The man who turned up

When lawyer Peter Finn stood up in the Invercargill Supreme Court in 1888 and said his client would be appearing to face a charge of arson, there can’t have been many who believed him.
After all, his client had escaped from prison several months before and despite the best efforts of the police, hadn’t been seen since.
But the next day Rudolph Radka walked straight into the courthouse ready for his trial to the complete amazement of every one.
Radka had been arrested in September 1888 for arson for his own home in Teviot St, Invercargill. A woman and her three children lived in the house. They survived.
He was put into the Invercargill prison on September 17 after being committed for trial. Six nights later a guard saw him in his call but the next morning at 5.30am he was gone.
There were a large number of odd rumours about him, including that he was dressing as a woman and working serving food in some cafe.
Then on December 12 Radka walked into the Supreme Court.
Radka claimed the cell door was left open. A wire clothes line was found over the front wall of the prison.
Police had been watching ports in case he tried to flee the country after a boat had been found missing from a nearby jetty the same morning he escaped.
At one point in a case of mistaken identity, two police officers thought they had seen Radka and followed a man only to have him complain to police that two men were following him.
A reward of £50 was offered for his capture.
In reality he was just mooching around the area and getting sick of being on the run.
Radka was promptly charged with escaping and was given four months hard labour.
In a nice case of irony, Radka was actually acquitted of the charge of arson he had been locked up for in the first place.
What happened to Radka after his release is a mystery in itself. He got himself into trouble again a couple of times then vanished.
Peter Finn was an Irishman who had gotten his qualifications in Australia then went into politics. He came to Invercargill in 1876 and with others, set up in practice. He continued to try politics but with little success and returned to Australia in 1890.
He died in Meredith in Victoria, Australia on April 1, 1911 and is buried Boroondara General Cemetery.