The Gympie Gold Rush of 1868 bought many gold thieves to the area and two bushrangers who just couldn’t resist the temptation of some shiny loot, were none other than William Troden (nicknamed Podgy) and Joseph Blake. These two bushrangers were involved in a highway robbery just outside of Imbil.

At 4pm on 30th July 1868, four men were on the road to the new gold rush at Yabba (which was also referred to back then as Yabber) near Imbil.  The four men were: Henry Redman, Robert Crothers, John Crothers, and Thomas Gill.  The four men were about six kilometres from Imbil when Podgy and Blake approached them on horseback. Both Podgy and Blake were armed. They yelled, “Bail up or we will blow your brains out.”

William Troden (nicknamed Podgy) Photograph source: Gympie Family History Society Inc Facebook Page.

The four men followed instructions as Podgy was wielding a double-barrelled gun aimed right at them. Podgy was the stouter and more rugged of the two men. He wore a scarf around the lower part of his face, hoping not to be recognised. Unfortunately for Podgy, his facial features were recognised by one of the four gentlemen named Mr Edwin Redman.

Joseph Blake was the younger of the two and wore a black handkerchief over his entire face, with the eye holes cut out. Joseph was said to be the more temperate of the two bushrangers, however he was still desperate to score some fine goods from other more worldly gentlemen.

Podgy and Blake cornered the men and forced them into some nearby bushes on the side of the road, so that nobody would see or hear the robbery taking place. That day, they robbed the four gentlemen of 10 pounds and 30 shillings. They tied the travellers to some nearby saplings and again threatened their lives if they ever spoke of the incident or were caught trying to escape.

Edwin Redman and the other men waited until Podgy and Blake were about 16 kilometres away before attempting to escape. Because they were just tied to saplings, one of the men was able to get his hand free and started untying the others. They went straight into Imbil township and reported the robbery to a local police officer. Edwin described Podgy in great detail- he could recall his face, hat, clothes and gun. He could even remember the brands on Podgy and Blake’s horses.

Newspaper article from the Nashville Times, Gympie and Mary River Mining Gazette, Saturday 29^th of August 1868, page 3.

Local police officer Dennis McCarthy interviewed Imbil residents and station owners, checking to see if anyone recognised the branding of the horses. Due to the detailed description given to him, Dennis had a fairly good idea that it was Podgy and Joseph Blake who committed the crime. One week later, having fled from the Imbil area, Podgy was arrested at the Kilcoy Police Station on suspicion of committing the crime near Imbil. When the Kilcoy officers told him that he was suspected of committing such a crime, Podgy said, ““I am as innocent as God and his Angels”. He denied the crime, despite owning the horse with the same brand that Edwin Redman had described to Imbil police officers.

And what of Joseph Blake? Well, Joseph was a bit more cunning and harder to find. It was three weeks later that he was arrested near the dividing range. He was detained by police in possession of a gun and some clothing that belonged to the four gentleman back in Imbil. The police officers were able to track his horse, which was missing a horse-shoe and this is what led to his arrest. They say that Joseph Blake took the arrest quite well seeing as though he was only “under suspicion” and not yet proven guilty.

It was in August of 1868 that both Podgy and Blake were summoned to the Gympie Courthouse so witnesses of the Imbil robbery could make their statements. The Gympie townsfolk were excited to catch a glimpse of the two notorious bushrangers Podgy and Blake. It is said that most of the town turned up to this event.

The witnesses gave detailed evidence and a description of Podgy and Blake, identifying the two men as the robbers.  Their branded horses were tied up outside the courthouse, which made it even easier to link these men to their crimes.

Podgy and Blake had many alibis and denied any involvement in any crimes. When witnesses identified the men, they said, “I have never seen that gentleman before”. Their lies nearly worked except for the fact that their alibi witnesses were conveniently unavailable to comment or had gone missing.

Podgy was a man who didn’t take well to criticism. He took issue with the fact that he was described by witnesses as the stouter of the two. He argued with witnesses saying that he was actually a lot taller and not stout like the witness had originally described.  Despite this, the witness repeated his testament, labelling Podgy as one of the criminals. The witness argued that the blue shirt Podgy was wearing on the day of the robbery made him appear to be stouter than the shirt he was wearing that day in court, which made him look taller and slimmer.

Following this Gympie committal in which witnesses provided their statements, the date was then set for their trial, which took place in front of His Honor, the Chief  Justice at Maryborough Circuit Courthouse on the 26^th of September 1868.

The trial went on for three hours. More and more evidence was brought forward and every piece of evidence was examined thoroughly.  Following this, the jury took about half an hour to convict the men. Podgy and Blake were charged for the Imbil robbery. They were lucky in some ways that they did not harm their victims – as the penalty for that would have been a hanging.

The court stated:

“It was a most cruel act to bind these men, so that they would in all probability be exposed in the bush all night, and, it might be, to most serious injury—if not death. You have bound your victims with rope; I will have you bound in return in fetters of iron. The sentence of the Court is twenty years penal servitude; the first three years in irons.”

Despite this sentence, Podgy’s friendly appearance appealed to a visiting Justice at Brisbane Gaol called A.W Manning, who wrote a statement over 3000 words long stating that he hoped the Colonel Secretary would reconsider. This letter was passed along to the Queenslander newspaper by Mr Manning, who believed that Podgy was innocent.

Newspaper article about William Troden from ‘The Queenslander’, Saturday 23^rd of November 1872, page 3.

This caused quite a debate within the community in 1872.  The other local rival newspapers such as the Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser contested these claims of Podgy being innocent. The other newspapers even went as far as disproving this theory by locating evidence from the trial to present to The Queenslander newspaper and Mr Manning. After the full evidence was presented, it was agreed that Podgy had indeed been given a fair trial, which was backed by strong evidence. This meant there was no need to reopen the matter.

Podgy and Blake spent the ensuing 20 years in gaol. And that is the true story of William Troden “Podgy” and Joseph Blake.

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References:

Gympie Family History Society Inc. (2021). TRODEN, WILLIAM. [Online]. Facebook Page. Last Updated: 2024. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/GympieFamilyHistorySocietyInc/posts/%F0%9D%91%BB%F0%9D%91%B9%F0%9D%91%B6%F0 [Accessed 27 August 2024].

Moreton Bay and More. (2024). Podgy The Bushranger is sentenced- 25 September. [Online]. Moreton Bay and More. Last Updated: 2024. Available at: https://moretonbayandmore.com/2019/09/24/podgy-the-bushranger-is-sentenced-25-september/ [Accessed 13 June 2024].

Nashville Times, Gympie and Mary River Mining Gazette. (1868). GYMPIE POLICE COURT. Nashville Times, Gympie and Mary River Mining Gazette. [Online]. Saturday 29th August 1868. Available at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/168844461?searchTerm=troden%20blake [Accessed 27th of August 2024].

The Queenslander. (1872). MARTYRS OR ROGUES?. The Queenslander. [Online]. Saturday 23rd November 1872. Available at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/27273562?searchTerm=highway%20robbery%20troden%20blake [Accessed 27th of August 2024].