In 1880 he initiated a lawsuit against his elderly grandfather, Robert Hoddle, who had been the surveyor-general of the Port Phillip District during the formative years of the later colony of Victoria.

In 1837, a year before the birth of his grandson, Hoddle took charge of the survey work for the urban layout of Melbourne, which had been declared as the administrative capital of the Port Phillip District.

After a female servant released the men, the police were alerted and, as news of the robbery spread through the community, a large number of townspeople assembled at the scene.

[12] The police also suspected Edward Geaghan of being involved in the bank robbery; he was a sawyer, and a married man with children, living in a tent in the district, but searches had not revealed any trace of the remainder of the stolen money.

On November 5 police and the bank officers were searching in the vicinity of Geaghan's tent when they discovered £712 from the robbery, wrapped in a parcel and stashed underneath the carcass of a dead bullock.

[12][A] In May 1860 an agency of the Bank of New South Wales was opened at Toowoomba, in the Darling Downs district of Queensland, with Robert H. D. White as the agent in charge.

The two men had just arrived at the hotel and were seated on a sofa "taking a glass of wine together", when they were confronted by a masked man holding a revolver, who ordered them to 'bail up'.

This prompted the bushrangers to hold down their revolvers, at which White immediately drew his second firearm and fired at the first man, who was standing within four feet of him.

The cartoon, one of a series of 'Old Blowhard' parodies in the Sydney Punch, depicted three masked men standing on the verandah of a roadside hotel, pointing their pistols at a cowering rotund man, hiding behind a tree and his horse.

[21] Subsequent commentary published in the Maryborough Chronicle was critical of the cartoon, describing it as "a vile woodcut, intended to cast ridicule on Mr. White".

[22] In June 1868 the Queensland Government presented White with a "double-barrelled needle-gun with ammunition and necessary implements" in acknowledgement of his "uncommon gallantry under circumstances of imminent personal peril" during the attack by armed bushrangers at the Currie Hotel.

[23] White also received, from the board of directors of the Bank of New South Wales, a set of silver spoons and forks, each engraved with his initials, enclosed in a mahogany chest bearing an inscription commemorating the event.

Six days after the murderer was buried, it was discovered that his grave had been disturbed and an investigation revealed that Griffin's remains had been decapitated and his head stolen.

A newly appointed officer, Lieutenant Fraser, had previously called a public meeting at the Albion Hotel, where he and other volunteers expressed their opposition to White's command.

[27] Dissatisfaction within the ranks reached such a level that White was asked to resign and Dr. Archibald Robertson, assistant-surgeon in the company, challenged the captain to a duel.

"A scene of wordy excitement" then ensued; some of the men stated "that the affair was a piece of spite on the part of the captain" and several "in indignant and violent terms, expressed their opinion of the commanding officer and the insult they considered he had been instrumental in offering them".

As a result of the quarrel and subsequent inquiries, White discovered the existence of a deed of trust, executed in 1852, of certain land in Elizabeth Street in Melbourne in favour his late grandmother and her grandchildren (of whom he was the only surviving one).

[7] White raised funds by mortgaging his land and other means in order to carry on the lawsuit, demonstrating "his determination to make an active contention for his rights".

[46] At the start of proceedings on August 7, the sixth day of the trial, the counsel for Robert Hoddle announced to the judge that, after a conference between the parties, "a satisfactory arrangement had been arrived at".

In March 1882 it was reported that, due to the "loss of a steamship in the British Channel", White had lost "£3000 worth of superb furniture, selected from the best foreign marts and exhibitions".

On 14 February 1882 the iron barque Romeo ran aground near Gabo Island on a voyage from Hamburg to Sydney, resulting in the loss of the vessel and its cargo (which included "valuable pianos" that had been purchased by White).

[48][49] In Europe White also purchased an organ for St. John's church in Mudgee, at a cost of a thousand pounds, which arrived safely in Australia.

[52] White had previously determined to run for political office and was travelling in Tasmania and Melbourne when news of the dissolution of parliament reached him.

White's Sydney residence was 'Milton House' in Blackwood Avenue, Ashfield, but had decided to contest the electorate of Gloucester for the stated reasons that he was born at Stroud and possessed "considerable property at Port Stephens".

[56] White's inheritance of a "very great wealth", brought about by the lawsuit against his grandfather, enabled him "to practically exemplify the liberality and charity which were ever a part of his creed".

[34] White purchased the 'Tahlee' residence and estate, possibly as early as late 1880, situated near the mouth of the Karuah River on the northern shores of Port Stephens, near the village of Carrington and north-west of Nelson Bay.

The description of 'Tahlee' published in the Maitland Mercury made the observation that "through the hospitable invitations of the genial host, Tahlee is often visited by the elite of Sydney, who thoroughly enjoy themselves" with activities such as fishing, shooting and boating, "and regret when the hour arrives for their leaving such a haven of bliss".

[64] In July 1886 White, with his wife and eldest daughter, were invited to Windsor Castle where he presented the pair of carved emu eggs to the Queen, which were "graciously accepted".

[79] A summary of White's life after his death, published in Grafton's Clarence and Richmond Examiner, observed that his gaining of "a large fortune" in 1880 "was the worst thing that could have happened to him".

The writer explained that White "had no literary nor artistic tastes" and "had to look for most of his pleasure in clubs", adding: "Liver troubles came, and the final result was the wreck of the mind".