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((Short description|Irish convicted criminal and confessed cannibal))
((Use dmy dates|date=March 2020))
((Use Australian English|date=March 2018))
((Multiple issues|
((more citations needed|date=September 2018))
((tone|date=September 2019))
))
[[Image:WP Alexander Pearce.jpg|thumb|Drawings, by [[Thomas Bock]], of the face of Alexander Pearce after his execution.]]

'''Alexander Pearce''' (1790 – 19 July 1824) was an Irish [[convicts in Australia|convict]] who was transported to the penal colony in [[Van Diemen's Land]] (now Tasmania), Australia for seven years for theft. He escaped from prison several times, allegedly becoming a [[Human cannibalism|cannibal]] during one of the escapes. In another escape, with one companion, he allegedly killed him and ate him in pieces. He was eventually captured and was hanged in [[Hobart]] for murder, before being dissected.<ref name=theage>((cite web|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/10/28/1035683357802.html |title=A journey through hell's gate |publisher=[[The Age]]|date=29 October 2002 |access-date=23 March 2011))</ref>

==Early life==
Pearce was born in [[County Monaghan]], Ireland.<ref>Convict Indent, CON13/1/2 p19, Tasmanian Archives</ref> A [[Roman Catholic]] farm labourer, he was sentenced at [[Armagh]] in 1819 to [[penal transportation]] to [[Van Diemen's Land]] for "the theft of six pairs of shoes".<ref>[http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/article.aspx?art_id=349 The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce] ((webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081027222859/http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/article.aspx?art_id=349 |date=27 October 2008 )) Anne-Marie Marquess, culturenorthernireland.org. Retrieved 2008-11-02.</ref> He continued to commit various petty offences whilst in the penal colony in Van Diemen's Land, from which he soon escaped. The 18 May 1822 edition of the ''[[Hobart Town Gazette]]'' reported this escape and advertised a £10 reward for his recapture. When caught, he was charged with absconding and forging an order, a serious crime. For this he received a second sentence of transportation, this time to the new secondary penal establishment at [[Macquarie Harbour Penal Station|Sarah Island]] in [[Macquarie Harbour]].

==Escape and cannibalism==
[[Image:Copy of the death sentence pronounced on Alexander Pearce - 1824.jpg|thumb|110px|left|Copy of the death sentence pronounced on Alexander Pearce]]

On 20 September 1822, Pearce along with seven other convicts of [[Macquarie Harbour Penal Station]]: Alexander Dalton, Thomas Bodenham, William Kennerly, Matthew Travers, Edward Brown, Robert Greenhill and John Mather escaped while working on the eastern side of the harbour. Greenhill, who had an axe, appointed himself leader, supported by his friend Travers, with whom he had been sent to Macquarie Harbour for stealing businessman [[Anthony Fenn Kemp]]'s [[schooner]] in an attempt to escape. About 15 days into the journey, the men were starving and [[Sortition|drew lots]] to see who would be killed for food.<ref name="theage"/> Thomas Bodenham (or perhaps Alexander Dalton: see below) drew the short straw and Greenhill dispatched him with an axe. At this point three of the company – Dalton, Kennerly, and Brown – took fright and decamped. Kennerly and Brown reached Macquarie Harbour, but Dalton seemed to have died of [[Fatigue (medical)|exhaustion]]. That left Greenhill, Travers, John Mather, and Alexander Pearce. With Greenhill and Travers acting as a team, it would be Mather's or Pearce's turn next. Pearce seems to have sided with Greenhill and Travers at this point, and Mather was the next victim. It was then that Pearce had some luck: Travers was bitten on the foot by a snake. Greenhill insisted they carry him for five days, but when it became clear he would not recover, killed him.<ref name="sprod">Sprod, Dan, ''Alexander Pearce of Macquarie Harbour'', Cat & Fiddle Press, Hobart 1977</ref>

After that, it was a [[Cat and mouse|cat-and-mouse game]]. Greenhill had the axe, but they were both starving, and they had to sleep. In the end it was Pearce who prevailed. He grabbed the axe, killed Greenhill and dined on his body. He later raided an Aboriginal campsite and stole more food. When he saw sheep, he knew he had reached the settled districts. He was lucky again, as the shepherd who came upon him eating a lamb was an old friend. Pearce was inducted into a sheep-stealing ring, and was eventually picked up with William Davis and Ralph Churton, who were both hanged for bushranging and escaping from a military escort.

In total, Pearce had been on the run for 113 days, a little less than half of which was spent in the wilderness. Locked up in Hobart, Pearce made a confession to the Rev. [[Robert Knopwood]], the magistrate and chaplain. However, Knopwood did not believe the cannibalism story and was convinced the others were still living as [[bushranger]]s. He sent Pearce back to Macquarie Harbour.<ref name="theage"/>

There are inconsistencies in Pearce's story. He made three confessions – the Knopwood confession; a confession to Lt. Cuthbertson, Commandant of Macquarie Harbour when he was in hospital after the second escape (in this version, Dalton is the first victim); and a confession to Father Phillip Connolly, the colony's Catholic priest, the night before his execution – and some of the details differed. What is incontrovertible is that eight men went into the bush at Macquarie Harbour, and only three came out; and of the four men alive when Dalton, Kennerly and Brown decamped, only one survived.

In November of the subsequent year, Pearce managed to escape once again, this time accompanied by a fellow convict named Thomas Cox. However, Pearce's freedom was short-lived as he was recaptured within a mere ten days. He was subsequently brought to trial at the [[Supreme Court of Van Diemen's Land]] in Hobart. The trial centred around his alleged murder and cannibalization of Thomas Cox.

Observers noted that Pearce did not fit the stereotypical image of a cannibal. Despite his relatively small stature of 1.6 metres (5 feet 3 inches), which was below average for that era, he possessed a strong and wiry build. Such physical attributes did not seem to align with the description of someone who had supposedly engaged in cannibalistic acts. A report published in the Hobart Town Gazette on June 25, 1824, even mentioned that he did not appear burdened by the "weight of human blood" and allegations of consuming human flesh.

During his apprehension, portions of Cox's remains were found in Pearce's pockets. This evidence, combined with Pearce's confession, left little room for doubt about his culpability. In his confession, Pearce revealed that he had killed Cox upon realizing that Cox was unable to swim when they reached [[King River (Tasmania)|King's River]].

Notably, Pearce's case marked several firsts within the Tasmanian judicial system. He was the inaugural felon to face execution under the new Supreme Court framework. Additionally, his confession made him the first known individual within the Tasmanian courts to admit to acts of cannibalism.<ref name="sprod" />

Alexander Pearce was hanged at the [[Hobart Town Gaol]] at 9am on 19 July 1824, after receiving the last rites from Father Connolly.<ref>The ''Hobart Town Gazette'', Friday 23 July 1824.</ref>

==In popular culture==
[[Image:Skull of Alexander Pearce.jpg|thumb|right|The skull of Alexander Pearce]]
* Alexander Pearce is the subject of the Australian band [[Weddings Parties Anything]]'s song "A Tale They Won't Believe". The narrative in the song follows the account given in ''[[The Fatal Shore]]'' by [[Robert Hughes (critic)|Robert Hughes]].
* Australian band [[The Drones (Australian band)|The Drones]] recorded "Words from the Executioner to Alexander Pearce".
* His adventures were fictionalised in [[Marcus Clarke]]'s 1874 novel ''[[For the Term of His Natural Life]]''.
* A biographical film, ''[[The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce]]'', was shot on location in 2008 in [[Tasmania]] and [[Sydney]] and starred [[Adrian Dunbar]], [[Ciarán McMenamin|Ciaran McMenamin]], [[Dan Wyllie]], [[Don Hany]] and [[Chris Haywood]]. It was shown on [[RTÉ]] in Ireland on 29 December 2008 and [[ABC Television (Australian TV network)|ABC1]] in Australia on 25 January 2009.
* Also in 2008, ''[[Dying Breed (film)|Dying Breed]]'', a horror film about Pearce was released. It featured fictional "descendants" of Pearce.<ref name=IMDb>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1064744/ Dying Breed IMDb]. Retrieved 2008-11-02.</ref> Shot in Tasmania and Melbourne (including at the [[Pieman River]] on the West Coast of Tasmania), ''Dying Breed'' stars writer/actor [[Leigh Whannell]] and [[Nathan Phillips (actor)|Nathan Phillips]].<ref name=IMDb/>
* The story of Pearce's cannibalism was made into another feature-length movie called ''[[Van Diemen's Land (film)|Van Diemen's Land]]'', released to Australian cinemas in September 2009.<ref>((cite web|url=http://www.vandiemensland-themovie.com/ |title=VAN DIEMEN'S LAND – In Cinemas Now |publisher=Vandiemensland-themovie.com |access-date=31 August 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101010002908/http://www.vandiemensland-themovie.com/| archive-date= 10 October 2010 | url-status= live))</ref>

==See also==
((Portal|Biography|Australia))
* [[Alferd Packer]]
* [[Convicts on the West Coast of Tasmania]]
* [[Hells Gates (Tasmania)|Hells Gates]]
* [[List of convicts transported to Australia]]
* [[List of incidents of cannibalism]]
* [[List of serial killers by country]]

==References==
((Reflist))

==Further reading==
* Collins, Paul. ''Hell's Gates: the terrible journey of Alexander Pearce, Van Dieman's Land Cannibal''. South Yarra, 2002. ((ISBN|1-74064-083-7))
* Sprod, Dan. ''Alexander Pearce of Macquarie Harbour''. Hobart: Cat & Fiddle Press, 1977. ((ISBN|0-85853-031-7))
* Kidd, Paul B. ''Australia's Serial Killers'' ((ISBN|0-7329-1036-6))

==External links==
((Commons category|Alexander Pearce))
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080724170548/http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/events/exhibitions/2006/ontherun/images/s9.html Alexander Pearce executed for murder, 19 July 1824] Thomas Bock (c. 1793–1855) Pencil Drawing. State Library of New South Wales
((For the Term of His Natural Life))
((Bushrangers |state=autocollapse))
((Convicts in Australia))
((Authority control))

((DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, Alexander))
[[Category:1790 births]]
[[Category:1824 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Irish people]]
[[Category:Australian cannibals]]
[[Category:Bushrangers]]
[[Category:Convict escapees in Australia]]
[[Category:Convicts transported to Australia]]
[[Category:Executed Australian serial killers]]
[[Category:People from County Monaghan]]
[[Category:People executed by Australian colonies by hanging]]
[[Category:People executed for murder]]
[[Category:People from Tasmania]]
[[Category:Western Tasmania]]
[[Category:Incidents of cannibalism]]
[[Category:Executed people from County Monaghan]]

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