Breaking the bank

"It was the largest bank robbery in Australian history. On Sunday 14 September 1828, thieves tunnelled through a sewage drain into the vault of Sydney's Bank of Australia and stole 14 000 pounds in notes and cash - the equivalent of $20 million in today's currency. New South Wales was still a penal settlement, a place of banishment and punishment for Britain's criminals. Yet this cabal of convicts not only defied the weekly exhortation 'thou shalt not steal!', they targeted the bank owned by the colony's self-anointed nobility. Delighted at this affront to their betters, Sydney's largely criminal and ex-criminal population gleefully undermined the authorities' attempts to catch the robbers and retrieve the spoils. With a cast of characters who refused to abase themselves to the establishment, this meticulously researched and fast-paced true history tells the story of the daring Bank of Australia robbery and of the scheming robbers, unfortunate suspects and greedy receivers whose lives were irrevocably changed by this outrageous crime."--Provided by publisher.