Brenden James Abbott (born 8 May 1962) is a convicted Australian bank robber. He is reported to have stolen and hidden millions of dollars, and was dubbed "the postcard bandit" by police seeking media coverage. Abbott was held in a maximum-security prison in Queensland until he was transferred in 2016 to Casuarina Prison in Western Australia. He will be eligible for parole in 2026. A film about Abbott, The Postcard Bandit, was made in 2003. Personal A former ward of the state of Western Australia, Abbott continues to suffer anxiety and related health disorders, as noted in a semi-biographical work, Australian Outlaw, by Derek Pedley. As a hearing-impaired 12-year-old in November 1974, he was maltreated at Hillston Boys Home. Abbott attended Eastern Hills High School in Mount Helena and was considered an average to good student. His watercolour "Little Boy Blue" was painted after the November 2009 national apology to Forgotten Australians. Abbott is recognised as a highly intelligent criminal and "minor genius" with a strong reliance on memory and observational skills to carry out his criminal activities. He used his knowledge and self-taught skills in make-up to create convincing disguises, computers to create false IDs, and electronics to dodge alarms and police. Weeks were spent methodically planning each bank robbery including observing the staff in the bank, identifying weaknesses in security, patterns of behaviour and the layout of the premises prior to the robbery taking place. These skills are widely thought to have assisted him in both successful prison escapes. Police officers who have interviewed Abbott have stated he is always probing for information on how he has been caught or what the police know about him. Abbott used his understanding of police methodology and intelligence gathering to successfully avoid capture during his time as an escapee. Fremantle Prison escape – 1989 Abbott had fled from police during questioning in relation to burglary at the Nollamara police station in 1986 and in 1987 successfully stole $11,200 from the Commonwealth Bank in Perth with his first bank robbery. In the months following, police arrested Abbott at Perth Airport. Sentenced to Fremantle Prison, Abbott was given duties in the tailor workshop, fitting and sewing uniforms to order. It was through the workshop Abbott and Aaron Reynolds were able to create fake prison guard uniforms. On 24 November 1989 Abbott dressed in the false uniform, cut through the bars in the workshop