The last ship to transport convicts to Australia was the Hougoumont which arrived in 1868.  Onboard were 279 male convicts - 62 of whom were political prisoners from Ireland known as Fenians.  This is the story of one of those men - John Boyle O'Reilly, a poet, journalist, author and activist.  Join me as I retell the story of his epic escape from New Holland to New York.

Trigger warning!  This story contains content about suicide.

LINKS

Grab a copy of Convict Sydney, the real-life stories of 32 prisoners:

www.jennifer-twemlow.com

Support Convict Australia and receive goodies such as the Convict Australia Newsletter:

https://www.patreon.com/ConvictAustralia

Join the conversation on our Facebook & Instagram pages:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/173850624015866

https://www.instagram.com/convict_australia/?hl=en

Start your search for your convict ancestors:

https://prf.hn/click/camref:1100ldych

https://www.tkqlhce.com/click-100396961-13671424

SOURCES

1869 'BUNBURY.', The Inquirer and Commercial News (Perth, WA : 1855 - 1901), 13 January, p. 2. , viewed 21 Aug 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66033268

1870 'THE ESCAPE OF JOHN BOYLE O'REILLY.', Advocate (Melbourne, Vic. : 1868 - 1954), 1 January, p. 13. , viewed 12 Aug 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article170149320

1870 'J. BOYLE O'REILLY.', Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1932), 26 February, p. 4. , viewed 12 Aug 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article115292629

1897 ‘THE CATAPLA EXPEDITION.’, New Bedford, Mass. : G. S. Anthony, Pease, Zeph. W. , viewed 16 Aug 2021, https://archive.org/details/catalpaexpeditio00peas/page/52/mode/2up

John Boyle O'Reilly, Ian Kenneally, viewed 5 September 2021, https://www.johnboyleoreilly.com/convict.html

2006 'O'REILLY, JOHN BOYLE (1844-1890)' by Wendy Birman, Australian Dictionary of Biography, viewed 5 September 2021, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/oreilly-john-boyle-4338

THANK YOU

Special thanks to Sue Reed.

Music by Ahjay Stelino