Jessie Hickman

Jessie Hickman was born in either Burraga or Carcoar, New South Wales. At the age of eight she was sent to live with a travelling circus, attaining a reputation as a skilled roughrider – she was named Australian Ladies Roughriding Champion in 1905 and 1906.[1][2]

Hickman eventually became the ringmistress of Martini's Buckjumping Show, and may have been married to its one-time owner Martin Breheny (known as James Martini).[1] In 1913 she had a son with Benjamin Hickman; the two married in 1920 and separated in 1924.[1] She is rumored to have been married to an abusive third man, John Fitzgerald (known as "Fitzy"), whom she is alleged to have killed in self-defense.[3][4]

Jessie Hickman was jailed twice in the 1910s for thefts.[1] In the 1920s she established herself as leader of a gang of cattle thieves in the area that is now Wollemi National Park.[2] She was charged with cattle rustling in 1918 and 1928, but was acquitted on both occasions.[1] Her legendary exploits included "escap[ing] from custody while in a locked toilet aboard a moving train" and "steal[ing] cattle in a police holding yard".[3][5]

Hickman died of a brain tumour in 1936 and was interred in an unmarked grave in Sandgate Cemetery.[3] Although she was largely forgotten for several decades, she has recently been the subject of several books, including The Burial by Courtney Collins and Out of the Mists: The Hidden History of Elizabeth Jessie Hickman by Hickman's granddaughter Di Moore.[5]