In 1829, convicts aboard the brig Cyprus seized their chance at freedom, launching one of the most audacious escapes in Australian history. Led by experienced mariner William Swallow, the mutineers sailed a stolen ship across the Pacific, abandoning soldiers, women, and children on a remote shore.

Chased by hunger, betrayal, and the long reach of British law, the fugitives crossed oceans under stolen names - dodging cannon fire off the coast of Japan before their flight ended not in freedom, but in courtrooms, confessions, and the shadow of the gallows.

SOURCES

1829 'PIRATICAL SEIZURE OF The Government Brig Cyprus,', Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas. :1828 - 1857), 4 September, p. 3. , viewed 08 Jan 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8644472

1829 'THE MAKING OF THE CORACLE,', The Hobart Town Courier (Tas. : 1827 - 1839), 12 September, p. 3. , viewed 05 Feb 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4213841

1830 'ENGLISH INTELIGENCE.', Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas. : 1828 - 1857), 24 September, p. 4. , viewed 19 Jan 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8645373

1830 ‘UNION HALL. INTERESTING STORY’, Essex, Herts and Kent Mercury, 18 May, p.3., viewed 12 May 2024.

1830 ‘THE MUTINY AND SEIZURE OF THE BRIG CYPRUS, CONFESSIONS OF THE RINGLEADER’, The Times, 18 October, p3., viewed 28 October 2025.

1830 ‘ADMIRALTY SESSIONS, Thursday, Nov 4. Piracy on Board the Brig Cyrus’, The Times, 5 November, p4., viewed 26 November 2025.

Hirst, W. (2008) The Man who Stole the Cyprus, a truestory of escape. NSW: Rosenberg Publishing Pty Ltd.

LINKS

Get your copy of Convict Australia, Extraordinary true stories of shipwrecks, riots, daring escapes and more.

https://www.amazon.com.au/Convict-Australia-Extraordinary-stories-shipwrecks/dp/0648946819

Get your copy of Convict Sydney, the real-life stories of 32 prisoners.https://www.amazon.com.au/Convict-Sydney-real-life-stories-prisoners-ebook/dp/B08C22QQMJ

Support Convict Australia and receive goodies such as the Convict Australia Newsletter:

⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/ConvictAustralia⁠⁠⁠

Join the conversation on our Facebook & Instagram pages:

⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/173850624015866⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/convict_australia/?hl=en⁠⁠

Find Convict Australia on TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@convict.australia