CHARLES BOW

Charles was born in Liverpool, England, in 1828, and arrived to Port Phillip per the ship "Bermondsey" in 1848. (He later claimed that he had arrived in 1849 per Adelaide, an exile of ten years under the alias of "James Clarke".)

By 1852 he had joined up with a group of lawless characters who called themselves the Eureka Gang. It was led by John Finegan and John Donovan, and also included Henry Johnston & John Bayliss. They were particularly active amongst the goldfields and small towns of central Victoria.

On 23 October 1852, Bow received six years for Highway Robbery at the Geelong Court. He had only just arrived at Pentridge Gaol when he tried to escape from a work detail and as a consequence was placed in irons. On the 23 October 1855 he received a ticket-of-leave but did not stay out of gaol for long. After serving one months gaol at Geelong for vagrancy, his ticket-of-leave was now cancelled and he returned back to Pentridge. He was given a second chance and on 17 June 1857 released on another ticket-of-leave. However, he was back in gaol on the 2nd February 1858, for having left the district. He eventually completed his sentence and was released on 23 October 1858.

But Charles seemed determined to pursue his lawlessness. On the 21 February 1859, Redmond Barry sentenced him to two-and-a-half years hard labour for 'Stealing from the Person'. On being released on 23 March 1861, he appeared once more before the Chief Justice in Melbourne on 15 July 1861, for 'Larceny'. Barry sentenced him to three years on the roads, and he served almost the full sentence, being let out a few days earlier on 'recommendation of Head Office, per remission to Hobart'.

Charles Bow (or Bowe) disappeared and was never heard of again, perhaps after spending almost ten years in gaol, he had decided he'd had enough.