Death of the Wild Colonial Boy

There was a wild colonial boy,
Jack Duggan was his name,
He was born and raised in Ireland,
In a place called Castlemaine . . .

There probably was a wild colonial boy but was he Duggan, Doolan or Donohue and was he born in Kerry, Australia or even Dublin ? The boy the song refers to is most likely an amalgamation of a number of characters.
The original Wild Colonial Boy was possibly Jack Donohue from Dublin, who was definitely a bushranger, or outlaw. Instead of robbing the rich to help the poor he was really helping himself but even still, the Australian version of the song almost rivals Waltzing Matilda as an unofficial anthem.
In 1823, Jack Donohue was convicted of “intent to commit a felony” and sentenced to transportation for life. When he arrived in Australia he was sent to work on a farm but he used to escape at night so as a punishment, he was put into a road gang in chains. Eventually, he had to work on a pig farm but he escaped into the bush with two others named Kilroy and Smith. They robbed wealthy land owners and travellers but were caught after a few years. The three were sentenced to death. His companions were hanged but Donohue managed to escape. For more than two years Donohue led a gang of robbers and was seen as a hero by the ordinary people – most of whom had come from Ireland and England, many of them transported like himself.
He was called The Bold Jack Donohue but the police considered him dangerous and in 1829 there was a reward of £20 for his capture. This was quickly raised to £200. In 1830 Donohue and his gang were surrounded by police and in the gun fire Donohue was fatally shot by Trooper Muggleston. His reputation continued to grow and he was seen as a folk hero. It wasn’t long before songs were being sung celebrating his exploits. The most famous of these is the one we now know as the Wild Colonial Boy.
The authorities, however, frowned on the song and it was outlawed. This is were the confusion about the original started.
It is said that the ordinary people simply changed the names in the song and it became a song about Jack Doolan, who was born of Irish parents in Castlemaine Victoria.
When the song came back to Ireland the name became Jack Duggan and it was believed that the Castlemaine in question was in Kerry. The Australian town had an Irish connection, as it was said to have been named after William Handcock, Viscount Castlemaine.
This, however, was a Westmeath title rather than a Kerry one. Not to be outdone, the Kerry town of the same name still claims to be the birthplace of the Wild Colonial Boy, who was said to have been born in Castledrum, west of the village.
At this stage, the song is more than likely an amalgamation of the legends of a number of people.
The first of these was, in all probability, Jack Donohue from Dublin. He was not captured by Kelly, Davis and Fitzroy but was shot by Trooper Muggleston at Campbellstown, Sydney, on September 1, 1830 –180 years ago this week.
Michael Torpey