Captain Moonlite
From the book A History of Holy Trinity Church of England Bacchus Marsh
by Betty Osborn
It is not often a church can claim a bushranger of some notoriety as one of its own but that is the doubtful privilege Holy Trinity has. From necessity Bishop Perry found that he had to build up an indigenous ministry. He began a lay-reader training system. Those who wished to be ordained but who were not university graduates had to spend three years as scripture readers and lay visitors under the Bishop's direction. If they proved satisfactory, they were eligible to sit for an examination to the deaconate and a further examination to the priesthood.39
It was at such a time that Andrew Scott, better known as the bushranger Captain Moonlite, approached Dean Macartney. Arro.ed with a forged letter he was able to get an introduction to Bishop Perry who offered him the lay-reader's position at Bacchus Marsh.10
The congregation of Holy Trinity were delighted to welcome such
a charming and talented man and the incumbent, the Rev. W. H.
Cooper, introduced him at a social evening on Friday July 17, 1868,
as a young warrior who now has a firm grip on the sword of righteousness.
41 Superficially, Scott did have such a grip because he was
the son of the Rev. Thomas Scott, rector in the small town of Rathfriland, Country Down, Ireland, and he had an authoritative tone
when speaking about, church matters.
Cooper was a high churchman and one of the first sermons Scott preached was against ritualistic practices in the church.12 It is inter- esting to note, however, that in the Preachers' Book for 1868 Cooper never failed to record his text in the column provided while Scott never failed to leave his column a blank! He preached once a month in the iron church from July 19 to December 13, 1868. His congre- gation numbered over 100 on three of these occasions and the lowest was 78 at his first service.13 From Bacchus Marsh he moved to Egerton still shrouded in the respectability of a lay preacher.
It was not long after — May 8, 1869 — that he engineered the Egerton bank robbery. He was eventually sentenced to ten years in Pentridge for this crime. After serving nearly seven years of his sentence, he was released. It was not long before he put the noose around his own neck, however.
Eight months later he and five young men held up Wantabadgery sheep station near Wagga for two days. A policeman and two of the gang were killed when police attacked the homestead. Scott was hanged in Sydney on January 20, 1880.
