Catalpa rescue
The Catalpa rescue was the escape, in 1876, of six Fenian prisoners from what was then the British penal colony of Western Australia.
Fenians and plans to escape
From 1865 to 1867, British authorities rounded up supporters of the Irish Republican (Fenian) Brotherhood, an Irish independence movement, and transported sixty-two of them to the penal colony of Western Australia. Among them was John Boyle O'Reilly, later to become the editor of the Boston newspaper The Pilot. They were sent on the convict ship Hougoumont and landed at Fremantle, in January 1868, after which they were moved to the Convict Establishment (now Fremantle Prison).
Two years later in 1869, O'Reilly escaped on the whaling ship Gazelle with the aid of
third mate whaler Henry Hathaway and ended up in Boston, where he became editor of The Pilot. In 1871, another
Fenian, John Devoy, was amnestied in England, among others, on condition that he settle
outside Ireland, and he sailed to
In 1869, pardons had been issued to many of the imprisoned Fenians. Another round of pardons were issued in 1871, after which only a small group of military Fenians remained in Western Australia's penal system. In 1873, Devoy received a smuggled letter from imprisoned Fenian James Wilson, who was among those the British dared not release. He asked them to aid the escape of the remaining Fenian prisoners. Devoy discussed the matter with John Boyle O'Reilly and Thomas McCarthy Fennell, and Fennell suggested that a ship be purchased, laden with a legitimate cargo, and sailed to Western Australia, where it would not be expected to arouse suspicion. The Fenian prisoners would then be rescued by stealth rather than force of arms. Devoy approached the 1874 convention of the Clan na Gael and got the Clan to agree to fund a rescue of the men. He then approached whaling agent John T. Richardson, who told them to contact his son-in-law, whaling captain George Smith Anthony, who agreed to help.
Jame Reynolds, a member of the Clan and on the committee to rescue the prisoners, bought under his name for the Clan a
three-masted whaling bark Catalpa for $5,200, and George Anthony recruited twenty-two
sailors. On April 29 1875,
Catalpa sailed from New Bedford, Massachusetts. At first, most of the
crew was unaware of their real mission. Anthony noticed too late that the ship's marine
chronometer was broken, so he had to rely on his own skills for
At the same time, two Fenian agents, John Breslin and Tom Desmond, had arrived in Western Australia in September. Breslin masqueraded as an American businessman "James Collins", with suitable letter of introduction, and got acquainted with Sir William Cleaver Robinson, Governor of Western Australia. Robinson took Breslin on a tour of the Convict Establishment (now Fremantle Prison). Desmond took a job as a wheelwright and recruited five local Irishmen who were to cut the telegraph lines on the day of escape.
Catalpa fell behind the intended schedule due to a serious storm, in which she lost her foremast. She dropped anchor off Bunbury on March 27 1876. Anthony and Breslin met. The pair began to prepare for the rescue. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24]
Escape and pursuit
The first intended day for escape was April 6, but the appearance of HMS Convict and other Royal Navy ships and customs officers quickly led to a postponement. The escape was rearranged for April 17, when most of the Convict Establishment garrison was watching the Royal Perth Yacht Club regatta.
Catalpa dropped anchor in international waters off Rockingham and dispatched a whaleboat to the shore. At 8.30 am, six Fenians who were working in work parties outside the prison walls, absconded - Thomas Darragh, Martin Hogan, Michael Harrington, Thomas Hassett, Robert Cranston and James Wilson – were met by Breslin and Desmond and picked up in carriages. The men raced 50 km south to Rockingham where Anthony awaited them on the beach with a rowboat. A local he had spoken to earlier saw the men and quickly alerted the authorities.
The rowboat faced difficulties on its return to the Catalpa due to a storm that lasted till dawn on April 18 They reached the ship the next morning. However, soon after, the steamship s.s. Georgette came alongside the whaler, demanding the surrender of the prisoners and attempting to herd the ship back into Australian waters. They fired a warning shot with its 12 pounder (5 kg) cannon. Ignoring the demand to surrender, Anthony had raised, and then pointed towards, the U.S. flag, informed the Georgette that an attack on the Catalpa would be considered an act of war against the USA, and proceeded westward. Georgette pursued until it was low on fuel and turned away. Catalpa slipped into the Indian Ocean.
Aftermath
Due to cut telegraph cables, news of the escape did not reach London until June. At the same time, the Catalpa did its best to avoid Royal Navy ships on its way back to the USA. O'Reilly received the news of the escape on June 7 and released the news to the press. The news sparked celebrations in the United States and Ireland and anger in Britain and Australia (although there was also sympathy for the cause within the Australian population). A purge of prison officials in Fremantle followed. The Catalpa returned to New York harbor on August 19, 1876.
George Smith Anthony could no longer sail in international waters because the Royal Navy could have arrested him on sight. With the help of a journalist, Z. W. Pease, he published an account of his journey, The Catalpa Expedition, in 1897.
Memorials
On 9 September 2005 a memorial was unveiled in Rockingham to commemorate the escape. The memorial, a large statue of six wild geese, was created by Western Australian artists Charlie Smith and Joan Walsh Smith. The geese refer to the phrase "The Wild Geese", which was a name given to Irish soldiers who served in European armies after being exiled from Ireland. The Fenians transported to Western Australia adopted the phrase for themselves during their voyage to Western Australia on board the Hougoumont, even publishing a shipboard newspaper entitled The Wild Goose.
Exhibition
From 22nd September 2006 to December 3rd 2006 an exhibition, called "Escape: Fremantle to Freedom," opened at Fremantle Prison displaying many artifacts relating to the Catalpa rescue. Over 20,000 visitors passed through. There was no cost to enter the exhibit, which used modern touchscreen systems to allow reading of many books, journals, and diaries on display for the first time. After three months at Fremantle, the exhibition is scheduled to travel around museums throughout Australia.
 Michael Harrington |
 Robert Cranston |
||
 Thomas Darragh |
 Thomas Hassett |
 Martin Hogan |
In song
| So come all you screw warders and jailers Remember Perth regatta day Take care of the rest of your Fenians Or the Yankees will steal them away. Unknown Full Lyrics |
| On the seventeenth of April last the Stars and Stripes did fly On board the bark Catalpa, waving proudly to the sky; She showed the green above the red as she did calmly lay |
Catalpa escape in the arts
- Musician and local historian Brendan Woods authored a Theater Production about the breakout titled The Catalpa Directed by Gerry Atkinson with a cast of 22. On the 15 November 2006 The Catalpa play premiered at Fremantle Town Hall the play ran until 25th November. The play was based on the diarys of Denis Cashman, with the poetry of John Boyle O'Reilly set to music and dance supported by a five part Musical ensemble, The show sold out on three of its four night run.[1]
- Irish rebel music band The Wolfe Tones recorded a song about the Catalpa incident called "The Fenians' Escape".
- The Real McKenzies, a Celtic punk band from British Columbia, Canada, included their rendition of the song "The Catalpa" on the 2005 Fat Wreck Chords EP "10,000 Shots."
- Donal O'Kelly's one man play The Catalpa was an international success, winning a Scotsman Fringe First Award at the 1996 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Critic's Prize at the Melbourne International Festival in 1997.
- Western Australian Folk music Band, The Settlers released an album in 1979 that included the song 'catalpa'
- An Australian Broadcasting Corporation production, The Catalpa Rescue, will be shown on ABC Television on Thursdays at 8.30 pm, beginning on the 21st of October.
Further reading
- John Devoy - John Devoy's Catalpa Expedition (ISBN 0-8147-2748-4)
- John Devoy - Recollections of an Irish Rebel
- Laubenstein, William J - "The Emerald Whaler" London : Deutsch, 1961.
- Seán O'Luing - "Fremantle Mission"
- Peter F. Stevens - The Voyage of the Catalpa (ISBN 1-84212-651-2)
- Z.W. Pease - The Catalpa Expedition (ISBN 0-85905-308-3)
- View the Memorial Launch Video
References
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