John Dunn: The last member of the Ben Hall gang to be hanged

A champion jockey in the Yass District, young Dunn was conscripted into the newly formed Ben Hall Bushranging gang by Johnny Gilbert, who reasoned that Dunn knew where all the fast race horses were and the gang could steal the best horses to escape from the police. John Dunn’s father Michael rode for two days searching for the bushrangers in a bid to try and get his son back, but couldn’t find them.

John Dunn rode with Ben Hall and Johnny Gilbert and was part of a number of robberies. Tragically at Collector on January 25, 1865, while the gang held-up the Kimberley Inn (now the Bushranger Hotel), Dunn was keeping look-out and shot and killed Constable Samuel  Nelson. Last year (2015), more than 200 people came to Collector on January 25 to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the death of Constable Nelson. Many of these visitors to the little hamlet of Collector were descendants of Constable Nelson.

In May 1865, Ben Hall was ambushed and killed by the police near Forbes. A few days later Gilbert and Dunn were betrayed by Dunn’s grandfather and Johnny Gilbert was shot at Binalong. 

Young Dunn, wounded in the hand, fled to western New South Wales, where six months later he was captured at Quambone near Dubbo and brought to Darlinghurst Gaol, where he was  hanged on March 19, 1866. John Dunn was only 19.

Author of John Dunn’s story “Teenage Bushranger” (Gunning boy) Kerry Medway will be speaking on the life of John Dunn at the Yass Library on Friday March 18 at 12 noon (bookings for a light lunch at the library essential). Mr Medway will be speaking again and showing a powerpoint slide show on Saturday March 19 at 10.30am at the Library. No bookings necessary.

Copies of the book “Teenage Bushranger” and also another bushranging book written by Kerry - “Is Ned Kelly in Heaven?” will be donated to the library and copies will be on sale for visitors.