Podcast 2 - Transportation on the Hougoumont

The last convict ship to Australia is about to depart. The British Home office need to move quickly to rid Ireland of ‘the Fenian problem.’ Sixty-two of the Fenian political prisoners are moved onto the Hougoumont and sent on an 89 day voyage to the Swan River Colony in Western Australia. After nine months in solitary confinement, these Irish political activists are together again. There’s an unbelievable outburst of creativity with nightly concerts, journals and diaries, seven editions of a newspaper and even a plot to hijack the ship. The voyage is full of surprises.