Wild Geese

Catalpa Memorial Rockingham south of Fremantle.

The memorial commemorates the Catalpa rescue, the famous escape of six Irish Fenian convicts from Fremantle Prison on 17-18 April 1876. After journeying south from Fremantle by horse-drawn cart, the escapees were rowed from Rockingham beach to the Catalpa, an American whaler.

The perilous flight succeeded in the face of an overnight storm and naval interception at dawn. The memorial is a statue depicting six wild geese in flight, the design of which was initiated by an Irish-Australian Perth citizen, the late Francis Conlan, whose name is also recorded on the memorial.

(notes via Wikipedia)