The usually reliable Today I Found Out posted this addition to their Fast Facts series, featuring “Joseph Bolitho Johns, also known as Moondyne Joe, was Australia’s best known bushranger (runaway convict).”
While their use of ‘bushranger’ for ‘runaway convict’ falls into the ‘I do not think it means what you think it means’ category, it’s the “Australia’s best known bushranger” tag that really got my attention.
Ned Kelly is really number one by any measure, and having driven through ‘Thunderbolt’ country on my way home last week, and thinking of Ben Hall, poor old Joe Johns (who I hadn’t heard of before) is somewhat down the list.
Wikipedia more conservatively lists him as West Australia’s best known bushranger, and even then that would probably be ‘the best known bushranger active in West Australia’ because I’d be surprised if Ned doesn’t shade him for name recognition there as well.
West Australian readers could put me straight.
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