On episode 16 of Yesterday's Chip Paper, Jim regales Violet with the terrible tale of Alexander Pearce, an Irishman sentenced to transportation in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) in the early 19th century. A repeated escape artist, Pearce and his companions took off one fine day and made good their escape from camp. The events that took place in the following weeks would be murderous, terrifying and life-ruining. For our letter and poem, Violet found a missive from an irresponsible psychic and a poem about a shrill child who meets a tragic end.

Yesterday's Chip Paper is a fortnightly (bi-monthly) podcast that delves into the world of historical newspapers, unearthing tales of murder, mischief, mayhem and more.

Newspaper archives used in this episode:

British Newspaper Archive www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/

TROVE (National Library of Australia) trove.nla.gov.au/

Yesterday’s Chip Paper online:

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