19/07/2025
Today marks 201 years since Notorious Alexander Pearce was hanged for Cannibalism On July 19th,1824...
ALEXANDER PEARCE THE CANNIBAL…
By Michelle Austen
The Notorious Alexander Pearce is one of Van Diemen’s Land’s (Tasmania’s) darkest chapters. He was sent out from Ireland in 1819 as a convict sentenced to seven years' transportation for stealing. Alexander had several misdemeanours on his convict record. His last two crimes were so vile that these crimes would see him hanged. In 1823, Alexander Pearce, along with seven other convicts, escaped from Macquarie Harbour into the dark wilderness with very little food. Once they were out of food, they were forced to eat the weakest, therefore committing the worst crime of all, cannibalism. One by one, they were eaten, leaving Alexander Pearce the only one left alive. Alexander made it all the way to the Derwent River, where he was caught. He told them what had happened to the rest of the convicts that he had eaten them, but the authorities didn’t believe him. He was sent right back to Macquarie Harbour. He had escaped again in 1824 along with fellow convict Cox, poor soul, never knew that he would never be seen alive again. This time, Alexander Pearce made sure he left evidence behind, for he was found with bits of cox in his pockets. Alexander had become a cannibal. The news of Cox’s murder sent shock waves through the colony for the sheer horror of the crime. Pearce’s Cannibalism would reach overseas newspapers. Alexander Pearce was hanged on July 19th, 1824, at the Gallows, which at that stage sat just outside the Supreme Court opposite the Hobart Gaol on the corner of Murray Street and Macquarie Street, Hobart.
It is believed that Alexander Pearce’s last words before his hanging were Man’s Flesh Is delicious, it tastes far better than Fish or Pork! Source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pearce
(Some people have thought he was hanged at the Penitentiary, as the Gallows is there now. The Gallows weren’t taken there until 1857 when Murray Street Hobart Gaol closed. Same Gallows, different location.
Alexander Pearce was dissected, and his skull now sits in the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
The skull of Alexander Pearce, which is now held in the University of
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia America. Photo held at the Tasmanian Archives
Office PH30-1-2723 Libraries Tasmania.
Alexander Pearce’s death sentence PH30-1-2735
Photo from Tasmanian archives, Libraries Tasmania
References Used
https://librariestas.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/tas/search/results?qu=Alexander&qu=Pearce
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pearce
