It was the greatest single act of theft in Australian history. In April 1852, the barque, Nelson – Captain Walter Wright, commander – lay at anchor in Hobson’s Bay, preparing to sail for London with more than 8,000 ounces of gold secured in her hold. That night, a group of armed men boarded the vessel, overpowered her crew, shot her first mate, and escaped with a fortune – worth today more than 35 million dollars. Piracy in the Bay: The Great Nelson Gold Robbery is the first comprehensive study of this remarkable event. Drawing on trial transcripts, eyewitness testimony, contemporary newspaper accounts and unpublished family archives, Paul Wright – great grandson of the Nelson’s captain – reconstructs the crime with precision and insight. It is a story backed up by never-before published photographs of some of the principal players involved in the Nelson affair.