The Catalpa Rescue

Author: Peter FitzSimons
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 0733641253
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 400

Book Description
The incredible true story of one of the most extraordinary and inspirational prison breaks in Australian history. New York, 1874. Members of the Clan-na-Gael - agitators for Irish freedom from the English yoke - hatch a daring plan to free six Irish political prisoners from the most remote prison in the British Empire, Fremantle Prison in Western Australia. Under the guise of a whale hunt, Captain Anthony sets sail on the Catalpa to rescue the men from the stone walls of this hell on Earth known to the inmates as a 'living tomb'. What follows is one of history's most stirring sagas that splices Irish, American, British and Australian history together in its climactic moment. For Ireland, who had suffered English occupation for 700 years, a successful escape was an inspirational call to arms. For America, it was a chance to slap back at Britain for their support of the South in the Civil War; for England, a humiliation. And for a young Australia, still not sure if it was Great Britain in the South Seas or worthy of being an independent country in its own right, it was proof that Great Britain was not unbeatable. Told with FitzSimons' trademark combination of arresting history and storytelling verve, The Catalpa Rescue is a tale of courage and cunning, the fight for independence and the triumph of good men, against all odds.

The Catalpa Rescue

Author: Peter FitzSimons
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 1472131355
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 464

The Catalpa Expedition

Author: Zephaniah Walter Pease
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Escapes
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Book Description
An account of the expedition in the bark Catalpa to Australia, which set free the Irish political prisoners who were sentenced to a lifetime of servitude in the English penal colony.

John Devoy's Catalpa Expedition

Author: Philip Fennell
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 0814727743
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 238

Book Description
The story of John Devoy’s 1876 Catalpa rescue is a tale of heroism, creativity, and the triumph of independent spirit in pursuit of freedom. The daily log on board the whaling ship Catalpa begins with the typical recount of a crew intact and a spirit unfettered, but such quiet words deceive the truth of the audacious enterprise that came to be known as one of the most important rescues in Irish American history. John Devoy’s men rescued six Irish political prisoners from the Australian coast, allowing millions of fellow Irishmen and American-Fenians, many of whom secretly financed the dangerous plot, to draw courage from the newly exiled prisoners. Philip Fennell and Marie King tell the story from John Devoy’s own records and the ship's logbooks. John Devoy's Catalpa Expedition includes an introduction by Terry Golway and the personal diaries, letters, and reports from John Devoy and his men.

The Catalpa Rescue

Author: Peter FitzSimons
Publisher: Hachette Australia
ISBN: 0733641253
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 400

The Catalpa Escape

Author: Joy Lefroy
Publisher: Fremantle Arts Center Press
ISBN: 9781921064609
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 36

Book Description
In Fremantle Prison they are alone, half a world away from home. But their powerful friends in America have not forgotten them. Danger, excitement and daring - this is an extraordinary true story.

Batavia

Author: Peter FitzSimons
Publisher: Random House Australia
ISBN: 1864711345
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 514

Book Description
No further information has been provided for this title.

The Fenian Wild Geese

Author: Ormonde D. P. Waters
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780975000915
Category : Escapes
Languages : en
Pages : 380

Book Description

Spike Island's Republican Prisoners, 1921

Author: Tom O'Neill MA
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750997729
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 395

Book Description
In 1921, during the Irish War of Independence, the fort on Spike Island in County Cork was the largest British-military-run prison for Republican prisoners and internees in the Martial Law area, housing almost 1,400 men from Munster and south Leinster. Tom O'Neill has compiled an outstanding record of these men, using primary-source material from Irish Military Archives, British Army records, and prisoner and internee autograph books. This book includes details of arrests, charges, trials, convictions, sentences and transfers of the Republicans held on Spike Island. From the establishment of the military prison in 1921, to the escapes, hunger strikes and riots, as well as the fatal shooting by sentries of two internees that took place there, Spike Island's Republican Prisoners, 1921 is the first comprehensive history of individuals and events on the island during the Irish War of Independence. Spike Island is now a world-class tourist attraction.

Burke and Wills

Author: Peter FitzSimons
Publisher: Hachette Australia
ISBN: 0733634095
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 702

Book Description
The iconic Australian exploration story - brought to life by Peter FitzSimons, Australia's storyteller. 'They have left here today!' he calls to the others. When King puts his hand down above the ashes of the fire, it is to find it still hot. There is even a tiny flame flickering from the end of one log. They must have left just hours ago. MELBOURNE, 20 AUGUST 1860. In an ambitious quest to be the first Europeans to cross the harsh Australian continent, the Victorian Exploring Expedition sets off, farewelled by 15,000 cheering well-wishers. Led by Robert O'Hara Burke, a brave man totally lacking in the bush skills necessary for his task; surveyor and meteorologist William Wills; and 17 others, the expedition took 20 tons of equipment carried on six wagons, 23 horses and 26 camels. Almost immediately plagued by disputes and sackings, the expeditioners battled the extremes of the Australian landscape and weather: its deserts, the boggy mangrove swamps of the Gulf, the searing heat and flooding rains. Food ran short and, unable to live off the land, the men nevertheless mostly spurned the offers of help from the local Indigenous people. In desperation, leaving the rest of the party at the expedition's depot on Coopers Creek, Burke, Wills, Charley Gray and John King made a dash for the Gulf in December 1860. Bad luck and bad management would see them miss by just hours a rendezvous back at Coopers Creek, leaving them stranded in the wilderness with practically no supplies. Only King survived to tell the tale. Yet, despite their tragic fates, the names of Burke and Wills have become synonymous with perseverance and bravery in the face of overwhelming odds. They live on in our nation's history - and their story remains immediate and compelling.