Told though haunting folk songs and stark storytelling, Martha Rendell’s story is revealed through competing truths.
Hers, the police, and the courts, leaving the judgment with you to decide… Guilty or Not Guilty!
WHO WAS MARTHA RENDELL?
Martha Rendell (born in England in 1871) migrated to WA in the late 1890s and later formed a relationship with Thomas Morris, who had several young children.
Between 1906 and 1907, Morris’s children began to fall ill and die one by one. Rendell was charged with murder and convicted of killing at least one child.
Despite maintaining her innocence, she was hung at Fremantle Prison in 1909.
Her case shocked the state, drew intense media attention, and sparked lasting debate about guilt, motive, and the harshness of justice in early 20th-century.
Today we ask, “Did we hang an innocent woman?”
The show is free but we encourage you to book as capacity is limited.
We can encourage you to stay for lunch at the Old Courthouse, bookings found here: Bookings - Old Courthouse Fremantle
About Ashlea Reale, Folk Singer and Songwriter
Ashlea has performed at folk festivals across Australia and in the UK, captivating audiences with performances that feel part campfire confession, part true-crime ballad. Over the years, she’s collaborated with a range of musicians to breathe new life into old, forgotten tales. On stage, Ashlea’s storytelling comes alive. Her performances are raw, magnetic, and impossible to look away from, the kind that draw a hush over the crowd one moment and have them leaning forward the next. With every word and every note, she holds her audience in the palm of her hand, weaving tension, truth, and emotion into something that feels both intimate and electrifying.
About Sharyn McCaskey, Curator and Storyteller
Sharyn has a respect and love for sharing stories, and a lifelong passion for history, especially Australian Colonial. She is clear and passionate; you’re engaged from the first word. She maintains you die three times, when you die, when you’re buried and the last time someone says your name, her mission is to continue to say those names. Sharyn has curated several history exhibitions, including Doing the Bolt which connected convicts to bushrangers, now on permanent display in Jerilderie NSW. Sharyn was a tour guide at Fremantle Prison for 5.5 years. She has travelled to numerous countries researching, exploring, photographing, filming and writing history, she has visited every main historical site in Australia, numerous times.
This show is written by Ashlea Reale and Sharyn McCaskey and is performed with thanks and as part of the 2026 Fremantle Heritage Festival.
