Bushrangers were villainous heroes. Discuss.

Bushrangers were Australian outlaws which used the bush for refuge from authorities which sought to bring them to justice. These men had adventurous lives; many died young and were notorious throughout the land. However despite the villainous crimes they committed, public opinion has given them the name of a hero. Their legend was born from Australian culture which embraces a lack of respect for authority; Bushrangers represent that perfectly. Famous bushrangers are Australian icons and show how influential they are still to the present. Street gangsters of today are examples of modern bushrangers which have created a subculture popular among the youth. History shows bushrangers as villains, but people remember them as heroes.

Bushrangers are thought to be heroes for many different reasons. Since the early days of settlement when the first bushrangers came about, their main goal was to fight against injustice. A hero by definition is "a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities."

Adelaide River Bushranger Hotel 1977

http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/pictoria/b/4/8/doc/b4894...

Source: National Library of Australia

These characteristics of hero are showed through peoples' opinions of a hero. To many people of the time, the courage of bushrangers to stand up to the barbaric authority is admirable. Bushrangers were indeed villainous in the way they acted, however people have decided to agree that they are heroes through their overall intentions.

Although bushrangers committed crimes against the law, they did it for good causes. Many people felt the law and authority was unfair and barbaric, as mentioned before, many bushrangers fought against this injustice. To put it another way, it is public opinions that make bushrangers heroes. They were heroes because the peoples' opinions make them ones. It isn't necessarily bushrangers actually being heroes themselves but the label people place on them. As the general public were angered and betrayed by the law and...