One of the most famous incidents concerning Nemarluk and his men was the killing of the Japanese crew of the lugger "Ouida" at Injin Beach, near Port Keats in 1933. In the 1930s, he was imprisoned in Darwin's Fannie Bay Gaol. He soon managed to break out and made his escape by swimming across Darwin Harbour to the (then) remote Cox Peninsula. That was a most impressive feat as the Harbour is at least 8 kilometres wide with very strong tides, so swimming it was no mean feat without meeting a crocodile along the way.