Catalpa rescue


The Catalpa rescue involved the escape, on 17–19 April 1876, of six Irish Fenian prisoners from the then British penal colony of Western Australia. They were sent on the convict ship Hougoumont, arriving at Fremantle on 9 January 1868, at the Convict Establishment 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 1874 one of them managed to smuggle out a letter to America where it came into the hands of John Boyle O'Reilly, who had escaped earlier. He mounted a rescue operation involving the purchase of the 1844 whaling ship Catalpa. It dropped anchor in international waters off Rockingham and dispatched a whaleboat to shore. At 8:30 am, six Fenians who were working in work parties outside the prison walls, Thomas Darragh, Martin Hogan, Michael Harrington, Thomas Hassett, Robert Cranston and James Wilson, all successfully absconded and made it back to America.

Fenians and plans to escape

From 1865 to 1867, British authorities rounded up supporters of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, an Irish independence movement, and transported sixty-two of them to the penal colony of Western Australia. They were convicted of crimes ranging from treason-felony to outright rebellion. Sixteen were soldiers who were court martialed for failing to report or stop the treason and mutinous acts of the others. 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, arriving at Fremantle on 9 January 1868, at the Convict Establishment.
In 1869, O'Reilly escaped on the whaling ship Gazelle in Bunbury with assistance of the local Catholic priest, Father Patrick McCabe, and settled in Boston. Soon after his arrival, O'Reilly found work with The Pilot newspaper and eventually became editor. In 1871, another Fenian, John Devoy, was granted amnesty in England on condition that he settle outside Ireland. He sailed to New York City and became a newspaperman for the New York Herald. He joined the Clan na Gael, an organization that supported armed insurrection in Ireland.
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 1874, Devoy received a smuggled letter from imprisoned Fenian James Wilson, who was among those the British had not released.
Dear Friend, remember this is a voice from the tomb. For is not this a living tomb? In the tomb it is only a man’s body that is good for worms, but in the living tomb the canker worm of care enters the very soul. Think that we have been nearly nine years in this living tomb since our first arrest and that it is impossible for mind or body to withstand the continual strain that is upon them. One or the other must give way. It is in this sad strait that I now, in the name of my comrades and myself, ask you to aid us in the manner pointed out… We ask you to aid us with your tongue and pen, with your brain and intellect, with your ability and influence, and God will bless your efforts, and we will repay you with all the gratitude of our natures… our faith in you is unbound. We think if you forsake us, then we are friendless indeed.
James Wilson
Devoy discussed the matter with 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.
James 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 $5,500, and George Anthony recruited twenty-two sailors.
Devoy signed up Fenian agents John Breslin and Thomas Desmond to go to Western Australia, Breslin masqueraded as an American businessman "James Collins", with suitable letter of introduction, with Desmond masquerading as a man named Johnson. They departed the US in September 1875 and arrived in Albany in November 1875. Later that day, Breslin and Desmond travelled to Fremantle on the SS Georgette.

Departure and voyage

On 29 April 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 personal skills for navigation. They hunted whales in the Atlantic for five months before sailing to Fayal Island in the Azores, where they offloaded 210 barrels of sperm whale oil in late October. Unfortunately, much of the crew deserted the ship and they also had to leave behind three sick men. Anthony recruited replacement crew members and set sail for Western Australia on 6 November.>

Escape and pursuit

The escape was planned for 6 April, but the appearance of HMS Convict and other Royal Navy ships and customs officers led to a postponement. The escape was rearranged for 17 April, when most of the Convict Establishment garrison was watching the Perth Yacht Club regatta.
Catalpa dropped anchor in international waters off Rockingham and dispatched a whaleboat to 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. They were met by Breslin and Desmond and picked up in horse traps. A seventh Fenian, James Kiely, was intentionally left behind because during his trial he had offered to divulge the names of comrades in an effort to obtain a reduced sentence for himself. The men raced south to Rockingham pier where Anthony awaited them with the whaleboat. A local named James Bell he had spoken to earlier saw the men and quickly alerted the authorities.
As they rowed to the Catalpa, a fierce squall struck, breaking the whaleboat's mast. The storm lasted till dawn on 18 April and was so intense that Anthony later stated that he did not expect the small boat to survive. At 7 am, with the storm over, they again made for the Catalpa but an hour later spotted the screw steamer Georgette, which had been commandeered by the colonial governor, making for the whaler. The men lay down in the whaleboat and it was not seen by the Georgette. The Georgette found the Catalpa but, in Captain Anthony's absence, the first mate refused to allow the colonial police to board as the ship was outside the colony's three-mile limit. The steamer was forced to return to Fremantle for coal after following the Catalpa for several hours.
As the whaleboat again made for the ship, a police cutter with 30 to 40 armed men was spotted. The two boats raced to reach the Catalpa first, with the whaleboat winning, and the men climbing aboard as the police cutter passed by. The cutter turned, lingered briefly beside the Catalpa, and then headed to shore.
Early on 19 April the refuelled and now armed Georgette returned and 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 a 12-pounder cannon that had been installed the night before. Ignoring the demand to surrender, Anthony hoisted and pointed towards the U.S. flag, warning that an attack on the Catalpa would be considered an act of war against the U.S., and proceeded westward. Besides, Captain O'Grady of the Georgette, who had sailed out of New York, was friendly toward Anthony and had, on 1 April, unwittingly entertained him in the steamer's pilot house, closely briefing him on the coast between Fremantle and Rockingham.
Governor Robinson had ordered the police on the Georgette not to create an incident outside territorial waters. After steaming around threateningly for about an hour, the Georgette headed back to Fremantle and Catalpa slipped away into the Indian Ocean.

Aftermath

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 6 June and released the news to the press. The news sparked celebrations in the United States and Ireland and anger in Britain and Australia. The Catalpa returned to New York on 19 August 1876.
In November 1876, seven months after the escape, the Georgette sank near Busselton.
George Smith Anthony remained in New Bedford with his wife and children, never returning to sea. He was appointed New Bedford Port Inspector in 1886. With the help of a journalist, Z. W. Pease, he published an account of his journey, , in 1897. He died in 1913.
Thomas Desmond went on to become Sheriff of San Francisco from 1880-81
John Breslin returned as a hero. He continued contact with the Clan Na Gael and Devoy, and died in 1887.
The Catalpa was presented as a gift to Captain Anthony, John Richardson and Henry Hathaway. It was eventually sold and turned into a coal barge. Not of great value in this capacity, Catalpa was finally condemned at the port of Belize, British Honduras.

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 on board the Hougoumont, even publishing a shipboard newspaper entitled The Wild Goose.
In 1976 a memorial stone was erected in New Bedford, Massachusetts, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the rescue. New Bedford was the home port of Catalpa.

Exhibition

From 22 September 2006 to 3 December 2006 an exhibition, called "Escape: Fremantle to Freedom," opened at Fremantle Prison displaying many artefacts relating to the Catalpa rescue. The exhibition received over 20,000 visitors.

In song

''Catalpa'' escape legacy