Two desperate prisoners, chisels, a saw, an accomplice .. and a windy winter's night.
The winds that swirled through Maitland Gaol on the night of Wednesday, August 6, 1851 masked the noise of sawing and chisels as two prisoners executed their escape.
Patrick McNamara, 27, was awaiting trial on a charge of murdering his wife; Patrick Walsh, 34, was charged with burglary and larceny. On the night of August 6, the men put the tools to use. They smashed the padlock of the inner cell door with the cold chisels, ripped the iron casing from the lower part of the outer door and sawed through the woodwork.Full article by Briony Snedden available at Maitland Mercury, 13 Jun, 2011.
