Grave of Ben Hall

Grave of Ben Hall
Grave of Ben Hall
Location	Forbes Cemetery, Bogan Gate Road, Forbes, Forbes Shire, New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates	33°22′18″S147°59′44″E / 33.3717°S 147.9956°E
Built	1865–
Architect	Headstone - Mr Jones
Owner	Forbes Shire Council
New South Wales Heritage Register
Official name	The Ben Hall Sites - Grave of Ben Hall; Ben Hall's Grave
Type	state heritage (landscape)
Designated	8 October 2010
Reference no.	1827
Type	Headstone
Category	Cemeteries and Burial Sites
Builders	Mr Jones
	Location of Grave of Ben Hall in New South Wales Grave of Ben Hall (Australia)

Last updated December 26, 2024

The Grave of Ben Hall is a heritage-listed headstone of bushranger Ben Hall at Forbes Cemetery, Bogan Gate Road, Forbes, Forbes Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of a group of historic sites labelled the Ben Hall Sites for their association with bushranger Ben Hall, along with Ben Hall's Death Site, the Bushranger Hotel, Cliefden, Escort Rock and Wandi. It is also known as Ben Hall's Grave. The property is owned by Forbes Shire Council. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 8 October 2010.^[1]

History

Forbes General Cemetery was established in 1863, and was in use through to 1994. The cemetery contains the graves of many notable figures including fellow gang members John O'Meally and Warrigal Walsh and Aboriginal tracker Billy Dargin who were buried in unmarked graves.^[1]

Hall was killed by police on the morning of 5 May 1865. He was buried in the Forbes Cemetery on Sunday 7 May 1865. His funeral hearse was followed by about 50 people and three buggies - some family and some curious locals.^[1]

The grave was probably initially unmarked, being surrounded by a picket fence sometime before 1900. In 1957 the grave was marked with a stone that had in rough black paint Ben Hall's details. Around 1957 author Edgar Penzig and a local erected the present marker. Ben Hall's age as inscribed on the headstone has been disputed and some claim he was in fact 28 years old when he died. The Australian Dictionary of Biography records his birth date as 9 May 1837 which would make him 27 years old when he died.^[1]

Ben Hall's grave is now a marketed tourist destination and is included in tourism brochures for Forbes.^[1]

Description

The headstone is Gothic Revival in style with the inscription:^[1]

IN

Memory Of

BEN HALL

SHOT 5th MAY 1865

AGED 27 YEARS

The headstone and grave are surrounded by a white picket fence with a gate opposite the headstone.^[1]

The grave is located on the central eastern boundary of Forbes Cemetery, on the corner with an access track heading west.^[1]

The grave was reported to be in good condition as at 3 July 2009.^[1]

Heritage listing

The Grave of Ben Hall adds to the State significance of the Ben Hall Sites as the final part of the Hall story. Hall and his gang had substantial impact on the early development of the police force, including the employment of Aboriginal people by the police force and the movement of money and people between country towns. The Ben Hall Grave adds to the State significance of the Ben Hall Sites for the social significance attached to it by the community. Ben Hall has captured the minds of the public as a gentleman bushranger or Robin Hood type character. Grave sites and the memorialisation of the dead are intimately connected with this process.^[1]

The Grave site is historically associated with Aboriginal tracker Billy Dargin, whom played an active part in Hall's capture and two other bushrangers, John O'Meally and Warrigal Walsh, associates of Halls, all of whom are buried in unmarked graves in the same cemetery.^[1]

The Ben Hall Sites - Grave of Ben Hall was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 8 October 2010 having satisfied the following criteria.^[1]

The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales.

The grave of Ben Hall adds to the State significance of the Ben Hall Sites as the final part of the Hall story. Hall and his gang had substantial impact on the early development of the police force, including the employment of Aboriginal people in the police force and the movement of money and people between country towns.^[1]

The place has a strong or special association with a person, or group of persons, of importance of cultural or natural history of New South Wales's history.

This grave is associated with Ben Hall the bushranger who was buried there on 7 May 1865. The grave adds to the significance of the Ben Hall Sites because it is the burial place of Ben Hall who became notorious in his own time and is well known by the Australian public. The cemetery is also significant as the resting place for Aboriginal tracker Billy Dargin, two other bushrangers John O'Meally and Warrigal Walsh as well as the grave of Mary Kelly (bushranger Ned Kelly's sister).^[1]

The place has strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.

The Ben Hall Grave adds to the State significance of the Ben Hall Sites for the social significance attached to it by the community. Ben Hall has captured the minds of the public as a gentleman bushranger or Robin Hood type character. Grave sites and the memorialisation of the dead is intimately connected with this process.^[1]

The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

The Grave has significance at a local level. The forensic remains of Ben Hall may reveal more information about the way he died and the burial customs of the times.^[1]

The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales.

The marking of the Grave of Ben Hall is representative of public sentiment surrounding Hall as a well known historic figure.^[1]

Related Research Articles

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Patrick Daley, known informally as 'Patsy' Daley, was a 19th-century Australian bushranger. Daley was the younger cousin of John O’Meally, a member of Frank Gardiner’s gang of bushrangers who robbed the gold escort near Eugowra in June 1862. By early 1863 Patsy Daley had joined with O’Meally and Ben Hall in a series of robberies carried out in the Young district. Daley was captured in March 1863 and sentenced to fifteen years hard labour. He was released in 1873. Daley married and settled in the Cobar district, becoming a successful businessman and hotel-owner.

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The Gardiner–Hall Gang was an informal group of bushrangers who roamed the central west of the Colony of New South Wales, Australia in the 1860s. Named after leaders Frank Gardiner and Ben Hall, the gang was involved in numerous shootouts and robberies, including Australia's largest ever gold robbery, at Eugowra Rocks. The gang formed in 1861 and its demise came with the execution of John Dunn in 1866.

Ben Hall is a 1975 Australian TV series based on the bush ranger Ben Hall. It stars Jon Finch as Ben Hall, Evin Crowley as Biddy Hall, John Castle as bushranger Frank Gardiner, Brian Blain as Sir Frederick Pottinger, Jack Charles as Billy Dargin and John Orcsik as John Gilbert. Neil McCallum was the creator-producer and the series editor was Colin Free.

John Vane was an Australian bushranger who joined with John Gilbert's gang for a short period during 1863. He rode with Gilbert, Ben Hall, John O’Meally and his friend Mick Burke, all of whom eventually met violent deaths. Burke, who had been Vane's childhood friend, died in a violent gun-fight at 'Dunn's Plains', near Rockley. Vane managed to avoid the fate of his companions when he gave himself up. In 1905 Vane collaborated with author and newspaper editor, Charles White, in recording his recollections of the period he spent as part of the bushranging gangs led by Gilbert, Hall and O’Meally. Vane’s biography, edited by White, was published in 1908.

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John O'Meally, known informally as 'Jack' O'Meally, was an Australia bushranger. He was recruited to join the Gardiner–Hall gang to carry out the gold escort robbery near Eugowra in June 1862, Australia's largest gold theft. O'Meally became a member of the group of bushrangers led by Johnny Gilbert and Ben Hall, which committed many robberies in the central west of New South Wales. Considered to be the most violent and hot-headed of the group, O'Meally was probably responsible for two murders during this time. The gang managed to evade the police for long periods and became the most notorious of the bushranging gangs of the 1860s. Jack O'Meally was shot and killed during an attack on the 'Goimbla' station homestead in November 1863.

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Escort Rock is a heritage-listed geological formation at Escort Way, Eugowra, Cabonne Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of a group of historic sites labelled the Ben Hall Sites for their association with bushranger Ben Hall, along with Ben Hall's Death Site, the Bushranger Hotel, Cliefden, the Grave of Ben Hall and Wandi. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 8 October 2010.

Captain Thunderbolt's Grave is a heritage-listed burial site located at Uralla Square in Uralla, a town in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The grave comprises a marble headstone, designed by Mr Callcott, and built in 1914. It is also known as Uralla Old General Cemetery. It is one of a group of historic sites labelled The Captain Thunderbolt Sites for their association with bushranger Captain Thunderbolt, along with Captain Thunderbolt's Rock, Blanch's Royal Oak Inn, and Captain Thunderbolt's Death Site. Collectively, all properties were added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 20 July 2012.

Bushranger Hotel is a heritage-listed hotel located at 24 Church Street, Collector, in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. It is one of a group of historic sites labelled the Ben Hall Sites for their association with bushranger Ben Hall, along with Ben Hall's Death Site, Cliefden, Escort Rock, the Grave of Ben Hall and Wandi. It was built from 1860 to 1861. It is also known as Kimberley's Commercial Hotel and Kimberley's Inn. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 8 October 2010.

Ben Hall's Death Site is a heritage-listed site at Billabong Creek, Ben Halls Road, Forbes, Forbes Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of a group of historic sites labelled the Ben Hall Sites for their association with bushranger Ben Hall, along with the Bushranger Hotel, Cliefden, Escort Rock, the Grave of Ben Hall and Wandi. It is also known as Blowclear Pastoral Run and Ben Hall's Place. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 8 October 2010.

Wandi is a heritage-listed former coaching inn and now residence at 16501 Hume Highway, Narambulla Creek, Marulan, Goulburn Mulwaree Council, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of a group of historic sites labelled the Ben Hall Sites for their association with bushranger Ben Hall, along with Ben Hall's Death Site, the Bushranger Hotel, Cliefden, Escort Rock, and the Grave of Ben Hall. It was built from 1843. It is also known as Plumb's Inn, Shelleys Flats and Douglass Inn. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 8 October 2010.

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "The Ben Hall Sites - Grave of Ben Hall". New South Wales State Heritage Register . Department of Planning & Environment. H01827. Retrieved 2 June 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence .

Bibliography

Forbes - A walk through history.
Welcome to Forbes, Ben Hall Country. Visitor Information leaflet.
Edgar. F. Penzig (1985). The Sandy Creek Bushranger: A definitive History Of Ben Hall, His Gang And Associates.
Peter W. Wilkins (1999). "Ben Hall the Bushranger". Archived from the original on 25 November 2005. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
Heritage Office SHRP (2001). Central West Pilot Program SHRP.

Attribution

This Wikipedia article was originally based on The Ben Hall Sites - Grave of Ben Hall , entry number 01827 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence , accessed on 2 June 2018.

External links

Media related to Ben Hall's grave at Wikimedia Commons

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[nswshr-1827-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "The Ben Hall Sites - Grave of Ben Hall". New South Wales State Heritage Register . Department of Planning & Environment. H01827. Retrieved 2 June 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence .

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