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°Õ³ó±ðÌý is part of the vast Bentham Papers collection in ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Library’s Special Collections and is the only extant first-hand narrative of the escape, and the only known account by a First Fleet convict.

On the night of 28 March 1791, James Martin and eight fellow convicts including William and Mary Bryant and their two infant children, stole a six-oared open boat from Sydney Harbour and sailed out into the Pacific. In this vessel they navigated the eastern and northern coasts of Australia, encountered Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, and survived ferocious storms. They reached Kupang in Dutch West Timor on 5 June where they successfully—for a while, at least, passed themselves off as the survivors of a shipwreck. It was a journey of over 3,000 miles and an incredible feat of endurance and seamanship.

The open-access publication of the Memorandoms of James Martin is now available to read and download. It carries links to digital versions of the original manuscripts and has an introduction and detailed annotation by Dr Tim Causer, Research Associate at the  and the  initiative, based at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Laws.

In May, the Memorandoms will be the subject of an exhibition in ¹û¶³Ó°Ôºâ€™s South Cloisters, generously supported by the Laws Research Engagement and Innovation Fund. Dr Causer will give a talk about the document at 1pm on Thursday 29 May in the Haldane Room, as part of ¹û¶³Ó°Ôºâ€™s Festival of the Arts.

Watch Escape from Australia: A Convict’s Tale with Dr Tim Causer on YouTube