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There was a man named Joseph Bolitho Johns who escaped Australian prison so many times, they built a special cell just for him. He escaped that as well.

Moondyne Joe (1826 – 1900), real name Joseph Bolitho Johns, is the most famous bushranger from Western Australia. He became famous, not for his crimes, but for his many escapes from gaol (jail). Early life: Johns was born in Cornwall, England around 1826: his father Thomas Johns was a blacksmith. He might have had smallpox in his youth, as later his face is said to be "pockmarked". After his father died, Johns and his three brothers worked in the copper mines. In 1841 the family was living at Illogan, Penwith, Cornwall. By 1848 Johns had moved to Wales, working as an iron ore miner, at the Clydach Iron Works.

Crime: On 15 November 1848, Johns and a friend, John Williams, were arrested near Chepstow for stealing from the house of Richard Price, three loaves of bread, one piece of bacon, several cheeses, and "other goods". They were charged with burglary and stealing, but they said they did not steal anything. On 23 March they were tried in court with Sir William Erleas the judge. Newspaper reports say that the men were very determined to prove their innocence, but Johns was not polite and did not follow the normal court rules. The men were convicted and sent to gaol for ten years. Johns must have made the judge angry. In other cases before the same judge that day, people on the same type of charges were sent to gaol for times between three weeks to three months.

Johns and Williams spent the next seven months working on a government work party in the local area, before being sent to Millbank Prison. On 1 January 1850, they were sent to Pentonville Prison to serve six months of solitary confinement. On 21 October 1851, they were sent to Dartmoor Prison. Johns was sent to the Woolwich prison hulk Justitia, probably for bad behavior. When the Justitia was destroyed by fire, he was moved to the Defence. About a year later, he was put on convict transport ship, the Pyrenees, and sent to the British penal colony of Western Australia.

Escape from gaol: Moondyne Joe did not think he had been treated properly. In April 1865, he wrote a letter to the Chief Justice. The Chief Justice cut his gaol time by four years, but Joe was still not happy. A few weeks later he tried to cut the lock out of his door. He was given another six months in leg irons. In August, he escaped again, cutting off his leg irons. He met up with three other escaped convicts and together they robbed people in the bush around Perth. At the end of August, one of the gang was taken prisoner by the police.

Moondyne Joe came up with a plan to get away from Western Australia by going overland to South Australia. This would be a long and difficult journey through the desert. On 5 September, Moondyne Joe stole boots, blankets, clothing, guns and ammunition, knives and food from a shop at Toodyay, owned by an old convict, James Everett. The gang went east, following the track made by the explorer Charles Hunt. Their tracks were discovered by police on 26 September, about 160 km (99 mi) east of York. The police set out after them, and they were captured on 29 September, about 300 km (186 mi) north east of Perth. This is near where the town of Westonia is now.

Back to prison: Moondyne Joe was sent back to gaol, and given another five years with hard labour. To make sure that he could not escape again, he was sent to Fremantle Prison where a special cell was made built. It was made with stone, and lined with very thick pieces of wood. He was set to work in the prison yard breaking up rocks into small stones. He was watched all the time by a prison guard. The Governor of Western Australia, John Hampton, said to Johns: "If you get out again, I'll forgive you".

However, the rocks broken up by Joe were not taken away, and soon a large amount of stones blocked the guard's view of Joe's legs. Partly hidden behind the stones, he sometimes hit his hammer against the prison wall. On 7 March, 1867, Moondyne Joe escaped through a hole he had made in the prison wall. The police searched everywhere, but he could not be found. He did not rob any more people, and he did not go any place where someone might know who he was. Many prisoners heard about Moondyne Joe's escape, and tried to escape themselves.

In March 1867, Moondyne Joe tried to steal some wine from the cellars at Houghton Winery. The owner had been helping the police on another search, and brought the policemen to the winery for a drink. Joe thought he had been seen, and ran out of the cellar, right into the policemen. He was sent back to prison and given four more years, as well as having to wear chains around his legs. He tried to escape, but was quickly captured. The new Governor, Weld, heard about Hampton's promise, and said the extra punishment was not fair. Moondyne Joe was given another ticket of leave in April 1871.

Later life: Moondyne Joe did not rob anyone else, though he did do some wrong things and was sent back to gaol a few more times. In January 1879, he married a widow named Louisa Hearn, and they spent some time looking for gold near Southern Cross. In 1881, while looking around Karridale, he discovered Moondyne Cave. In his later years, he began acting strangely, and became mentally ill. He died of senile dementia in the Fremantle Lunatic Asylum (now the Fremantle Arts Centre building) on 13 August, 1900. He was buried in Fremantle Cemetery.

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