The wagon hit the bridge side and tilted. The load of barrels slowly slid sideways towards the bridge edge. The barrels spilled from the tray and rolled down into the creek bed thirty feet below, several of the barrels split on impact showering their contents into the air. The wagon was left hanging on the edge supported by several bridge uprights. The broken barrel panels floated down the creek eventually jamming into a narrow neck of the stream under a large and heavily foliaged tree which hid the barrels effectively. These barrels would be an eventual means of escape.
The two constables and Seamus were unharmed by their desperate jump and walked down to the bridge. Only two barrels appeared to be undamaged. One other barrel was lying on the bank and was split open, but otherwise intact. They climbed down and were pleased to find the split barrel on the bank contained beer.
They had two mugs in their packs and so decided to have a drink, ‘On the house’.
The horses eventually arrived back at the Neck. They had travelled the road before so it was natural they would follow the road back to Port Arthur. A search team was organized the next morning and they found the three of them late that evening sitting under a tree sheltering from the light rain that was falling. The group was worse for wear due to exposure to the cold night air and wet weather. Beer was not mentioned! The search team pulled two intact barrels from the creek and dragged the wagon back onto the road, hitched up the horses, loaded the two barrels and headed back to Port Arthur.
Michael knew Seamus was missing and wondered whether he had seen an opportunity to escape and taken it. He would miss Seamus’s company and hoped he had made good his escape. However when Seamus returned with the search party he was pleased but soon felt guilty that he did not feel disappointed that Seamus had not escaped. When Seamus told Michael the details of the incident, he immediately showed interest in where the creek flowed.
Seamus asked, “Why? What do have in mind?”
Michael said, “Perhaps the wood and the hoops can be used for a small boat.” Michael still had visions of paddling across Norfolk Bay then traveling to Sorell, up past Richmond and then north to get passage across Bass Strait to Victoria. He had access to woodworking tools. All he needed were these materials and the opportunity.
Michael explained his plan. He thought he could reassemble five barrels and bolt four of them together in a square. Then cut two holes for Seamus and him to sit in. The fifth barrel would be connected to one side of the bolted barrels; this would stop the four barrels from rolling over. Paddles could be shaped from other barrel pieces. All he needed now was to locate the broken barrels and find the opportunity to build his ‘boat’.
Michael made a mission of learning the topography of the Port Arthur area. He managed to plot the initial course of the creek to a spot about a mile from the bridge. He decided to explore this area whenever the chance arose. This chance happened sooner than he expected. He was assigned to a working party to locate suitable timber for a twenty foot fishing boat.
As the shipwright he was virtually leading the party with the guard only following. He led the party near to the creek and asked them to spread out and head north. He told them what type of tree and what height he wanted. He went to the creek and headed in the same direction. The creek widened as it got nearer to the coast and, looking downstream, he could see a narrowed section with several large trees across it. As he got closer he could see some of the broken barrels in a small backwater. He went closer and saw that there were over a dozen barrels trapped in the inlet. As a bonus he saw the area was quite close to Norfolk Bay. After an examination of the damage to the barrels, he was satisfied that he would have sufficient intact wooden barrel panels to be able to assemble his boat. He then decided to meet up with the rest of the party and find out if they had located any suitable trees, which fortunately they had.
This now gave him the perfect opportunity to build his boat when the trees were being trimmed for transporting to the ship yard. Over the next two weeks Michael managed to find an hour or two away from the work party to assemble the barrels. He found sufficient hoops to wedge the wood panels together. He then filled the barrels with water to allow them to swell and become water tight. After a week he emptied the water and bolted the five barrels together then wedged the boat at the top of a steep section of the creek. After hiding the boat under a covering of ferns Michael returned to his work party, full of anticipation of the future.
Michael and Seamus decided to wait for a night with cloud, no moon and a southerly wind blowing. Michael tracked the tides from what he had learnt on his previous trips to the creek. He hoped the night would be an outgoing tide in Norfolk Bay. They intended to create a fire at the saw mill and if the smoke was dense enough it might blind the semaphore lookouts from seeing them. The semaphore lookout system of signals were relayed across the island settlement onto Hobart within five minutes. This advised of an escaped convict, or bolter, as they were commonly called. It was manned by convicts and was extremely efficient. Michael hoped to nullify their effectiveness during their escape attempt.
The saw mill had accumulated a large pile of sawdust, forty feet by twelve feet, adjacent the timber storage area. The sawdust was used in the manufacturing of mud bricks and was mixed with some adhesives to fill in gaps in woodwork. Over a period of two weeks Michael had assigned Seamus to work on the sawdust pile. To all intents Seamus was moving the pile of new sawdust from the saw mill onto the pile. However, he was, in fact, creating a one foot tunnel by placing half sections of tree bark upside down to form a hollow into the centre of the pile. Thomas had volunteered to light an oil soaked rag on the end of a long pole and poke the pole deep into the sawdust pile. This was to be done at the end of the work day just before the guards came to march them all back to their quarters.
Michael had moved two small dinghies near to the pile and the entry to the tunnel. A small hot coal from the steamer used to bend wood would be collected in a tin and taken to the pole and oil cloth which would be positioned between the dinghies. It was expected that the smoke would appear within two hours and the sawdust would be well alight internally and generate a considerable amount of smoke.
The plan was now in place but needed to be carried out before Thomas was released. They had already waited two weeks. Michael had been closely watching the weather patterns over the last three days and now was the time.
The next morning arrived and the three friends wished each other luck, hoping to meet again one day.
Michael took a team of workers, including Seamus, to collect some felled timber. They worked quickly and had all the timber loaded by late afternoon. The work party started back with the constable riding on the first wagon. Michael knew the constable from many previous work parties. He asked him if he and Seamus could mark some more trees, then they would head straight back to their quarters, as he didn’t wish to come back tomorrow for only one hour of work. He knew the constable would agree and he did!
Michael and Seamus immediately ran to where they had hidden the barrel boat. They launched it by sliding it down the bank. They checked it for leaks, stepped in and started to paddle downstream. Michael noticed the tide was high but he was unsure how long it had been high. He needed the tide to turn within the hour as it would be dark by then and they would be in the bay. It would give them several hours paddling with an outgoing tide and a good speed. The craft was easy to handle and had plenty of freeboard so it could handle a small choppy sea. The southerly wind was blowing at around ten to twenty knots which would carry the saw dust smoke directly at the nearest semaphore station.
They had been rowing for nearly an hour when Seamus pointed excitedly to the sky. White smoke was blowing from the south. Thomas had succeeded in igniting the sawdust. Their plan was working. It was dark now and Michael was pleased to see the tide was running out.
The men paddled out of the creek entrance into Norfolk Bay hugging the shore. Seamus looked back and could not see the semaphore station; it was enveloped i
n smoke. The night was very dark with no moon and total cloud and it made hugging the shore line difficult. Seamus suggested moving out a hundred yards or so to head in a straighter line. Michael agreed and they made better progress.
They rowed for over two hours but then suddenly Michael heard the sound of oars slapping the water and voices. He steered into shore and hid under a large tree with branches that hung to the water. It was a patrol boat from Port Arthur. Michael knew that they had a boat which patrolled the bay and he also knew of the risk of being detected. They held their breaths as it got closer and closer. They could hear the crew talking but they did not appear to be searching for anyone; they were more intent at looking back towards the prison. Michael and Seamus waited for the boat to vanish into the darkness and the crew’s voices to no longer be heard before they started paddling again. When they moved away from the shore Seamus looked back and could see the redness in the sky. The fire was well under way. The plan had worked.
They now had to cross the bay to reach the northern shore. The wind was stronger in the middle and there were small choppy waves. They both paddled silently, each with their own concerns — Seamus worried about the choppy seas and Michael wondering when the tide was going to stop running out of the bay.
They had been paddling now for around six hours. The lights of a farm house appeared out of the darkness and soon the shoreline became visible with a small beach to their right. The barrel boat touched the sandy bottom and both men had difficulty trying to stand up after squatting in their barrel for so long. After a good long stretch, they looked around but could see no sign of life. Where were they?
Michael guessed they were near a place called Carlton Beach, from what he had heard from convicts at the prison. He decided not to sink the boat but let it float back into Norfolk Bay. It would confuse the eventual search parties as to where they had landed. He found out later that it did. The search parties went south east as they believed that the escapees headed up the east coast of the colony. The fire had caused considerable confusion as the fire fighting facilities consisted of a bucket brigade and a team of not very enthusiastic convicts. The heat and the smoke were intense and the commandant was concerned that the fire would spread to the valuable timber ready for cartage to Hobart Town.
It took until dawn to get the fire under control. Three other convicts had tried to escape during the night but were caught in Port Arthur. Michael and Seamus were not identified as missing until breakfast roll call.
The commandant said of Michael, “I knew I shouldn’t have told him that we had no replacement for him.”
Michael and Seamus decided to walk as far as they could in the darkness and find a safe site to sleep during the next day. They walked adjacent the western coast line. They saw two homesteads and gave them a very wide berth to avoid their dogs hearing them. They stopped walking when the sun started to appear in the east. Michael was pleased he now knew that they had walked north as planned.
They found a wooded section with some ferns which they broke off to make into a makeshift bed. The two exhausted men slept until late afternoon.
Seamus showed his poaching skills by catching possums and kangaroos. The animals were plentiful and easily trapped in his snares. He sometimes snared a devil, which he let go. This small animal had a large head with sharp teeth and they were too vicious to handle and kill. It was a thickset furry animal which grew to around twenty inches long and was unique to Van Diemen’s Land.
The creeks had eels and fish. The eels were difficult to snare but the fish were easily caught. Sometimes they managed to spear a fish and if they were lucky they would find swan eggs.
One morning Michael was sitting quietly on a creek bank looking into the water when he realised he was looking at an animal that he not seen before. It had a duck’s bill, a body like a beaver and four webbed clawed feet and was swimming slowly along the creek, occasionally stirring up the creek bed with its bill. He had read a few articles on the unique animals of these colonies and guessed correctly that the animal was a platypus. He sat there mesmerised by the sight and the antics of the animal and did not move until the platypus vanished downstream.
They continued walking north avoiding farms and roads. The terrain was mostly flat and fortunately the weather was good with sunny days and mild nights. Once they saw a military squad in the distance and so changed direction to move east in the opposite direction.
After walking for four days, they reached Sorell and were fortunate that they arrived on the day of the weekly market. They went to the market at first light when there were few people around. They traded two kangaroo hind legs for two loaves of bread, a packet of matches and a flagon of milk. Michael and Seamus had had plenty to eat but had missed the luxury of having bread. Then they immediately left the town and quickly headed north towards Richmond, through the bush, avoiding the roads and bush tracks.
They were crossing a dirt track when they heard a woman talking. Skirting a row of trees they stepped out and came face to face with a farmer and a heavily pregnant woman. The four stood, startled, and looked at each other for a second or two.
The farmer moved in front of his wife and held up a shovel to protect her.
Michael could see that their wagon was bogged deep in a wheel rut mud hole. He spoke first. “We mean you no harm. Can we help you?” Michael’s soft Irish voice allayed their fears.
“We have been stranded here since last night and I want to get my wife home quickly,” said the farmer.
Michael and Seamus nodded and looked at each other. They moved to the wagon to see for themselves. The cargo had been unloaded by the farmer and he had dug a long trench in front of the wheel but the wheel was still sunk in the mud.
“Why not try to dig it out backwards?” suggested Seamus. They all agreed to give this method a try. They dug a long trench until the soil appeared less muddy. Then the horse was hitched to the middle of the back of the wagon and after a lot of shouting, pushing by the men and pulling by the horse the cart came free.
The woman was in tears of delight. The farmer asked Seamus where he had learnt the trick and Seamus told him of his farming and poaching days.
The farmer laughed. “I thought you might be thieves. I didn’t think of you as a poacher. So that’s why you were a convict. What about your friend?” He turned to Michael. “What did you do?” When Michael told him, the farmer said, “Good for you.”
The farmer stood looking at them and after sizing them up he said, “I owe you for your help today. I need farm labourers and there are none available. Would you like to work for me? I live a fair way out from the towns and villages and after growing my vegetables and fruit I lose too much time traveling to markets to sell them. I can make more if I travel and you do much of the farming. I also have some sheep that need crutching and shearing once a year. Plus I need to extend the farmhouse. I’ll pay you and give you board and keep and a change of clothes so that you can burn your prison clothes. Come with me now, rest up and think about my offer.”
Michael and Seamus agreed to accept the farmer’s offer to rest up, and to think about his proposition. The wagon ride took around four hours. During this time the farmer’s wife was very quiet. Her face was drawn with worry. She wanted to be home safe and comfortable in her farm.
The farm was situated in a small valley close to a deep creek. The farmhouse was well built and surrounded by two other buildings and a small orchard. The land was well grassed and they could see sheep grazing on the hillside. Across the creek, via a sturdy wooden bridge, were several large vegetable plots. The vegetables ensured a constant income not like grain food which was not only seasonal but suspect to weather conditions.
Michael guessed the farmer had cleared around two hundred acres for cultivation and grazing. He felt a pang of sadness; the scene reminded him of home.
The farmer’s name was Albert Alford and his wife was Heather. They were free settlers from Yeovil in Somerset and had come out with their parents thi
rty years ago. Albert’s parents were farmers and lived near Orford on the east coast on a large sheep property. His father was also the Shire President and a leader in the local community.
“My parents often visit and will no doubt come to see the new baby,” he said. “You will meet them if you accept my offer.” Seeing the looks on their faces, the farmer laughed. “Don’t worry; my father has no liking for the British system as it is now. He’s a self-made man who received no help on his way up the ladder. Incidentally, my mother is Irish from Tipperary; her maiden name was Breen, so have no fear.” He looked at the mantle clock. “Now let’s get you sorted out with a bath and some clothes and then I’ll see how my wife is faring. She is close to her time.”
Albert continued, “I hope it is an easy birth. She refused to go to town or have a midwife. I did one year of medicine at university and she keeps telling me she has complete confidence in me.”
One of the two buildings outside was the labourers’ quarters. It was spacious and clean and had three small rooms. There was a bath at the end of the quarters with water heated over an open fire. After they had bathed Albert brought in some clothes and suggested that they try them on for fit and then burn the prison clothes in the open fire and to do a good job of burning them.
The Convict and the Soldier Page 14
