Why 3,000 Aussies attended the funeral of Donny Hobbs, 67, who rammed his LandCruiser into a police station, claimed he was covered in cyanide and then took his life in his cell

By STEPHEN GIBBS, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 14:28, 15 August 2026 | Updated: 14:28, 15 August 2026 To understand what the life and death of Donny Hobbs meant to his central western NSW hometown the best place to start might be the great-grandfather's funeral. None of Mudgee's four main churches was big enough to hold the estimated 2,500 mourners who turned up to pay their respects to Hobbs, with a further 500 tuned in to a livestream of the June 26 service. A procession which began in Horatio Street at midday passed crowds lining Church Streets and over Lawson Park Bridge to Parklands Resort, where the main auditorium and an overflow room were filled. Hobbs was carried in a wicker coffin on a carriage, trailed by a pony-driven buggy and riders on horseback, for a farewell described by many as the largest they had seen.  The huge attendance represented about one in four of Mudgee's population of 13,000, funeral director Braden Bond said. 'It's the biggest funeral I personally have ever conducted,' Mr Bond told the Daily Mail.  What makes those numbers more astounding is that only a month earlier Hobbs had driven his ute into Mudgee police station and five days later, hanged himself in his Bathurst jail cell. Until those events, 67-year-old Hobbs had been best known in Mudgee for driving his sulky around town with his horse Mal, entertaining tourists and delighting local children. None of Mudgee's four main churches was big enough to hold the estimated 2,500 mourners who turned up to pay their respects to Donny Hobbs, with a further 500 tuned in to a livestream Hobbs was carried in a wicker coffin on a carriage, trailed by a pony-driven buggy and riders on horseback, for a farewell described by many as the largest they had seen (above) In death, the bearded bushie was described as a 'top bloke', 'true Australian', 'local icon', a 'true sovereign man', 'our Mudgee legend' and 'one-in-a-million'. He was 'kind-hearted', 'a real stockman with a heart of gold', and 'a wise man' who had time for others and would help anyone. But Hobbs also had a complicated history with authority, having regular brushes with local law enforcement officers and racking up numerous criminal convictions. In February 2013, Hobbs was fined $400 and placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond after he assaulted a National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) employee. The NPWS officer had told Hobbs he could not ride his horse on a fire trail and he in turn accused the NPWS officer of not acting when bike riders damaged nearby trees. Hobbs instructed his horse to nudge the NPWS officer against his vehicle then spat at him - which he admitted, while saying he did not think he'd been unreasonable. In 2015, Hobbs was fined $1,000 for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and in 2019 was fined $1,100 and sentenced to a 12-month community correction order for stalking/intimidation. He was hit with a six-month conditional release order in 2022 for destroying or damaging property and he was fined $550 for having custody of a knife in a public place the following year. A month before Hobbs's funeral he drove his LandCruiser ute into Mudgee police station (above) and five days after that hanged himself in Bathurst jail Hobbs (above) had been best known around Mudgee for driving his sulky around town with his horse Mal, entertaining tourists and delighting local children In 2024, Hobbs was fined a total $900 for not stopping a vehicle when directed to do so, not possessing an accurate 'transported stock statement' and not complying with a direction by police. Between 2015 and 2025, Hobbs was made the subject of apprehended violence orders (AVOs) to protect four different men for periods ranging from 12 months to two years. Last August he was fined $700 for contravening two AVOs, then six weeks ago he committed a series of offences which saw him make national news. Why Hobbs drove his LandCruiser ute into Mudgee police station on May 29 might never be properly explained but it coincided with the retirement of Detective Senior Constable Scott Whale. A court would hear Whale was the intended target and Hobbs's daughter Nareeda confirmed to the Daily Mail her father had regularly clashed with the rural crime investigator. A story in the Mudgee Guardian published on the day Hobbs snapped revealed Whale would be marching out from the police station that same Friday afternoon after a 40-year career.  Whale told the Guardian of his last posting: 'Mudgee is just gorgeous. It's a beautiful little town. It has everything. It's small, everybody knows each other and the people are really nice.' Nareeda Hobbs said the week before her father was arrested for the final time he had been convicted in his absence over another offence, but court records do not show that appearance and police would not confirm it. In death, Hobbs (above) was described as a 'top bloke', 'true Australian', 'local icon', a 'true sovereign man', 'our Mudgee legend' and 'one-in-a-million' Hobbs was 'kind-hearted', 'a real stockman with a heart of gold', 'a wise man' who had time for others and would would help anyone. His coffin is pictured In protest, Hobbs had tethered his horse and sulky outside the police station in the lead-up to the fateful Friday. His daughter thought that happened on the Monday and Tuesday, when it had rained heavily, and the horse had been taken away. 'Someone rang the RSPCA and said the horse was in bad condition or something,' Nareeda said.  'My dad's horse had never been in bad condition.' Nareeda said her father told her on the Thursday he intended going to the police station on Friday to pay a fine. Asked what she believed had happened on the Friday, Nareeda said, 'I honestly don't know. The last time I spoke to him was on the Thursday night. It's just all gone to s*** after that.' Nareeda did not think her father had known on Thursday night about Whale's marching-out parade the following day 'because dad doesn't have social media'. Whatever Hobbs's motivation, at about 1.30pm on April 29 he drove at two police officers who had been patrolling on foot near their workplace on Market Street. A short time later, he steered his LandCruiser ute towards another officer who was leaving the station then ploughed the vehicle into the heritage-listed building. Why Hobbs drove his ute into Mudgee police station might never be properly explained but it coincided with the retirement of Detective Senior Constable Scott Whale (above) Superintendent Tim Chinn said several cops and one civilian had 'narrowly missed' being hit when Hobbs ploughed his vehicle into the police station (above) Commander of Orana Mid-Western Police District Superintendent Tim Chinn later said several cops and one civilian had 'narrowly missed' being hit.  'There was a member of the public in the inquiry counter area… also there were a couple of police officers on the other side of the counter, so they were quite close as well,' Superintendent Chinn said. '[It was] very fortunate no person was injured.' If Hobbs had waited little longer until Whale's march-out started, up to 50 officers would have been present.  Superintendent Chinn declined to answer questions during a press conference about Hobbs's supposed links to the sovereign citizen movement.  He described Whale as 'a very tenacious, dedicated, thorough police officer who's done an exceptional job' and his last day as 'one that he won't be forgetting'.   Hobbs was charged with destroying or damaging property with intent to endanger life, police pursuit - failing to stop and driving dangerously, and driving recklessly or furiously. He was further charged with having custody of a knife in a public place and two counts of using an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence. Hobbs (above) had a complicated history with authority, having regular brushes with local law enforcement officers and racking up numerous criminal convictions Anglican assistant priest Bruce Kurtz (far right) told mourners: '[Hobbs's family] and many of us wonder how things could spiral out of control so quickly' Hobbs was taken to the cells at Dubbo Local Court, 125km away, from where he appeared at a bail hearing the next day.  A judge heard Hobbs had been told to leave Mudgee police station on Friday afternoon and replied: 'I'll be back when I drive through the place.' Having done just that, Hobbs falsely claimed he was covered in cyanide. Whale's march-out still went ahead. Police prosecutor Simon Steward said Whale had been the main target of Hobbs's attack. 'This wasn't some sort of impulsive act,' Sergeant Steward said.  'He's expressed his intention to harm a police officer, he's expressed his intention to drive through the police station (which) is a serious escalation in his criminal behaviour.' Hobbs's lawyer Olivia Doyle argued police would find it difficult to prove her client intended to endanger life but conceded the evidence suggested an otherwise 'overwhelming' prosecution case. Hobbs was denied bail and taken to Bathurst Correctional Centre (above). It was his first time in prison but it is understood he did not express any particular fears Hobbs's online funeral notice - which included the message 'I love Australia' - attracted more than 100 comments from community members Hobbs was denied bail that Saturday and taken to Bathurst Correctional Centre - his first time in prison - ahead of another court appearance on June 10. It is understood he did not express any particular fears and was not considered a suicide risk.  Nareeda said she spoke by phone with her father three days later on June 2.  'I told him I loved him and I'd see him soon,' she said. The next day Nareeda got a phone call from a female police officer who said she needed to talk to her face-to-face immediately. 'She turned up, she took her hat off,' Nareeda said.  'And I knew exactly what she was about to say, because I watch movies. 'She just said, "I'm really sorry." She said, "Your father killed himself."' A GoFundMe appeal launched after Hobbs's death quickly exceeded its $15,000 goal and raised $23,051 from 148 donations.  A funeral procession passed crowds lining Church Streets and over Lawson Park Bridge to Parklands Resort, where the main auditorium and an overflow room were filled Hobbs's coffin, topped with native flowers, was carried into Parklands Resort to the strains of Daryl Daryl Braithwaite's Horses   Hobbs's online funeral notice - which included the message 'I love Australia' - attracted more than 100 comments, including one from Brandi Rayment who said, 'Mudgee will be a sadder place without Donny in it.' 'Such a senseless tragedy and a huge loss for everyone,' Rayment wrote. 'Rest easy and ride wild and free mate knowing that you were well loved and will forever be remembered for who you really were and not for how you have been portrayed.' Michael Cook wrote:  'I didn't know Donny but I smiled every time I saw him riding into town. He was a Mudgee icon and such a character. So sad how it all ended.' Yvette Brouff added: 'RIP Donny… condolences to your family and friends… I feel you were failed by a very broken system.' Asked if something was missing from this glowing portrayal of Hobbs and why he did what he did, one local businesswoman said: 'It depends on who you talk to.' 'I can only tell you my perspective,' she said.  'He used to drive a horse and cart into town and I didn't like it because I thought it was very unfair for a horse to be pulling a cart in traffic.  Nareeda advised on Facebook, 'Please wear a feather in your hair or pinned to your shirt, and please feel free to wear a flanno shirt or colour in honour of Dad' A GoFundMe appeal launched after Hobbs's death quickly exceeded its $15,000 goal and raised $23,051 from 148 donations 'He was quite a local character. He was quite an alternative fellow, and apparently almost crossing into the borders of sovereign citizenship.  'I am on the side that he should not have driven his car into the police station. He could have quite easily killed someone. That's not the way to resolve your differences. 'Other people you talk to in town think he is absolutely wonderful and he was hard done by. They're thinking, well, he was harassed by the police and pushed over the edge.' The businesswoman said she had heard Hobbs 'had become more radicalised in his views and more like a sovereign citizen' in recent years. 'Something's made him more adverse to the rule of law in Australia,' she said.  'He was just becoming increasingly anti-authoritarian. 'I'm disappointed to hear any suggestions that there'd be anybody who'd think it's acceptable driving a LandCruiser into a police station.  'We have quite a fringe community in Mudgee who live out of town in sort of fairly subsistent off-grid communities. Beside and behind the casket were a plough, saddle, swag, oilskin coat, Hobbs's boots and hat, and a bird inside a cage (above) 'They think they're entitled - "It's a free country, we can do what we want" - but you know, there are consequences if you drive a car into a police station.' Nareeda Hobbs said of her father: 'I've never heard my dad refer to himself as a sovereign citizen.' She believes her father, who was sharing a cell with another inmate when he took his own life, should have been considered an obvious suicide risk. 'I just don't understand,' she said.  'He just ran himself into a f***ing police station. Like, of course, there's something going on there.' Hobbs's coffin, topped with native flowers, was carried into Parklands Resort to the strains of Daryl Braithwaite's Horses and placed on eight hay bales next to an Australian flag. Beside and behind the casket were a plough, saddle, swag, oilskin coat, Hobbs's boots and hat, and a bird inside a cage. Nareeda had advised on Facebook, 'Please wear a feather in your hair or pinned to your shirt, and please feel free to wear a flanno shirt or colour in honour of Dad', and many did. John Williamson's rousing lament True Blue played as Hobbs's coffin was carried out of the auditorium before the hearse was driven away (above) Anglican assistant priest Bruce Kurtz welcomed mourners on behalf of Hobbs's partner Wendy, Nareeda and her brother Jeff. 'It's been a very sad and difficult few weeks for the family,' Kurtz said.  'They and many of us wonder how things could spiral out of control so quickly.' Kurtz noted, 'we humans can be so capable and resilient, yet so frighteningly fragile at times' and said, 'some of the questions we have may never be answered'. The priest later compared Hobbs to the Christian prophet John the Baptist: 'Donny too could be bold and outspoken at times. In some ways, he lived on the margins of society.'  Hobbs's friend Anthony Stewart remembered 'a devoted husband, a loving father, a grandfather, a proud farmer, an animal lover, a loyal friend'. 'A man whose heart was firmly rooted in his family, community, and the land that he loved,' Stewart said. 'He represented a generation and a way of life that many admired and few truly experienced. Today, while we feel the sadness of losing him, we also celebrate the life well lived.  'I just want to say Donny is just like a big pebble thrown into a huge lake, and these ripples have gone past everybody.' John Williamson's rousing lament True Blue played as Hobbs's coffin was carried out of the auditorium and at least one spectator called out 'ride on, Donny' as the hearse was driven away. A report on Hobbs's death will be prepared for the coroner.