G'day An Púca,

A quick web search doesn't find the work you describe, but I did get a good CV page for Dr Phil Butterss.

(Well ... maybe:

Butterss, Phil. 'Wild Colonial Boys' Games: Bold Jack Donahoe to R.J. Hawke'. Meanjin 48.3 (1989): 561-71.

in his journal articles list is relevant. (R[obert].J[ames]. [Lee] Hawke was Bob Hawke ... our "larrikin" Prime Minister, 1983-91 ... and Australians often confuse politicians with bushrangers!)

I'll see if I can get Phil's work, to which you refer, identified and located - but I suspect, from the general tenor of the articles cited, that Phil's territory is more in the area of modern social context and interpretation than the historicity and development of the ballads. John Meredith's concern was the collection of Australian traditional folklore and song. The Donahoe Ballads booklet, comprising material extracted from his larger work on Jack Donahoe, was an attempt to bring together all the historical texts relating to Donahoe - and examine their relationaship to each other.

Regards,

Bob Bolton