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It is unknown why "Mad" Dan Morgan chose a life of bushranging. He was adopted as a young child and lived with John Roberts until he was 17. His first job was as a stockman in the Murrumbidgee River area, so it was not boredom or lack of employment opportunities that turned him towards bushranging.

Morgan's life of crime began with the theft of two horses in 1847. After moving to the Victorian goldfields, he progressed to more crimes, including further horse theft, until he was arrested in 1854. He was sentenced to 12 years' jail at Pentridge, where he underwent hard labour on the prison hulks in Port Phillip Bay.

After absconding on ticket-of-leave in 1860, Morgan moved to the Lambing Flat district of NSW, where the town of Young now stands. Between 1863 and 1865 he earned a reputation as a particularly vicious and ruthless bushranger, committing a number of murders. The reward for his capture was raised to 500 pounds in 1864.

Morgan was finally caught after he held several workers hostage at Peechelba Station. When the police party arrived on 9 April 1865, Morgan was shot through the back during a standoff. He was buried in the Wangaratta cemetery.

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15y ago

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