in time.

Burial plot of Andrew George Scott at Gundagai Cemetery - Monument Australia with thanks

The plot where Scott was buried in Rookwood is marked by a plaque that states:-

ANDREW GEORGE SCOTT

CAPTAIN MOONLITE

Born Ireland 8-1-1845

Died Sydney 20-1-1880

As to a monument stone a rough unhewn rock

Would be most fit, one that skilled hands could

Have made into something better. It will be like

Those it marks as kindness and charity could have

Shaped us to better ends.

Andrew George Scott

Laid to final rest near his friends James Nesbitt and Augustus

Wernicke who lie in unmarked graves close by.

Gundagai 13-1-1995

Although Scott is not an unknown or forgotten person who once called Rookwood ‘home’, his legend lives on.

There are numerous references available about Andew George Scott and his alter ego “Captain Moonlite” on Google, Trove and the Australian Dictionary of Autobiography as well as many books.

A great book I have used as a reference is “Moonlite” by Garry Linnell where the author has extensively covered all aspects of Scott’s story. Thanks Garry it’s a great read! (It’s still in print and available to buy at the usual outlets).

If you have any comments, please do so below or at the group Facebook page under

rookwoodcemeterydiscoveries.blogspot.com

Or send me a personal email at

lorainepunch@gmail.com

Until next week….