Constable Miles O`Grady Obelisk
Located on the main street of Nerrigundah, the Constable Miles O`Grady Obelisk is a reminder of Australia’s gold mining and bush ranger past.
Nerrigundah, Gold Mining and Bush Rangers
Although the local population is now only 40, at its height in the 1860s it boasted a population of 11,000. By 1866 this had fallen to 200-300 with around 2,000 in the surrounding areas. Bush rangers were also drawn to the area because of the quantity of gold being mined.
On the 9th of April 1866, Thomas Clarke and his gang of bush rangers held up a number of passers-by outside the town at Deep Creek and then attacked the store and hotel. At Nerrigundah, Constable Patrick Smythe was on duty alone as one sergeant was absent, and Constable Miles O’Grady was seriously ill with “colonial fever” (probably cholera).
O’Grady dragged himself from his sick bed to help with the crisis. William Fletcher, a new recruit to the gang was shot dead by O’Grady. In the ensuing gunbattle, O’Grady received a gunshot wound in the side and died three hours later.
The Clarke gang then rode out of town pursued by a posse of twelve men. An ambush at the Eucumbene River but the only victim was a pack horse. Eventually arrested near their favorite hideout, the Jingera Ranges faced trial and were sentenced to death. Although they did not face trial for the murder of O’Grady, his death along with at least seven others was attributed to them by the judge.
The Monument
To honour his bravery and dedication to duty, the monument was erected around 1867.
During the 2019–2020 Australian summer Nerrigundah was severely affected by bushfires. On 31 December 2019, fire destroyed the village’s hall, 20 of its 25 homes and one of its residents died. Although the monument was not severely damaged, the information plaque was destroyed. This has now been replaced.
A 20-minute drive from Bodalla, the Constable Miles O`Grady Obelisk is a reminder of the risks the police have faced from the early days in Australia. Worth visiting if you are in the area, if only to pay your respects.
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To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.