Joe Windred, bizarre Australian & San Francisco connection

I found this, true, tale of mistaken identity, wrongful conviction and the link to San Francisco history fascinating. Check out the bizarre links in the life of Joe Windred, onetime mayor of Orange, NSW in this ABC radio podcast.

Stephen Dando Collins - ABC Conversations with Richard Fidler        


Stephen Dando Collins has uncovered yet another extraordinary true story: of the Australian man wrongly convicted of identical crimes in Sydney and San Francisco.

Little did the people of Orange NSW know when they twice elected Joseph Windred their mayor that this upstanding Windsor-born businessman, colonial hero and founder of their local jockey club had, in chains, helped build the San Quentin Penitentiary in San Francisco during the California gold rush, only to make a thrilling escape back to Australia. And that, technically, Joe was still a fugitive from American justice.

There was a lot about Joe people didn't know.