Joes Cage - WA

The cage is an area where Moondyne Joe (Western Australia’s most legendary bushranger and escape artist) captured and branded wild horses and cattle. Signage at the site gives the story: The cage was one of many constructed between 1855 and 1861 by pardoned convict turned outlaw Joseph Bolitho Johns (1827-1900), better known as Moondyne Joe' to capture wild horses and cattle as they came to drink at nearby springs in this remote and rugged valley. These structures originally measured 20m long by 10m wide and were hand built out of local timber. Joe lived in this valley in between prison terms served mainly for petty theft and escaping legal custody. His determination to be a free spirit and escape from prison earned Joe admiration from early settlers. John Forrest surveyed the site in 1878 during his survey along the Avon Valley from Walyunga to Toodyay.Not much remains but a digging of what looks like a well just beyond the information sign.Moondyne Joe (Joseph Bolitho Johns, c.1826–1900) was transported from Wales for stealing, he gained notoriety for repeatedly escaping from colonial custody.