The Convict Pirates of Moreton Bay – on the run in the South Pacific.

When the Caledonia sailed out of Moreton Bay into open water, Captain George Browning remained under the close watch of the leader of the Caledonia pirates, William Evans, and his deputies Hugh Hastings and William Smith.  They were determined to head to the island of Rotumah to hopefully get aboard a whaler or trading ship. CaptainContinue reading “The Convict Pirates of Moreton Bay – on the run in the South Pacific.”

The Convict Pirates of Moreton Bay – the seizure of the Caledonia Schooner

A series of coincidences led to eleven Moreton Bay convicts seizing an opportunity to become pirates and sailing the South Pacific in a rum-soaked bloody adventure in 1832. On 26 June 1831, a ship named America ran aground on a reef in the Torres Straits, near far north Queensland. She had been on a voyageContinue reading “The Convict Pirates of Moreton Bay – the seizure of the Caledonia Schooner”