White BullPrint Page 
The sculpture commemorates the White Bull stolen by Harry Redford ("Captain Starlight").
Redford stole about 1000 cattle from the Aramac district and drove them to Adelaide to sell them. Among the herd was a prize white bull that was worth 500 guineas. No matter how hard Redford tried to cut the bull from the group it persisted in following the herd. En route Redford ran short of cash and sold the bull to a squatter, which was how his cattle rustling was uncovered.
The bull was quite famous and belonged to Bowen Downs Station, which was how the police associated the cattle thieving to Harry Redford. Redford was put on trial in Roma but by a comedy of errors in the evidence and a sympathetic jury Redford went home a free man.
Location
| Address: | Gordon Street, Aramac, 4726 |
|---|---|
| State: | QLD |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -22.971488 Long: 145.241596 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Sculpture |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Culture |
| Sub-Theme: | Animals |
Dedication
The Myth
One thousand head of cattle and an imported white bull were stolen from Bowen Downs, collected in yards claimed at many locations along the Thomson River, and driven through unknown country to South Australia by Captain Starlight.
This was the inspiration for Rolf Bolderwood`s story "Robbery Under Arms" which immortalised the feats of a number of differnet bushrangers under the name of Captain Starlight.
The History
Henry Readford was one of the many stealing cattle from Bowen Downs which stretched from north of Muttaburra, nearly to Aramac, and to south of Longreach.
In March 1870 he and four associates took advantage of floods to pur together at least 600 head of cattle and an imported white bull which they drove 600 miles in around three months along the Strzelecki Track to South Australia.
The bull and two cows branded LC were sold for stores and the remainder of the cattle sold at Blachewater Station. Readford was brought to trial in Roma on 11th, February, 1873 with the white bull present for evidence.
The verdict was "not guilty" to which Judge Blakeney replied " I thank God the verdict is yours, gentlemen, and not mine".
