He was one of the many hundreds of people who attended the  reenactment of John Gilbert’s death on the weekend, but there was one defining factor that set him apart from the rest. 

Fifty years ago, Mr Smith played that part of John Dunne in the 100th anniversary, and now spends his time researching and writing about these notorious bushrangers; such as John Gilbert.

“It was fabulous to come along to the 150th anniversary and see how it has been played out 50 years later,” he said.

“I like to see it reenacted as close to fact as possible and I have to say that they did a fantastic job.”

“When we did it 50 years ago we did so much research for it and even tried to get the same clothing as described in the historical accounts.”

Mr Smith describes the interest in history of the bushranger resurging with the new generation. He explained that the books that he has written has taken him around 40 years to complete and he admits he has always been interested in the history. 

“It’s the family stories, photos and accounts that are the most interesting, plus the information that can be gathered from the State Records Office.”

Mr Smith was thrilled that he was able to make it along to the event and congratulated the organisers for a fabulous weekend.