The Ship That Never Was
The Greatest Escape Story of Australian Colonial History
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The Ship That Never Was
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Narrated by:
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John Eastman
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By:
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Adam Courtenay
About this listen
The greatest escape story of Australian colonial history by the son of Australia's best-loved storyteller.
In 1823, cockney sailor and chancer James Porter was convicted of stealing a stack of beaver furs and transported halfway around the world to Van Diemen's Land. After several escape attempts from the notorious penal colony, Porter, who told authorities he was a 'beer-machine maker', was sent to Sarah Island, known in Van Diemen's Land as hell on earth.
Many had tried to escape Sarah Island; few had succeeded. But when Governor George Arthur announced that the place would be closed and its prisoners moved to the new penal station of Port Arthur, Porter, along with a motley crew of other prisoners, pulled off an audacious escape. Wresting control of the ship they'd been building to transport them to their fresh hell, the escapees instead sailed all the way to Chile. What happened next is stranger than fiction, a fitting outcome for this true-life picaresque tale.
The Ship That Never Was is the entertaining and rollicking story of what is surely the greatest escape in Australian colonial history. James Porter, whose memoirs were the inspiration for Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life, is an original Australian larrikin whose ingenuity, gift of the gab and refusal to buckle under authority make him an irresistible antihero who deserves a place in our history.
©2018 Adam Courtenay (P)2018 Bolinda Publishing Pty LtdWhat listeners say about The Ship That Never Was
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 13-06-2019
I got drawn into the main characters worth reading
A clever tale that gives insights into the harsh living conditions of the convicts as they are transported and warehouses in substand ships to places all over the world and the hypocrisy of the British ruling class. Enough humor to enable me to connect with the story and its humanity. good book to listen to.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 11-10-2023
Remarkable true story
Great book, very well wrote and narrated, incredible colonial Australian story on the lives of very desperate men.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Trevor F.
- 10-12-2024
Humanity Endures Much
I loved the strong dialects in the English “voice-ups” giving a fresh feel to the way the convicts expressed themselves! Well done!
The story of the voyage itself was well put together - and the facts of life in those days, and the facts of the fast ship building projects continue to amaze me!
Thanks.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 18-09-2018
A Great Piece of Australian History!
Couldn't stop listening. Fascinating, informative and fabulously narrated. A great incite into Australian history. Thorough, well researched and enthralling.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 26-02-2024
Historical detail
Great story if you like the Australian convict history. Would recommend. The detail was interesting if sometimes a bit much.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ryan Dagnall
- 13-08-2018
Another piece of Australians convict history
I watched the Ship that never was play in Strahan Tasmania over 10 years ago and have always recommended it to friends when they are in Tasmania. This book captured the story perfectly and went into the history of the characters as well. A fantastic story and one for anyone into the convict history.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 09-11-2020
Well worth a listen
Terrific story, took me a little while to get into it but once I was there I really enjoyed the journey.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- PerryO
- 24-05-2021
Great Book
I couldn't stop listening.
Brilliant !!
Highest Reccomendation. Enlightening, Well, Written and Read. Oi Oi Oi
Pez21
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 15-10-2021
great story
loved it. great story told greatly. thanks so much. thanks thanks thanks thanks thanks thanks
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