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John Francis Peggotty, the ostrich-riding bandit, 1899

When
1899
Where
near the town of Meningie
Episodes
1

John Francis Peggotty, an Irish bushranger known as the Birdman of the Coorong, reportedly ended his criminal career in 1899. During a hold-up near Meningie, South Australia, he was critically wounded by his victim, Henry Carmichael. The ostrich he rode was also shot and fled with him mounted, though Peggotty subsequently disappeared.

Episodes

  1. 17 September 1899 · near the town of MeningieShooting at Meningie

    Peggotty was critically wounded by victim Henry Carmichael during a hold-up near Meningie on 17 September 1899.

Background and detail

Background. Born in County Limerick in 1864, Peggotty travelled to South Africa where he learned to ride ostriches. He later moved to the Coorong region in 1898, finding a wild ostrich. His crimes involved surprising victims with his appearance and small pistols, though elements of his story are said to be fabricated.

The Shooting. On 17 September 1899, during a hold-up near Meningie, Peggotty was shot and critically wounded by his victim, Henry Carmichael. The ostrich he was riding was also shot but fled with Peggotty still mounted. Despite a prior escape from police in 1899, this incident marked the reported end of his criminal career.

Commemoration. A statue of an ostrich wearing a riding saddle was erected in Meningie in May 2013 to commemorate Peggotty. The legacy row claims his body was found, but the passages state he fled with the ostrich and disappeared, suggesting the legacy detail is unsupported or legendary.

People involved

Sources

  1. John Francis Peggotty Wikipedia, revision of 2025-10-12

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.