The final Christmas edition of the Wild Goose

The Wild Goose: A Collection of Ocean Waifs was a hand written newspaper created in late 1867 by Fenian prisoners aboard the Hougoumont, the last ship to transport convicts to Australia. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1544x2080, 429 KB) Photo of the Wild Goose on display at Fremantle Prison Oct 2006 Taken by me Ghostieguide File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1544x2080, 429 KB) Photo of the Wild Goose on display at Fremantle Prison Oct 2006 Taken by me Ghostieguide File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Fenian is a term used since the 1850s for Irish nationalists (who oppose British rule in Ireland). ... HMS Hougoumont was the last convict ship to bring convicts to Australia. ...

Seven editions of the newspaper were produced, each edition carefully laid out and decorated by hand. Only one copy of each edition was made, this was read to the convicts aloud. The aim was to provide entertainment and encouragement aboard the ship during its long and arduous voyage to Fremantle. The title refers to the Wild Geese: the Irish soldiers who left to serve in continental European armies since the 16th century. Fremantle is a city located within the Perth metropolitan area on Australias western coast, at the mouth of the Swan River, 19 kilometres south from Perths Central Business District. ... The Flight of the Wild Geese refers to the departure of an Irish army under the command of Patrick Sarsfield from Ireland to France, as agreed in the Treaty of Limerick on October 3, 1691, following the Williamite war in Ireland with the Jacobites. ...

The major contributors were John Flood, John Boyle O'Reilly and John Casey. The documents provide a fascinating insight into life aboard ship. The documents contain songs, stories, articles, advice, poems, and even comedy. In addition to the diaries of Denis Cashman and the journals of John Casey and Thomas McCarthy Fennell the journey of the Hougoumont was well recorded. John Boyle OReilly John Boyle OReilly (28 June 1844–10 August 1890) was an Irish-born poet and novelist. ...

One passage describes Australia and its history with more than a little sarcasm;

"This great continent of the south, having been discovered by some Dutch skipper and his crew, somewhere between the 1st and 9th centuries of the Christian era, was, in consequence taken possession of by the government of Great Britain, in accordance with that just and equitable maxim, “What’s yours is mine; what’s mine is my own." That magnanimous government in the kindly exuberance of their feelings, have placed a large portion of that immense tract of country called Australia at our disposal. Generously defraying all expenses incurred on our way to it, and providing retreats for us there to secure us from the inclemency of the seasons…..."

John Boyle O'Reilly penned several poems for the paper incuding The Flying Dutchman and The Old School Clock

All seven editions survive, and were passed by John Flood's granddaughter to the Mitchell Library in 1967. The papers are bound into one book and are now part of the State Library of New South Wales collection. : See State Library of New South Wales for its Mitchell Library section of Australiana. ... Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales The State Library of New South Wales is a large public library owned by the state of New South Wales. ...

On September 9th 2005 a memorial was unveiled at Rockingham beach to commemorate the Catalpa rescue. The memorial is a large statue of six Wild Geese. Rockingham is a city in Western Australia located 47km south of Perth. ... The Catalpa rescue was a 1876 escape of six British penal colony of Western Australia. ...

References

• Laubenstein, William J. The emerald whaler London : Deutsch, 1961.
• Stevens, Peter F. - The Voyage of the Catalpa (ISBN 1-84212-651-2)
• Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaelogical Society, 1969, volume LXXIV