Wild Toby facts for kids

Wild Toby (born around 1840, died January 26, 1883) was a well-known Aboriginal outlaw. He lived in the Dawson River area of central Queensland, Australia. An outlaw is someone who lives outside the law and often commits crimes.

Toby's Early Life and Hardship

Many stories say Toby survived a very difficult time. This was after the Hornet Bank massacre in 1857. In the Dawson River region, many Aboriginal people faced sad events. Toby was one of the survivors from these times.

Becoming a Bushranger

As a young man, Toby worked on a large farm. This was a "pastoral run" in the Dawson River area. But he was caught stealing and had to leave the property. By the early 1870s, he had become a bushranger. Bushrangers were like outlaws who roamed the countryside.

Toby robbed sheep stations and people traveling through the area. He also killed an Aboriginal tracker. He thought this tracker was trying to help police catch him. Police officers from Roma were sent to find him. They wanted to "teach this fellow a wholesome lesson." But they could not find Toby.

By the early 1880s, he was known as "Wild Toby." People blamed him for several killings. These included shepherds and storemen. He was also involved in other serious incidents. These events led to a big hunt for him.

Capture and Escape

After these troubling incidents, a large group was formed in 1882. It included police and settlers. Their goal was to hunt Toby down. They finally found him. Constable James Edwards rode quickly towards Toby. Toby threw a spear, but it just missed the policeman.

Edwards then hit Toby on the head with his pistol. This knocked Toby unconscious. Toby was chained up and put in a storeroom. This was at a place called Hornetbank. But he managed to escape from there.

Once free, Toby continued his life as a bushranger. On September 25, 1882, he tried to harm James Anderson. This happened on a road near Wandoan. A warrant was issued for his arrest. Senior-Constable William Wright, Constable William Dwyer, and an Aboriginal tracker were ordered to find and capture Toby.

Final Confrontation and Death

The police group found Toby's camp. This was on Woleebee Creek. It was the evening of January 25, 1883. Early the next morning, the police approached Toby. He was outside a tent he shared with his girlfriend.

Constable Dwyer got off his horse. He quickly went up to Toby. Dwyer grabbed Toby by the throat. He pointed his revolver at him. The policemen did not see that Toby was holding a tomahawk. It was hidden by leaves on the ground. He held it with his toes.

Toby quickly brought the tomahawk to his hand. He hit Constable Dwyer in the head. At the same moment, Senior-Constable Wright shot Toby several times. But Toby still grabbed a nearby nulla-nulla. A nulla-nulla is a type of wooden club. He threw it at Wright. The nulla-nulla hit Wright in the leg. This injury partly crippled him for the rest of his life.

However, Wright fired another shot at Toby. This shot hit Toby in the face, killing him. Constable Dwyer died about half an hour later. He died from the wound Toby gave him with the tomahawk.

Toby's Legacy

The tomahawk Toby used was important. It was displayed at the Queensland Police Museum for some years. This was after the deaths of Toby and Constable Dwyer.

A prominent hill near Woleebee is named after him. It is called Toby's Knob. Toby used this hill as a safe place and a lookout. This was during his time as an outlaw. The Queensland Police Museum website remembers Toby. They describe him as a "scoundrel with no respect for white man's law or property."