Moondyne Joe¹s major claim to fame is that he was
Western Australia's most famous bushranger. His
real name was Joseph Bolitho Johns. He was the son
of a Welsh blacksmith and was imprisoned in 1849
for the theft of foodstuffs from the home of Richard
Price in Pentwyn Clydach. Johns was 'in company'
with John Williams (a.k.a. William Cross) who was
already 'known to the police'.
Johns apparently conducted his own defence at his
trial and was probably not such a good lawyer, as in
1853 he was transported to W.A. for 10 years. Johns
was luckier than his companion as he came to the
relatively enlightened colony of Swan River while
William Cross was sent to Tasmania!
Joe arrived in Perth aboard the Pyrenees and became
a ticket of leave man working at the tiny settlement
of Moondyne. Two years later he was granted a
conditional pardon (March 10th 1855).
One story says that he branded an unmarked horse
without trying to find the owner and was gaoled in
Toodyay for the 'felony'. He then escaped taking the
'evidence' with him - the dead horse minus its skin
and incriminating brand being found later in the
bush.
Another story is that he trapped strayed horses and
returned them for the reward but that he was
suspected of setting some of the horses loose himself
and was therefore charged with horse theft.
While in gaol in Toodyay awaiting trial Joe managed
to escape but had he waited for the trial he would
have been much better off as he was acquitted of
horse theft but charged with escaping custody and
was sentenced to three years hard labour.
In the process of the first escape it is said that he
stole the Resident Magistrate¹s horse and bridle but
this may just be romantic myth and it is much more
likely that he took the horse he was accused of
stealing to get rid of the evidence.
This was the beginning of a cat and mouse game
which 'Joe' and the law played for the next forty
years. When recaptured, he seems to have served
the next three years without incident and was
released in 1864.
Just nine months later he was convicted of shooting a
steer (he protested his innocence) and was
sentenced to ten years. It was this conviction that he
regarded as unfair and which prompted his escape
soon after. He was recaptured after 12 months on the
run and placed in irons but managed to escape
again.
There are tales that at this stage Joe, leading a
number of other escaped convicts, began robbing
stores in the Avon Valley with a view to building up
supplies to make an attempt to cross from Western
Australia to the eastern colonies. On 17 September
1866 he is said to have robbed Everett¹s Store in
Toodyay while Governor Hampton was staying in
town. The robbery was notable for the fact that Joe
and his compatriots managed to escape with guns,
supplies, clothing, ammunition, and, of all things,
thirty-six fancy ladies handkerchiefs. How they
intended to use the handkerchiefs on their journey
across Australia was never explained. This daring and
successful robbery helped create a legend that Joe
had cut off the Governor¹s beard.
All of this part of the story may just be romantic
myth as other sources state that Joe never had a
firearm and never actually held anyone up. In fact the
local population appeared to be amused by Joe’s
antics, with the possible exception of Governor
Hampton who was made to look quite the fool by
Joe’s continued escapes.
A popular ditty at the time went:
‘The Governor’s son has got the pip
The Governor’s got the measles
For Moondyne Joe has give ‘em the slip
Pop goes the weasel’
Hearing this sung by urchins in the streets of
Fremantle must have irked the Governor no end.
Whatever the truth, he was captured once more on
29th of September and sent back to Fremantle where
he was chained by the neck to a post. A special cell
was built for Joe in Fremantle Gaol and when it was
completed the Governor proudly declared that if Joe
escaped from such a strong cell he would be given
him his freedom. Joe remained in the cell for only
four months.
Due to ill health he was allowed into the exercise
yard where he was given stones to break. In one of
the most extraordinary escapes ever to occur at
Fremantle Gaol he built the stones up against the
wall so that a space behind was hidden from the
guard, dug through the wall, left his clothes hanging
near the wall giving the impression that he was still
inside the prison, and made his getaway in his
underwear and boots.
This time his escape was successful and he remained
free for nearly two years. He was recaptured at
Houghton¹s wine cellar where he had gone for a drink
to celebrate his two years of freedom.
Joe broke in to the cellar while the owner was away
but was unlucky as when C.W. Ferguson (the owner
at the time) returned he was accompanied by two
policemen who were in the area on an unrelated
matter.
At the time he had long flowing hair, was wearing a
wheat sack and had a large stick as his only form of
protection. He returned to Fremantle where he
remained for the next four years until he was once
again given a ticket of leave in 1871.
Joe is credited with being the first man to cross the
newly completed bridge across the Swan River in
Fremantle (beating Governor Hampton to it) but this
is most likely just folklore inspired by a fictional book
titled ‘Moondyne’ by John Boyle O’Reilly
Joe finally became a free man in 1873 (another
source says 1879 but this was the year he got
married). He subsequently married a widow, Louisa
Hearn, and became something of a celebrated dandy
living in the south west of the state.
In 1880 he worked at Witchcliffe and Karridale and
although some sources say he discovered Moondyne
Cave, it was actually discovered in 1879 by Fred
Grange. The story goes that Moondyne Joe was
lowered into the cave after a bet that he couldn’t
escape. Whether he got out again without assistance
isn’t recorded. He left the area in 1883.
In 1887 he returned to Toodyay and from there he
travelled to the goldfields where, although he was
now 60 years old (on our calculations he was 56
years old), he prospected for some years.
After the death of his wife in 1893, he returned to the
coast and lived in Kelmscott where he gained a
reputation for insanity being known as Old Mad
Moondyne Joe. He died in the Fremantle Lunatic
Asylum on 13 August 1900. (Another source says he
may have died in the Old Men’s Home in Claremont
in 1920, which if true, would have made him about
89 years old but it is more likely that he died in
1900.) One source quotes Johns' final resting place
as being pauper's grave No. 580a in Fremantle
cemetery.
This is the story, as far as the facts can be
ascertained, of the state's most famous bushranger.
Time and legend have conspired to make him a far
more adventurous and daredevil character than this
portrayal suggests. There is an account of the legend
and the history of the man by Ian Elliot titled
Moondyne Joe: The Man and the Myth. www.wanowandthen.com/Moondyne-Joe.html