19. The Cooking Pot Uprising of 1846 was the last of the Norfolk Island uprisings
William Westwood was a convict and bushranger (escaped convicts who robbed and committed other crimes while hiding in the bush) who had escaped from several of the penal colonies before being sent to Norfolk Island. More than once he felt the whip, being given 100 lashes on two occasions while at Van Diemen’s Land. At Norfolk Island he nursed a growing grudge as Joseph Childs removed the few privileges the convicts enjoyed; private garden plots, days of leisure as a reward for good behavior, and the allowance for the convicts to cook their own meals.
Childs ordered the cooking utensils in the convicts’ possession confiscated. Westwood responded by inciting a riot, using the utensils as weapons as they overpowered the guards. Several of the convict guards and other prison officials and workers were killed in the uprising. When it was brought under control by troops dispatched from Government House, the prisoners were sent to their cells and armed guards patrolled the common areas. 13 men, including Westwood, were charged with the murders of the men killed in the riot. All were hanged. Joseph Childs was relieved of his duties and replaced following a government investigation.