For all of my overseas readers a Bushranger is the
Australian version of the American outlaws of the
Wild West like Jesse James.
Granger The Bushranger is sitting on a stool at the
bar of his favourite watering hole (Pub)
No one knows who he is because when he commits his
crimes he wears a black bandana.
The bandana is his calling card
When his target sees it they know that they are about to
be robbed by Granger The Bushranger
The year is 1858 in Ballarat Victoria Australia
And Granger The Bushranger is sitting at the bar drinking
Whiskey
Thinking about ways to make money.
The illegal way.
After quenching his thirst he goes outside and jumps
on his Horse Lighting Bolt a strong willed Colt
And he rides back to his camp
Then he remembers being told that the Gold Miners
take their nuggets to Ballarat to be weighed
And then they are paid.
Granger The Bushranger feels a smile come to his face
He is counting the money already
Tomorrow he will ride into town and look for a Miner
with heavy saddlebags.
The Sun comes up and Granger has a Breakfast of
Rabbit Stew and Coffee.
Then he saddles up Lighting Bolt and he is on his way
to Ballarat
After riding for an hour he hits the outskirts of town
He rides down the dusty main street and ties Lighting
Bolt outside the Saloon.
He has three Whiskeys and it isn’t even noon
As he was riding down the street the saw the Gold buying
store Munroes Paid For Gold
Now sitting on his bar stool he sits facing the window
He has one eye on Munroes and the other eye on the
Barmaids Tits.
Now he just needs to find a Miner to scare out of his wits
He doesn’t have to wait long as a bow legged Horse
struggles up to Munroes.
The Miner might as well be carrying a sign that says
‘Come and rob me”
The Miner can barely lift the saddlebags
They must weigh twenty pounds or more and then he
makes his way into the store.
Granger gets up off his stool and he gives the Barmaid
a tip
He downs the last of his Whiskey and heads towards
the door
He is about to become rich and make one Gold Miner poor
He goes up to the Miners Horse that is tied up outside Munroes
And he leads it down an alley way and then he waits.
He is using the Horse as bait
The Gold Miner comes out of Munroes with a look of
satisfaction
His front pocket is full from the recent transaction
Then he shakes his head cause his Horse is gone
Then he hears a neigh coming from the alley way
Someone must be playing a prank
Either Johhno or his younger brother Frank
But he didn’t think that they were in town
Granger puts on his Bandana as he sees the Miner
approach
As the Miner unties his Horse Granger goes Psst
The Miner spins around and all he can say is “Granger”
His Legs start to buckle and his Bladder is emptied
Granger lets out a chuckle as he notices the wet patch
The Miner just hands over the money he knows that he
has met his match
Granger tells the Miner to get on his horse and ride out of
town
And tell all of his friends that you have met Granger the
Bushranger.
You will come out in a nasty little rash
As he relieves you of your cash
Granger saunters down the main street with a pocket
full of money and a Bandana full of menace
Then he sees a poster on the Barber shop window
“Cobb& Co Stagecoach Ballarat to Bendigo 5 pence
Granger has always wanted to rob a Stagecoach and now
he has his chance
But first to celebrate with some Wine Women and Song
He might even smoke a bong and then sing along
Back at base camp Granger is feeling in need of some action
So he saddles up Lightning Bolt and rides to the Highway
And he waits for the Stagecoach to pass on by
He sees a cloud of dust approaching
As it gets closer he can see that Cobb& Co is here
And he and Lightning Bolt hide behind a tree
Waiting for the right opportunity
He ties on the Black Bandana and he and his Horse block
the Stagecoachs path
He fires two shots into the air and orders the driver and the
passengers to jump to the ground
With their hands in the air once again all they can say is
“Granger”
One by one they hand over their valuables
Granger rides into the hills with his pockets full of dollar bills
and a shit load of jewels
Taken from a Stage coach full of fools
Once again Granger has hit the Mother lode
He thinks maybe it is time for him to retire
Ride the Yellow brick road before he ends up in the mire
Back at the camp site he has a few Whiskeys and he starts to
have second thoughts
Maybe go out with a bang with one last heist
For his stubbornness he has his Mother to thank
He will rob the Ballarat First National Bank
For a week he watches the Bank from the safety of bar
stool in the Saloon
Waiting for the best time to do the job
He thinks the best time would be on Thursday about noon
And then a one way ticket to the Moon
Thursday comes around real quick and Granger strolls into
the Bank and ties on his trusty Bandana
Once again he fires into the air and tells the customers to lay
on the floor with their hands behind their heads
Or he will send them to their final beds
The whisper goes around the Bank ‘Its Granger the Bushranger”
He hands the tellers duffel bags and tells them to “Fill em up”
He drags the bags out to where Lightning Bolt is waiting
Plus a spare Horse to carry the bags
But Granger is about to go from riches to rags
For Granger with all of his greed has failed to look behind him
For Ten Constables are bearing on down
Their Horses going hell for leather sensing a change in the
weather
Takes off at full speed on his trusty steed
Leaving the duffel bags behind
The Police are firing wildly but one bullet finds its mark
and it hits Granger in the back
But Lightning Bolt stays on track and they reach the camp site
just before dark
Granger is bleeding badly and he crawls behind a bush
to rest
The Constables follow the trail of blood to the camp site
But of Granger not a trace is found
He has disappeared into thin air
Granger The Bushranger hasn’t been seen since that day
Is he alive or is he dead?
Nobody really knows
The legend lives on
