Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(
www.colacafe.com.au
;
128 Stirling Tce; snacks $10-21; 9am-4.30pm)
Coca-Cola memorabilia runs
amok here. Order a cola spider (Coke with a scoop of ice cream) and a big burger and
play 'guess the 1950s tune'.
8
Information
9am-4pm)
Stock up on tourist
Ye Olde Lolly Shoppe
(
08-9574 2435;
www.toodyay.com
; 7 Piesse St;
information and fudge at the same time.
THE MYTHOLOGY OF MOONDYNE JOE
The state of Victoria's most famous outlaw, Ned Kelly, is known for his gun battles with the law, but WA's most
illustrious bushranger, Moondyne Joe, is famous for escaping. Over and over again.
Joseph Bolitho Johns (1828-1900), sent to WA for larceny, arrived in Fremantle in 1853 and was granted an
immediate ticket of leave for good behaviour. This good behaviour lasted until 1861, when he was arrested on a
charge of horse stealing; however, he escaped that night from Toodyay jail on the horse he rode in on, sitting
snugly on the magistrate's new saddle. He was recaptured and sentenced to three years' imprisonment. Between
November 1865 and March 1867 he made four attempts to escape, three of them successful. When eventually
captured he was placed in a special reinforced cell with triple-barred windows in Fremantle, but in 1867 he man-
aged to escape from the prison yard while breaking rocks. He served more time in Fremantle prison when recap-
tured and was conditionally pardoned in 1873. After release he worked in the Vasse district and kept his nose rel-
atively clean, but he suffered from poor mental health later in life until his death in 1900. You can see his grave at
Fremantle cemetery.
While Moondyne Joe was a criminal, these days it pays to be in the 'Moondyne Joe' business. Three books, in-
cluding the latest, a prize-winning juvenile-fiction novel called
The Legend of Moondyne Joe
(Mark Greenwood),
have been written about him; a Moondyne festival is held in Toodyay on the first Sunday of May; and a cave in
Margaret River is named after him, as well as a pub, a caravan park and who knows what else. Let's hope he
doesn't escape his final resting place and start asking for royalties…
8
Getting There & Away
spector lines, with trains to East Perth ($16, 1¼ hours, seven per week), Northam ($8, 20
minutes, 12 per week) and Kalgoorlie ($74, 5½ hours, four per week).
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