The Ballad of Moondyne Joe

Moondyne Joe was colonial Australia’s ultimate escape artist; his daring and repeated breakouts from prison drove the country’s governor to build the infamous outlaw a special cell. When Moondyne Joe escaped once again, the governor went mad. Ironically, Moondyne Joe himself died a pauper in the Fremantle Lunatic Asylum, but not before he secured notoriety as a lawbreaker, the husband of a brothel madam, a bushman who befriended local Indigenous people, and as a folk hero who championed the underdog. This unique book is an anarchic and playful examination of an elusive man and the harsh convict system he resisted.