However, during his time working in that area, he had discovered an isolated valley north of Murrurundi with permanent water and good grazing.

Then in mid-1842, he bought a small block of land in the newly created village of Murrurundi, where he established a butcher shop and also sold fresh vegetables.

About the end of 1850, Benjamin Sr. moved down to the Lachlan River area, taking with him the children Ben Jr., William, Mary and his stepson Thomas Wade.

Young Ben spent his early years working with horses and cattle, developing his expertise in stockwork and bushcraft, skills which would later serve him well.

[6] In 1859–60, Hall and John Maguire jointly leased the "Sandy Creek" run of 10,000 acres (40 km²) about 50 km south of Forbes.

In April 1862, Ben was arrested by Inspector Sir Frederick Pottinger for participating in the armed robbery of Bill Bacon's drays near Forbes.

[citation needed] Hall and several others were arrested in July, but once again the police were unable to gain enough evidence to formally charge him.

[9] However, he and his partner at Sandy Creek faced mounting legal costs and were forced to transfer the lease of the property to John Wilson, a Forbes publican.

[10] Estranged from his wife and young son, and with the property gone, Hall for several months drifted around the Weddin-Wheogo area, associating with numerous undesirable characters including John O'Meally, Johnny Gilbert, and Patsy Daley.

[citation needed] In one instance, Hall and his gang bailed up Robinson's Hotel in Canowindra, New South Wales.

Their cavalier activities were soon brought to a sudden halt however, when Micky Burke was killed at Dunns Plains, John Vane surrendered to the police and O'Meally was shot dead in an attack on Goimbla station, near Eugowra.

In November 1864, during the robbery of a mail coach at Black Springs Creek near Jugiong, John Gilbert shot and killed Sgt.

The Felons Apprehension Act was pushed through the Parliament of New South Wales for the specific purpose of declaring Hall and his comrades outlaws, meaning that they would be "outside the law" and could be killed by anyone at any time without warning.

These included the holding up of several villages, dozens of mail coach robberies and the regular theft of prized racehorses.

They first retreated to an isolated area on the Goobang Creek, northwest of Forbes, intending to gather fresh horses and provisions for a long journey northwards.

Their whereabouts were reported to the police by 'Goobang Mick' Coneley, a man who had earlier promised to give the gang assistance and protection.