"Cash records that he was transported to New South Wales in 1828 for shooting a rival in love. He was assigned to a station on the Hunter River, where he led a peaceful life as a shepherd and stock-keeper for about nine years, describing this period as a 'green spot in the desert' of his life. He was unjustly implicated in cattle stealing and ran away with a female companion. He worked briefly for a number of country masters (including explorer Charles Sturt) until 1837 when he and his companion fled to Van Diemen's Land. There he was again accused of a crime he did not commit, and sentenced to seven years at Port Arthur. He escaped and was recaptured a number of times before finally serving time in chains under Commandant Charles O'Hara Booth at Port Arthur. During this time he conceived a 'deep and concentrated hatred of that power which was undeservedly prosecuting me'. He had two companions, Lawrence Kavanagh and David Jones, finally effecting a daring escape from the Port Arthur peninsula, and became bushrangers, committing a series of robberies on roads and of private houses and inns during 1843. Cash was captured while trying to visit his lover in Hobart Town and was sentenced to death, which was later commuted to transportation to Norfolk Island" (Walsh and Hooton 34-5).

Source

Walsh, Kay and Joy Hooton. Australian Autobiographical Narratives : An Annotated Bibliography. Canberra : Australian Scholarly Editions Centre, University College, ADFA and National Library of Australia, 1993.