Black Jack Anderson

John 'Black Jack' Anderson (d 1842?) was an African-American sealer and pirate active in the Recherche Archipelago off the south coast of Western Australia. He is Australia's only recorded male pirate.[1][2][3][4]

A sketch of Black Jack Anderson which appeared in the Perth Gazette in 1842

Arrival in Australia

Anderson arrived in the fledgling King George Sound colony (modern day Albany) aboard the American whaling vessel Vigilant in 1826. While the crew were drinking ashore, a fight broke out and a man was killed. Accused of murder, Anderson and several crewmates fled in a small vessel and hid out in the Recherche Archipelago, approximately 400 kilometres to the east.[5]

Piracy

Anderson and his fellows established an encampment on Middle Island in Western Australia, as it was one of the few islands with a source of fresh water. The archipelago was heavily populated by Australian sea lions and New Zealand fur seals, and Anderson's band soon enriched themselves by trading furs to settlements along the coast; they are noted as visiting Kangaroo Island and the Althorpe Islands in South Australia. They supplemented their sealing income by robbing vessels travelling between Western Australia and the east coast colonies. They are also said to have murdered Indigenous Kaurna men and abducted women to take as sex slaves. The Recherche Archipelago was treacherous and uncharted, making it an ideal hideout for the pirates.[6][7]

In September 1834 Anderson and another black man, John Bathurst, arrived at Kangaroo Island from Long Island and clashed with whalers and Aboriginals.[8][9]

According to an 1842 report complaining about the lawlessness of sealers:

One of the most daring of these people was a man of color of the name of Anderson, and lawless as these men were, they looked up to him with a sort of dread. Anderson usually carried a brace of pistols about him, knowing that he held his life by a very precarious tenure. By persevering exertions he had amassed a considerable sum of money, and usually kept one or two black women to attend on him and minister to his wants, when not engaged in sealing.[10]

Death

Anderson was eventually murdered by his fellow pirates, and is thought to be buried somewhere on Middle Island.[1] According to a contemporary report:

They got quite disgusted with Anderson's harshness, and determined to remove him, but were puzzled how to accomplish it, as he was a stout, powerful man, and being armed was always on his guard. At last, one day when he was asleep in the tent, one of them entered and, taking deliberate aim, blew his brains out. The corpse was thrown into a hole, and covered over with earth, they then shared the booty, and killed the native wowan [he was with] in case she should afterwards tell the tale.[10]

The reputation of the island as a lawless place continued for some time; in 1848 The Inquirer called it "the resort of a set of lawless desperadoes, composed of runaway convicts, sealers, etc."[4][7]

In fiction

References
  1. Pownall, Angela (26 March 2012). "In search of pirate Black Jack". The West Australian. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  2. Georgatas, G., "An 18,000-year old history uncovered on WA island", National Indigenous Times, 20 June 2012, p. 14.
  3. "In search of pirate Black Jack". Australian Traveller. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  4. Paterson, Alistair (16–25 April 2006). "Report on Historical Archaeological Expedition to Middle and Boxer Islands, Recherche Archipelago, Western Australia, 16-25 April 2006" (PDF). Department of Maritime Archaeology, Western Australian Museum. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  5. "Black Jack Anderson". ABC Esperance. 14 October 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  6. Hosking, Rick (June 2003). A Critical Edition of William Cawthorne's The Islanders (Thesis). University of Adelaide.
  7. Clark, William Nairne (8 October 1842). "Remarks Respecting the Islands on the Coast of S.W. Australia". The Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal. p. 3. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  8. "TWO ENGLISH LADS". The Perth Gazette And Western Australian Journal. III (144). Western Australia. 3 October 1835. p. 575. Retrieved 12 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "EARLY DAYS OF EYRE PENINSULA". Port Lincoln Times. VII (393). South Australia. 22 March 1935. p. 3. Retrieved 12 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. "REMARKS RESPECTING THE IS LANDS ON THE COAST OF S. W. AUSTRALIA". The Perth Gazette And Western Australian Journal. X (505). Western Australia. 8 October 1842. p. 3. Retrieved 12 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
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