As dusk came down on the evening of 13 January 1834, James Porter and nine
other convicts, transported at His Majesty’s Pleasure to Van Diemen’s Land,
captured the newly launched barque the Frederick from their British masters.
James Porter had spent the majority of his days since transportation planning
how he would escape. Though he had mastered the art of fleeing his captors, he
had not ever managed to stay free for long. He hoped he and his fellow ship
thieves would fare better on this occasion.
Rather than aim for a new life on the harsh islands of Bass Strait or the
isolated coasts of New Zealand, the men decided to make their way to Valdivia,
on the coast of Chile. Six thousand miles away on the other side of the Pacific,
surely they could evade the British and assume new identities as shipwrecked
mariners?
But the might of the British Empire was not to take the piracy and escape of
ten convicts lightly and after surviving the perilous journey (an amazing feat
of seamanship) and starting to make a new life in a small town on the edge of
the South American continent, there freedom was cut short.
Following on from her bestselling book 'The Floating Brothel', Sian Rees has
again used her talent for shedding light on fascinating characters in our
history with this account of the tenacity and resilience of James Porter,
Australian convict, ship thief and rogue.
Contents:
1. The Chain Gang
2. A Place of Ultra Banishment
3. The Boat Crew
4. Leaving the Island of Misery
5. North Until the Butter Melts
6. The Coast of Araucania
7. Playing Cat and Mouse
8. The 'Blonde' and the 'Beagle'
9. The Persistence of Colonel Walpole
10. The Voyage of the 'Sarah'
11. The Piracy Trial
12. The Infernal Regions
Epilogue
A Note on Sources
Acknowledgements
Picture Acknowledgements
Index
Reviews:
'as good as popular history gets ... exceptional' - Sydney Morning Herald
