In 1874, a petition to request clemency for McPherson, organised by the Rev. B. G. Wilson, and signed by members of the Queensland parliament, was successful in securing his release on 22 December. McPherson found work as a stockman at Cressbrook, and later, as an outstation overseer. Another outstation manager at the time was Sylvester Browne, brother of Thomas Alexander Browne, author of the 1882 bushranger novel Robbery Under Arms, leading to suggestion that McPherson's exploits may have been adapted for the plot.