such as Hall, Frank Gardiner, Johnny Gilbert and Jack O'Meally, and probably met people with first-hand accounts (both positive and negative) of their activities. Forsyth was an expert horseman. Lines of verse written about Forsyth, published in the Sydney Sportsman newspaper in 1911, make reference to his horsemanship: "He's been a rider of renown, / And owned and trained his prads, you know". Forsyth may have had experience as an actor. Lines of the verse in the Sydney Sportsman suggest he performed in a stage-play of Robbery Under Arms, which had been adapted for the stage by Alfred Dampier and Garnet Walch in 1890 and proved to be a popular theatrical production over many years in Australia. The verse reads: "In Boldrewood's great piece he played. / They say that he was all the rage / As in a bright red shirt arrayed / He strutted up and down the stage". First marriage Bert Forsyth and Marie Hammond were married on 14 May 1900 in Sydney (according to the rites of the Roman Catholic church). The couple lived in the Newcastle suburb of Hamilton. After their marriage (according to Forsyth's later testimony) the couple "were happy for about two months", but then he noticed his wife was beginning to "drink to excess". Later Marie told him she was going to Sydney, as living at Hamilton was "too quiet". One day, when Forsyth arrived home, he found his wife had left. Forsyth met with his wife in Sydney on a number of occasions in the following years, but each time she refused to return to live with him. In January 1906 Forsyth travelled to America "on business" (probably to San Francisco). In the early morning of 18 April 1906 a major earthquake struck California, with its epicentre near San Francisco, causing considerable damage and loss of life. The opening lines of the verse published in the Sydney Sportsman implies Forsyth was managing a theatre in San Francisco at the time of the earthquake, which destroyed the building: "He's been up to all sorts of games / He ran a show in 'Frisco town; / This man, 'twas he brought on the 'quake / Which tumbled flat his theatre down". Forsyth returned to Australia later that year. In a later newspaper article, Forsyth is described as a man "who has considerable globe trotting experience". In December 1906 after his return from America,