Irish Exit

Convict's Fate

Between 1865 and 1867, the British government rounded up a group of 62  Fenians, as Irish nationalists called themselves, and sent them via a convict ship to a prison on the west coast of Australia. For the previous 80 years Britain had been clearing its prisons by sending convicts to Australia. Most of these convicts (one in seven was a woman) had committed petty crimes, but there was a sprinkling of murderers, rapists, and political prisoners in the mix.

There had been protests in Britain against the convict system and the ship that carried the Fenians was the last of the convict ships. The ship arrived in the town of Fremantle in January, 1868. There were a couple of hundred other convicts, but these convicts were allowed to work for free settlers, and were eventually emancipated. Even the Fenians were pardoned, but not those who had been in the British Army. They were treated more harshly.

One of the Fenians, John Boyle O'Reilly, had managed to escape on a whaling ship. He made his way to Boston and became editor of a newspaper there. Another who was pardoned, John Devoy, was allowed to settle in New York. He also became a newspaperman.  

A Living Hell

By 1876, there were six Fenians still held in the Fremantle prison. They spent their days outside the prison clearing brush and building roads. There was no fear they would escape since the surrounding area was empty desert and the sea was filled with sharks.

One of the six smuggled a letter to Devoy in New York, describing the living death he and his fellow prisoners were enduring. He was hoping Devoy would initiate a newspaper campaign to convince the British to offer pardons. Devoy did much more than that. He got together with O'Reilly up in Boston and some others to plan the rescue of the six Fenians. 

The Plan

Devoy convinced an Irish-American organization to purchase a ship to go rescue the prisoners. The Catalpa took on a cargo so it would look legitimate, and set off for Australia. Also on board were two Fenian agents travelling under cover as American businessmen. When the ship landed in the Azores, most of the crew deserted the ship. These sorts of desertions were common in the 19th century, but the crew had learned of the ship's mission and perhaps had not wanted to irritate the British authorities.

Captain Anthony hired a new crew and on March 28, 1876, the Catalpa anchored off Bunbury, about 100 miles south of Fremantle . The two Fenian agents took a steamer north to Fremantle to get the lay of the land. Captain Anthony and one of the Fenian agents got themselves invited to a reception at the governor's residence and at some point, Anthony got valuable information about the coastline from a local captain.

Rescue

The original rescue date was April 6, but when several British warships arrived, the rescue was postponed. On the 17th, when everyone was watching the regatta at the yacht club, the Catalpa anchored in international waters and sent her whaleboat ashore. The Fenian agents picked up the six convicts in  two buggies and raced the 12 miles to the whaleboat. A suspicious local notified the authorities when he saw the convicts get into the whaleboat.

 As the whaleboat rowed the several miles to the Catalpa, a violent storm hit. The storm lasted all night and Captain Anthony said later he thought they were finished. The next morning was calm, but the men in the whaleboat spotted a steamer loaded with colonial police coming after them. The men lay in the bottom of the whaleboat and the steamer failed to see them as it continued to the Catalpa.

The Catalpa's First Mate refused to let the police come aboard since the ship was in international waters. The steamer hung around for several hours then had to return to Fremantle for coal. This gave the whaleboat a chance to get to the Catalpa.

The steamer returned later, this time with a cannon mounted on her bow. The steamer fired a warning shot and tried to force the Catalpa into Australian waters. Captain Anthony pointed to the American flag and told the captain of the steamer that an attack on the Catalpa would be an act of war. After steaming around the Catalpa for an hour, the steamer left and the Catalpa with her cargo of Fenians headed for America.

The Catalpa arrived in New York in August. The Fenians settled down in the U.S. One of them lived long enough to see Ireland gain her independence in 1922. One of the Fenian agents went west and became sheriff of San Francisco. The other went to work for an Irish organization in New York. Captain Anthony retired to his home in New Bedford. The Catalpa was given to him as a gift for his services. Antony sold the Catalpa and it was converted to a coal barge. It ended its days being broken up in the port of Belize in British Honduras.

Fremantle Prison is now a fun Youth Hostel.