James Sutherland (bushranger)

Police mugshot of Sutherland, 1883

James Sutherland (1865 – 4 June 1883), born James Saunders, was an Australian bushranger active in Tasmania.

Early life

Sutherland was born in Ouse, a town in the Central Highlands of Tasmania, Australia. At the age of 18 months, his father left him in the care of a woman in Perth, south of Launceston. This woman raised him until he was five, during which time he was given the surname Sutherland. He was then placed in the care of another woman in Evandale until the age of 11. After being removed from her care, Sutherland was left to fend for himself and attempted to return to Perth. However, he was arrested under the Vagrancy Act and sentenced to three months in gaol.

After his release, Sutherland moved to Hobart, where he worked as a dogsbody at a hotel. He later found employment at a farm at Kangaroo Point, where he remained for three years before deciding to pursue a career in mining. Despite occasional sightings in Launceston, little is known about his life during this period.

Criminal activities and bushranging

In early 1883, Sutherland partnered with 20-year-old James Ogden in armed robberies and other bushranging activities in and around Epping Forest. As a result of their "reign of terror", they became known as the Epping desperadoes, and the government offered a reward for their apprehension. Their crime spree culminated in the murder of two men: telegraph linesman William Wilson and Alfred Holman, who drove a lemonade cart. Wilson was shot after leaving his home, which the bushrangers subsequently burned down, while Holman was shot as he drove his cart through the forest. Sutherland and Ogden were known to sing bush ballads about Ned Kelly and his gang, and according to The Mercury, they committed crimes "in a state of imaginative imitation of [the Kelly gang], almost believing themselves to be identical with those bushrangers".

Capture and execution

Sutherland and Ogden were captured soon after Holman's body was discovered and were subsequently tried for murder at the Supreme Court of Tasmania. During the trial, Sutherland accepted the charges against him and expressed little remorse, suggesting that his harsh experiences growing up justified his actions. The Examiner concluded that Sutherland had not "the smallest atom of humanity". When the jury retired to consider their verdict, Sutherland said aloud, "What do those bloody fools want to consider about? I've shot the man, isn't that enough?" The jury found Sutherland and Ogden guilty, and they were executed in Hobart on 4 June 1883. Sutherland's final words were, "It's no use feeling sorry now."

Bibliography

• Emmett, Evelyn Temple (1937). A Short History of Tasmania. Angus & Robertson.
• Harris, Steve (2018). Solomon's Noose: The True Story of Her Majesty's Hangman of Hobart. Melbourne Books. ISBN 9781922129833.