This is the tragic tale of John Basham, a young farmer in Van Diemen’s Land in 1825 who was caught in the crossfire when Governor George Arthur began a personal war with bushranger Matthew Brady.
In March 1825, John Basham and his stockman Joseph Hindes were tending their sheep on the banks of the Tamar River when they looked up and saw two men holding shotguns walking towards them. The men were outlaws Matthew Brady and James McCabe.
They held them captive for three days. But on the third day, there was a knock at the door from a group of three soldiers. The hostages thought salvation had finally come.
But the bushrangers weren’t going down without a fight.
What should have been an easy arrest for the soldiers quickly turned into a shambolic mess as one thing after the next went wrong. And the consequences for Basham were devastating.

00.00 Introduction
03.00 Who was John Basham?
09.40 George Arthur vs Matthew Brady
13.00 Bushrangers come to Basham’s Hut
16.23 Three soldiers arrive
17.50 A gunfight begins
19.39 Wounded man is carried away
21.13 Aftermath

Hosted by Marion Langford. Follow on Instagram or check out the website at ratbagsandroustabouts.com. Do you know a story that the history books forgot? Let us know about it!