John Owen (30 April 18309 April 1865), better known by his alias Daniel Morgan, was an Australian bushranger and outlaw. Active mainly in the Riverina of New South Wales and northern Victoria, he committed numerous raids and robberies and murdered at least four men, including two constables. He also shot several others.
Morgan was known by multiple aliases during his bushranging career, including Billy the Native, Warrigal and Down-the-River Jack. After Morgan wounded police magistrate Henry Baylis in a shootout in August 1863, the Government of New South Wales offered a reward for his capture. The amount increased to £1,000 as his crimes escalated, and he was officially declared an outlaw in March 1865. One month later, while holding up Peechelba station in Victoria, he was shot and killed by a stockman.
Many accounts of Morgan, particularly in the years after his death, depict him as bloodthirsty, erratic and insane, inspiring his posthumous sobriquet, Mad Dog Morgan. However, Morgan also had a network of sympathisers which, together with his expertise in bushcraft and horsemanship, helped him evade capture for two years.
Morgan's life and exploits have inspired works in the arts, including the 1976 Ozploitation film Mad Dog Morgan, starring Dennis Hopper in the title role, and the 2017 song "Billabong Valley" by psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard.
Early life Daniel Morgan was born John Owen on 30 April 1830 in Appin, New South Wales. He was the illegitimate son of George Fuller, a local costermonger, and Mary Owen, a woman known locally as 'the Gypsy'.Daniel Morgan Incendiary and Murderer, 'Australian Bushranging: The Early Days: Chapter XVI' by Charles White, Richmond River Express and Tweed Advertiser, 16 October 1903, page 3. Other sources claim Morgan's father was an ex-convict called Samuel Moran.Australian Bushrangers: Daniel Morgan, Wagga Wagga Advertiser, 1 August 1908, page 5. He was raised from an early age by a Campbelltown man called John Roberts, nicknamed 'Jack the Welshman'. Morgan attended a Catholic school at Campbelltown, but was considered a "n'er-do-well" with antisocial tendencies: "Society had little charm for him; bush and solitude were his delight".Bushranger Morgan, Cootamundra Herald, 14 February 1949, page 4.
First conviction In 1847, at age 17, Morgan found employment as a stockman on a station in the Murrumbidgee district. It was reputed that he "developed into a horse and cattle stealer, his practice being to drive his captures long distances, and sell them." By the early 1850s, he was known as 'Bill the Native' and was described as "a notorious horse thief" in the Avoca district, where he lived "a lonely life in the mallee scrub which then abounded there." Morgan had several run-ins with local squatters, and on one occasion was shot in the knee while being chased "for several miles by two settlers."The Career of Morgan, The Argus (Melbourne), 17 April 1865, page 5.
In June 1854, Morgan, under the alias 'John Smith', stuck up two travelling hawkers in the Castlemaine district in Victoria, leaving them tied to trees. Victoria police followed his tracks and captured him after "a desperate resistance". Morgan was sentenced to twelve years' hard labour and eventually confined in the prison ship Success, berthed at Williamstown. While working at a quarry near where Success was berthed, Morgan lost the top of one of his fingers in an accident.
On 27 March 1857, John Giles Price, the Inspector-General of penal establishments, was brutally murdered by a group of prisoners from Success. During an official visit at the quarry, a number of the prisoners overpowered Price and "dragged him down the side of the earthwork opposite the Bay, out of sight of the guard, felled him to the ground, and battered his head with large stones." Price later died of his injuries.Victoria, Tasmanian Daily News (Hobart), 1 April 1857, page 3.Colonial Intelligence, Goulburn Herald and County of Argyle Advertiser, 11 April 1857, page 7. Seven of the prisoners were convicted of Price's murder and were hanged for the crime.Execution of the Murderers of Mr. Price, Sydney Morning Herald, 4 May 1857, page 5. Morgan may have been considered to be amongst the group that had rushed at Price and was transferred to HM Prison Pentridge after the incident.
In June 1860, Morgan was granted a ticket-of-leave for the Yackandandah district, where he later claimed to have unsuccessfully tried to seek employment. Unable to find a job on account of his detention at Pentridge, Morgan turned to crime.Morgan in Victoria, The Herald (Melbourne), 15 April 1865, page 3. After he failed to report to the authorities and was subsequently declared a fugitive, Morgan visited a pastoral run in the Murray district belonging to Dr. J. P. Rowe, who was absent, and stole a gold watch.
Morgan proceeded to Whitfield station and stole a horse, then stole a saddle and another horse from Demgamero (aka Bongamero) station. From there he went to Mount Typo station and "obtained shelter for the night" from the squatters there. The morning after, after the squatters had departed to round up stray cattle, Morgan helped himself to as many provisions and blankets he could carry. A group of men led by the squatters from Whitfield and Demgamero pursued Morgan and found him camped at the base of a steep range. Morgan managed to escape up the slope "where the pursuers were unable to follow with their horses", but was wounded in his upper left arm by a gunshot.A Notorious Scoundrel, Ovens and Murray Advertiser (Beechworth), 22 September 1860, page 2
During the next few years, Morgan kept a relatively low profile in the eastern Riverina region, supposedly engaging in horse and cattle stealing and occasionally horse breaking.
Bushranging activities
On 17 June 1863, Robert Morton, a squatter from Wagga Wagga, and Maurice Brach, a hawker from Beechworth, were camped at Walla Walla. Two robbers rode up to the camp, one of them armed with a double-barrelled gun and a revolver, and told them to bail up. The robbers took £30 worth of goods and money from Brach and four £1-notes and some nuggets from Morton. When Morton was asked whether he had any connection with Brach and he answered "no," the money and nuggets were returned to him. John Manson of Beechworth drove up at the scene, at which point the robbers stuck him up as well. One of the robbers was "supposed to be a man named Morgan, alias Beardie."Intercolonial News, The Argus (Melbourne), 26 June 1863, page 6.Morgan's Crimes, Bell's Life in Sydney and Sporting Chronicle, 15 April 1865, page 3.
The following day, on 18 June, four young men were held up and robbed at Cookendina station, east of Henty. The robbers, one of whom fitted the description of Morgan, stole three racehorses, together with saddles and bridles, and 15 shillings in cash. Morgan is known to have been active with a companion (known variously as 'Flash Clarke' or 'German Bill') around this time.
On 29 July, Morgan and his companion arrived at Wallandool station, west of Henty, and stuck up two overseers, tying them to trees. They then proceeded to the homestead and accosted the squatter, a man named Gilbank. Morgan and his accomplice "then made a deliberate survey of the premises, and the result of their foray was that they rode clear off with two horses, saddle, and bridle, and other property which took their fancy, at the estimated loss to Mr. Gilbank of some £65." Even at that stage, Morgan's fatalistic attitude was evident; during the robbery he was reported to have said: "I expect I'll be shortly taken, so I may as well go the whole hog."Bushranging at Wallandool, Goulburn Herald, 8 August 1863, page 2.Robbery Under Arms, New South Wales Police Gazette and Weekly Record of Crime (Sydney), 5 August 1863 (Issue No. 31), page 230.
The description of Morgan given to police after the Wallandool robbery was as follows: "35 years of age, 6 feet high, long black hair curly at the ends, bushy beard and moustache, brownish color; rather knock-kneed, nose wrinkled, but not pockmarked; had on check trousers too short for him". Both Morgan and his accomplice "wore hairy coats; and rode fine grey horses; and carried carbines in buckets".
Morgan had been known by a bewildering variety of aliases during his life, including 'John Smith', 'Sydney Bill', 'Warrigal', 'Dan the Breaker', 'Down-the-River Jack', 'Beardie', 'Jack Morgan' and, most famously, 'Daniel Morgan'. By the time of his bushranging activities from mid-1863 the surname 'Morgan' was the identifier most often used in colonial newspapers.
Encounters with Baylis
On 20 August 1863 the Police Magistrate of Wagga Wagga, Henry Baylis, was travelling to Urana on official business when he was "stopped about midday by two rascals armed with double guns and revolvers, and ordered to surrender 'his money or his life'". Baylis responded by galloping away, but after a chase of several miles the bushrangers caught up with him. On discovering the identity of their captive Morgan returned the money and watch he had taken from him. Instead of tying Baylis to a tree the bushrangers opted to cut down a telegraph pole, cutting direct communication between Urana and Wagga Wagga. When he arrived at Urana Baylis telegraphed Wagga Wagga via Melbourne and the police there, headed by Sub-Inspector Morrow, set out and joined the Police Magistrate in Urana, after which Baylis and the policemen set off in pursuit of Morgan and his companion.Bushranging Atrocities, Sydney Morning Herald, 1 September 1863, page 5.
On the afternoon of 21 August 1863 a Mr. Scott was travelling with sheep near Bullenbung when he was held up by two men and robbed of £4 4s., a watch, a ring, and a new saddle. The watch and ring were afterwards returned. The robbers were identified was the same men who had carried out the 'Wallandool' robbery. On this occasion Morgan was identified as "Jack Morgan, alias Big Morgan".Attempt to Murder, New South Wales Police Gazette and Weekly Record of Crime (Sydney), 2 September 1863 (Issue No. 35), page 264.
On Wednesday, 26 August, the police contingent led by Henry Baylis discovered Morgan's camp in dense scrub about seven miles from Urangaline Creek. Sub-Inspector Morrow, Trooper Brown and Baylis remained at the camp to await the bushrangers' return. It appears that Morgan "had notice of the movements of the police" and after nightfall stalked the campsite "for the purpose of surprising the police". Towards midnight the police heard a noise in the scrub. Baylis went to investigate "but had not advanced three yards before a discharge of firearms took place in front, close to his person, and he fell instantly". Trooper Brown returned fire "in the direction of the flashes of the ruffians' guns" but the bushrangers escaped. Baylis had received a bullet through his right breast which exited from his left shoulder "leaving a fearful opening". The Police Magistrate eventually recovered, though he continued to suffer from the effects of the injury. The bullet that had passed through his body was later presented to Baylis "enclosed in a gold casket", which he wore suspended from his watch chain. In 1875 the colonial government presented Baylis with a gold medal for his "gallant and faithful service".Wounding of Mr. Baylis by Bushrangers, Goulburn Herald, 2 September 1863, page 2.
On the day following the wounding of Baylis a shepherd named Haley, in the employment of Henry Osborne at 'Brookong' station, was "fired upon and dangerously wounded by armed men". This incident was later included in a published list of crimes perpetrated by Daniel Morgan, in apparent retribution for the shepherd providing information to the police regarding the location of the bushrangers' camp.