I'd never heard of the Kenniff Bros before last night. However, I've recently received scans of a number of newspaper clippings which reference my g grandfather James Whiteford and was browsing them. James was a policeman in Coen in far North Qld from the 1880s to 1911. One of the newspaper articles about him says he was in the party which captured the Kenniff Bros. I understand from googling, their capture was at Mitchell which is a distance from where James was stationed. The article and some of the googling I did indicated there were 15 trackers in the group which caught the Kenniff Bros.

James was a senior sergeant in charge of native mounted police in Coen and I suppose they could have been brought down to help track the Kenniffs but it seems to an awfully long way from Coen to the Mitchell area. Whereis says it's 2061 Kms. That's down the Bruce Highway and on today's roads, not overland at the beginning of last century.

I would have thought there would have been local trackers. Why bring Sgt Whiteford and/or a group of trackers from Coen? It doesn't make any sense to me.

Does anybody know anything about the Kenniff Bros capture? The googling I've done turns up information about their crimes, the trial and sentencing but nothing about their capture and who was involved.

What's your thoughts about bringing a group over 2000 kms to help catch the bushrangers.

Thanks all

A Whiteford