Fred Lowry was born in 1836 as Thomas Frederick Lowry. No details of his birth seem to have been registered, however, it is believed he was another resident in the Abercrombie River area of New South Wales. Little is known about his childhood or early years. He probably received little or no schooling and, like many boys of his time, grew up to become a stockman with a reputation as a buckjumper and horse breaker. He probably drifted into the cattle and horse duffing which was so prevalent then.

According to police records, his personal description was: Height 6 feet 2 inches (very tall for the period), raw-boned and of awkward build, very long arms, long light-coloured hair, small beard, small head, small and angular features, walks with an awkward gait.

In 1862 a warrant was issued for his arrest for horse stealing and he took to the bush as a full-time horse thief and bushranger. Initially, he operated in the Abercrombie Ranges, west of Goulburn and was soon involved in Robbery Under Arms.

On 01 January 1863 he and another bushranger named John Foley bailed up the crowd at a race meeting on the Brisbane Valley, near the head of the Fish River. During the robbery a young man named Foran rushed Lowry who promptly shot him in the chest. Despite his wound the young man grappled Lowry and held him until other people could apprehend him.

Lowry was taken to Bathurst and held pending the placing of charges against him. The offence carried a penalty of Capital Punishment, however, Lowry did not wait around to be tried. On 13 February he and several other prisoners escaped.

He moved across country to the Weddin Mountains area around Grenfell and was soon involved with John Gilbert, John O'Mealley, Ben Hall, Patsy Daley, John Vane and Mickey Burke. Between February and August 1863 they were active in the area between the Lambing Flat goldfields and Cootamundra, bailing up travelers and robbing stores alike. In June he is believed to have been one of two bushrangers (the other believed to be Gilbert) who shot and killed a miner named McBride on the diggings before stealing his valuables.

Fred Lowry's big robbery finally took place on 13 July 1863 when, again in company with Foley and another man named Larry Cummins, he bailed up and robbed the Mudgee Mail coach on the Big Hill west of the Blue Mountains. The robbery netted the men 5700 pounds in old banknotes. It was the second biggest robbery by bushrangers then recorded in New South Wales, the only larger one being the Eugowra Escort robbery. Witnesses noted that Lowry was carrying seven revolvers around his waist. The robbery gave him an eighth.

The police were soon on the robber's tracks and early in August Foley was arrested. He was tried at Bathurst and sentenced to 15 years' hard labour. He was later transferred to Darlinghurst Gaol for the rest of his sentence.

On 29 August Senior Sergeant Stephenson received information that Lowry was staying at the Limerick Races Hotel on Crooksvale Creek, about fifty miles from Goulburn. He immediately set out for the hotel with three troopers. Lowry and Cummins were in a locked room. the Sergeant called on Lowry to surrender and tried to force the locked door open. As he did so Lowry appeared in its entrance and fired at the Sergeant. The shot missed but struck the Sergeant's horse outside. The Sergeant returned the shot, followed by another from Lowry which penetrated the Sergeant's coat, narrowly missing wounding him. Stephenson fired again and this time hit Lowry in the throat. He dropped his revolvers and staggered back. Stephenson promptly grabbed him and held him as he continued to struggle until one of the troopers could assist. Lowry was pulled out into the yard and handcuffed. A soon as Lowry was secured Stephenson returned to the room and found Cummins cowering under the bed. He surrendered without resistance.

Lowry was then examined and found to be bleeding internally. The Sergeant commandeered a dray and set off for Goulburn with his prisoners. When they stopped to rest that night a doctor was sent for. After examining Lowry he realised he was dying. Lowry asked one of the police officers to pray for him and then asked him to tell a relative that he had 'died game'. This is different from the 'tell 'em I died game' which has passed into bushranging mythology. He died at 7.00 am on 30 August 1863.

This profile © Andrew Stackpool, 1998.