Pawelka's last prison break

Joseph Pawelka escaped from Wellington’s Terrace Gaol. It was the last in a series of bold but seemingly effortless prison escapes he made over a period of 18 months

Pawelka’s first escape was from Palmerston North gaol, in which he was being held on theft charges. On 12 March 1910 he climbed over the wall with the assistance of two upturned buckets and an inattentive guard. He then rode off on a stolen bicycle. Two days later he was captured at Awahuri, 13 km away, and taken to Wellington. On 23 March, after a short stay in the Terrace Gaol, he was transferred to police cells in Lambton Quay. He escaped again, this time assisted by the carelessness of Constable John Gallagher, who failed to lock the cell door after removing Pawelka’s cellmate.

Pawelka’s suspected commission of robberies, burglaries and arsons as he fled north led to what was then New Zealand’s biggest manhunt. One of the two constables who recaptured him at Ashhurst on 17 April was none other than John Gallagher, who redeemed himself for his inattention the previous month.

Following a series of Supreme Court trials, Pawelka was given a cumulative sentence of 21 years for theft, arson and escaping from custody. Members of the public who saw the sentence as overly severe organised protest meetings, committees and petitions but failed to persuade the government to intervene. Pawelka remained in the Terrace Gaol until he escaped by removing the grille from his cell window on 27 August 1911.

He was never recaptured. While family lore suggests he fled to Canada, in 1913 New Zealand Truth published an entertaining but possibly fictionalised account of his escape and new life in Mexico.

Image: Joseph Pawelka (National Library)