Cannibalism in Colonial Australia: A Mini-Essay

     In January of 1823, the Reverend Robert Knopwood transcribed the confession of escaped convict Alexander Pearce. Sent to the penal colony of Australia in 1819 for stealing six pairs of shoes, Pearce had become the only prisoner to escape from Macquarie Harbor twice.[1] In his account to the reverend, the felon wove a bewildering tale of treachery, desperation, and cannibalism.
     On September 20, 1822, Pearce and seven other convicts stole a boat from Kelly’s Basin, where they had been working in a sawpit gang, and rowed across the harbor. After smashing the craft’s bottom with a confiscated axe, they set out on foot into the untamed Australian bush.[2] In their efforts to reach Derwent River and steal a schooner, the eight men unknowingly entered the mountains between Macquarie Harbor and the inland plains (considered, even today, one of the harshest terrains in Australia). Over the course of a week, the men, lost in the bush, depleted their rations and store of tinder as the weather turned to gales and sleet.[3] Cold, tired, and desperate, the men committed the unthinkable: as one of their fellow escapees – William Dalton – slept, they bludgeoned him with the axe, slit his throat, and cooked his heart and liver.[4] The act horrified two of the men – William Brown and William Kennelly – and they fled the group. Realizing the two would alert the authorities, the other five convicts pursued Brown and Kennelly further into the wilderness, only to lose them in the brush (Brown and Kennelly would later be discovered half-dead from exposure along the shore of Macquarie Harbor and would pass away shortly afterward in a prison hospital).[5] Determined to reach Derwent River, the five abandoned their attempts to catch Brown and Kennelly and trekked further into the mountains. A month passed, two more men – Thomas Bodenham and John Mather – were slaughtered, and Matthew Travers was bitten in the foot by a snake.[6] Over the proceeding days, Travers overheard the whispered plans of Pearce and Robert Greenhill and, whether it was from hopelessness or pain from the snake’s venom, he welcomed the axe’s blows with little protest.[7] With only Greenhill and Pearce remaining, the two men entered into an exhausting game of cat and mouse, each one waiting for the other to let down his guard. It came after several days when Greenhill, overcome by fatigue, fell asleep.[8] Days later, Pearce finally reached Derwent River, where he was discovered by a shepherd and transferred to Hobart in chains.[9]
     The authorities, and even Reverend Knopwood who penned Pearce’s confession, thought the tales was far-fetched and believed the convict had fabricated the entire account just to cover the tracks of this fellow felons, whom they believed were still alive and on the run.[10] In February of 1823, Pearce was transferred back to Macquarie Harbor, where his second escape and subsequent capture resulted in his hanging.[11] His body was shipped to Hobart Colonial Hospital, where his head was removed, skinned, and gifted to the American phrenologist Dr. Samuel Morton for his collection of skulls (it can be found today at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia).[12] So, was Pearce’s account truly fabricated? In 1832, the first official explorer to the Loddon Plains discovered human bones in the valley while surveying the land and records from the prison hospital which attempted to treat Brown and Kennelly reported that the men had been found with pieces of human flesh stuffed inside their pockets.[13]

Works Referenced

Hughes, Robert. The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia’s Founding. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1987.
____________________
[1] Hughes, 219.
[2] Hughes, 219.
[3] Hughes, 220.
[4] Hughes, 220-221.
[5] Hughes, 221.
[6] Hughes, 221-223.
[7] Hughes, 223.
[8] Hughes, 223-224.
[9] Hughes, 224.
[10] Hughes, 224-225.
[11] Hughes, 225.
[12] Hughes, 226.
[13] Hughes, 221.

Faceless Doll

$10 - $15 (based on 2017 prices)

Makes one doll

2017’s haunt explored the legend of La Llorona. To expand upon the element of prolicide prevalent in the folklore, I drew inspiration from La Isla de las Muñecas and filled the haunt with dolls to represent the specter’s drowned children. Although the process of transforming dozens of dolls into macabre monsters eventually became rather tiring, the final results were well worth the time and effort.

• One vinyl doll roughly twelve inches in height
• One sheet of black craft foam
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat black*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat gray*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat white*
• At least four tablespoons of dark roasted coffee grounds
• One pan large enough to soak the doll’s dress
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat brown*

1. Cut out the doll’s face. For visual interest, create jagged edges. To make this process easier, purchase a doll made from thin vinyl or cheap plastic. If it helps, trace the outline of your cut with a marker first.

2. Cut a piece of craft foam large enough to fit inside the hole and glue it in place. Although you can skip this step by painting the entire cavity black, I chose to create a false backing for the opening to cover the mess created by the hair’s roots.

3. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give the doll three even coats of gray paint and the facial cavity three even coats of black paint. The number of coats, of course, depends on your desired coverage, so you may apply more or less.

4. Use a brush with splayed bristles to create a stippling effect around the doll’s joints and the edges of the face’s opening. I found that working from dark to light (i.e. black to gray to white) produces the best results.

5. Boil enough water to completely submerge the doll’s dress and pour it into the pan. Add the coffee. The longer you allow the coffee to brew, the darker the stain will become. Likewise, greater amounts of coffee will produce a richer stain. Submerge the dress in the coffee mixture and soak it until it reaches the color you desire. I soaked mine for four days and scattered the coffee grounds over the top of the fabric to add spots. Remove the dress from the water and allow it to dry. Once the dress had dried, smear its surface with black and brown paint to create the illusion of dirt and use a pair of sharp scissors to shred the fabric. Concentrate your actions around the edges of the collar, skirt, and sleeves.

6. Add additional grime to the doll by muddying her hair with black, brown, and gray paint. If you don’t mind the mess, spread the paint onto the palms of your hands and use your fingers to brush it into the tuffs. Do not worry too much if the hair becomes matted and tangled during this process (it will only enhance the appearance).

7. Clothe the doll and, if you want, apply further details, such as additional tears and holes to the dress, dried leaves and bits of debris to the hair, or small teeth inside the facial cavity.

*You will not use the entire bottle’s content for this project.

"Hamlet" (A Poem)

Doctor Zhivago, first published in 1957, is a complex novel which explores the Russian Revolution of 1905 through the eyes of the fictional physician and poet Doctor Yuri Zhivago. Due to its progressive stance, the work was banned in the USSR and Boris Pasternak had to seek publication in Italy.[1] One of the many poems written by the novel's protagonist, "Hamlet," as Edith Clowes argues, is the most influential in expressing one of the story's central themes: the concept of Fate and our ability/inability to control its effects upon our lives.[2] Indeed, Donald Davies likens Zhivago's Hamlet to the biblical Jesus, claiming both are thrust into an existence where their inevitable deaths have been predetermined by the actions of their fathers.[3]

The plaudits slowly fade away.
Again I come upon the stage.
I strain to hear in dying echoes
The fate that waits our present age.

Through thousands of binoculars
The night of darkness stares at me.
If possible, O Abba, Father,
Then take away this cup from me.

I love Thy stern design, and I am
Content to act this role of woe.
But there's another play on stage;
Then spare me now, and let me go.

The acts are plotted, planned with care;
The end, foredoomed. I stand alone.
The Pharisees exult in pride.
O hard the way - our ways of stone.[4]

Works Referenced

Clowes, Edith. "Doctor Zhivago in the Post-Soviet Era: A Re-Introduction." Doctor Zhivago: A Critical Companion. Ed. Edith Clowes. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1995. 3-48.
 
Davie, Donald. The Poems of Dr. Zhivago. New York: Manchester University Press, 1965.
 
Pasternak, Boris. Doctor Zhivago. Trans. Eugene Kayden. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 1977.
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[1] Clowes, 3-4.
[2] Clowes, 16-17.
[3] Davie, 51-54.
[4] Pasternak, 614.

Scarecrow Necklace

$5 - $10 (based on 2016 prices)

Makes one necklace

I made this necklace to accessorize my costume for 2016’s haunt (check out the hat and the mask that accompanied it). Because I used materials I already possessed, I was able to keep the cost relatively low.

• Two yards of dark-brown twine
• One river rock with a hole drilled into it
• Three aged bones (learn how to make them here)
• Two severed fingers (learn how to make them here)
• One severed ear (learn how to make it here)
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
  

1. Cut the twine into a six-foot section. This may sound like too much; however, the excess will give you room for error. You, of course, are free to use less string.

2. Thread the twine through the rock and, after positioning it in the center of the necklace, knot both ends to keep it in place. A friend made dozens of river stones with drilled holes for an art project and I purchased one from him to use in this prop. You can buy similar items at a craft store or improvise with an alternative object.

3. Use a darning needle to thread the twine through the body parts. Once you have positioned the items, knot both ends to keep them in place. If you want added reinforcement, glue the knots to prevent them from unraveling.

4. Adjust the necklace’s size to fit around the wearer’s head by trimming the excess twine and knotting and fraying both ends.

5. You can make the prop as crude or decorative as you like. For further detail, add weathered beads, chicken feathers, or other random items.

*You will not use the entire bottle’s content for this project.