Baker, Mary Ann (1834–1905)

Australian bush ranger. Born Mary Ann Brigg near Berrico, in the upper Gloucester River valley, Australia, in 1834; died on April 12, 1905; only daughter and one of two children of James (a convict shepherd assigned to the Australian Agricultural Company) and Charlotte Brigg; married Edmond Baker, in 1848; met and traveled with Fred Ward, later known as Captain Thunderbolt, with whom she had at least three children; possibly married John Burrows after 1866, and had more children.

The true story of Australian bush ranger and outlaw Mary Ann Baker lies somewhere outside of published accounts. She was the daughter of James, a convict shepherd assigned to the Australian Agricultural Company, and Charlotte, an Aboriginal woman who reportedly saved James' life by fighting off an attack from "wild Blacks." The two joined forces and parented Mary Ann and her brother before they married in 1848, the same year that Mary Ann wed Edmond Baker, who may have been another Company shepherd.

Not long after her marriage, Mary Ann met Fred Ward (later known as Captain Thunderbolt), who was employed as a stockman but gained his reputation by driving horses to Aberbaldie and on to the Gwydir. Arrested for horse theft in 1856 and sentenced to prison, he made an escape with the help of an Aboriginal woman who was probably Mary Ann Baker. During the 1860s, Baker and Ward traveled together as outlaws in the bush in northern New South Wales and had several children. By some accounts, Baker hunted and provided food for the family, and to this end she developed her own brand of cattle rustling. Dressed as a man and riding astride, she brandished a butcher's knife fastened onto a long stick; she would separate her prey out of the herd, cut the tendon near a hind hoof to bring it down, and then kill it. Thus the family diet was rich in meat, with the addition of some wild yams and waddle gum.

In 1866, Baker and her children were captured by the police, who describe her as "a very smart woman" who could read and write. Her children were evidently taken away to be cared for by others, and Thunderbolt was shot by police in 1872. Details of Mary Ann Baker's later life are unknown. She may have returned to her father's home for some time, married John Burrows, a station hand, and raised yet another large family. She died in 1905, at age 70.

sources:

Radi, Heather, ed. 200 Australian Women. NSW, Australia: Women's Redress Press, 1988.

Barbara Morgan , Melrose, Massachusetts