Joseph Bolitho Johns ( February 1826 – 13 August 1900), better known as Moondyne Joe, was an English

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convicts ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

's best-known

bushranger Bushrangers were armed robbers and outlaws who resided in The bush#Australia, the Australian bush between the 1780s and the early 20th century. The original use of the term dates back to the early years of the British colonisation of Australia ...

. Born into poor and relatively difficult circumstances, he became something of a petty criminal

robber Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...

with a strong sense of

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

. He is remembered as a person who had escaped multiple times from prison.

Biography

Childhood

Some say he was born in Cornwall but an online ANU source quotes him as being born in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, around 1826-27, and raised as a Protestant. He was baptised in the Parish Church at Wendron, married at Johnston Memorial Congregational church at Fremantle, and buried in the Anglican section of Fremantle Cemetery. Despite claims that he was Roman Catholic, there is no evidence for this and would be incredibly unusual in Cornwall. He was the third of three children of

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

Thomas Johns (1799–1833) and his wife Mary Bolitho (1804–1860). Joe was a tall man with black hair and hazel-coloured eyes, and it is likely that he contracted

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

in his youth as, later, records describe him as "pockmarked". His father died some time in 1833, and Johns and his brother took work as

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face (mining), face; cutt ...

s. In 1841 the family was living at Porkellis, Cornwall, but by 1848 Johns had migrated to

, taking work as an

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

miner, probably at the Clydach Iron Works.

Prison

On 15 November 1848, Johns and an associate using the name William Cross, the pseudonym for the convict

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

, were arrested near

Chepstow Chepstow () is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western end of the ...

for "

stealing Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal short ...

from the house of Richard Price, three loaves of bread, one piece of bacon, several cheeses, and other goods". Arraigned at the

Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...

Assizes The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

on charges of

burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) or housebreaking, is a property crime involving the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal offence. Usually ...

and stealing, the pair

plea In law, a plea is a defendant's response to a criminal charge. A defendant may plead guilty or not guilty. Depending on jurisdiction, additional pleas may be available, including '' nolo contendere'' (no contest), no case to answer (in the ...

ded not guilty. On 23 March, they were tried at the Lent Assizes before Sir

William Erle Sir William Erle Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (1 October 179328 January 1880) was an English lawyer, judge and Whigs (British political party), Whig politician. Early career Born at Fifehead M ...

. Newspaper reports of the trial suggest that the pair gave an unexpectedly spirited defence, but Johns was abrasive and "contravened the conventions of court procedure". The men were convicted and sentenced to ten years'

penal servitude Penal labour is a term for various kinds of forced labour that prisoners are required to perform, typically manual labour. The work may be light or hard, depending on the context. Forms of sentence involving penal labour have included inv ...

. W. J. Edgar (1990) observes that in several other cases brought before the same judge that day, guilty pleas to very similar charges resulted in sentences ranging from three weeks to three months. Johns and Williams were to spend the next seven months working on a government work party in the local area, before being transferred to

Millbank Prison Millbank Prison or Millbank Penitentiary was a prison in Millbank, Westminster, London, originally constructed as the National Penitentiary, and which for part of its history served as a holding facility for convicted prisoners before they were p ...

. On 1 January 1850, they were transferred to

Pentonville Prison HM Prison Pentonville (informally "The Ville") is an English Category B men's prison, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Pentonville Prison is not in Pentonville, but is located further north, on the Caledonian Road in the Barnsbury ar ...

to serve their mandatory six months of

solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...

. The pair were transferred to

Dartmoor Prison HM Prison Dartmoor is a Prison security categories in the United Kingdom, Category C men's prison, located in Princetown, England, Princetown, high on Dartmoor in the English county of Devon. Its high granite walls dominate this area of the mo ...

on 21 October 1851, but shortly afterwards Johns was transferred to the

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

prison hulk A prison ship, is a current or former seagoing vessel that has been modified to become a place of substantive detention for convicts, prisoner of war, prisoners of war or civilian internees. Some prison ships were hulk (ship type), hulked. W ...

''Justitia'', probably for disciplinary reasons. When the ''Justitia'' was destroyed by fire, he was transferred to the ''Defence''. About a year later, he boarded the prison ship ''

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

'' for

transportation Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

to what was then the British

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer ...

to serve out the remainder of his sentence. In turn, Williams was transported to

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...

in March 1852.

Australia bound

''Pyrenees'' sailed for Western Australia on 2 February 1853, and arrived in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

on 30 April. In reward for good behaviour, Johns was issued with a

ticket of leave A ticket of leave was a document of parole issued to convicts who had shown they could now be trusted with some freedoms. Originally the ticket was issued in United Kingdom, Britain and later adapted by the United States, Canada, and Ireland. ...

on arrival, and on 10 March 1855 he received a conditional pardon. He then settled in the Avon Valley, one of the most rugged and inaccessible places in the

Darling Range The Darling Scarp (), also referred to as the Darling Range or Darling Ranges, is a low escarpment running north–south to the east of the Swan Coastal Plain and Perth, Western Australia. The escarpment extends generally north of Bindoon, West ...

. The Aboriginal name for the area was ''Moondyne''. Johns made a living by partly fencing the springs in the area, and trapping escaped stock and horses. Often a reward was offered for the return of such animals. In August 1861, Johns caught an unbranded stallion and branded it with his own mark. This was effectively horse stealing, and when the police heard of this they arrested him at their first opportunity. The horse was taken as evidence, and Johns was placed in the Toodyay lockup. Sometime during the night, Johns broke out of his cell, and stole the horse once more, taking also the local magistrate's brand-new saddle and bridle. He was caught the next day but, while on the run, he had killed the horse and cut his brand out of the hide, thus destroying the evidence. Consequently, he received only a three-year sentence for jail-breaking, whereas a typical sentence for horse stealing was more than ten years. Republished in 1998 by Carlisle, Western Australia: Hesperian Press. . While Johns was serving his sentence, there was a rash of convict escapes and attempted escapes, but Johns remained well behaved. His good behaviour earned him a remission on his sentence, and he was released on a ticket of leave in February 1864. He then found work on Henry Martin's farm in Kelmscott. In January 1865, a

steer Steer(s) or steering may refer to: Animals * Steer or bullock, castrated male cattle * Ox, a bovine (usually a steer) used as a draft animal People * Steer (surname) * Steers (surname) Places * Steer Creek (West Virginia), a tributary ...

named "Bright" belonging to William Wallace was killed, and Johns was accused of the deed. He was arrested on 29 March, found guilty on 5 July, and sentenced to ten years' penal servitude. Johns was to protest his innocence of this crime for the rest of his life. He was determined not to serve what he felt was an unjust sentence and, in early November, he and another prisoner absconded from a work party. They were on the run for nearly a month, during which time they committed a number of small robberies. It was during this time that Johns first adopted the nickname ''Moondyne Joe''. They were finally caught east of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

by a party of policemen that included Tommy Windich, an

Aboriginal tracker Aboriginal trackers were enlisted by Europeans in the years following History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation of Australia, to assist them in exploring the Australian landscape. The excellent tracking skills of these Aboriginal ...

. For absconding and for being in possession of a firearm, Johns was sentenced to twelve months in irons, and transferred to

Fremantle Prison Fremantle Prison, sometimes referred to as Fremantle Gaol or Fremantle Jail, is a former Australian prison and World Heritage Site in Fremantle, Western Australia. The site includes the prison cellblocks, gatehouse, perimeter walls, cottages, ...

Escape

In April 1866, Johns sent a petition to the Chief Justice, and received four years off his sentence. This was apparently unsatisfactory to him for, in July, he received a further six months in irons for trying to cut the lock out of his door. Early in August, he succeeded in escaping again. After cutting off his irons, he met up with three other escapees, and together they roamed the bush around Perth, committing a number of robberies and narrowly escaping capture on a number of occasions. Near the end of the month, one of the gang was captured by police. Realising that the gang could not elude the police forever, Johns formulated a plan to escape the colony by travelling overland to the colony of South Australia. This would be a long and arduous journey through extremely arid land, and the gang would have to be very well equipped if it were to stand any chance of success. On 5 September, Johns equipped his company by committing the biggest robbery of his career, stealing supplies and equipment from the Toodyay store of an old enemy, James Everett. The gang then started travelling east along the explorer Charles Hunt's established route. Their tracks were discovered by police on 26 September, about east of York. A team of police then set out after them, and they were captured on 29 September 1866 at Boodalin Soak, about north-west of the present-day site of the town of Westonia, approximately north-east of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Hard labour

As punishment for escaping and for the robberies committed while on the run, Johns received five years' hard labour on top of his remaining sentence. Extraordinary measures were taken to ensure that Johns did not escape again. He was sent to

, and kept in the yard with his neck chained to the iron bar of a window, while a special "escape-proof" cell was made for him. The stone-walled cell was lined with

jarrah ''Eucalyptus marginata'', commonly known as jarrah, in Noongar language and historically as Swan River mahogany, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tree with rough, fibro ...

sleepers and over one thousand nails, and was almost air-proof and light-proof. Johns was kept in the cell on a bread and water diet, with only one to two hours of exercise a day. In early 1867, due to his diminishing health, Johns was set to work breaking stone in the open air but, rather than permit him to leave the prison, the acting comptroller-general ordered that the stone be brought in and dumped in a corner of the prison yard, where Johns worked under the constant supervision of a warder.

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

John Hampton was so confident of the arrangements, he was heard to say to Johns: "If you get out again, I'll forgive you". However, the rock broken by Johns was not removed regularly, and eventually a pile grew up until it obscured the guard's view of him below the waist. Partially hidden behind the pile of rocks, he occasionally swung his

sledgehammer A sledgehammer is a tool with a large, flat, massive, often metal head, attached to a long wooden or solid handle. The long handle is combined with a heavy head which allows the sledgehammer to pick up momentum during a swing and applying a large ...

at the

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

wall of the prison. On 7 March 1867, Johns escaped through a hole he had made in the prison wall. Despite an extensive manhunt, no sign of him was found, and he would not be recaptured for nearly two years. He did not return to any of his old haunts, and he committed no crimes, so the authorities received very little information about him. Also, many convicts were encouraged by Johns' audacious escape, and a number of escapes were attempted in the following months, so that he was quickly forgotten. On 25 February 1869, Johns tried to steal some wine from the cellars at

Houghton Winery Houghton Wines is an Australian winery originating in the Swan Valley (Western Australia), Swan Valley wine region of Western Australia at the historic Houghton Estate. A subsidiary of Accolade Wines, the company operates four of Western Austr ...

. By chance, the owner had been helping with a police search, and afterwards invited a group of police back to the vineyard for refreshments. When the owner entered the cellar, Johns assumed that he was discovered, and made a dash for the door into the arms of the police. He was returned to prison, sentenced to an additional 12 months, half to be in separate confinement, for absconding. On 22 March 1869, he was sentenced to an additional four years in irons for

breaking and entering Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) or housebreaking, is a property crime involving the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal offence. Usually ...

. Johns made at least one more attempt to escape, attempting in February 1871 to create a key for his cell in the carpenter's workshop, but was unsuccessful. Eventually, in April 1871, Comptroller General Wakeford heard from Johns of Hampton's promise. After verifying with Superintendent Lefroy that those words were spoken, Wakeford informed the current governor,

Frederick Weld Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld (9 May 1823 – 20 July 1891), was an English-born New Zealand politician and colonial administrator of various British colonies and territories located in Oceania and Southeast Asia. He was the sixth Prime Minis ...

, who agreed that further punishment would be unfair. Johns was given a ticket of leave in May 1871.

Later life

The remainder of Johns' life consisted of periods of good behaviour punctuated by occasional minor misdemeanors and brief jail terms. In January 1879, he married a widow named Louisa Hearn, and they spent some time prospecting for gold near

Southern Cross CRUX is a lightweight x86-64 Linux distribution targeted at experienced Linux users and delivered by a tar.gz-based package system with BSD-style initscripts. It is not based on any other Linux distribution. It also utilizes a ports system to ...

. In 1881, while exploring the countryside around Karridale, he discovered Moondyne Cave.

Final years and death

In 1893, Johns' wife Louisa died at the age of 40, and the death affected him greatly. Years after, he began acting strangely, and was eventually found to be mentally ill. He died of senile

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

in the Fremantle Lunatic Asylum (now the Fremantle Arts Centre building) on 13 August 1900, and was buried in Fremantle Cemetery. His tombstone bears the word "rhyddid", meaning "freedom" in Welsh.

Cultural references

Literature and film

While Moondyne Joe was bushranging in 1869, an Irish political prisoner named

John Boyle O'Reilly John Boyle O'Reilly (; 28 June 1844 – 10 August 1890) was an Irish poet, journalist, author and activist. As a youth in Ireland, he was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, or Fenians, for which he was transported to Western Australi ...

was working in a convict road party near Bunbury. Although it is very unlikely that O'Reilly knew Moondyne Joe, he must have heard many stories of his exploits. In March 1869, O'Reilly escaped and was rescued by an American ship. After his arrival in the United States, he wrote a novel about convict life called ''Moondyne: An Australian Tale'', whose central character was called Moondyne Joe. The book is presented as fiction, and neither the character nor the plot bears much resemblance to the life of Joseph Johns. In 1913, O'Reilly's novel was made into a movie entitled ''

Moondyne ''Moondyne'' is an 1879 novel by John Boyle O'Reilly. It is loosely based on the life of the Western Australian Convict era of Western Australia, convict escapee and bushranger Moondyne Joe. It is believed to be the first ever fictional novel s ...

''. Directed by

W. J. Lincoln William Joseph Lincoln (1870 – 18 August 1917) was an Australia, Australian playwright, theatre manager, film director and screenwriter in the silent film, silent era. He produced, directed and/or wrote 23 films between 1911 and 1916. One ob ...

, it starred George Bryant,

Godfrey Cass Godfrey Cass (1867 – 14 May 1951) was an Australian actor in the silent era. Between 1906 and 1935 he acted in nineteen film roles. He played Ned Kelly three times, and also had roles in a number of other bushranger movies including ''A Tale ...

and Roy Redgrave.

Randolph Stow Julian Randolph Stow (28 November 1935 – 29 May 2010) was an Australian-born writer, novelist and poet. Early life Born in Geraldton, Western Australia, Randolph Stow was the son of Mary Campbell Stow née Sewell and Cedric Ernest Stow, a ...

wrote a humorous children's book, ''Midnite: The Story of a Wild Colonial Boy'', in 1967 which told the story of an Australian bushranger based on the life and exploits of Moondyne Joe and a Queensland bushranger Captain Starlight. In 2002, Cygnet Books published ''The Legend of Moondyne Joe'', a work of juvenile fiction written by Mark Greenwood and illustrated by Frané Lessac. The book won the award in the Children's Books category at the 2002

Western Australian Premier's Book Awards The Western Australian Premier's Book Awards is an annual book award provided by the Government of Western Australia, and managed by the State Library of Western Australia. History and format Annual literary awards were inaugurated by the Wes ...

. In 2012,

Fremantle Press Fremantle Press (formerly known as Fremantle Arts Centre Press) is an independent publisher in Western Australia. Fremantle Press was established by the Fremantle Arts Centre in 1976. It focuses on publishing Western Australian writers and writi ...

published a

postmodern Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wo ...

interpretation of Moondyne Joe's life, ''The Ballad of Moondyne Joe'', including poems and prose by John Kinsella and Niall Lucy.

In song and verse

In 1982 a musical/play was written by Roy Abbott and Roger Montgomery of the Mucky Duck Bush Band and performed by Mucky Duck and friends at various venues.

Memorials

A railway siding on the

Eastern Goldfields Railway The Eastern Goldfields Railway, was built in the 1890s by the Western Australian Government Railways to connect Perth with the Eastern Goldfields at Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. It is a part of the interstate standard gauge railway between Per ...

in Johns' area of operations in the Avon Valley has been named "Moondyne", most likely after the man rather than the area.

Festivals

On the first Sunday of May, the township of Toodyay celebrates the life and times of Moondyne Joe by holding the Moondyne Festival. This festival takes place in the main street with street theatre, market stalls, demonstrations and the entire town is generally transported back to earlier years.

References

External links

* M. Tamblyn, 'Johns, Joseph Bolitho (1827–1900)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University
Johns, Joseph Bolitho (1827–1900)
published in hardcopy 1972, accessed online 10 February 2014

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moondyne Joe 1826 births 1900 deaths Australian escapees Australian miners British escapees Burials at Fremantle Cemetery Bushrangers Convict escapees in Australia Convicts transported to Western Australia Australian people of Cornish descent British emigrants to Australia Criminals from Western Australia Deaths from dementia in Australia Escapees from British detention Escapees from Western Australian detention Fugitives People from Illogan People from Toodyay, Western Australia Settlers of Western Australia Tall tales Australian folklore