During the escape Fred Ward was shot through the back of the left knee and was later given medical assistance by a team of saw-pit men who confirmed the injury.

On the afternoon of 25 May Thunderbolt met the Blanchs at Split Rock, robbed them and then accompanied the pair back to their Inn.

[1] Thunderbolt's Rock provides an excellent vantage point to survey the surrounding countryside and in the bushranging career of Fred Ward is in the vicinity of many of his robberies.

[1] His attempted hold up of the mail at this site in November 1863 led to an altercation with police during which he was shot in the left knee; an event that was to prove important in his identification after his death in 1870.

The shooting also is thought to have been an important formative event in the modus operandi of Captain Thunderbolt, preferring to run from, rather than face, police.

Thunderbolt's Rock is an identifiable location of a highway robbery and being a high point provides excellent views of the surrounding countryside.

[1] The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.

Captain Thunderbolt is one of the best known bushrangers who operated in New South Wales and forms a significant element to the construction of Australian identity.

Thunderbolt's Rock is of State significance as being representative of the type of places used by bushrangers to hold up coaches and travellers.