Uralla Thunderbolt Festival returns in 2022 | See the photos

The mediaeval tournament is a regular part of the annual Thunderbolt's Festival, which also included a street parade, a lantern parade when the sun set, and activities in Alma Park.

The activities included markets, a rock climbing wall, hula hoop competition, mini golf, a giant slide, live entertainment, and rides for the kids.

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With the exception of 2020, the event has been running for 22 years.

Born Frederick Wordsworth Ward in 1835, Captain Thunderbolt became a great rider.

When he was a teenager he got mixed up with some relatives who were stealing horses and got accused of stealing. He was sent off to Cockatoo Island prison in about 1858.

Somehow, he managed to escape in 1863 with another convict, which no one had ever managed to do before.

They headed north to Uralla and began a life of robbery: roaming NSW and south QLD to rob stage coaches for the most part.

Despite his criminal activities he was known as a gentleman as he never threatened women.

The police failed to catch him, until May 1870 when a young off-duty police came across him.

There was a shootout between Captain Thunderbolt and the officer, which ended in the bushranger dying.

Since the late 1990s, the event that bears his name has become a regular event on the local calendar.

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