How convict who escaped Tassie to Chile in stolen boat was hailed a hero and dodged the noose
Convict James Porter and his crewmates were viewed as mutineer scum when they escaped Australia in a leaky stolen boat, but were later hailed as heroes in their new home 10,000km away.
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When larrikin convict James Porter escaped Van Diemen’s Land by stealing a leaky ship and sailing 10,000km to Chile in 1834, he and his crewmates were hailed as heroes.
Porter’s audacious escape from the Macquarie Harbour penal colony is shared in a two-part series of the In Black and White podcast on Australia’s forgotten characters, with Part 2 out today.
The 10 men sank their ship, the Frederick, offshore and made up a fanciful story when they reached Chile, claiming to be shipwrecked sailors from Liverpool in distress.
But Sydney writer Adam Courtenay says even when the truth emerged that the men were escaped convicts from Van Diemen’s Land, they were welcomed with open arms.
“The governor said at that point, ‘I don’t see why you shouldn’t have your liberty. You’ve done nothing wrong in our jurisdiction. You’re running away from the British tyranny,’” says Courtenay, who tells Porter’s story in the 2018 book The Ship That Never Was.
READ PART 1 OF JAMES PORTER’S STORY HERE.
The 10 men behind what Courtenay dubs “the greatest escape story of Australian colonial history” were viewed in Chile not as criminals, but as men fighting for their own freedom.
So the escapees enjoyed the good life in Chile, became model citizens and found secure jobs in carpentry and ship building. Some married local women and had children.
While the escapees became celebrities and their whereabouts were well-known worldwide, it took another two years until British authorities caught up with them.
By then, only Porter and three others remained in Chile.
They were hauled back to England and then Hobart and put on trial for piracy, but by a stroke of luck escaped the noose on a technicality, and were sent to the Norfolk Island penal colony.
Later Porter was sent to Newcastle, still a convict, and in 1847 made one final escape, probably finding work as a crew member aboard a ship.
“We think that he took the ship all the way to New Zealand and was never heard of again,” Courtenay says.
“He finally made his escape, but it took him 22 or 23 years to absolutely get away from the authorities.”
Listen now to the interview with author Adam Courtenay in today’s new free episode of the In Black and White podcast on Australia’s forgotten characters on Apple/iTunes, Spotify, web or your favourite platform.
And listen to our previous double episode with Adam Courtenay on escaped convict William Buckley, who lived with an Aboriginal clan in Victoria for 32 years.
And see In Black & White in the Herald Sun newspaper Monday to Friday for more stories and photos from Victoria’s past.