Pauline Deeves - Get Me Out of Here!: Foolish and Fearless Convict Escapes

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PAULINE DEEVES

has been a teacher for more than 30 years with experience from kindergarten to college, including 15 years as a teacher librarian. She has contributed to many educational and childrens publications and reviewed manuscripts for educational publishers. Pauline has published more than 200 magazine articles in Australia and overseas and written several books. She is a regular visitor to schools, presenting writing workshops for both students and teachers.

BRENT WILSON

is an illustrator whose art is characterised by a playful mid-century aesthetic. With its bold colours, loose lines and jaunty characters, his work inspires nostalgia for the childrens books and advertising campaigns of the 1950s and 60s. His illustrations regularly appear in major national publications and, recently, Brent illustrated the childrens book Koalas Like To ... by Shae Millward, which was shortlisted for the 2021 Australian Book Design Awards.

With thanks to Susan Hall, Penny OHara (National Library of Australia), George Nichols, Beatrice Barnett PD

First published by Allen & Unwin in 2022

Copyright Text, Pauline Deeves 2022
Copyright Illustrations, Brent Wilson 2022

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Allen & Unwin
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ISBN 978 1 76052 699 3
eISBN 978 1 76106 445 6

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Illustration technique: hand-drawn digitally on a tablet

Cover and text design by Andy Warren
Cover and internal illustration by Brent Wilson

CHAPTER 1

IF AT FIRST YOU DONT SUCCEED:

Moondyne Joes Story

NAME

Joseph Bolitho Johns, also known as Moondyne Joe

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DATE OF BIRTH

Around 1826

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BIRTHPLACE

Wales, or Cornwall, England

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OCCUPATION

Miner

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DESCRIPTION

Tall, black hair, hazel eyes, pockmarked

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CRIME

Stealing food

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SENTENCE

10 years

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TRANSPORTED TO

Western Australia

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ARRIVED IN AUSTRALIA

1853

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ESCAPED FROM

Fremantle prison

I cant believe it. I was captured while I was asleep and now Im back in gaol. Again.

Governor Hampton is saying all sorts of things about me. That Im a scoundrel and a rascal and that Im setting a bad example for the other convicts. Hes angry at me for escaping. And hes angry at his son for letting me escape. His son is supposed to be in charge of the convicts and making sure everything goes smoothly. Instead, convicts are escaping all over the place.

But you cant believe everything they say about me! Like the time they said I stole a horse. I had built a fence around a pool of water and left a gap just big enough for a horse to come in and have a drink. Could I help it if one just wandered in and started drinking? And could I help it if Im a kind sort of fellow and I thought I should take it and look after it? I put my brand on its neck to show it was mine. How was I to know that horse belonged to someone else?

The police came after me and said I had stolen it. They put me in the local gaol in a cell with a big lock on the door. They put the horse in the police stables and said it was evidence. They were going to show the magistrate the brand on the horse, and then Id be sentenced to stay in gaol for a long time. Well, I thought, if the horse disappeared, there would be no evidence. Theyd have to let me go then.

The police gave me dinner and they gave me a knife and fork. A good strong knife to cut my meat or perhaps loosen the screws on the lock. I did cut my meat, and then that lock came loose in the twinkle of an eye. Then I was in the police stables and it seemed a good idea to ride the horse out of there. No horse, no evidence. Simple!

Of course, I needed a saddle and bridle and there was a brand new one right there. How was I supposed to know they belonged to the magistrate the magistrate who was going to sentence me.

I headed home and Idid what I had to do. Then I disappeared on foot into the bush. Its not hard to survive out there, you know. I reckon I would have, too but somehow they managed to find me! They gave me three years in gaol.

I heard that they found the horse later. Someone had shot it dead, hidden the head and neck and scraped away the skin where I had put my brand. Now who would do a thing like that?

Then theres that other story they tell about me, about the time I was out working on a road gang with chains on my feet. Annoying things, chains. They rub your skin and make your legs ache. Could I help it if my chains fell off? Maybe I helped them fall off, but I wasnt going to stay around and work on the roads if I could slip off into the bush. I was on the run for a month before they finally tracked me down.

They say Im always breaking things to try and get away, but can I help it if things are always falling apart when Im around? Like the time I was in a prison cell and the window of my cell came loose. I hardly touched it! I thought I might as well get a bit of fresh air, and I found myself getting over the prison walls.

I decided it might be safer if I went to live in South Australia. I knew there would be a bit of a desert to cross before I arrived, but I thought if I prepared well I would make it. I robbed a couple of stores and got all the supplies I needed. The day I robbed the store in Toodyay was the day the Governor just happened to be visiting. Some people say I did it just to embarrass him. Now, why would I do that ...