Matthew Brady

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Maureen Withey on 25th July 2019

Hobart Town Gazette, 4 Mar 1825 Absconded prisoners Matthew Brady, 350, 5 ft. 5½ in. dark brown hair, blue eyes, 26 years of age, a servant, tried at Lancaster April 17, 1820, sentence 7 years, arrived per Juliana, native place Manchester, absconded from Macquarie Harbour June 1824, charged with murder.—£10 Reward.

174

Iris Dunne on 7th December 2016

Buried in the Old Roman Catholic Cemetery in Hobart, Tasmania

60

Eric Harry Daly on 21st December 2012

MATHEW BRADY AUSTRALIAN CONVICT AND BUSHRANGER Name: Mathew Bready Height: 5.51/2 Hair: dark brown Eyes: blue Age: 22 Trade: servant Born: manchester when Tried: 17 Apr 1820 Sentence: 7 years Ship: juliana Where Tried: lancaster Marks Tattoo's: man and woman left arm, tb and fish right arm Remarks: executed at hobart town Conduct: 28 Mar 1821: neglect of duty in the service of William Brest- 25 lashes 17 Nov 1821: plotting and conspiring to escape from the colony- to be transported to such part of the territory as his Honor th LT Govenor may deem proper for the remainder of his original term of transport 4 Nov 1822: being dis*y in the convict barrack- not guilty 30 Nov 1822: intent to escape from the colony- 50 lashes to be confined in a cell in the convict barrack one week 3 May 1823: leaving his gang and being absent 3 days- 50 lashes 19 Jun 1823: absent in the wood- 100 lashes writing now becomes illegible with dates not in order, but another 2 lots of 100 lashes, 1 lot of 50 lashes, and 2 lots of 25 lashes. Matthew Brady was a notorious bushranger in Van Diemen's Land in the early 19th century. he was sometimes known as the "Gentleman Bushranger" due to his good treatment and fine manners when robbing his victims. Matthew Brady, but whose proper name was Bready, was born at Manchester, just about the close of 18th century. His occupation in England was that of a gentleman's servant, probably a groom, as he was an excellent and even a graceful rider, and perfect in his horsemanship. He was tried at Lancaster, on the 17 April 1820, and received a seven-year sentence of transportation, and arrived in Australia in the convict ship Juliana, on the 29 December 1820. He rebelled against the conditions and was sent to the notorious penal settlement at Sarah Island in Macquarie Harbor. Although classified as an incorrigible and dangerous criminal, in 1824 he escaped from Sarah Island with 13 others, and went on a crime spree at various homesteads and villages throughout Tasmania. Brady considered himself a gentleman, who never robbed or insulted women. The military considered him a dangerous bushranger. After Brady's gang held up Sorell and captured the local garrison (in which the garrison commander, Lieut. William Gunn was shot in the arm, which was subsequently amputated), Lieut. Governor Arthur posted rewards for the capture of Brady and his gang. In return, Brady posted a reward of "Twenty gallons of rum" to any person who would deliver Governor Arthur to him. After 21 months free in Van Diemen's Land, Brady and his gang captured a boat, intending to sail it to the Australian mainland. Due to bad weather crossing Bass Strait, they were forced to turn back. Eventually, one of his gang members, an ex-convict name Cowan, betrayed him for a pardon. Brady escaped the ensuing gun battle with serious injuries, but was captured soon after by the famous bounty hunter John Batman. Brady was hanged on 4 May 1826, at the old Hobart gaol. Four other bushrangers were hanged with him, including Thomas Jeffries the cannibal. Brady complained bitterly at being hanged alongside Jeffries, who was, as Brady pointed out, an informer as well as a cannibal and mass murderer. Brady's cell had been filled with flowers from the ladies of Hobart Town, which tends to support his claim to be a "Gentleman Bushranger".