Clarke brothers

Who was Clarke brothers?

Thomas and John Clarke were Australian bushrangers from the Braidwood district of New South Wales responsible for a series of high-profile robberies and killings in the late 19th century so notorious that they led to the embedding of the Felons' Apprehension Act, a law that introduced the concept of outlawry and authorised citizens to kill criminals on sight. Active on the southern goldfields from 1865, Thomas, John, their brother James and a host of relations were responsible for a reported 36 hold-ups and the deaths of five policemen - four of them "special constables" bounty hunters - looking to bring them in. In 1866, the gang held the town of Michelago, New South Wales captive while awaiting the arrival a gold escort from Kiandra. Some modern-day writers have described the Clarkes as the "bloodiest" bushrangers of all. They were hanged at Sydney's Darlinghurst jail on 25 June 1867.