Brady, Matthew (1799-1826), was a famous Australian bushranger (outlaw). He was known for being polite to the people he robbed and was sometimes called the “gentleman bushranger.”
Brady was born of Irish parents in Manchester, England, in 1799. He was convicted of theft in 1820 and transported to Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania). At that time, Van Diemen’s Land was part of the British penal (prison) colony of New South Wales.
Brady was punished several times for misconduct and for attempting to escape from the colony. In 1823, he was sent to a penal station at Macquarie Harbour, on the isolated west coast of the island. Macquarie Harbour was a place of secondary punishment for convicts who committed offenses while serving their sentence. In June 1824, Brady and 13 companions seized a boat and escaped. For the next two years, Brady led a gang that raided homesteads on all parts of the island. In November 1825, Brady’s gang raided the town of Sorell. There, they released all the prisoners in the town jail.
Lieutenant Governor George Arthur, who became head of Van Diemen’s Land in 1824, offered rewards for Brady’s capture. In response, Brady posted a reward of 20 gallons of rum for Arthur’s capture.
Authorities closed in on Brady in 1826. Thomas Kenton, part of the gang’s network of supporters, helped police set a trap for Brady, but Brady escaped. A short time later, Brady murdered Kenton. A convict sent by Arthur to infiltrate the gang reported its location. Brady escaped a group of soldiers, but trackers soon captured him near Launceston. Brady pleaded guilty to the murder of Thomas Kenton and several other crimes. Brady was hanged on May 4, 1826.
