The most famous outlaw in the South Burnett

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The first Picture showing the old Goomeri Post Office which was burnt down in 1939 and replaced by the present brick structure next to Joes Grand Hotel. The old wooden post office was built in 1924.
Talking about the Postal system in town, there is an interesting fact-based story about the most famous outlaw to operate in the south Burnett who's specialty was holding up the mailman on their lonely routes.
His name was James Mcpherson, or the wild Scotsman as he was known locally. He was brought up in a well do family but for whatever reason McPherson bore a grudge against society from his youth.
When he was captured in a hold-up and shooting incident in NSW he escaped and reappeared in the Burnett district. Going back to his specialty of holding up the mailman, his main victim was Patrick McCallum, a mailman who operated between Gayndah and Nanango. Now one would wonder how could a mailman got held up so many times on the same route by the same bandit. but we are talking here in 1860.
Wild Scotsman was a charismatic outlaw, he loved talking about his crimes and could not resist boasting of past exploits, and he would often send mail to the local police officer and the governor telling them that he is going to rob the mailman "again". And of course, the mail was delivered by the mailman Mr Patrick.
When he did not need the money ( from the money order mail ) he would simply take the horse from the mailman with the saddle, and at times when he had another horse (assumably from another hold up) he will return the horse to the mailman with a note. He was living with his horse in a cave away from the human habitat.
The law finally caught up with him when he was arrested in 1866 but was released in 1874 and he went to North Queensland, married and became a law-abiding citizen earning his living as a teamster.
The locals used to describe him as a dashing figure on a well known thoroughbred - stolen of course. He was good-humored, well-spoken, well mannered and reasonably well educated. He never took advantage of a person in real need. Even in his hold ups he only took enough to sustain himself.


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