Black Jack Anderson

John 'Black Jack' Anderson was an African-American sealer and pirate active in the Recherche Archipelago off the south coast of Western Australia. He is Australia's only recorded pirate.

Anderson arrived in the fledgling King George Sound colony (modern day Albany) aboard the American whaling vessel Vigilant in 1826. While the crew were drinking ashore, a fight broke out and a man was killed. Accused of murder, Anderson and several crewmates fled in a small vessel and hid out in the Recherche Archipelago, approximately 400 kilometres to the east.

Anderson and his fellows established an encampment on Middle Island, as it was one of the few islands with a source of fresh water. The archipelago was heavily populated by Australian sea lions and New Zealand fur seals, and Anderson's band soon enriched themselves by trading furs to settlements along the coast; they are noted as visiting Kangaroo Island and the Althorpe Islands in South Australia. They supplemented their sealing income by robbing vessels travelling between Western Australia and the east coast colonies. They are also said to have murdered Indigenous Kaurna men and abducted women to take as sex slaves. The Recherche Archipelago was treacherous and uncharted, making it an ideal hideout for the pirates.

Anderson was eventually murdered by his fellow pirates, and is thought to be buried somewhere on Middle Island. The reputation of the island as a lawless place continued for some time; in 1848 The Inquirer called it "the resort of a set of lawless desperadoes, composed of runaway convicts, sealers, etc."

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