Governor, Jimmy (1875?-1901), was an Australian bushranger active in New South Wales in 1900. Bushrangers were outlaws who operated in the remote Australian countryside known as the bush. Today, Governor and his brother Joe are known as the last people to be officially declared outlaws in Australian history. 
Jimmy Governor was born around 1875 near the Talbragar River in central New South Wales. He was the eldest of eight children. Governor was of Australian Aboriginal and Irish heritage. He was known for his distinctive red hair. Governor joined the New South Wales police force in 1896. He worked as a tracker at the Cassilis police station but resigned from the force in December 1897.
Governor married Ethel Page in December 1898. The couple moved to the town of Breelong, near Dubbo. Governor began working as a laborer for the Mawbey family. His brother Joe, along with another man named Jack Underwood, also moved to Breelong to work for the Mawbeys.
The relationship between the Governors and their employers became tense. Members of the local community, including the Mawbeys, disapproved of Jimmy and Ethel’s interracial relationship. This tension came to a head on the night of July 20, 1900. Jimmy, accompanied by his brother and Underwood, confronted several members of the Mawbey family. During the argument, the Governor brothers and Underwood attacked and killed five members of the household. This event was later known as the Breelong massacre. The Governors then fled into the surrounding countryside.
In the following months, the Governor brothers terrorized the north-central area of New South Wales. Jimmy’s tracking abilities and knowledge of police tactics helped them avoid capture. The Governors committed numerous robberies and murders around the region, sparking a statewide manhunt. They left notes addressed to the police at the scene of their crimes, which added to their notoriety.
The brothers’ crime spree came to an end in October. They were forced to separate after Jimmy was badly injured in a shootout. He was captured on October 27. Joe Governor was shot and killed four days later. Jimmy Governor was tried and found guilty of murder. He was hanged on Jan. 18, 1901.
