Are there any among us who has not snickered at the thought of
Constable Thomas McIntyre in the wombat hole? The line from
Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet (that was paraphrased in G.W. Hall's
"Outlaws of the Wombat Ranges")  "He jests at scars who never felt a
wound" really rings true in this instance. While everyone later was
giggling about him squeezing himself into the wombat hole, he was in
dire fear for his life while in it. He certainly did live to regret
ever mentioning his hidey-hole!

Recent construction and improvements at the Stringybark Creek Reserve
would probably have been Thomas McIntyre's worst nightmare come to
pass if he were alive to know of it. One of the new features there is
an entire information board dedicated to wombats ("The Keepers of the
Forest") and featuring Sidney Nolan's 1946 painting "Policeman in
Wombat Hole" depicting McIntyre head first in a wombat hole (actually,
he went in feet first and did not have a weapon with him as depicted).
The board, situated near a wombat hole, but not THE wombat hole, tells
about these native animals and mention is made of the Kelly Gang and
McIntyre. The board says in part that "Wombats even had a role in the
Ned Kelly Gang/Police story in 1878, when the boots and socks
belonging to Constable McIntyre were found in a wombat hole....he
sought refuge in a large wombat burrow until the worst of the fighting
was over.."

Photo courtesy Sheila Hutchinson.

I will address those statements in a moment, but first let's lay the
groundwork of how McIntyre came to be in the hole to start with.

I won't go into depth about the October 1878 Stringybark Creek
incident in which Constables Lonigan and Scanlon and Sgt. Kennedy lost
their lives at the hands of the Kelly Gang, as full details can be
found elsewhere on this website for those interested. I will just
start with McIntyre's escape from the carnage. Lonigan and Scanlon had
already been killed and Sgt. Kennedy had gotten off his horse to
return fire with the Gang when McIntyre promptly grabbed the spooked
horse, jumped on and rode off.

He raced through the thick scrub and bush in mortal fear thinking that
some of the gang were on his tail as shots had been fired at him as he
rode away. He was scratched up and his clothing was tattered and
eventually he was knocked off the horse by some branches over two
miles away from the camp. He was bleeding and bruised, and for a short
while was confused and bewildered. He remounted but the horse would
not get out of a walk, and he began to suspect the horse might have
taken a bullet, so he dismounted and let the horse go (it was
recovered later).  He then says in his unpublished memoir "A True
Narrative of the Kelly Gang, by T.N. McIntyre, Sole Survivor of the
Police Party Murderously Attacked by Those Bushrangers in the Wombat
Forest on the 26th October, 1878":

quote

After abandoning the horse I proceeded a short distance and concealed
myself in a hollow tree. The tree was standing and whilst my body and
head were concealed my legs were exposed. Remaining here for a few
minutes to recover from the effects of my fall, and collect my
bewildered senses, I left this hiding place and proceeding a little
further I came across some wombat holes. These animals (Phaseolomys
platyrhinues) are about three ft. in length, their tail being
rudimentary, and often weigh about 80 lbs. They were very numerous
there. Selecting one of these holes which faced the west and gave me
an observation of that part of the heavens in the direction I wanted
to go, I got into it to conceal myself. I have often regretted that I
mentioned this place of concealment, there was no necessity for it, I
could very easily have said that I concealed myself without mentioning
in what particular manner I had done so, it would have injured no
person and saved me from many humiliating and vexatious remarks. I
thought that no man under the circumstances in which I was placed
would object to thus hide himself. Some of these wombat holes are very
large, large enough to conceal several men, and the popular opinion of
their all being small is an erroneous one.

Whilst concealed here I entered in my memo-book a short entry of the
fact that we had been stuck up by the Kelly brothers aided by two
others, and that Lonigan and Scanlon were shot. Believing that Kennedy
would also be shot, and they would spare no pains to find me I placed
this book beneath my chest so that if I were found there would be a
chance of the memo remaining undiscovered by them. I remained here
until daylight had faded into darkness.

end of quote

Here is what he wrote into his memo-book:

quote

Ned Kelly, Dan, and two others stuck us up while we were unarmed.
Lonigan and Scanlon are shot. I am hiding in a Wombat hole until dark.
The Lord have mercy on me. Scanlon tried to get his gun out.

end of quote


He then continued on his journey back to civilization, which he
reached the next afternoon.

The bit quoted on the board about how his boots and socks were found
in a wombat hole must have been gleaned from an 1889 article from the
Mansfield Courier which stated:

quote

I heard some boys have found in a wombat hole the boots
and socks belonging to Constable McIntyre. They are elastic
side boots, have an appearance of only slight exposure, were
apparently good when left there. There is no doubt someone
will hunt for them, as my informant tells me the lads left them
where they found them.

end of quote

However, I am wondering if this was a furphy, a joke generated by the
kids, or were someone else's footwear in the hole or was it just
hearsay, as McIntyre himself said this in his narrative about what
happened AFTER he left the confines of the wombat hole:

quote

Having several streams to cross I had to wade through them and feet
becoming wet my boots chafed them to such an extent that I was obliged
to take one off and although I tried to wear it several times during
the night my heel became so much inflamed that I had to take it off
altogether and walk in my stocking.......I reached Mr. McColl's farm
house on the outskirts of Mansfield about 3 p.m. There were several
ladies present when I entered and they rose from their seats and
stared at me with surprise, with innumerable scratches on my face and
hands, ragged and hatless, one boot on, and the other under my arm, I
must have presented a surprising spectacle.

end of quote

So, that seems to put to bed the idea of his socks and boots being
found in a wombat hole! As for the part "he sought refuge in a large
wombat burrow until the worst of the fighting was over," well, I guess
that he had no way of knowing what was going on a few miles away, but
he did feel that he was perhaps in imminent danger and should remain
in place until dark.

As mentioned above, McIntyre was very vexed indeed about people making
comments about him his choice of a hiding place. In Alex Castles's
"Ned Kelly's Last Days" there was this statement from McIntyre: "From
then on I left home every morning with full assurance that I would
hear something about a wombat hole before I returned at night."

Ned Kelly even got a jab in on McIntyre about the subject. In
McIntyre's narrative he states about what happened when he was put on
the detail to accompany Ned to Beechworth for the preliminary trial:

quote

When he saw us he said “I suppose you fellows are going to hang me,
here is McIntyre and I know he is going to do it." Making no reply to
this his next remark, "This is better than a wombat hole, eh,
McIntyre." Caused me to smile with that feeble smile which any
allusion to that animal produces, and I almost ejaculated "Et tu,
Brute." Here were our unpleasant positions brought out at the first
remarks that he made.

end of quote

Yes, I do believe it was quite an unpleasant position for McIntyre to be in.

 Surely he would not have wanted the world to always associate wombat
holes with his name, but the two have already been solidly linked in
print for over 130 years, so what further harm can a sort of
mini-billboard touting his less-than-finest moment do? Not much, I
guess. Still, I can imagine that if he were alive he would be
mortified! But, as an Australian friend once told me "We have a saying
here: You may as well laugh!" (or snicker?)


First published October 24, 2009