" A Ghost Called Thunderbolt"
by Stephan Williams.
Oct 1987
Review by Barry Sinclair Dec 2005
Stephan Williams book on the life of Thunderbolt is a must read for anyone researching the life of the Australian Bushranger, Frederick Wordsworth Ward, also known as "Captain Thunderbolt". His use of the material he had is superb. While minor corrections can now be made following the availability of further research, his book will remain a must read, for anyone wishing to research or write on this subject.
In the introduction to the best book written on the life of Thunderbolt, Stephan William's "A Ghost called Thunderbolt" he has this to say,
" Few Bushrangers have been subject to such distortion and outright fabrication as has Captain Thunderbolt. Historians have pictured him as a dirty individual, unkempt, ill mannered, given to strong drink and obsenity. Others have presented him in more polished form, but at the same time adding such elaborations and peculiar conjectures that no service to history is performed by their work", he then goes on to say, "Regarding Captain Thunderbolt only two things are not in dispute: the quality of the horses that he stole and rode, and the fact that he never killed or injured those whom he robbed or went in pursuit of him. Everything else is the subject of controversy".
From my own research this is one of the best books written to date on the life of Thunderbolt. The author does not approach the book with his own preconceived ideas. He genuinely looks at alternative arguments and often includes both sides leaving the readers free to make up their own mind on the truth of the various stories.
Towards the end of his introduction Stephan says "My version is not the definitive one, which yet remains to be written by someone able to draw on more information than I have been able to be gather. Details of the bushranger's activities, his associates and crimes, must still be known by some of the inhabitants of "Thunderbolt Country". I hope this book will prompt them to record their reflections of the stories they have heard. This sort of information will not last forever - and like Mark Twain, "by forever, I mean thirty years". I would, of course, appreciate hearing from anyone who can add to or reliably dispute any part of this story as it is here presented."
In his "Acknowledgements" on page 13 Stephan says".... because of the strategic location of the Library at Armidale, I offered the material collected in researching this book to the archives section of the Dixon Library, where it is now freely available to future researchers or to any interested member of the public or student body". This is the best collection of the entire available material on Thunderbolt that can be found at any Library or Research centre anywhere in Australia. Stephan has copies of nearly all the other material found in collections at other centres together with his own notes. It is now found at the Newling Research Centre near the Old Teacher's College at the Southern end of Mann St. Any researcher who does not visit this centre is wasting their time.Incidently all the material collected by Bob Cummins for the celebration of the Thunderbolt Centenary and used in his book "Thunderbolt" is also found in the Centre plus other material gained by the Newling Research Centre from local sources and not available elseware, making it by far the best source of all material on Thunderbolt. For anyone wishing to research the life of Captain Thunderbolt the Newling Research Centre has a collection of all the material found in any other centre and therefore is a must for researching the life of Thunderbolt.
Sadly Stephan Williams passed away early in 2005. His book is no longer available to purchase but should be obtainable in your local library. Copies of his book found in Old Book Shops are already reaching $200. It would be in the interest of the family or the copyright holders of this book to publish another edition as it is by far the best book written so far on the life of Thunderbolt. It can be found in the Uralla Library