Author(s): James Lester Burke

History

This is the story of Irish convict/bushranger, Martin Cash as told in his own words. He related his tale to a hard-drinking mob at the Lord Rodney Hotel on Hobart Town's waterfront. Undoubtedly the old lags interjected with their own recollections and contempt for their British masters. It is easy to imagine the raucous scene as the hardened drinkers tossed back their rum and whipped each other to escalating fury. The result is a vivid account of the brutality of the convict system in Van Diemen's Land from the viewpoint of a victim caught in the net. Although Cash's account is unflinching in its depiction of cruelty and corruption, it is not without humour as Cash and his paramour trick their pursuers and make fools of the landed aristocracy.