John Caesar (1764 – 15 February 1796), nicknamed "Black Caesar", was the first Australian

bushranger Bushrangers were originally escaped convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who used the bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. By the 1820s, the term had evolved to refer to those who took up " robbery unde ...

and one of the first

people of African descent The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from native Africans or people from Africa, predominantly in the Americas. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the West and Central Africans who were ...

to arrive in Australia.

Biography

It is believed that Caesar was born in Madagascar or the West Indies. He moved to England and was a servant living in the parish of St Paul,

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford D ...

, England, in 1786.

Transportation to Australia

On 17 March 1786, he was tried at

Maidstone, Kent Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it with ...

for stealing 240 shillings. His sentence was transportation to the penal colony of New South Wales for seven years. He was imprisoned on , a convict transport ship that left England in May 1787 as part of the First Fleet. His occupation was listed as servant or labourer. ''Alexander'' arrived in

Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cooks Ri ...

in January 1788. According to the ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia ...

'', Caesar gained a reputation in the colony as a conscientious and hard worker.

First escape

On 29 April 1789 he was tried for theft and sentenced to a second term of transportation, this time to life. Caesar took to the bush a fortnight later, reportedly with some provisions, an iron pot, and a musket stolen from a marine named Abraham Hand. However, unable to sustain himself owing to the shortage of game, he began to steal food on the outskirts of the settlement. On 26 May he helped himself to a brickmaking gang's rations on

Brickfield Hill Brickfield Hill is a City of Sydney locality in inner city Sydney, Australia. The name was used for the surrounding settlement serving the colony's growing need for bricks, and today is part of the suburb of Surry Hills. History Brickfield Hil ...

and was nearly caught. On the night of 6 June he tried to steal food from the house of Zachariah Clark, the colony's assistant

commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

for stores, and was caught by a convict named William Saltmarsh. In July 1789,

David Collins David Collins may refer to: Persons * David Collins (Hampshire cricketer), 18th-century cricketer * David Collins (New Zealand cricketer) (1887–1967) * David Collins (Scottish footballer) (1912–?) * David Collins (Australian footballer) ...

, the colony's Judge-Advocate, wrote:

This man was always reputed the hardest living convict in the colony; his frame was muscular and well calculated for hard labour; but in his intellects he did not very widely differ from a brute; his appetite was ravenous, for he would in any one day devour the full rations for two days. To gratify this appetite he was compelled to steal from others, and all his thefts were directed to that purpose.

Caesar was described by Collins after his first recapture as a "wretch" who was "so indifferent about meeting death, that he declared while in confinement, that if he should be hanged, he would create a laugh before he was turned off, by playing off some trick upon the executioner". Governor

Arthur Phillip Admiral Arthur Phillip (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first governor of the Colony of New South Wales. Phillip was educated at Greenwich Hospital School from June 1751 until ...

however, took advantage of Caesar's potential as a labourer and had him sent to Garden Island, where he would work in fetters and be provided with vegetables. There he showed good behaviour and as a result was eventually allowed to work without iron belts.

Second escape

Caesar was allowed to work without chains. On 22 December 1789 he escaped in a stolen canoe, taking a gun. He robbed settlers' gardens, and stole from local Aboriginals, who speared him on 30 January 1790. On 31 January 1790 Caesar handed himself in to camp. Governor Phillip pardoned him and sent Caesar in the ''Supply'' to Norfolk Island in March 1790 to assist Doctor Considen. According to his biography, "By 1 July 1791 he was supporting himself on a lot at Queenborough and was issued with a hog. In January next year he was given one acre (0.4 ha) and ordered to work three days a week." Caesar became a father, having a daughter with fellow convict Anne Power (d 1796). Mary Ann Power was born on 4 March 1792. Caesar left her on Norfolk Island when he returned to Port Jackson in the '' Kitty'' in 1793.

Third escape

Caesar escaped briefly again in July 1794 but soon returned home.

Pemulwuy

Caesar gained some notoriety during his lifetime for his part in wounding the Aboriginal warrior

Pemulwuy Pemulwuy (also rendered as Pimbloy, Pemulvoy, Pemulwoy, Pemulwy or Pemulwye, or sometimes by contemporary Europeans as Bimblewove, Bumbleway or Bembulwoyan) (c. 1750 – 2 June 1802) was a Bidjigal man of the Eora nation, born around 1750 in th ...

. He was working with a party at

in late 1795 that came under attack by a group of warriors led by Pemulwuy. Caesar wounded him by cracking his skull. During his many skirmishes with European settlers, Pemulwuy is rumored to have been wounded up to seven times, with Caesar being one of the many men to almost end his leadership of the Aboriginal resistance to the European colonisation of Australia.

Fourth escape

Caesar escaped from custody in December 1795 and led a gang of absconders in the Port Jackson area. Settlers were warned against supplying him with ammunition. On 29 January 1796 Governor Hunter offered a reward for his capture of five gallons of spirits.

Death

On 15 February 1796 John Wimbow and another man tracked Caesar down at

Liberty Plains Liberty Plains Parish is one of the 57 parishes of Cumberland County, New South Wales, a cadastral unit for use on land titles. It is bounded by Parramatta Road in the north; the boundary between Flemington and Homebush, a small part of Cooks ...

. Caesar fired at them but Wimbrow managed to wound him. Caesar was taken to the hut of Thomas Rose where he died of his wounds. He was survived by his daughter, Mary Ann Fisher Power.

References

External links

The first bushranger

* ttps://archive.today/20121231063751/http://www.nedkellysworld.com.au/bushrangers/caesar_j.htm JOHN CAESAR (alias Black Caesar) {{DEFAULTSORT:Caesar, John Australian outlaws Bushrangers Convicts transported to Australia on the First Fleet 1764 births 1796 deaths Deaths by firearm in New South Wales Australian people of Malagasy descent Convict escapees in Australia