Tim told us the story of one of Australia's great convict escape stories of the hijack and theft of the Cyprus Brig in Van Diemen's Land in 1830, its voyage across the Pacific, and the convict crew's week-long encounter in Japan.
This story Through Samurai Eyes co-produced by Tim, was featured in ABC Radio National’s The History Listen Podcast in 2019. "Through Samurai Eyes" depicts the events to one of Australia's greatest convict escape stories. Japan-based British expatriate Nick Russell translated an illustrated samurai manuscript, and not only solved a Japanese mystery dating back almost two centuries, but found evidence that vindicated the wild claims made by a convict escapee called William Swallow.
Along with four other men, Swallow was put on trial for the hijack and theft of the Cyprus Brig in Van Diemen's Land in 1830. During the trial at London's Old Bailey, Swallow gave a full account of the mutiny, its voyage across the Pacific, and details of the convict crew's week-long encounter in Japan. His claims had long been discredited, until Nick made the English language translation of the samurai manuscript.
Editor note: For more story and images as below, check out the following websites: Nick Russell's Pirates and Samurai website
Japanese samurai, image courtesy of the Tokushima Prefectural Archives
An illustrated account of the arrival of a foreign ship, Hamaguchi Kanzaemon (1830), image courtesy of the Tokushima Prefectural Archives
Panorama of Hobart c.1825 by Augustus Earle. The Cyprus brig is the double mast vessel second left (FL3233426 State Library NSW)
