Learn the story of the original Tasmanian outlaw as never told before.
Michael Howe is considered by many to be one of the worst criminals in Australian history. His career of lawlessness brought the island of Van Diemen’s Land to its knees, and in a panic, martial law was introduced in order to restore order. But was he really the heartless monster he was made out to be? Who really was the man that became the bugbear of the colonial government? Here, you will find the answers.
Latest Posts
Michael Howe: An Alternative Perspective
In April 2023 I was invited by the Bothwell Historical Society to do a presentation on Michael Howe as part of their ‘villains or victims’ series. The following is the transcript of that presentation: During his lifetime, Yorkshireman Michael Howe believed himself to be “greatly injured by the country at large” and this, in essence,…
The Knitting Bushranger
(The following article was written by me for the May edition of The Hobart Magazine.) If you happened to have been walking along Murray Street in early 1817 you may have observed a rough sailor-looking fellow with a profusion of coarse hair sitting outside the gates of the old gaol, working with a pair of…
The Indefatigable
Nine members of the Howe gang, including Michael himself, were transported on the Indefatigable in 1811. This ship was the first to make the direct voyage from England to Hobart, arriving in the Derwent on the 9th of October 1812. Also on board were members of the 73rd regiment, which included future Howe gang member…
Michael Howe’s Raid on Nonesuch
The following is taken from the memoirs of Alexander Laing, who at the time of Michael Howe’s raid on the residence of T.A. Lascelles was an assigned servant. On the 21st November 1816, a banditti of bushrangers headed by Michael Howe called at Nonesuch, the residence of T.A. Lascelles Esq., in the forenoon of that…
Loading…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
Follow Me
Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.
Michael Howe: Governor of the Woods 