in the early 1840s and the Gudgenby Homestead was erected around this time. By 1848 most of the major valleys of the Namadgi area had been settled. Convict labour was widely used in the region, and the first bushrangers in the area were runaway convicts. John Tennant, the earliest and best-known bushranger of the region, lived in a hideout on what is now known as Mount Tennant, behind Tharwa. From 1827 he raided the local homesteads, stealing stock, food and possessions until his arrest in 1828; He was later hung in Sydney for his crimes. The lawlessness of the region led to the appointment of the first resident magistrate on 1837 – Allured Tasker Faunce, who was also known as "Ironman Faunce" since his time as a magistrate at Brisbane Water. The magistrate oversaw legal matters and issued liquor licences to several establishments, the first being the Elmsall Inn on the Duntroon estate in 1841. A significant influx of population and economic activity occurred around the 1850s goldrushes, particularly the Kiandra rush of 1859–60. The goldrushes prompted the establishment of communication between Sydney and the region by way of the Cobb & Co coaches, which transported mail and passengers. The first post offices opened in Ginninderra in 1859 and at Lanyon the following year. Bushranger activity continued with the goldrushes: Australian-born bandits Ben Hall and the Clarke brothers were active in the area, targeting mail coaches and gold transportation. Terence Aubrey Murray was born in Ireland in 1810 and came to Sydney with his father, a retired redcoat army officer, and siblings in 1827. In 1837, he acquired the Yarralumla sheep station, taking up residence in Yarralumla's Georgian-style homestead, which he extended. He was elected unopposed to represent the surrounding counties of Murray, King and Georgiana in the first partially elective Legislative Council in 1843. With the establishment of responsible government in 1856, Murray became a member of the first Legislative Assembly, representing the electorate of Southern Boroughs – which included nearby Queanbeyan – and in 1859 he was elected to represent Argyle – which included another of his pastoral properties, Winderradeen, in the Collector area, north of Canberra. The Robertson Land Acts and the Closer Settlement Acts altered the mechanism for granting land tenure and precipitated the break-up of large properties in New South Wales. During the 1860s, in the wake of the new government legislation, small farmers nicknamed