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Map showing movements of the Burgess gang
Map showing main locations mentioned in the text. Richard Burgess and Thomas Kelly (then known as Noon) took three weeks to get from Dunedin to Hokitika. They were escorted up the coast by the Otago police to the provincial border with Canterbury, the Waitaki River. They then evaded Canterbuy police as they travelled on to Hokitika via the Rakaia River, crossing over to the Arahura.
Over the next few months the gang committed a series of crimes on the West Coast, including the murder of George Dobson (Dobson had helped explore suitable routes from Canterbury to the West Coast, and Arthur's Pass was named after his brother). From Greymouth they travelled to Westport and then onto Nelson by steamer. From there they had planned to walk to Picton but got waylaid at the Wakamarina goldfields where a plan for murder and robbery on the Maungatapu track was hatched.
Ministry for Culture and Heritage
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YahooHow to cite this page: 'Map showing movements of the Burgess gang', URL: http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/map-showing-movements-of-the-gang, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 31-Aug-2009
Hi Marcus
Thanks for your comments. I think 'escorted' is ok in this context. The map date is correct - though I see it might look like a '6' at first glance.
We have fixed the text re-route taken over the Alps. The map will be updated shortly.
regards, Jamie Mackay, Web Editor.
Thanks for your comments. I think 'escorted' is ok in this context. The map date is correct - though I see it might look like a '6' at first glance.
We have fixed the text re-route taken over the Alps. The map will be updated shortly.
regards, Jamie Mackay, Web Editor.
I just noticed that your map, apart from showing incorrectly that they went via Arthurs Pass, says they left Dunedin September 1866, so obviously a typo.
I think followed or watched closely might be a better word than 'escorted' as it implies that they were officially removed from Otago. Richard Burgess terms it: "We were thus escorted, not openly, the delegated one either preceding us or not far away." (p86)
Also, they went to the West Coast up the Rakaia crossing over to the Arahura, not Arthurs Pass. (p87)
Source: Confessions of Richard Burgess, ed. David Burton, (Reed, 1983)
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