Alexander Pearce

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alexander Pearce (1790 - 1824) [1] was a convict in Tasmania.

Contents

[edit] Cannibal

 This section does not cite any references or sources. (March 2008)
Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Alexander Pearce gained a reputation as a bushranger who had escaped from the Macquarie Harbour Penal Settlement and is best known for cannibalising his fellow escapees while travelling through the West Coast Tasmania.

Transported to Sarah Island in 1822, he escaped with seven other convicts. Their plan was to return to Hobart.

Pearce was captured over 100 days later near Hobart. When in custody, he made a confession that he and the other men had cannibalised each other over a number of weeks, with Pearce being the last to survive. The Hobart magistrate believed this to be a fabrication and that the other men were still alive and living in the bush. Pearce was sent back to Sarah Island.

Within a year, Pearce again escaped, this time with Thomas Cox. He was discovered by a sailor within ten days, but with some of the remains of Cox in his pockets, even though he still had other food available to him. This time he was taken back to Hobart and hanged.

[edit] Songs and films

Pearce was the subject of a song by Australian rock/folk band Weddings Parties Anything titled "A Tale They Won't Believe" as well as The Drones song titled "Words From The Executioner To Alexander Pearce".

[edit] Dying Breed

In 2008 a spate of film productions regarding Pearce are being made. One is in post production of a horror/thriller called Dying Breed, based on the alleged descedants of Alexander Pearce. Shot in Tasmania and Melbourne (including at the Pieman River in North West Tasmania), Dying Breed stars writer/actor, Leigh Whannell and Nathan Phillips.[2] .

[edit] The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce

The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce was shot on location in Tasmania in April 2008. The drama stars acclaimed Irish actors Adrian Dunbar, Ciaran McMenamin and an ensemble Australian cast including Dan Wyllie, Don Hany, Chris Haywood and Bob Franklin.

The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce is directed by Michael James Rowland and produced by Nial Fulton.

[edit] References

  1. ^ (also known as Pierce, see reference cited on the article Mark Jefferies)
  2. ^ Ambience Entertainment

[edit] Further reading

  • Collins, Paul. Hell's Gates: the terrible journey of Alexander Pearce, Van Dieman's Land Cannibal. South Yarra, 2002. ISBN 1-74064-083-7
  • Sprod, Dan. Alexander Pearce of Macquarie Harbour. Hobart: Cat & Fiddle Press, 1977. ISBN 0-85853-031-7

[edit] See also