John Tennant

John Tennant was an Australian bushranger who was active around the Canberra district in the 1820s. Mount Tennent is named after him as it was on the slopes of this steep mountain behind the village of Tharwa where he would hide.

Tennant was born in Belfast, Ireland and was 29 years old when he was sentenced to transportation to Australia for life in 1823. He arrived in Sydney on 12 July 1824 on the 'Prince Regent'. He was assigned to Joshua John Moore and sent with two other men, James Clarke and John McLaughlin, to establish Moore's property "Canberry" or "Canberra", the first European habitation on the Limestone Plains. [ "Over the Hills and Tharwa Way - Eastern Namadgi National Park" Ian Fraser and Margaret McJannett, CASEREC, Canberra, 1994" ]

In 1828 Tennant and another man, John Ricks, absconded from their assigned landholder and took to the bush. [ [http://www.act.nationaltrust.org.au/documents/Ourheritagestandinginit.pdf Our Heritage - you are standing in it! Peter Dowling, National Trust, (undated)] ] Another reference [ "Bushrangers of Canberra and Surrounding Districts. No. 2: John Tennant - a founder of Canberra and Canberra's first bushranger" Stepham Williams, Poppinjay Publications, Woden, 1989" ] states that in November 1827, he and John Ricks (some references spell it "Rix") robbed the camp of James Ainslie, the overseer at Duntroon. He stole nine vests of various colours, foreign and local currency, two silk handkerchiefs, 150 lbs of flour and 29lbs of Brazilian tobacco. He then hid out on Mt Tennant, then called Mt Currie, for some months before striking again.

John Gale in his book "Canberra, its history and legends" [ Fallick and Sons, Queanbeyan, 1927 ] described Tennant in romantic terms stating: "Tennant descending from his look-out (on Mt Tennent) would bail up (a dray) - but only when his larder or wardrobe needed replenishing - terrorising the driver by presenting fire-arms and abstracting from the loading whatsoever he needed just then and order the man in charge of the team to drive on again. He never was known to use unnecessary violence or to wantonly destroy valuable cargo for what he had no need. Where Tennant stored his booty... was never discovered, not withstanding frequent and ... exhaustive serches to this end. The mountain had numerous caves and mazes well adapted... many never explored."

This description of Tennant contradicts the evidence brought against him when he and Ricks were tried on 30 May 1828 in the New South Wales Supreme Court for stealing and putting John Farrell and Thomas Simpson in "bodily fear." Farrell described part of the attack on him: "Tennant then said, that they would boy-whip me and not take my life, and as he had a boatswain of his own, I should have fifty lashes; they then tied me up to a post, and took down my trowsers, and Tennant ordered me to receive fifty lashes, which were inflicted by Ricks, with the buckle end of a strap, and when I was ordered by Tennant to be taken down, he gave me three additional lashes; I was severely hurt, and bled very much; the prisoners took an old carbine, and an old musket, worth altogether about 10s. out of the hut, but they were brought back by the overseer immediately." [ [http://www.law.mq.edu.au/scnsw/Cases1827-28/html/r_v_tennant__ricks__cane_and_m.htm R v Tennant, Ricks, Cane and Murphy] ]

Tennant was eventually found guilty. According to Fraser and McJannett [ "Over the Hills and Tharwa Way - Eastern Namadgi National Park" Ian Fraser and Margaret McJannett, CASEREC, Canberra, 1994" ] Tennant was hanged. According to Macquarie University, [ [http://www.law.mq.edu.au/scnsw/Cases1827-28/html/r_v_tennant__ricks__cane_and_m.htm R v Tennant, Ricks, Cane and Murphy] ] and Dowling [ [http://www.act.nationaltrust.org.au/documents/Ourheritagestandinginit.pdf Our Heritage - you are standing in it! Peter Dowling, National Trust, (undated)] ] Tennant was transported to Norfolk Island) for seven years. According to Gale, "Tennant was never captured, but in after years was found to be leading a respectable and law-abiding life somewhere down the Lachlan River. Nor was he prosecuted for his deeds." It is apparent from court sources that Gale was wrong about Tennant being captured and tried. He returned after seven years from Norfolk Island a broken man and died at Windsor the following year.

Notes