Cirrus@Austlit

'When Tommy goes on a trip to an Outback farm with his friend Martin, he thinks that his biggest problem will be Francis, his former friend who has gate-crashed the holiday. He doesn’t expect to run into his old enemy, Frank Gardiner. Frank is on the run from the law and will do anything to keep Tommy from revealing his true identity. And Tommy is about to learn why the bushranger is so desperate to stay out of jail!'  (Publication summary)

'Tommy Bell has been sent to work on his grandparents' farm for the school holidays. He doesn't want to go, but when he discovers an old bushranger's hat hidden in a cave, everything changes. Suddenly he is sent back to the gold rush days and finds himself face-to-face with the bushranger Captain Thunderbolt! At first, the life of a bushranger seems full of thrills and adventure. But Tommy soon learns that it is full of danger as well...' .(Publication summary)

'Frederick Wordsworth Ward, better known as ‘Captain Thunderbolt’, had one of the longest bushranging ‘careers’ in history. Plaguing New South Wales for almost seven years, Thunderbolt enjoyed much public support as he was intelligent, charming and courageous and a great storyteller. He has become something of a romantic figure of Australia’s past. This book describes some of Thunderbolt’s more notable exploits and refutes many of the popular myths that surround him.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.