From about 1907 to 1909 Forsyth worked as a travelling picture showman, screening the film Robbery Under Arms in Australian country towns.

LaFranchi had abandoned his family in about 1868 when he travelled to the gold-fields near Warwick in Queensland to attend to the affairs of his brother (who died in August that year).

[3] In his formative years young Bert Forsyth would have been aware of stories of famous bushrangers who had operated in the district, 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.

[5] 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".

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.

[9] 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.

[12] For three years (probably 1907 to 1909) Forsyth worked as a travelling moving picture showman, touring the film Robbery Under Arms "into every nook and corner of Australia".

He added: "Two dozen stoppages and breaks was a common occurrence; the lighting obtained from the limelight was certainly very soft and restful to the eye, but at times little could be seen of the picture".

[15] On the evening of 29 April 1910 the film Robbery Under Arms was shown in the Masonic Hall in Cobar, in the central west of New South Wales.

The writer commented: "The light was poor, the pictures small and the programme ended about 9.30 – a combination of features which Cobar people dislike".

Thunderbolt was portrayed by Jack Gavin (who is also credited as the director of the film) and Forsyth himself took on the role of William Monckton, the bushranger's young acolyte.

[17][18] Ruby Butler played the dual roles of Jess Anson (Fred Ward's fiancée) and the Aboriginal girl Sunday.

During the shooting of the film miners at Lithgow were on strike and a number were recruited as extras and "used in minor parts, such as bushrangers and mounted troopers".

During the filming of the death of Captain Thunderbolt, the actor Jack Gavin later recalled that "the hard soap pellets had perforated my clothes in many places".

[22] An article in November 1910 in Sydney's The Newsletter described the completed Thunderbolt as a film that was "admirably produced, being as clear and as distinct as any yet shown in Australia".

[28][25] In one of the scenes filmed in late November 1910, Jack Gavin as Moonlite makes his escape from the police by jumping from a vessel into Sydney Harbour.

Forsyth, "with admirable presence of mind", grabbed a dog and threw it overboard "to distract the attention of the monster of the deep, and at the same time shouting instructions to all hands to fire off revolvers containing blank cartridges".

[26][30] In late December 1910 Southern Cross Motion Pictures, under Forsyth's management, opened a new theatre in Sydney on the corner of Rawson Place and Pitt Street (opposite Central railway station).

[31] An advance screening of Moonlite was shown at the Rawson Place theatre on 30 December 1910 to "representatives of the press and a number of gentlemen interested in biographical work".

[38] An article about the screening of the film at Benalla in late May 1915 described the plot as incorporating "love, robbery, and an apparent murder by a tribe of blacks, culminating in the burning of a bush home and the rescue therefrom of a digger's sweetheart and a Chinaman".

[40] Bert Forsyth and Mary ('Marie') Willett were married on 2 March 1912 at St. Stephen's Presbyterian church in Phillip Street in Sydney.

[44] In November 1912 regulations were gazetted in New South Wales "to govern the screening of cinematograph films" under the "Theatres and Public Halls Act, 1908".

The new regulations specifically banned the exhibition of "successful crime such as bushranging, robberies, or other act of lawlessness, which might reasonably be considered as having an injurious influence on youthful minds".

[45][46] The Federated Picture Showmen's Association of New South Wales responded by issuing a lengthy circular arguing against the new censorship regulations.

[49] In late January 1913 the New South Wales Colonial Secretary James McGowen used his powers under section 27 of the "Theatres and Public Halls Act, 1908" to specifically prohibit the exhibition "of the cinematograph films entitled 'Thunderbolt' and 'Moonlite'".

[53] Forsyth's occupation was recorded as an "Amusements Manager" when he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force at Holsworthy in late-September 1915 (a week short of his 43rd birthday).

Enlisted men placed in the Remount units were often older (with a maximum age of 50), a high proportion of whom were Boer War veterans and expert horsemen.

He rejoined his unit at the Heliopolis Camp near Cairo in May, but was demobilised in June 1916 and returned to Australia aboard the hospital ship H.S.

[65] By March 1940, when Forsyth enlisted in the Citizen Military Forces, his occupation was recorded as "Auditor Clerk" and he and Nancy were still living in Victoria Street, Darlinghurst.

[66] Forsyth was initially attached to the "Artillery Wing" at Liverpool, but in late May was transferred to Pay Corps at the Moore Park Showgrounds.