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[[Image:WP Alexander Pearce.jpg|thumb|Drawings, by [[Thomas Bock]], of the face of Alexander Pearce after his execution.]]
 
'''Alexander Pearce''' (1790 – 19 July 1824) was an Irish [[convicts in Australia|convict]] who was transported to the penal colony in [[Van Diemen's Land]] (now Tasmania), Australia for seven years for theft. He escaped from prison several times, allegedly becoming a [[Human cannibalism|cannibal]] during one of the escapes. In another escape, with one companion, he allegedly killed him and ate him in pieces. He was eventually captured and was hanged in [[Hobart]] for murder, before being dissected.<ref name=theage>{{cite web|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/10/28/1035683357802.html |title=A journey through hell's gate |publisher=[[The Age]]|date=29 October 2002 |access-date=23 March 2011}}</ref>
 
==Early life==
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[[Image:Copy of the death sentence pronounced on Alexander Pearce - 1824.jpg|thumb|110px|left|Copy of the death sentence pronounced on Alexander Pearce]]
 
On 20 September 1822, Pearce along with seven other convicts of [[Macquarie Harbour Penal Station]]: Alexander Dalton, Thomas Bodenham, William Kennerly, Matthew Travers, Edward Brown, Robert Greenhill and John Mather escaped while working on the eastern side of the harbour. Greenhill, who had thean axe, appointed himself leader, supported by his friend Travers, with whom he had been sent to Macquarie Harbour for stealing businessman [[Anthony Fenn Kemp]]'s [[schooner]] in an attempt to escape. About 15 days into the journey, the men were starving and [[Sortition|drew lots]] to see who would be killed for food.<ref name=" theage"/> Thomas Bodenham (or perhaps Alexander Dalton: see below) drew the short straw and Greenhill dispatched him with an axe. At this point three of the company – Dalton, Kennerly, and Brown – took fright and decamped. Kennerly and Brown reached Macquarie Harbour, but Dalton seemed to have died of [[Fatigue (medical)|exhaustion]]. That left Greenhill, Travers, John Mather, and Alexander Pearce. With Greenhill and Travers acting as a team, it would be Mather's or Pearce's turn next. Pearce seems to have sided with Greenhill and Travers at this point, and Mather was the next victim. ItTravers was then that Pearce had some luck: Travers was bitten on the foot by a snake. Greenhill insisted they carry him for five days, but when it became clear he would not recover, killed him.<ref name="sprod">Sprod, Dan, ''Alexander Pearce of Macquarie Harbour'', Cat & Fiddle Press, Hobart 1977</ref>
 
After thatAllegedly, it was a [[Cat and mouse|cat-and-mouse game]]. Greenhill had the axe, but they were both starving, and they had to sleep. In the end it was Pearce who prevailed. He grabbed the axe, killed Greenhill and dinedate on his bodyhim. He later raided an Aboriginal campsite and stole more food. When he saw sheep, he knew he hadHe reached the settled districts. He was lucky again, asand the shepherd who came upon him eating a lamb was an old friend. Pearce was inducted into a sheep-stealing ring, and was eventually picked up with William Davis and Ralph Churton, who were both hanged for bushranging and escaping from a military escort.
 
In total, Pearce had been on the run for 113 days, a little less than half of which was spent in the wilderness. Locked up in Hobart, Pearce made a confession to the Rev. [[Robert Knopwood]], the magistrate and chaplain. However, Knopwood did not believe the cannibalism story and was convinced the others were still living as [[bushranger]]s. He sent Pearce back to Macquarie Harbour.<ref name="theage"/>
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There are inconsistencies in Pearce's story. He made three confessions – the Knopwood confession; a confession to Lt. Cuthbertson, Commandant of Macquarie Harbour when he was in hospital after the second escape (in this version, Dalton is the first victim); and a confession to Father Phillip Connolly, the colony's Catholic priest, the night before his execution – and some of the details differed. What is incontrovertible is that eight men went into the bush at Macquarie Harbour, and only three came out; and of the four men alive when Dalton, Kennerly and Brown decamped, only one survived.
 
In November of the subsequent year, Pearce managed to escape once again, this time accompanied by a fellow convict named Thomas Cox. However, Pearce's freedom was short-lived as he was recaptured within a mere ten days. He was then brought to trial at the [[Supreme Court of Van Diemen's Land]] in Hobart. The trial centred around his alleged murder and cannibalization of Thomas Cox.
Within a year, Pearce escaped a second time, joined by a young convict named Thomas Cox. Pearce was captured within ten days and taken to the [[Supreme Court of Van Diemen's Land]] in Hobart, where he was tried and convicted of murdering and cannibalising Thomas Cox. Observers noted Pearce did not look like a cannibal. He was only {{convert|1.6|m|ftin|abbr=on}} in height, which was under average for that time, but had a strong wiry frame. He did not seem to be someone who was "laden with the weight of human blood, and believed to have banqueted on human flesh" as the ''Hobart Town Gazette'' wrote on 25 June 1824. His captors had found parts of Cox's body in Pearce's pockets, even though he still had food left, and his guilt was beyond doubt this time. Pearce confessed he had killed Cox because when they reached [[King River (Tasmania)|King's River]], he discovered that Cox could not swim. Pearce was the first felon to be executed by the new Supreme Court and the first confessed cannibal to pass through the Tasmanian court system.<ref name="sprod"/>
 
Observers noted that Pearce did not fit the stereotypical image of a cannibal. Despite his relatively small stature of 1.6 metres (5 feet 3 inches), which was below average for that era, he possessed a strong and wiry build. Such physical attributes did not seem to align with the description of someone who had supposedly engaged in cannibalistic acts. A report published in the Hobart Town Gazette on June 25, 1824, even mentioned that he did not appear burdened by the "weight of human blood" and allegations of consuming human flesh.
Alexander Pearce was hanged at the [[Hobart Town Gaol]] at 9am on 19 July 1824, after receiving the last rites from Father Connolly.<ref>The ''Hobart Town Gazette'', Friday 23 July 1824.</ref> It is reported that just before he was hanged, Pearce said, "Man’s flesh is delicious. It tastes far better than fish or pork."<ref>[http://www.australianhistory.org/other-bushrangers.php Alexander Pierce] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101209021729/http://australianhistory.org/other-bushrangers.php |date=9 December 2010 }}. Australian History: Other Bushrangers. Retrieved 2010-01-27</ref>
 
During his apprehension, portions of Cox's remains were found in Pearce's pockets. This evidence, combined with Pearce's confession, left little room for doubt about his culpability. In his confession, Pearce revealed that he had killed Cox upon realizing that Cox was unable to swim when they reached [[King River (Tasmania)|King's River]].
 
Notably, Pearce's case marked several firsts within the Tasmanian judicial system. He was the inaugural felon to face execution under the new Supreme Court framework. Additionally, his confession made him the first known individual within the Tasmanian courts to admit to acts of cannibalism.<ref name="sprod" />
 
Alexander Pearce was hanged at the [[Hobart Town Gaol]] at 9am on 19 July 1824, after receiving the last rites from Father Connolly.<ref>The ''Hobart Town Gazette'', Friday 23 July 1824.</ref>
 
==In popular culture==
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==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Australia}}
* [[Alferd Packer]]
* [[Convicts on the West Coast of Tasmania]]
* [[Hells Gates (Tasmania)|Hells Gates]]
* [[List of convicts transported to Australia]]
* [[List of incidents of cannibalism]]
* [[List of serial killers by country]]
 
==References==
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* 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}}
* Kidd, Paul B. ''Australia's Serial Killers'' {{ISBN|0-7329-1036-6}}
 
==External links==
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[[Category:Convicts transported to Australia]]
[[Category:Executed Australian serial killers]]
[[Category:MalePeople serialfrom killersCounty Monaghan]]
[[Category:People from County Fermanagh]]
[[Category:People executed by Australian colonies by hanging]]
[[Category:People executed for murder]]
[[Category:People from Tasmania]]
[[Category:Western Tasmania]]
[[Category:IncidentsExecuted ofpeople cannibalismfrom County Monaghan]]
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