Power, Harry (1820?-1891), was an Australian bushranger (outlaw). Power was known as a colorful but harmless rogue who kept highway robbery appointments made in advance. In bushranging history, Power is remembered for one significant action. While he was at large, he briefly took on a young “apprentice” named Ned Kelly, who later became one of Australia’s most famous outlaws.
Power was born Henry Power in Waterford, Ireland, in 1819 or 1820. In 1840, he was arrested for robbery and transported to the British penal (prison) colony at Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania). After gaining his freedom in 1848, he crossed to Victoria, on mainland Australia. In 1855, Power was sentenced to 13 years in prison for wounding an officer after an argument with troopers. He escaped from prison in 1862. In 1864, he was again sentenced to prison after being found guilty of horse theft. In 1869, he again escaped from prison. He began bushranging in northeastern Victoria, probably because he knew the Lloyd family there. The Lloyds were relatives of the Kelly family.
In 1870, he robbed Robert McBean, a squatter, justice of the peace, and close friend of the chief commissioner of police. McBean’s complaints led to the offering of a reward for Power and a stepped-up police hunt for the bushranger. In 1870, after being betrayed by an associate, Power was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was released in 1877. He drowned in October 1891.
See also Bushrangers; Convicts in Australia; Kelly, Ned.
