Based on the story of the Irish Fenians transported to the Convict Establishment at Fremantle in 1868, the exhibition charts the successful escape of their leader, John Boyle O'Reilly a year later on an American whaler, and the remaining Fenians in 1876 on board the American whaler Catalpa.

The Fenians were amongst the last convicts to be sent to Western Australia and their arrival signalled the end of the convict era in Australia. The exhibition traces the story from Ireland, to Australia, to the USA, and examines convict life in Australia's last convict prison.

On 21 September 2006, Escape! From Fremantle to Freedom was launched at Fremantle Prison. Escape! is now on tour across the country with the support of Visions of Australia.

Exhibition material includes artefacts, artworks, film, books, letters, diaries, photographs and uniforms from Ireland, Australia and the USA. Highlights are:

• The Wild Goose newsletters written by the Fenians on board the Hougoumont during the voyage to Australia, and the 1871 conditional pardon of John Flood, one of the Fenians' with wax seal from the State Library of NSW
• Fenian convict diaries from on board the Hougoumont - National Library of Ireland
• A unique John Boyle O'Reilly book of poems from the Battye Library, State Library of WA never publicly shown before
• Artworks, maps, photographs and historic newspaper articles from the time
• Western Australian Convict and Enrolled Pensioner Guard uniforms
• Rare convict artefacts from Fremantle Prison Collection
• Rare Fenian material from Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin and the National Museum of Ireland including the death mask of John Boyle O'Reilly
• Government documents from the enquiry, WA State Archives, State Library of WA

For more info see Sandra Murray’s essay featured in the Australian National Maritime Museum's quarterly journal Signals.

Click here for the Escape! Fremantle to Freedom essay from Signals in PDF format (934kB).

Click here for the Escape! Fremantle to Freedom text of the Signals text only PDF (32kB).

Touring Details

The exhibition is touring nationally with funding from Visions of Australia, an Australian Government Initiative:

Australian National Maritime Museum
10 August - 25 November 2007
2 Murray St
Darling Harbour, Sydney
open daily 9.30 - 5.00
exhibition admission free
tel: 02 9298 3777
www.anmm.gov.au

Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens
15 December 2007 - 24 February 2008
Hobart, Tasmania
Open daily 10.00 – 4.30
exhibition admission free
tel: 03 6236 3075
www.rtbg.tas.gov.au

South Australian Maritime Museum
13 March – 1 June 2008
Port Adelaide, South Australia
Open daily 10.00 – 5.00
tel: 08 8207 6255
www.history.sa.gov.au

The exhibition is supported by Visions of Australia, an Australian Government program supporting touring exhibitions by providing funding assistance for the development and touring of cultural material across Australia.