Sam Poo

Who was Sam Poo?

Sam Poo was a Chinese bushranger in Australia who was active in the Coonabarabran region of New South Wales during 1865.

Poo was a Chinese emigrant to Australia during the Gold Rush, but instead of mining took to highway robbery on the road between Gulgong and Mudgee. A skilled and elusive bushman, he evaded capture from the authorities for several weeks. He often targeted solitary travellers on foot, both Chinese and Whites, and was also responsible for the rape of a settler's wife.

On the 3 February 1865 the Senior Constable John Ward of the New South Wales Police Force was returning to Coonabarabran from a prisoner escort to Mudgee. Near the locality known as Barney's Reef he was informed that a Chinese man had been robbing passing travellers in the vicinity, and was nearby in the scrub. Following a short search, Senior Constable Ward located the offender's camp and approached him. When the offender saw the constable he dived into the bush. A long foot chase ensued, during which the pursued shot the Constable in the chest, mortally wounding him. The murderer was later identified as the Chinese bushranger Sam Poo.

Two weeks after the incident Sam Poo was finally tracked down.