John Lennon's Solitary Confinement on St Helena Island

Here on St Helena Island, an Indigenous man named John Lennon spent two years in jail starting in 1871. He was working for a squatter, William Kelman, at Meteor Downs west of Rockhampton, and hadn't been in trouble before. But one night in Rockhampton, he robbed a sleeping tailor and his wife, taking two gold rings, a brooch, a pipe, two pen-knives, a tweed coat, linen trousers, and two razors. When he was arrested in a hayshed, he said, "Me must have been drunk last night."

On February 13, 1871, Judge Hirst sentenced him to two years, though he considered life imprisonment. Lennon was sent to St Helena Island's B-Ward, which was for Aboriginal people, South Sea Islanders, and anyone not classified as white or Caucasian. The B-Ward cells were cramped, holding 12 prisoners in hammocks with night buckets in the middle.

Lennon began his time here on February 27, 1871, clearing land, digging holes, and emptying the night buckets. The island had large pastures of sugar cane, a sugar mill, and maize, which was served as porridge for breakfast.

He got into trouble three times. On October 12, 1871, he spent three days in solitary confinement for smoking in his cell. Solitary confinement in 1871 was harsh: underground, no light, little ventilation, total silence, and only bread and water. Then, on December 14, 1871, he was caught singing in his cell. Another prisoner, William Reed, was dancing the same day and got seven days in solitary, but Lennon was only reprimanded. Singing and dancing were strict "no-gos" then. It's thought he might have been singing a bawdy drinking song or an Indigenous song, as there’s no record of him playing an instrument. His final punishment came on March 3, 1872, when he was caught concealing a pipe and had a week's tobacco rations docked.

Lennon was released on October 22, 1872, before his two-year term was up, which meant they believed he had been "pretty good." Prison records show he never reappeared in a Brisbane jail, but his life after St Helena Island isn't known.