History reports that the body of the man shot at Kentucky Creek, near Uralla, on the Northern Tablelands of N.S.W. Australia in 1870 was identified as being that of the famous bushranger (Fred Ward), Captain Thunderbolt. But was it? The so-called independent witnesses quoted were a prison guard, a mate of Fred Ward’s, as well as his bushranging apprentice. Each of them had reasons to tell the authorities what they wanted to hear – that it was the real Thunderbolt! Years of research suggests that it was not Fred Ward who died. So with Thunderbolt officially dead, would not Fred be free to use his acquired bushranging gains to pay to advance his education, wardrobe and culture? Then as a nineteenth century business gentleman of means he would be free to emigrate to California, the Northwest Territories in Canada and Ottawa. Research suggests that this story may well be closer to the truth of the life of Captain Thunderbolt.