1867: Hanged at Perth Gaol, His Final Words a Shout for the Irish Republic
Bernard Wootton, a repeat escapee from Fremantle Prison, broke out in August 1867 in a scheme so audacious it fooled the guards: a fellow convict disguised as a warder simply marched the escape party out the gate. Tracked down weeks later near Beverley, Wootton seemed calm enough under guard that Sergeant John Moye freed one of his hands so he could eat breakfast. Wootton snatched a burning iron bar from the fireplace and struck the sergeant across the head.
Only the quick action of an Aboriginal police tracker, who wrenched the bar from him, stopped the attack turning fatal. Convicted of attempted murder at Perth, Wootton was hanged at Perth Gaol.
He refused all offers of religious ministration and went to the scaffold defiant, his last words reportedly a shout for the Irish republic.
