Daniel Morgan (bushranger)

John Owen (30 April 1830 – 9 April 1865), better known by his alias Daniel Morgan, was an Australian bushranger and outlaw. Active mainly in the Riverina of New South Wales and northern Victoria, he committed numerous raids and robberies and murdered at least four men, including two constables. He also shot several others.

Morgan was known by multiple aliases during his bushranging career, including Billy the Native, Warrigal and Down-the-River Jack. After Morgan wounded police magistrate Henry Baylis in a shootout in August 1863, the Government of New South Wales offered a reward for his capture. The amount increased to £1,000 as his crimes escalated, and he was officially declared an outlaw in March 1865. One month later, while holding up Peechelba station in Victoria, he was shot and killed by a stockman.

Many accounts of Morgan, particularly in the years after his death, depict him as bloodthirsty, erratic and insane, inspiring his posthumous sobriquet, Mad Dog Morgan. However, Morgan also had a network of sympathisers which, together with his expertise in bushcraft and horsemanship, helped him evade capture for two years.

Morgan's life and exploits have inspired works in the arts, including the 1976 Ozploitation film Mad Dog Morgan, starring Dennis Hopper in the title role, and the 2017 song "Billabong Valley" by psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard.