In the early 1820s, amidst the rugged bushland of Killara, Matilda Fish's isolated cottage became the site of a daring robbery by notorious bushranger William Geary, marking the start of a terrifying chapter in Lane Cove's colonial history.
The sun hung low over the thick bushland surrounding Matilda Fish's cottage, casting long shadows across the rugged terrain. Located near what is now the corner of Werona Avenue and Powell Street in Killara, her home sat in isolation on the western heights of Middle Harbour, an area known in the 1820s as Lane Cove.
In colonial times, the district of Lane Cove covered a vast stretch of wilderness, much larger than the modern suburb that now bears the name. This expansive area, which would later be divided into smaller communities, including what we know today as Ku-ring-gai, was a place of both opportunity and danger for the early settlers who dared to call it home.
It was a modest dwelling, nestled among tall gums and thick scrub—a place where privacy came at a price. For Matilda, the price was fear, a fear that became all too real on a March afternoon in 1821.
It was nearing four o’clock when she first heard them—a chorus of footsteps crunching through dry leaves and the hushed whispers of men. Before Matilda could react, the door was thrown open, and four men stormed inside, their faces set with hardened resolve. At the forefront was William Geary, a bushranger with grey eyes as cold as the steel of his pistol. He was flanked by his accomplices—Charles Young and John Cochrane, armed and dangerous, and William Whiteman, who stood guard at the door.
The men ransacked the cottage with chilling efficiency, rifling through cupboards and drawers, overturning furniture, and grabbing anything of value. Matilda watched in horror as Geary's eyes landed on a small wooden box in the corner. Within moments, they had taken two watches, a sextant, and other valuable possessions. But it wasn’t just about the stolen items—it was about the brazen intrusion, the audacity of these men to violate the sanctity of her home. As quickly as they had appeared, the gang vanished back into the dense bush, leaving Matilda to wonder if they might return again.
The Making of a Bushranger
The audacious robbery of Matilda Fish’s home was just one episode in a long saga of lawlessness that gripped the colony. William Geary was no stranger to violence. His life of crime began long before he terrorised the isolated settlers of Lane Cove. Born in Limerick, Ireland, Geary had served as an artillery gunner before being court-martialed in Lisbon in 1812. The sentence was harsh but definitive—life transportation to New South Wales.
When Geary disembarked from the Surrey in August 1814, he was just twenty-five, with a volatile temper and a penchant for trouble. Initially sent to Windsor, his criminal tendencies soon emerged. By 1817, he was found guilty of stabbing two men, an act so brutal that the commandant at Newcastle described him as "too dangerous to be at large." Although the victims survived, the nature of the crime suggested a man capable of extreme violence. From there, Geary’s life was a series of escapes and recaptures. The authorities struggled to contain him, and each time he broke free, he seemed to return with a renewed determination to defy the law.
The Rise of the Gang
Geary's criminal ambitions reached new heights in early 1821, when he escaped from prison and took to the bush. The colony’s rugged landscape, with its dense forests and winding creeks, provided the perfect backdrop for his transformation from an ordinary convict to a notorious bushranger. Soon, other desperate men were drawn to his side, and a gang formed around him. Among his most trusted associates were Thomas Smith, John Cochrane, Charles Young, and the ill-fated Butler. Together, they launched a wave of terror across the Lane Cove district.
The gang's tactics were simple but effective: ambush travellers on the lonely roads, raid remote homesteads, and take whatever they could carry. They showed little regard for the settlers’ meagre possessions or the safety of their victims. The isolated nature of Lane Cove in the 1820s made it an ideal hunting ground for bushrangers who could melt away into the wilderness after each crime.
A Pattern of Violence
The attack on Matilda Fish’s cottage was not the gang’s first visit to her home. Earlier, in January 1821, they had broken in and taken what they could find. This second intrusion in March was even more thorough, and it became one of many crimes that year attributed to Geary and his men. The gang's ability to evade capture only added to the fear they inspired, as each new report of their activities brought them closer to legendary status among the locals.
As the authorities struggled to track down Geary, the gang’s crime spree continued. They targeted other settlers’ homes, including that of William Bellamy and Ann Fay, where they stole firearms and other valuable items. The gang moved swiftly through the dense bush, often following creeks and valleys to cover their tracks. One of their favoured hiding places was a rock overhang known as “Geary’s Cave,” located along Shot Machine Creek, a tributary of Middle Harbour Creek (now Gordon Creek) in what is today Seven Little Australians Park in East Lindfield.
Here, the gang would rest and divide their loot, confident that the authorities were too far behind to pose a real threat. The cave’s natural rock formation provided shelter and an excellent vantage point for spotting approaching enemies, allowing them to stay one step ahead of their pursuers.
Close Calls and Narrow Escapes
The colonial authorities were not idle during this period of terror. Rewards were offered for information leading to the capture of Geary and his men, and settlers were encouraged to report any sightings of the gang. Despite this, the bushrangers had a knack for slipping through the net. One of their closest calls came in late July 1821 when they were spotted raiding the home of a settler named Hall near Pennant Hills.
During the raid, young James Zadok Bellamy, the son of William Bellamy, confronted the gang. As the boy raised his musket, Butler, one of Geary's men, turned to face him with his own weapon. But James fired first, and Butler fell dead. This loss did not deter Geary, who escaped yet again into the surrounding bush. But it did mark the beginning of the end for the gang, as the authorities intensified their search and began closing in on their hideouts.
The Capture
Geary's downfall finally came in August 1821, when a tip-off led the authorities to Geary’s Cave in East Lindfield. Approaching quietly and under cover of darkness, the officers crept up to the cave, their footsteps masked by the sounds of the nearby creek. As they peered inside, they saw the flicker of a campfire and the familiar faces of the outlaws they had been hunting for months. With a sudden burst of movement, the officers descended upon the cave, weapons drawn.
Caught by surprise, Geary and his men had no time to react. Surrounded and outnumbered, they were finally captured. For the gang that had eluded the law for so long, the chase was over. Geary’s arrest marked the collapse of a criminal enterprise that had brought chaos to Lane Cove and terror to its settlers.
Trial and Execution
The trial of William Geary and his associates began on August 16, 1821, amid great public interest. Many of the settlers who had been victims of the gang’s crimes came to witness justice being served. Matilda Fish was among the witnesses who testified against Geary, identifying him as one of the men who had invaded her home. The court heard testimony about the gang’s many robberies, the stolen goods, and their relentless evasion of capture.
Geary himself pleaded guilty, showing little remorse for his actions. His only defence lay in the claim that his gang had never resorted to outright violence as if the absence of bloodshed somehow mitigated their deeds. But the court was unmoved by his words. The evidence was overwhelming, and the jury quickly found Geary and several of his men guilty.
On August 24, 1821, William Geary faced the gallows alongside his comrades, Thomas Smith, Charles Young, John Cochrane, William Whiteman, and John Mills. As the noose tightened around his neck, Geary confessed to a crime for which another man had already been executed in a final, futile attempt to set the record straight. The notorious bushranger, who had once roamed the wilds of Ku-ring-gai with impunity, met his end as a stark reminder of the colonial government’s determination to restore order.
Legacy of Fear and Resilience
For the people of Ku-ring-gai, the story of William Geary and his gang left a lingering shadow. The brazen robbery of Matilda Fish’s cottage and the gang’s repeated raids on local settlers underscored the vulnerability of those who lived on the edges of the colony. The fear they instilled was palpable, but so too was the resilience of the settlers, who continued to build lives in a place that could be both unforgiving and beautiful.
Today, the tale of William Geary is remembered in local folklore, a cautionary story from a time when the line between civilization and wilderness was perilously thin. Geary’s Cave remains a testament to the era of bushrangers, a silent witness to the chaos that once unfolded in the shadows of Lane Cove's thick forests. For Matilda Fish and others like her, the story of William Geary serves as a reminder of the courage it took to endure and thrive in the early days of Ku-ring-gai.
By Elliot Lindsay
Sydney-based Historian and host of Murders Most Foul Walking Tours.
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