In 1851, an American whaling vessel put into Sydney for stores, among the motley crew was a German, von Ehrstein, who deserted the vessel.

In 1854, he was employed by Mr Horatio Roberts of Crookwell, with whom he remained for five years, and then left to work for Mr Oak's, on the Crookwell River.

Von Ehrstein claimed that he had been in a crack German cavalry regiment and had fought as a mercenary in Mexico.

One day, Mr Evans, of Binda, reported to the police that he had been "stuck up" and robbed by a masked man on a lonely bush track that led to his homestead. He was certain that the robber was a foreigner as he spoke in a guttural voice, despite the fact that he spoke English well.

Troopers were guided to the spot where the hold-up took place and a black tracker traced the hoof marks of the bushranger's horse to the Oak's homestead.

On inquiry of Mr Oak's, troopers quickly learned that he had a German in his employ. He guided them to a hut, some distance away, where the German slept.

Surrounding the hut, they called on him to come out. There was no reply and one of the troopers pushed open the door. However, the bird had flown with all his belongings. It was too dark for the tracker to pick up the tracks and it was decided to wait until morning before following the fugitive.

At dawn the next day, the tracker had no difficulty in finding the trail which led down the river. After four hours riding they came upon a smouldering fire and scraps of food and the tracker pointed to where the horse had cropped the grass.

It was rough riding and frequently the horses could not be taken out of a walk. Unerringly the tracker followed the trail to a big flat, it was here the troopers discovered they were dealing with a shrewd and cunning man. After crossing and recrossing the river half a dozen times von Ehrsten had doubled back, by riding parallel to the tracks he had made on his outward journey.

With short spells for the horses and an occasional snack for themselves, the troopers pushed on until darkness fell. They were forced to conclude that they had little hope of running down their quarry. However, they decided to camp that night and push on at dawn.

All the next day they were on his tracks, but when night fell again the tracker told them that the fugitive's horse tracks indicated that he had gained considerably on them. Becoming short of provisions, the troopers reluctantly abandoned the chase and von Ehrstein rode on down the river.

A month later he "stuck up" and robbed Mr Coffey, of 'Cobra Station', on the Fish River and stole the racehorse 'Emerald Gem', which was in training for the Burrowa races.

He was chased into the mountains and once more escaped capture.

On his next appearance, he had recruited two other bushrangers, Michael Henry Davis and Robert Smith. The trio "stuck up" settlers on Grassy Creek, among them Mr Gorham and Mr Barton. Here they picked out the best saddle horses and loaded their own with provisions.

The troopers were on their tracks, but lost all trace of them down Oven's Creek, some distance from Frogmore.

For two and a half years the troopers had failed an arrest. They would go into "smoke" in the almost inaccessible ranges and keep quiet for periods.

Von Ehrstein was a tactician, he always had food cached in caves and other hiding places so that he would not be forced into the open.

On one occasion, the gang robbed a number of Chinese fossickers and von Ehrstein cut off their pigtails, saying he intended to plait them and use them as watch chain and bridle reins.

In 1861, the gang shifted to the vicinity of the Lambing Flat goldfield where they robbed right and left. Then the riots broke out, and the gang took a heavy toll of the fleeing Celestials.

On January 6, 1862, Sergeant O'Grady and Ensign Campbell Morris, of the 12th Regiment (who had been instrumental in quelling the riots) were passengers on a coach going to Cowra. The other passengers were John Malloy, David Billington, and a Frenchman. Six miles out from Lambing Flat the coach was "stuck up" by von Ehrstein and his gang. The Frenchman, Henrique Dubois, refused to allow the bushrangers to search him, and Davis fired two shots at him, both missing.

Von Ehrstein then told Davis not to fire again. He walked up to Dubois and knocked him out with his fist. Then he turned out his pockets and secured a good haul of gold nuggets. From the Sergeant and Ensign he collected over £20 in cash.

Word quickly reached the police who were soon hot on the trail. After a chase of 20 miles, the bushrangers were surrounded in a densely-clad valley. Called on to surrender, the bushrangers crawled out from the undergrowth and submitted to the handcuffs being locked on them. The three of them were sentenced to 10 years' penal servitude.

After his release, a German settler met von Ehrstein and took him to Albury. He changed his name and worked for the old German in his vineyard. Later he married a daughter of his benefactor and reared a large family. Many of his descendants are alive today, and the majority of them are on the land.

Source: Burrowa News, Friday, April 14, 1950