49 – Convict Mutineers Part 2

Posted on Author AHP

In Part 2 we will follow William Swallow and his fellow mutineer convicts on the commandeered ship, the Cyprus.

Swallow and his men were delighted to be heading into the Pacific, away from the dreaded Macquarie Harbour, and his sailing skills were put to the test as they made their way across the ocean.  But they ran in to unexpected trouble around the Japanese coast.

(60 mins)

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“The artist has shown no small skill in depicting the despair of Lieutenant Carew, and the encouraging manner of Mrs Carew, with her little infant, as they watched the progress of the small bark on which their only hope of preservation was placed”. (Hirst, Warwick, 2008, p. 84)
South East coast. Hobart, D’Entrecasteaux Channel, Recherche Bay, SE Cape. (John Mulvaney, 2007)
Chain gang hauling timber
Leg Irons: Convict leg irons, possibly from Port Arthur, 1830–1848 Cast iron, hand forged
State Library of NSW, bequest of Sir William Dixson, 1952 (DR 167) https://www2.sl.nsw.gov.au/archive/curio/exhibit/1108/indexfbd2.html?from_collection=2&page=1
A watercolour of a British-flagged ship that arrived off the coast of Mugi, in Shikoku, Japan in 1830, chronicled by low-ranking Samurai artist Makita Hamaguchi in documents from the Tokushima prefectural archive. (Australian Convict Pirates in Japan, 2017)
A watercolour by samurai Makita Hamaguchi showing one of the sailors with a dog from the ship that ‘did not look like food. It looked like a pet.’ (Australian Convict Pirates in Japan, 2017)
The watercolour picture of a British-flagged ship that arrived off the coast of Mugi, in Shikoku, Japan, by the samurai Hamaguchi. Photograph: Tokushima prefectural archive.

Isle of the Dead – Port Arthur

REFERENCES

Hirst, Warwick. (2008). The man who stole the Cyprus: A true story of escape. Rosenberg Publishing.  ISBN: 978-1-877058-61-5

THE MAKING OF THE CORACLE,. (1829, September 12). Hobart Town Courier (Tas. : 1827 – 1839), 3. Retrieved March 2021.  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4213841

PIRATICAL SEIZURE OF The Government Brig Cyprus. (1829, September 4). Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas. : 1828 – 1857), 3. Retrieved March 2021.  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8644472

Australian convict pirates in Japan: Evidence of 1830 voyage unearthed. (2017, May 28). The Guardian. Retrieved March 2021   http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/may/28/australian-convict-pirates-in-japan-evidence-of-1830-voyage-unearthed

How a samurai manuscript vindicated the wild claims of convict escapee William Swallow. (2019, September 9). Retrieved March 2021   https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-10/william-swallow-convict-escapee-samurai-manuscript/11491254

How an English surfer solved the mystery of an Australian pirate ship in Japan. (2017, June 24). Retrieved March 2021.   https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-25/english-surfer-solves-mystery-of-australian-pirate-ship-in-japan/8639906

BBC One – Britain Afloat – Coracles: The surprising history of Britain’s strangest boat. Retrieved March 2021, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/23Fbd5ybr2CFG9BWYYZ7MZh/coracles-the-surprising-history-of-britain-s-strangest-boat

Sissons, D. C. S. (2008). The Voyage of the Cyprus Mutineers: The Journal of Pacific History, 43(2), 253–265. Retrieved March 2021.  https://doi.org/10.1080/00223340802054735

Brendan  (Wikipedia).  Retrieved March 2021.   https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brendan&oldid=1014533819

サムライと海賊 Pirates & Samurai. (2017).  Retrieved March 2021.  http://piratesandsamurai.com

Consulate-General of Japan in Melbourne 在メルボルン日本国総領事館 – Posts | Facebook.  Retrieved March 2021, https://www.facebook.com/CGOJ.Melbourne/posts/3035464516465421

Piracy on the Brig Cyprus.  Retrieved March 2021, from http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p70181/html/ch11s02.html

The Last Pirate. Australian National Maritime Museum. Retrieved March 2021, from https://www.sea.museum/2017/05/31/the-last-pirate

John Popjoy and the Mutiny on the Cyprus. Retrieved March 2021, from http://www.gomezsmart.myzen.co.uk/POBJOYs/individuals/johnppj/cyprus.html

Macquarie Harbour Penal Station. Retrieved March 2021, from https://www.utas.edu.au/library/companion_to_tasmanian_history/M/Macquarie%20Harbour%20penal%20settlement.htm

Niuatoputapu | island, Tonga | Britannica. (n.d.). Retrieved March 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/place/Niuatoputapu

Through Samurai eyes: Shedding new light on Australia’s greatest convict escape story. (2019, August 29). [Sound]. ABC Radio National; Australian Broadcasting Corporation. https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/the-history-listen/through-samurai-eyes/11345890

Through Samurai Eyes, Tasmanian convicts in Japan, 1830. (2019, June 26). ABCRN The History Listen:  https://vimeo.com/344468556

Barnard, Simon. (2017). Gaolbird: The true story of William Swallow, convict and pirate. [Juv ]. Text Publishing Company.

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