Martin Cash

Martin Cash
Born	baptised 10 October 1808 (1808-10-11) Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland
Died	27 August 1877 (1877-08-28) Glenorchy, Tasmania
Children	Monique Cash

Martin Cash (baptised 10 October 1808–27 August 1877) was a notorious convict bushranger known for escaping twice from Port Arthur, Van Diemen's Land. His 1870 autobiography The Adventures of Martin Cash, ghostwritten by the former convict James Lester Burke became a best seller in Australia.

Born in Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland, Cash was brought up in a wealthy family and was literate. His memoirs describe that he shot at a man in a jealous rage for making advances on his sweetheart, but records list the original crime as house breaking. He was sentenced to seven years penal transportation and left Cook Harbour on the Marquis of Huntly, arriving in Sydney Town on 10 February 1828. Cash received his ticket of leave and worked as a stockman in New South Wales, settling with Bessie Clifford. However, he became suspected of cattle stealing and relocated to Tasmania.

Martin and Bessie found employment around Southern Tasmania until once again Cash was accused of stealing from an employer. This time he was sentenced to seven years in a Hobart prison. He briefly escaped and 18 months was added to his time. Again he escaped and almost made it across the Bass Strait with Bessie but was caught and faced 10 years at Port Arthur, the so called escape proof colony.

His first attempt at escape from Port Arthur failed, however, he managed to swim across the shark-infested Eaglehawk Neck, the first person to do so. This experience would later prove useful as it earned him much respect from other prisoners.

On Boxing Day 1842 Martin Cash, George Jones and Lawrence Kavenagh absconded from a work party. Hiding in dense scrub land and with little food they made their way 15 km to the neck. Swimming with their clothes tied in bundles above their heads, they made the other side, all three of them having lost their bundles. Now naked the trio robbed a road gang's hut for clothing, and began a twenty month spree of bushranging, robbing mail coaches, homesteads and inns.

The three became known as Cash and Co and their reputation grew, however in August 1843 Cash discovered his partner Bessie was with another man in Hobart. Enraged, Cash swore to kill them both and he made his way to Hobart. He was quickly spotted and a gunfight ensued. After a police constable was shot by Cash and killed, Cash was overpowered and tried for murder.

Cash was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging, but a last minute reprieve saw him sent to Norfolk Island.

There he eventually became a trustee, and later a constable. He married in 1854, and was granted his ticket of leave later that year. Between 1854 and 1856, he was an overseer in the Royal Hobart Botanical Gardens.^[1] He had a daughter named Monique. Subsequently he travelled to Christchurch, New Zealand where he kept several brothels, in 1860 and became a free man in 1863.

Cash died in his bed in Glenorchy, Tasmania in 1877. During the late 1860s he had dictated his autobiography to an amanuensis, James Lester Burke. This account, although often embellished, provides an insight into convict life. Buck Thor and Joan Dehle Emberg later transcribed this account from the original manuscript and released it as The Uncensored Story of Martin Cash.

References

1. ^ "Hobart - Places". Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-factsheet/hobart--places-to-see-20081120-6cc9.html. Retrieved 2011-02-22. 

Bibliography

• "Trial of Martin Cash". http://www.law.mq.edu.au/sctas/html/1843cases/R%20v%20Cash,%201843.htm. Retrieved 9 January 2006. 
• "Martin Cash - Tasmanian Bushranger". Archived from the original on 2 September 2005. http://web.archive.org/web/20050902181753/http://www.wilmap.com.au/cash.html. Retrieved 9 January 2006. 
• "Bushranger Profiles: Martin Cash". http://scs.une.edu.au/Bushrangers/cash.htm. Retrieved 9 January 2006. 
• "Dictionary of New Zealand Biography: Martin Cash". http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=1C9. Retrieved 9 January 2006. 
• Serle, Percival (1949). "Cash, Martin". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus and Robertson. http://gutenberg.net.au/dictbiog/0-dict-biogCa-Ch.html#cash1. 

Persondata
Name	Cash, Martin
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	11 October 1808
Place of birth	Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland
Date of death	27 August 1877
Place of death	Glenorchy, Tasmania