Australian bushrangers (outlaws for those in other countries) were all believed to be Caucasian. They were of mostly of Irish heritage with a few of English and Scottish heritage thrown in. Oddly, I cannot seem to find any Welsh bushrangers, but I will stand corrected on this. There was a Jewish offender, of English origin.
The one exception to this "rule" was a Chinese bushranger. His life is being made into a movie. Named Sam Pu, he came to Australia in the early 19th century in the search for gold, like many fellow Chinese.
His spirit was raised to hostility at the riots of Lambing Flats, where white immigrants fought against the Chinese as they worked in large groups and moved into sites abandoned by whites, who usually worked on finding the alluvial gold in small groups. The greatest problem was "running costs" - they ate less than Europeans!
Sam Pu had two quirks. Firstly, he had a white girlfriend. Secondly, he couldn't ride a horse. His mistake was shooting and killing a policeman. The hunt was on. He was caught and hanged.
Like most movies, Aodaliya Gold will not be true to this boring end. Pu joins famous bushrangers Frank Gardiner, Johnny Hall and Ben Hall. He also finds an itinerant Chinese girl along the way. They all ride (or walk) out into the sunset to lead a multicultural life.
Ah well, that's life, or maybe it isn't!
History by Ty Buchanan
