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Charlie Hammond, son of Charlie Hammond Snr and Maria, was born on Wiradjuri country at Goolagong near Forbes in the 1870s. He was the tracker at Dubbo in 1902 and 1903. In May 1903 he helped arrest a man suspected of burning down a shed at Spicer's Creek to the east of Dubbo. The suspect's boots matched the prints at...
Learn More ►James Nerang, or Jimmy as he was often known, worked as a tracker in the central-west of NSW around the turn of the 20th century. He took a prominent part in tracking Jimmy and Joe Governor after the massacre at Breelong in 1900. He was stationed at Dubbo in January 1902 when he gave evidence identifying Charles Ryan, an Aboriginal...
Learn More ►A single mounted policeman was first stationed at Dandaloo on the Bogan River in May 1871, rising to two early in the New Year. Trackers were employed from 1875 and through to 1909. Paddy was a well-traveled tracker who worked at Dubbo and Dandaloo in these early years. Prior to his employment he had been arrested and tried in October...
Learn More ►Perhaps the best known tracker in NSW is Alexander (or Alec) Riley, who worked, mainly at Dubbo, from 1911 to 1950. His tracking feats were respected by the white and Aboriginal communities, and in 1943 he was awarded the King’s Police and Fire Services Medal for Distinguished conduct. He was also the first tracker to be promoted to the rank...
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This website explores the history of Aboriginal trackers in NSW from 1862 when the current NSW Police Force was established through to 1973 when the last tracker, Norman Walford, retired. You can read about the lives of individual trackers and some of the incredible tracking feats they...
There were over 200 NSW police stations that employed Aboriginal trackers between 1862 and 1973. Many were concentrated in the central-west and north-west of the state, the agricultural and pastoral heartland of NSW. This is because one of the main jobs of trackers was to pursue sheep, cattle and horse thieves. Trackers sometimes lived in small huts out the back...
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Pathfinders book Pathfinders, A history of Aboriginal trackers in NSW, written by Dr Michael Bennett and published by NewSouth, is now available from all good bookstores. Click on the link below to order your copy. https://www.abbeys.com.au/book/pathfinders-a-history-of-aboriginal-trackers-in-nsw.do Early History Since the beginning of the colony, government agencies, explorers, surveyors and members of the general public called upon the tracking...
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