Conclusion
An incomplete and undated note from Myra saying that she is 'grieved to my heart about my Ann' was the last letter in William Sykes' kangaroo-skin pouch. Perhaps there was none. Although granted conditional release, virtually complete freedom within the colony, William Sykes did indeed serve out his life sentence in Western Australia. He died at sixty-three in 1891 the owner of a dog, a gun, some clothes and a kangaroo-skin pouch of letters. Ironically the family had petitioned the government for a conditional release that would have allowed William to return home, but he died before the request could be granted.
And what of Myra and her family? Nothing further is known of the children, but research revealed that Myra Sykes re-married after William's death. She lived only two more years. Perhaps Myra's old age, with her new husband, was happier than her middle years.
And the kangaroo-skin pouch? Unlike the fragile pages of history it held for so long, it has been lost to time and decay.
Further Reading: A. Hasluck, Unwilling Emigrants (Oxford University Press, 1959).
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