Our History | Bushranger on a drinking spree at Bigga

There was a reward on Peisley’s head for holding up and robbing Richard Cox of the Bank of New South Wales of £565 and his pistol as Cox rode along the road between Louisa Creek and Hill End.

Later he and Frank Gardiner bailed up the Cowra Mail Coach and it was after this robbery a reward of £100 was offered for his capture. 

On this Christmas day morning, when John Piesley entered Thomas McGuiness’s pub The Crooked Billet, which was on the Bigga Sheep Station in Sandy Creek. 

Tom was well aware that Piesley was a wanted man, and he was torn between sending a message to the next town to the troopers that Piesley was drinking at his pub, or hoping that Piesley would soon leave and no trouble would be caused to man or property.

However, this was not going to be the case. Thomas had made the wrong decision.

At one point, a customer leaning on the bar was sick and tired of listening to Piesley drunken bragging about his exploits, and challenged him that he would bet him a gold coin that he could not shoot straight with the revolvers in his belt. 

With that, Piesley, as quick as a flash, drew his revolvers and fired at the bottles of liquor on the top shelf behind the bar and shot of the tops of the bottles, much to Thomas’s horror. 

Piesley immediately realised that he had gone too far, and quickly threw money on the bar, which was more than enough to cover the price of the bottles he had shot up. He then ordered Tom to get the bottles down and put them on the bar for the patrons to help themselves to. Then Piesley began to laugh, saying “… you don’t have to bother opening them Tom, I have already done that for you…”

By the third day of heavy drinking Piesley was in a sorry state, and had become morose, sullen and bored. He suddenly turned to James Wilson, who had been drinking heavily with Piesley, and suggested they go for a ride. Wilson was a store owner in the town and agreed, willing to go with Piesley, as in his drunken state he was sure that he was having a good time.

Piesley suggested that they ride over to the farm of two lifelong friends of his, William and Stephen Benyon.

William and Stephen were the sons of Edward Benyon and Ann Leonard and William Benyon’s wife, Martha was the younger sister of Tom McGuiness’ wife, Sarah. William Benyon and Martha Blackman were married in 1847 at St Paul’s Church of England in Carcoar.  They had only one child, Edward born in 1850.

Tom followed them outside and stood by the inn door and watched them struggling to mount their horses. Wilson was so far gone that Piesley had to help push him up into his saddle, with Wilson almost falling off the horse on the other side.

Once they were mounted they rode out of town towards the Benyon property, which was only a few miles down the road. Tom was more than pleased to see them go; it had been a stressful three days in Tom's life. However, little did Tom realise that it was only going to get worse.

On their arrival at the Benyon property William and Stephen Benyon greeted both Piesley and Wilson and they then began a heavy drinking session in the kitchen in the Benyon home, during which Piesley accused William of cheating him over a horse deal when they were teenagers.

He said, "…I have a down on you, Benyon. You swopped a horse on me when I was a kid, which was no good, but I am no kid now." He challenged him to "run, jump or fight for ten pounds…" 

William agreed to fight Piesley, so the two men took off their coats, with Piesley rolling his revolvers in his. They then started to fight. Piesley soon got the upper hand, knocking William to the ground and beating him until he was semi-conscious. He then grabbed the man and started bashing his head against a paling fence.

Seeing this brutal treatment of his brother Stephen now entered the fray and was soon locked in combat with the drunken bushranger.