This is the story of the greatest escape artist of Australia's convict era - the legend of Moondyne Joe. "They'll not take my freedom away!" These are the words of Moondyne Joe, the beloved scoundrel and expert bushman of early Australian convict history. There wasn't a cell built that could contain him, and Joe often led the troopers on wild chases through the Moondyne Hills. This is the story of a colourful Australian legend from the award-winning team of Mark Greenwood and Frané Lessac.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Moondyne by John Boyle O'Reilly is a semi-autobiographical novel which has much to say about the evils of transportation and the whole 19th century criminal justice system.

Tom Bower was a poacher and something of a ne'er do well, who fell foul of draconian game laws of the time and ended up being transported to Australia with little hope of return. His story is fascinating as well as sad - a real-life tale uncovered by a living relative.

Like many 19th century Irish immigrants, Thomas McCarthy Fennell arrived in the United States to start a new life. Unlike other Irishmen, however, Fennell arrived on America’s West coast by ship. He was a thirty year old ex-convict recently discharged from an Australian prison. As a condition of release he could not return to his native land. His crime? Treason, or as the Crown’s trial judge put it, “compassing” against Queen Victoria. In the tumultuous 1860s Fennell organized Fenians – Irish and Irish-American Nationalists who sought by force to rid Ireland of Britain’s dominance. He fought and was wounded in the 1867 Uprising, hardly a footnote in history, yet England’s great Prime Minister, Gladstone, would refer to it as “the first streak of dawn.” And indeed it added to the foundation that would eventually lead to the Republic of Ireland. Fennell was transported to Australia on the last prison ship dispatched there by Britain, the Hougoumont, a converted merchant vessel. On board for three months with 280 other convicts, Fennell and a small group of Fenians including John Boyle O’Reilly and John Sarsfield Casey (The Galtee Boy) stayed together. They prayed, sang and entertained each other. They even published a weekly newspaper. Fennell was in Western Australia, a colony that wanted convict labor, for over three years; first at Fremantle Prison and then on a chain gang. Pardoned in 1871 by Victoria, he made his way to America where he eventually settled in Elmira, New York. He remained active in the movement and was the one to propose the famous Catalpa Rescue of 1876. This is the true story of Fennell’s incarceration, in his own words. Here he describes the humiliations and horrors of being a political prisoner thrown in with murderers, rapists and other criminals of the worst kind. He recounts floggings, daily strip searches and death at sea. Yet he and his fellow Fenians triumphed in the end, and Fennell would write his story. Now, Fennell’s 70,000 word manuscript is available to the public for the first time. Articles by Walter McGrath and Matthew Bermingham accompany the text, along with other supplementary information, extensive footnotes, photographs and illustrations. What’s being said about this book - “With a useful introductory essay, the editorial annotations, a good selection of illustrations, a selection of Fenian poetry and a number of articles to provide context, Fennell and King have made a valuable contribution to Western Australian history." H.A. Willis, The West Australian “You are to be congratulated on the high standard of the edition. It will be an important addition to the National Library’s collection.” Noel Kissane, Keeper of the Manuscripts National Library of Ireland “To have a record of daily life in the Prison during the 19th century and in such detail – is of inestimable value to us.” Rob Besford,Fremantle Prison, WA "This voyage is of additional significance as it brought the last shipload of convicts to the Australian penal settlement." The Irish Times “I’d like to compliment you on bringing such a wonderful new source of Fenian biography to light so expertly.” Keith Amos, author of The Fenians In Australia “I am pleased to add this to our collection as it will be extremely useful for research on the Fenians. There are so few first hand accounts of convict/Fenian life, making this all the more important.” David Whiteford, The Battye Library, Australia “Marie King and Philip Fennell have combined their efforts to provide historical context and then present the purest form of these memoirs.” John Benson, Pawling News Chronicle