While exploring northern NSW we stopped to check out one of the hideouts of Frederick Ward — a famous outlaw from the mid-1800s who gave himself the more exciting name of “Captain Thunderbolt”. Although it’s little more than a crack between several rocks, the shelter is easily accessible from Mt Lindsay Road, and the historic site arouses discussion of times before motorised transport, what’s needed for survival in the Australian bush and how law-enforcement practices have evolved to present-day methods.

A yellow robin helps direct the way to Split Rock, now officially called Thunderbolt's Hideout. The granite attraction is just 300 metres from the main road.

The girls test the bounce of the planks that lead us across a small creek. The water source would have been valuable to a bushranger hiding in the dry Australian bush, although I can't imagine that this small a waterway would still be flowing in the hot summertime.

Australia has romanticised its outlaws, and while Ward/Captain Thunderbolt is considered NSW’s most successful bushranger, he still isn’t as famous as Victoria’s Ned Kelly. Ward was originally convicted of receiving stolen horses and absconded from custody on Cockatoo Island — the island penitentiary in Sydney harbour — to further his career in bushranging. Despite the many horses he stole and the coaches he successfully robbed, Captain Thunderbolt gained a reputation as a “gentleman” because he declined to shoot at law enforcement officers and on more than one occasion left coach passengers’ purses intact while stealing only the official mailbag.

Two huge granite boulders cuddle each other, and the space in between provides enough shelter for a horse and a man. Although we didn't climb to the top of the rocks, the view would stretch across the surrounding bush, making it a great lookout for someone watching for dust trails of pursuit.

It's not really a cave — more of an overhang — and so we happily enter the lair of one of Australia's more famous outlaws.

Previous visitors have wanted to leave their mark, and while we spend some time reading the words and deciphering the initials with imaginary names, this rune leaves us puzzled.

This space — although not completely sheltered from rain — is large enough to stable a horse or two. This is a dry part of the country, and so shelter from the sun would be more important than cover from rain.

Another overhang gives enough space for sleeping and a fire.

The surrounding bush is not so thick, so a good vantage point would be an asset. The proximity of this hideout to the road is what made it popular with Ward, although as soon as the authorities discovered it, it became useless.

I grew up with stories of Captain Thunderbolt because — as the family legend goes — my great-(however many times)-great-grandfather worked as a blacksmith at Liston, a little village up the road from Thunderbolt’s hideout and — well, it’s not a legend if it isn’t a bit unbelievable — the story I heard was that he shod Ward’s horses backwards. (The first horseshoe was put on normally, and a second horseshoe was put over that in a reversing direction.) This way, the horseshoe prints would make it appear that Ward was riding in the opposite direction to the way he was actually travelling. I don’t know if I believe the family legend, but it makes for a good story, and — coupled with the idea of spending a night in Thunderbolt’s hideout with the girls when they’re older (and the weather is more mild) — it’s one worth passing on!