Martha And Arthur

Martha And Arthur 

By Paul McCann

City born , city bred , is what they were . Another thing they both had in common was the chains they wore that kept them imprisoned . In the late nineteenth century both of them had been sentenced to transportation to Hobart for their crimes ., Martha received ten years hard labour for stealing a pair of shoes and Arthur received 10 years hard labour for stealing some bread during the cold hungry years when crops had failed and winters were colder than ever before .They first met on a convict ship on their way to Van Dieman’s Land and then afterwards at a hospital .

Both had not reacted well to prison life and Arthur  was scheduled for treatment on his  skin abrasions and  cuts on his wrists from chains that were  used to to restrain him when he was recaptured after  trying to escape and Martha had  some cuts and bruise’s after she was  beaten up by one of the prison guards for verbally abusing him in front of everyone in the prison yard .Martha loved her freedom from the prison as did Arthur . They detested being locked up in their cells with chains around their ankles . During the time Martha and Arthur had got to know one another they shared stories of their past lives before they were transported as convicts for what they had done .

One of the hospital staff noticed Arthur and Matha spending a lot of time talking in the hospital corridor and suspected there might be a problem with them planning to escape so they kept a close watch on them night and day which only made Arthur and Martha react in an adverse way . Arthur broke into the medications room and took some chloroform and used it to subdue one of the doctors . Then he took his clothes and tied him up using some electrical wire from table lamps and walked out of the hospital a free man .

Martha had also her own plan and after tying up one of the nurses in the laundry with  some rope from the laundry bags she dressed up in her nurses uniform and walked out from the hospital free . By the time the doctor and nurse were discovered Martha and Arthur were miles away .

Police began searching for the escaped convicts dressed as a doctor and nurse and after a few weeks on the run both of them were captured hiding inside a boat shed near the harbour .

Now they were both placed in solitary confinement inside a tiny cell where no sunlight could penetrate and no sound could be heard ; they were given some sloppy food to eat and rarely had a chance to have a wash . During their time in solitary, they developed some sores inflicted by the chains around their feel and this only gave them more venom to spit at those who ran the prison . Their daily suffering only made them tough and more determined to show the prison guards a defiance and their strong will not to bow down or show any weakness of character with everything that was thrown at them .

They both began to sing songs and even display a sense of great pride about how the other prisoners looked up at them . Both Martha and Arthur were a confidence boost for many of the other prisoners who were encouraged by their antics .

The guards had no answer to their often-comical outbursts with the prison officers on duty . Although they were in separate prisons their stories were carried by visitors and other people who would deliver food and laundry to each of the prisons .

Martha became known as the lady of the shadows because she spent so much time in solitary and Arthur became known as keeper of the cascade because of the way he kept the guards on their toes night and day by running rumours and leaving simple little booby traps around the prison . No one ever had seen him tampering or making trouble but they all know it was him behind some of the daily mayhem .

Arthurs first thought of kidnapping the prison warden spilt over into thoughts of  torturing him instead and giving him a slow painful death which always seemed to be his better choice because of what the prison system had dome to him for stealing some bread . Even though Arthur had thought about killing the warden he could never take anyone’s life . Arthur still had his ideals and respect for life no matter what in the years Arthur and Matha were in prison they kept remembering the good times and kept singing their songs just to show they guards what they were made of .

Martha also secretly had thoughts of killing the warden and making it look like a suicide . As wicked as that though was it was still only a though . Martha also had a respect for life and could never bring herself to murdering anyone .

In that dark place locked in a cell both of them pretended they could fly through the sky like a bird where they met each other and spoke of freedom and  living a life together somewhere else . Those kinds of thoughts could not be contained inside the walls of a prison and it made them forget for a while all the things they were going through . An escape into another life where for a while the consequences of their  actions years previous had never happened .The final year of Marthas sentence had finally arrived and she was given her freedom with a job working in one of the orphan schools as a cook .

She chose to accept this job and even though it never paid a lot of money it was steady work and one that offered her a chance to save some money to possibly start up a small business selling handmade clothes down at the local markets in Hobart .

By the time Arthur was released he was also offered a job as a baker making bread in one of the large farmhouses on a large property . It gave him some encouragement to be able to earn a wage and he too had a plan to save some money and start a business making furniture to be sold at the local markets in Hobart and as fate would have it they both met again at the markets in Hobart ,

Both their lives had again entwined and romance brought them into a relationship where they soon stood side by side in the church and were wed .

Still young enough to have children Arthur and Martha had a daughter they called Bridie who was the joy of their lives and as their child grew up Arthur and Martha never hid the truth and often told Bridie stories about how they first met on a convict ship and some of the things they had seen and done together ,

When Arthur and Martha passed away Bridie asked permission to have a tribute left in memory of her parents and after her request was granted, she employed a local sculptor to create two statues of her parents to be left for all to see . There was a plaque with the names the Lady Of Shadows and the Keeper of The Cascades left for all to see .

Bridie became a solicitor and she dedicated her life to bringing a fairer justice system for those convicted of small crimes . The injustice of the past was beginning to be recognised and many spoke of the cruelty that had been inflicted during the transportation time .

Tourists who come to Hobart today in the 21^st century can reflect on the hardships of the early convicts who were put in chains and kept in dark cells for long periods ,

Outside those prisons stand the statues  of two who bravely held their heads up high to those who tried to destroy their confidence and make them feel less than human .

The End