John O'Meally

John O'Meally (June 1842 – 19 November 1863) was an Australia bushranger. As a member of the Gardiner–Hall gang, he participated in the 1862 Escort Rock Gold Robbery, Australia's largest gold heist. The following year, he was fatally shot by a squatter when the gang engaged in a two-hour shootout that became known as the Battle of Goimbla.

John O’Meally was born in June 1840 in the vicinity of Cunningham Creek, south-east of Murrumburrah, the eldest child of ten children of Patrick O’Meally and Julia (née Downey).

O'Meally worked as a stockman, looking after cattle and sheep on his father's station, 'Arramagong', in the Lachlan River valley. His father, Paddy O'Meally, also ran a shanty (a very basic hotel), called 'The Weddin Inn', on Emu Creek. The inn was the only hotel in the district. John OMeally, and another one of Gardiner's gang, Alex Fordyce, sometimes worked at the shanty. The gold escort robbery was planned there.

On 15 June 1862 the gold escort coach that took the gold from the goldfields of Forbes to Bathurst was robbed. This was one of Australia's biggest robberies. O'Meally and several of his friends were in the gang led by Frank Gardiner. A week after the robbery the police, led by Sir Frederick Pottinger, captured two of the robbers, Henry Manns, and Charlie Gilbert. Charlie Gilbert was the brother of gang member John Gilbert. John Gilbert had nearly been captured but was able to escape. He went straight to "The Weddin Inn", and together with Ben Hall and O'Meally, captured the police and released the prisoners.

On Thursday, 30 July 1863, Gilbert and O’Meally were thwarted in their attempt to rob the Commercial Bank at Carcoar in the middle of the day, managing to escape from the town when the alarm was raised before they could carry out the robbery.That evening the pair robbed Stanley Hosie’s store at nearby Caloola, taking cash and a number of articles of clothing, including silk dresses, boots and shoes which they said they wanted for “their people”.At one stage Hosie challenged either of the bushrangers to lay down his arms and engage him in a “fair fight”; the bushrangers smiled at this and one said, “No mate, we don’t do business in that way”.

On Thursday afternoon, 6 August 1863, three prisoners named Thomas Morris, Charles Green, and James Burke, were being conveyed from Carcoar to Bathurst on the mail coach.The prisoners, under the custody of Sergeant Morrisset and three constables, were supposed to be ‘bush telegraphs’ (sympathisers who kept bushrangers informed of police movements).The three prisoners were inside the coach, along with constables Grainger and Merrin; Sergeant Morrisset sat on box with the driver, with a female passenger between them, and Constable Sutton was following on horseback at the rear.Soon after departing, as they neared the Five Mile Waterholes, a dray was seen on the road ahead.Three horsemen came galloping towards the coach, two of whom were recognised as Gilbert and O’Meally.Gilbert and the third man rode to each side of the coach and O’Meally came to the front of the horses, shouting at the driver to "bail up".As the coach came to a stop Morrisset jumped from the box and he and the constables in the coach began to exchange fire with the bushrangers.Gilbert and O’Meally "carried on the contest", advancing and receding as they fired at the police, “and it is said they exhibited extraordinary expertness in the management of their horses – at times dropping at their sides, and then ducking down to the pommel, as they received and exchanged shots”.At one point Constable Sutton rode between the two and aimed his revolver at O’Meally, but the bushranger raised his carbine and fired first, the bullet entering Sutton’s elbow and exiting at his collar-bone.Gilbert’s horse was struck by a bullet and soon after the bushrangers rode off.The wounded trooper was taken to Blayney and the coach proceeded to Bathurst.Dr. Machattie travelled to Blayney to treat Sutton and the next day brought him to Bathurst, reporting that his patient "was progressing favourably".Newspaper reports speculated that the reason for Gilbert and O’Meally’s attack on the mail coach was to free the prisoners from police custody.However, John Vane, who had agreed to join Gilbert’s gang about a week before this incident, claimed in his biography (published in 1908) that the bushrangers had intended to rob the mail coach and the presence of policemen had taken them by surprise.The third bushranger was initially identified as John Vane, but he was later tried and acquitted of being involved in the attack.Vane’s own account describes the third man as “a resident of the locality”.

On 30 August 1863, O'Meally tried to rob John Barnes near 'Wallendbeen' station. Barnes owned shops in Cootamundra and Murrumburrah. O'Meally tried to take Barnes' saddle. Barnes rode off to try and get away, but O'Meally shot and killed him. Barnes is buried in the Cootamundra cemetery.

O'Meally was shot and killed while trying to rob 'Goimbla' station near Eugowra, on 19 November 1863. This event became known as the "Battle of Goimbla."The Campbell family fought off the Ben Hall gang during a two-hour battle. The National Museum of Australia has several items in its collection about the battle.

• A letter from the people of Forbes to David and Amelia Campbell.[1] The first person to sign the letter was author Rolf Boldrewood who later wrote the classic Australian bushranger novel, Robbery Under Arms.
• A silk cloth, given to Amelia Campbell by the ladies of Upper and Middle Adelong. It has a message stitched into the silk praising Campbell's part in defending the farm.[2]
• A silver tea urn, 490 mm (19 in) high. It was given to Amelia Campbell. It is engraved with the words: "The ladies of Upper & Middle Adelong present this token of esteem to Mrs Campbell, as an appreciation of her heroic conduct displayed during the attack at GOIMBLA by bushrangers on 19th Nov. 1863."[3]

John O'Meally is buried in an unmarked grave in the Anglican cemetery at Gooloogong.