Episode 021 - Australian Outlaws Part 2: The Cannibal Bushrangers (1824-1825)

The story of the Cannibal Bushrangers of Tasmania is one of the more grisly chapters in Australia’s bushranger history, involving a group of outlaws who resorted to cannibalism in the harsh Tasmanian wilderness during the 1820s. The most notorious of these bushrangers were the men led by Alexander Pearce, who had escaped from the brutal penal colony at Macquarie Harbour, located on the west coast of Tasmania.

Join Holly & Matthew as they explore the cannibal bushrangers of Tasmania, uncovering their grim survival story and the chilling reality of life in early Australian penal settlements.

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Sources cited:

• Hobart Town Gazette and Van Diemen's Land Advertiser. 1822. "Government and General Orders." May 18. Accessed August 4, 2021. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/1089700.
• The Hobart Town Gazette. 1824. "The Supreme Court of Van Diemen's Land." June 25. Accessed August 4, 2021. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/1090236.
• Colonial Times and Tasmanian Advertiser. 1826. "Launceston News." January 27. Accessed August 4, 2021. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2447063.
• The Argus. 1905. "Tasmanian Bushrangers." September 27. Accessed August 4, 2021. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/9886289.
• Colonial Times and Tasmanian Advertiser. 1826. "The Late Bushrangers." May 5. Accessed August 4, 2021. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2447678.

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