A touring exhibition from Fremantle Prison tells the story of the Irish Fenian convicts

and their bold escape from Western Australia to America on the US whaler Catalpa in

1876. Fremantle Prison curator Sandra Murray relates the tale.

THE EXHIBITION

Escape! Fremantle to Freedom is based on the dramatic escape of six IrishnFenian prisoners from the Convict Establishment (Fremantle Prison) in Western Australia in 1876. Fenians were members of an association of Irishmen, the Fenian Brotherhood, founded in the late 1850s with the aim of overthrowing the British Government in Ireland. The name comes from Fianna, legendary warriors of Irish mythology. pp.60 #0915/1020