In October 1827, nine convicts who had endured years of unimaginable cruelty at the hands of the system opted for 'state-assisted' escape. Five terrified witnesses - their hands and feet bound - were forced to watch as the chained convicts seized Constable George Rex and drowned him in the tannin-stained waters of the harbour. When the sentence of death was pronounced upon them, the condemned prisoners uttered just one word in reply: Amen.
For twelve long years between 1822 and 1834, Sarah Island in Macquarie Harbour was the most feared place in Australia. Clinging to the shores of the wild west coast of Tasmania and hemmed in on all sides by rugged uncharted wilderness, the environment itself formed the prison walls that confined the unfortunate convict re-offenders who were sent there. But the conditions were so brutal that many went mad, or chose death or a very uncertain escape into the bush rather than spend their time in this notorious place.
Based on detailed accounts from the time, Closing Hell's Gates contains dozens of personal stories of the harsh and unforgiving life that people were forced to lead, both as convict and overseer, and in so doing reveals some startling insights about human nature when it is pushed to extremes.
- ISBN:
- 9781741751499
- 9781741751499
-
Category:
- True stories
- Format:
- Paperback
- Publication Date:
-
01-03-2008
- Language:
- English
- Publisher:
- ALLEN & UNWIN
- Country of origin:
- Australia
- Pages:
- 324
- Dimensions (mm):
- 198x128x24mm
- Weight:
- 0.3kg
This title is in stock with our Australian supplier and should arrive at our Sydney warehouse within 1-2 weeks of you placing an order.
Once received into our warehouse we will despatch it to you with a Shipping Notification which includes online tracking.
Please check the estimated delivery times below for your region, for after your order is despatched from our warehouse:
ACT Metro 2 working days
NSW Metro 2 working days
NSW Rural 2-3 working days
NSW Remote 2-5 working days
NT Metro 3-6 working days
NT Remote 4-10 working days
QLD Metro 2-4 working days
QLD Rural 2-5 working days
QLD Remote 2-7 working days
SA Metro 2-5 working days
SA Rural 3-6 working days
SA Remote 3-7 working days
TAS Metro 3-6 working days
TAS Rural 3-6 working days
VIC Metro 2-3 working days
VIC Rural 2-4 working days
VIC Remote 2-5 working days
WA Metro 3-6 working days
WA Rural 4-8 working days
WA Remote 4-12 working days
Share This Book: