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