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Gin Gin Stock Handling School

The Gin Gin district was originally settled in 1847 when Gregory Blaxland and William Forster moved into the area with sheep and cattle. The site where the town now stands was once part of the sprawling Gin Gin Station owned by Sir Thomas McIlwraith, who was Premier of Queensland three times between 1879 and 1893.

The Gin Gin district is nicknamed Wild Scotsman Country due to the capture of one of Queensland’s few bushrangers, James Alpin McPherson, in the area on 30 March 1866. McPherson, who went by the same nickname, was captured at Monduran Station, 13 km north of town. The Wild Scotsman Festival is held in Gin Gin on the third week of March each year to commemorate this event.

The name Gin Gin was derived from the original station name, which used a local Aboriginal word indicating “red soil thick scrub”. (Wikipedia)

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Bonshaw, Thunderbolt, Livestock and Dogs

It is little wonder that Thunderbolt was attracted to this paradoxical border region.

Throughout his career as an outlaw he never fired his pistol in anger. In fact his demeanor towards his victims was always polite and jovial. In 1867 Thunderbolt, and a young accomplice, held up and robbed the Bonshaw store/hotel in a very non-violent and respectful way.  J.N. Roper’s Account

His “death” was just as intriguing  as it was enshrouded in a Police coverup, a suspiciously tall woman with a manly gait attending the funeral and a boat trip to USA by a Fred Ward and Sarah Shepherd. The real names of Thunderbolt and his mother.

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