South West Life

John Boyle O'Reilley is an interesting choice as one of WA's famous sons. In fact he was here for a few short months, and the most famous thing he did while he was here was.... leave.

JB was arrested in 1866 for being a fenian, or Irish Republican. He was enlisted in the British 10th Hussars at the time and the charge related to mutiny and carried a penalty of death. He was transported to WA aboard the Hougoumont, the last ship which carried convicts to help in the development of the colony, along with free settlers escaping the lives they had in Britain, and of course military personnel as guards (see our earlier story on Enrolled Pensioner Guards).

Upon arrival in Fremantle in 1868, convicts were assigned to a range of tasks, and JB was fortunate enough to be sent to the South West. The roads in and around Bunbury needed a little touching up, and John was put on the job. As an Irish prisoner, he was not hard pressed to find a friendly face, and before long established a relationship with the local catholic priest and both Irish and English free settlers.

On the evening of February 17, 1869 John Boyle O'Reilley and a new friend travelled out to the northern end of the Leschenault inlet, and began a wait of more than two weeks in hiding until the American whaler Gazelle arrived and took him from the beach. History records that the english family living in Buffalo Homestead and farming there gave John shelter. On November 23, 1869 the Gazelle landed JB O'Reilley in Philadelphia, free to start another chapter in a remarkable life.

JB was a writer, and worked for a time on the Wild Goose, a paper for republican Irishment in the USA. We know that at one point he was the editor of the Boston Post.

Then as now, media owners carried significant influence, and stories circulate that John became mayor of the City of Chicago. We couldn't find confirmation but we're not finished looking. Not bad for an escaped prisoner from Bunbury (who never finished fixing the roads). We know that some time later JB and a friend had enough money between them to buy a whaling boat.

John was also a bit of a poet, who seemed to capture the mood of the nation there and has been quoted in speeches by a number of US presidents.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the story was the fact that John didn't forget his mates. On April 17, 1876, six convicts escaped from Fremantle prison and travelled to Rockingham. They rowed 12 miles out into the darkness and were picked up by an American Whaler (if the plan's not broken, why would you fix it?). This was noticed by the guards this time, and the British military commandeered a ship which they hastily fitted with a cannon and gave chase. The ship was the Steamer Georgette, but unfortunately for the guards there wasn't a full store of coal on board and they weren't able to get the convicts back.

So did JB learn about mateship during his stay in Western Australia? Or did the Fenian ethic take root here and develop into something which we would later claim as our own?

The story of John Boyle O'Reilley is celebrated around the South West in a number of ways. The Dardy pub has the JB Orielly bar, and interpretive material about the escape can be seen at Buffalo Beach where the flight across the ocean started, and at the base of the lookout on Marlston Hill. Worth checking out.

To find out what eventually happened to the Georgette, read our story on Grace Bussell.