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Midnite: The Story of a Wild Colonial Boy
Even though MIDNITE was seventeen, he wasn't very bright. So when his father died, his five animal friends decided to look after him. Khat, the Siamese, suggested he became a bushranger, and his horse, Red Ned, offered to help. But it wasn't very easy, especially when Trooper O'Grady kept putting him in prison.
So it was just as well that in the end he found GOLD!
A brilliantly good-humoured and amusing history of the exploits of Captain Midnite and his five good animal friends.
So it was just as well that in the end he found GOLD!
A brilliantly good-humoured and amusing history of the exploits of Captain Midnite and his five good animal friends.
120 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
12 people are currently reading
232 people want to read
About the author
Randolph Stow
22 books37 followersBorn in Geraldton, Western Australia, Randolph Stow attended Geraldton Primary and High schools, Guildford Grammar School, the University of Western Australia, and the University of Sydney. During his undergraduate years in Western Australia he wrote two novels and a collection of poetry, which were published in London by Macdonald & Co. He taught English Literature at the University of Adelaide, the University of Western Australia and the University of Leeds.
He also worked on an Aboriginal mission in the Kimberley, which he used as background for his third novel To the Islands. Stow further worked as an assistant to an anthropologist, Charles Julius, and cadet patrol officer in the Trobriand Islands. In the Trobriands he suffered a mental and physical breakdown that led to his repatriation to Australia. Twenty years later, he used these last experiences in his novel Visitants.
Stow's first visit to England took place in 1960, after which he returned several times to Australia. Tourmaline, his fourth novel, was completed in Leeds in 1962. In 1964 and 1965 he travelled in North America on a Harkness Fellowship, including a sojourn in Aztec, New Mexico, during which he wrote one of his best known novels, The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea. While living in Perth (WA) in 1966 he wrote his popular children's book Midnite.
From 1969 to 1981 he lived at East Bergholt in Suffolk in England, his ancestral county, and he used traditional tales from that area to inform his novel The Girl Green as Elderflower. The last decades of his life he spent in nearby Harwich, the setting for his final novel The Suburbs of Hell. He last visited Australia in 1974.
His novel To the Islands won the Miles Franklin Award for 1958.[1] He was awarded the Patrick White Award in 1979. As well as producing fiction, poetry, and numerous book reviews for The Times Literary Supplement, he also wrote libretti for musical theatre works by Peter Maxwell Davies.
A considerable number of Randolph Stow's poems are listed in the State Library of Western Australia online catalogue[2] with indications where they have been anthologised.
He also worked on an Aboriginal mission in the Kimberley, which he used as background for his third novel To the Islands. Stow further worked as an assistant to an anthropologist, Charles Julius, and cadet patrol officer in the Trobriand Islands. In the Trobriands he suffered a mental and physical breakdown that led to his repatriation to Australia. Twenty years later, he used these last experiences in his novel Visitants.
Stow's first visit to England took place in 1960, after which he returned several times to Australia. Tourmaline, his fourth novel, was completed in Leeds in 1962. In 1964 and 1965 he travelled in North America on a Harkness Fellowship, including a sojourn in Aztec, New Mexico, during which he wrote one of his best known novels, The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea. While living in Perth (WA) in 1966 he wrote his popular children's book Midnite.
From 1969 to 1981 he lived at East Bergholt in Suffolk in England, his ancestral county, and he used traditional tales from that area to inform his novel The Girl Green as Elderflower. The last decades of his life he spent in nearby Harwich, the setting for his final novel The Suburbs of Hell. He last visited Australia in 1974.
His novel To the Islands won the Miles Franklin Award for 1958.[1] He was awarded the Patrick White Award in 1979. As well as producing fiction, poetry, and numerous book reviews for The Times Literary Supplement, he also wrote libretti for musical theatre works by Peter Maxwell Davies.
A considerable number of Randolph Stow's poems are listed in the State Library of Western Australia online catalogue[2] with indications where they have been anthologised.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
September 16, 2013
I loved this book when I was 11 years old, and now that I'm a homeschooling parent, I love it as much for different reasons.
Captain Midnite is a bushranger who has the country's collective heart gripped in terror. Even Queen Victoria is troubled by his frightening reputation. Nobody knows that he is really a 17-year-old with a handful of pet animal confederates, and that he isn't very bright and pretty plain looking (although he can appear almost handsome if he scrubs up).
Another memorable character is Trooper O'Grady, the cop who young Midnite thinks the nicest fellow one could ever meet, who conceals a shady side. Khat, Midnite's fierce Siamese sidekick, is great. Then there is the beautiful, romantically inclined Miss Laura Wellborn, whose greatest desire is to glimpse Captain Midnite's face. The problem is, she doesn't expect a straggly youth.
When I was young, I lapped up the story while the hilarious subtleties, innuendoes, historical references, ironies and Midnite's funny naivety soared right over my head. That's what makes this such a brilliant choice for adults as well as kids. It's not the usual bedtime story that you yawn your way through to keep your children happy. And it sparks interesting conversations and a curiosity about the colonial era in a really positive way.
Overall, you can't help wishing well for the young man who thinks the best of people and takes everything that comes his way at face value.
Captain Midnite is a bushranger who has the country's collective heart gripped in terror. Even Queen Victoria is troubled by his frightening reputation. Nobody knows that he is really a 17-year-old with a handful of pet animal confederates, and that he isn't very bright and pretty plain looking (although he can appear almost handsome if he scrubs up).
Another memorable character is Trooper O'Grady, the cop who young Midnite thinks the nicest fellow one could ever meet, who conceals a shady side. Khat, Midnite's fierce Siamese sidekick, is great. Then there is the beautiful, romantically inclined Miss Laura Wellborn, whose greatest desire is to glimpse Captain Midnite's face. The problem is, she doesn't expect a straggly youth.
When I was young, I lapped up the story while the hilarious subtleties, innuendoes, historical references, ironies and Midnite's funny naivety soared right over my head. That's what makes this such a brilliant choice for adults as well as kids. It's not the usual bedtime story that you yawn your way through to keep your children happy. And it sparks interesting conversations and a curiosity about the colonial era in a really positive way.
Overall, you can't help wishing well for the young man who thinks the best of people and takes everything that comes his way at face value.
December 9, 2020
After reading MOONLITE, I decided to return to a childhood favourite of mine. When I was about 8, Midnite was my favourite book, and reading it again, it holds up, but there's something else that strikes me about this fun tale of a young bushranger and his gang of animal accomplices. This book is so gay. Throughout the entire book, we have the juxtaposition of the moral criminal Midnite, and the criminal charismatic cop Trooper O'Grady, who is obsessed with Midnite, in love with him, follows him around everywhere, calls him his very best friend, can't stop thinking about him, can't keep his hands off him - oh my god, this is just like a fanfic setup right here. It's even more than the Kate Beaton "Nemesis mine" comic because it doesn't seem like Midnite and O'Grady even pretend to hate each other. O'Grady's a pretty bad influence, but the whole thing about him becoming a cop because it means it's easier for him to deal with his criminal impulses could also imply that he's a criminal in...a different way. If you know what I mean. There's a lot more development for Midnite and O'Grady's relationship than there is for that of Midnite and Miss Laura Wellborn, and O'Grady sobs when Midnite gets married.
I can't say it was terribly surprising to find out that Randolph Stow was gay. It also made a lot of sense that I was so drawn to this book as a youngster, when I grew up to be extremely gay myself. The ultimate be gay do crimes book.
I can't say it was terribly surprising to find out that Randolph Stow was gay. It also made a lot of sense that I was so drawn to this book as a youngster, when I grew up to be extremely gay myself. The ultimate be gay do crimes book.
November 17, 2020
Australian puss in boots, starring a Siamese cat named Khat.
Tho usual warning for historically accurate racism, I was amused by the Poet Laureate’s poem about millionaires.
Money to the right of them
Money to the left of them
Money in front of them
—Borrowed or plundered?
Where did they get the stuff?
Had they played clean or rough?
When would they have enough?
—So we all wondered.
Tho usual warning for historically accurate racism, I was amused by the Poet Laureate’s poem about millionaires.
Money to the right of them
Money to the left of them
Money in front of them
—Borrowed or plundered?
Where did they get the stuff?
Had they played clean or rough?
When would they have enough?
—So we all wondered.
October 24, 2016
Re-reading this after many years, it is both of its time and yet startlingly modern: Stow manages a nuanced view of police, law, theft, monarchy and authority all within hilariously simplified/overblown humour. The portrait Aboriginal people (who are treated as mysterious shadowy forces rather than actual people, separate to white society - unknowable is certainly better than stereotypical, but it still depersonalises them in some chapters), and women (who are mostly capricious and silly - although Mrs Chifley, a key exception, is one of the great characters of Australian fiction) doesn't necessarily survive as brilliantly, but inevertheless, this is a wonderfully Australian tale which both celebrates and subverts our key myths.
March 25, 2024
Pretty fun for what it was! I wish my degree assigned more quirky children’s books like these.
August 4, 2022
Cute story, a wild colonial boy a cat, cow, dog, cockatoo and horse. Try bush ranging.
February 8, 2014
I haven't read this in years - possibly decades - because I read it so often as a boy that I can still recite large chunks of it. It has a special place in my heart, because it was the first book I read that was by a living Western Australian author, obviously set in Western Australia, and immensely enjoyable (the fact that the hero is a wise English-speaking Siamese cat may have helped). Before that, I hadn't realized such a thing was possible (the book, not the cat), and I might never have become a writer had it not been for this still-hilarious short novel.
November 22, 2021
Read my full review and more at Quill & Quoll book reviews: https://www.quillandquoll.com
'Midnite' is the story of a good-natured but rather unintelligent lad who ends up becoming a bushranger outlaw on the advice of his cat.
He is joined in his exploits by a tall and noble-minded horse called Red Ned, a silly cow called Dora, a temperamental Major Mitchell Cockatoo called Major, and Gyp, a young sheepdog with a perpetual half-laughing, half-worried look on his face. Finally, there is Khat, a wily and splendid siamese cat, and the brains behind Captain Midnite's Gang.
With their assistance, Midnite becomes the terror of the Australian colonies, bushranging up and down the country, reported in newspapers around the world, hunted by trackers and police troopers, romanticised by the ladies and poets, and reviled by judges and royalty alike.
But it isn's easy being a bushranger, especially when the sneaky Trooper O'Grady keeps pickpocketing and arresting Midnite, and sending him to prison. Yet throughout it all, Midnite remains a sweet but naive young man who meets a variety of entertaining characters, ends up in gaol numerous times, discovers gold, romance, and the perils of drinking, and even has an audience with the queen.
------
'Midnite' is a delightful and whimsical adventure story packed with ridiculous characters, witty dialogue, and dramatic escapades. It won the 1994 BILBY Children’s Choice Awards Prize for Writing for Young Adults, and in 1997 was also adapted for the stage by Richard Tulloch. While the target readership are those aged 8-12, this book is an enjoyable read for all ages. Each chapter functions as a mini tale, which work perfectly well as bedtime stories for younger readers, as well as being a humorous and satirical read for older readers.
Like many books written decades ago, there are some elements in 'Midnite' that do not transfer well to a modern readership. The Australia presented in the book is predominately Anglo-centric, with the presence of Aboriginal people reduced to a brief mention where "the black people followed and hid and peeped at them; but Midnite and his gang never saw a black person, except out of the corners of their eyes." There are other outdated racial representations, particularly in scenes revolving around the Queen of England, which mention how "the Queen's giant Nubian slaves fanned her with peacock feathers" and "the three little maharajahs who held up the train of her robes when she played games." It is certainly possible to still enjoy a book that has unfavourable stereotypes and outdated representation, so long as we recognise these antiquated portrayals for what they are.
'Midnite: The Story of a Wild Colonial Boy' is a wonderfully fun children's classic, and its always great to read stories set in a distinctly Australian setting. This novel is highly satirical; a deliberate send up of the attitudes and inhabitants of colonial Australia, where each character is presented as an over-the-top caricature for comedic purposes. I laughed out loud so many times while reading, and had an absolute blast the entire time. I highly recommend giving it a go!
'Midnite' is the story of a good-natured but rather unintelligent lad who ends up becoming a bushranger outlaw on the advice of his cat.
He is joined in his exploits by a tall and noble-minded horse called Red Ned, a silly cow called Dora, a temperamental Major Mitchell Cockatoo called Major, and Gyp, a young sheepdog with a perpetual half-laughing, half-worried look on his face. Finally, there is Khat, a wily and splendid siamese cat, and the brains behind Captain Midnite's Gang.
With their assistance, Midnite becomes the terror of the Australian colonies, bushranging up and down the country, reported in newspapers around the world, hunted by trackers and police troopers, romanticised by the ladies and poets, and reviled by judges and royalty alike.
But it isn's easy being a bushranger, especially when the sneaky Trooper O'Grady keeps pickpocketing and arresting Midnite, and sending him to prison. Yet throughout it all, Midnite remains a sweet but naive young man who meets a variety of entertaining characters, ends up in gaol numerous times, discovers gold, romance, and the perils of drinking, and even has an audience with the queen.
------
'Midnite' is a delightful and whimsical adventure story packed with ridiculous characters, witty dialogue, and dramatic escapades. It won the 1994 BILBY Children’s Choice Awards Prize for Writing for Young Adults, and in 1997 was also adapted for the stage by Richard Tulloch. While the target readership are those aged 8-12, this book is an enjoyable read for all ages. Each chapter functions as a mini tale, which work perfectly well as bedtime stories for younger readers, as well as being a humorous and satirical read for older readers.
Like many books written decades ago, there are some elements in 'Midnite' that do not transfer well to a modern readership. The Australia presented in the book is predominately Anglo-centric, with the presence of Aboriginal people reduced to a brief mention where "the black people followed and hid and peeped at them; but Midnite and his gang never saw a black person, except out of the corners of their eyes." There are other outdated racial representations, particularly in scenes revolving around the Queen of England, which mention how "the Queen's giant Nubian slaves fanned her with peacock feathers" and "the three little maharajahs who held up the train of her robes when she played games." It is certainly possible to still enjoy a book that has unfavourable stereotypes and outdated representation, so long as we recognise these antiquated portrayals for what they are.
'Midnite: The Story of a Wild Colonial Boy' is a wonderfully fun children's classic, and its always great to read stories set in a distinctly Australian setting. This novel is highly satirical; a deliberate send up of the attitudes and inhabitants of colonial Australia, where each character is presented as an over-the-top caricature for comedic purposes. I laughed out loud so many times while reading, and had an absolute blast the entire time. I highly recommend giving it a go!
January 25, 2021
On the surface, this seems a short children’s novel, and I picked it up for something to fly through as I travelled. I did not expect it to be so beautiful nor for it to be stylistically in the vein of magical realism I haven’t properly encountered in Australian stories, especially for a cowboy adventure written in the 60s.
It was fun, camp, reflected an era of bush ranging and colonial times in a way that was comfortable and inviting. All the characters were great and had a strong and necessary presence in the book.
There is one moment in this book that was extraordinarily poetic, which I’ll share:
“
By this time Midnite and Khat had decided that they did not like Mr Smith at all, but they stayed with him for company, as he and Strurm and Drang were the only living things in the desert apart from themselves on the flies. So they traveled with them all day, and in the evening they came down from the sandhills to a white salt lake which was all surrounded by bones.
Midnite stared at the bones with great surprise. He saw horse bones and camel bones and pieces of harness, and boots and belts and hats and blankets, and many many smiling human skills.
‘What is this place?’ asked Midnite, in a nervous voice.
‘It is the end of Outback.’ said the explorer, ‘where come poets and explorers to die.’
As he spoke, Strurm and Drang knelt down among the bones, and Mr Smith got off Strurm’s back, and the two camels rolled over and expired.
‘Why do they die?’ asked Midnite, more nervously still.
‘Because they themselves exploring finished have.’ said the explorer. Then he shouted something in German, and fell down in the bones, dead and smiling.
“
It was fun, camp, reflected an era of bush ranging and colonial times in a way that was comfortable and inviting. All the characters were great and had a strong and necessary presence in the book.
There is one moment in this book that was extraordinarily poetic, which I’ll share:
“
By this time Midnite and Khat had decided that they did not like Mr Smith at all, but they stayed with him for company, as he and Strurm and Drang were the only living things in the desert apart from themselves on the flies. So they traveled with them all day, and in the evening they came down from the sandhills to a white salt lake which was all surrounded by bones.
Midnite stared at the bones with great surprise. He saw horse bones and camel bones and pieces of harness, and boots and belts and hats and blankets, and many many smiling human skills.
‘What is this place?’ asked Midnite, in a nervous voice.
‘It is the end of Outback.’ said the explorer, ‘where come poets and explorers to die.’
As he spoke, Strurm and Drang knelt down among the bones, and Mr Smith got off Strurm’s back, and the two camels rolled over and expired.
‘Why do they die?’ asked Midnite, more nervously still.
‘Because they themselves exploring finished have.’ said the explorer. Then he shouted something in German, and fell down in the bones, dead and smiling.
“
March 6, 2020
Entertaining for all ages (5 stars)
Written in 1968, this book by Australian writer Randolph Stow is a fine example of humorous fiction in the young adult genre. A young adventurer decides to embark on a career as a bushranger, but succeeds only with the help of his five animal friends: the cat Khat, cow Dora, horse Red Ned, parrot Major, and sheepdog Gyp. The story is populated with a fine cast of lively human characters as well, including Trooper O’Grady, Judge Pepper, Mrs Chiffle, Miss Laura Wellborn, and even Queen Victoria and her Poet Laureate. It all comes together as a terrific and funny celebration of some classic Aussie myths and stereotypes. Entertaining for all ages. - GODLY GADFLY
Written in 1968, this book by Australian writer Randolph Stow is a fine example of humorous fiction in the young adult genre. A young adventurer decides to embark on a career as a bushranger, but succeeds only with the help of his five animal friends: the cat Khat, cow Dora, horse Red Ned, parrot Major, and sheepdog Gyp. The story is populated with a fine cast of lively human characters as well, including Trooper O’Grady, Judge Pepper, Mrs Chiffle, Miss Laura Wellborn, and even Queen Victoria and her Poet Laureate. It all comes together as a terrific and funny celebration of some classic Aussie myths and stereotypes. Entertaining for all ages. - GODLY GADFLY
March 28, 2023
This was one of my favourite books in my childhood, with many memorable animals (including a siamese cat, a cow, a horse, and a Major Mitchell Cockatoo), an amusing anti-hero, proverty and wealth, and lessons concerning the distrust of government.
The author Randolph Stow is one of the least likely people to write a childrens book - known for his psychologically literate works and in depth focus on place at different times (such as the Kimberlies, Islands off the East Coast of the then New Guinea, to England), and for his poetry
The author Randolph Stow is one of the least likely people to write a childrens book - known for his psychologically literate works and in depth focus on place at different times (such as the Kimberlies, Islands off the East Coast of the then New Guinea, to England), and for his poetry
October 15, 2025
I have read this book a few times now, especially of late as I am reading it to Laurice and I kind of finished it with Jenny, who really loved it. It’s very amusing, and very old fashioned in every way, my old ladies and I have had a great chuckle as I read and they listen, very attentively too!
I managed to turn to near the end of the book and was able to read and finish it so Jenny could hear the happy ending….which I believe she did!
She died the next morning, the poor, wonderful darling.
I managed to turn to near the end of the book and was able to read and finish it so Jenny could hear the happy ending….which I believe she did!
She died the next morning, the poor, wonderful darling.
January 19, 2025
This is a story about a boy who is orphaned young but finds his way to fortune with the help of his animal friends who become a famous bushranger gang. This is an absurdist story which I loved. I picked it up because I love Randolph Stow as an author. Highly recommended. Middle-grade reading level.
March 23, 2017
Read this when I was about 10 years old and enjoyed it greatly. Found a copy recently and read it to my 8 yr old who found it a hoot. We shall have to pay a visit to Fremantle prison to see the 'special' cell that was built to hold his real life counterpart, Mooondyne Joe in.
September 3, 2017
Super cute.
And now I also know from the dedication that the original Captain Starlight (or one of them) was a public servant in later life, which delights me.
And now I also know from the dedication that the original Captain Starlight (or one of them) was a public servant in later life, which delights me.
April 3, 2018
La historia es, simplemente, alucinante. Los personajes son muy divertidos y es fácil que un niño se encariñe con ellos. ¡Este es uno de mis libros favoritos de la infancia!
June 12, 2019
A fabulous funny story
September 7, 2020
Adorable
January 6, 2021
A delightful book from my childhood and shared with my own children in turn.
A great Aussie re read to start my 2021 challenge.
A great Aussie re read to start my 2021 challenge.
June 10, 2022
this was my favourite childhood book, it was so cute and the world just felt so pretty to me.
December 1, 2022
Entertaining overview of aspects of Australian history.
December 29, 2022
Ostensibly a children's book, this little bit of Australian folklore fantasy is so well-written, so witty and so entertaining that it speaks to adult readers as well.
June 11, 2023
This book is absurd 😂😂😂
June 17, 2023
This is GREAT.
March 20, 2024
Very cute minus some problematic racial stuff but, as the famous saying among bushrangers goes, such is life
June 25, 2025
nostalgic novel
July 12, 2024
This is really enjoyable and would be a terrific read for children aged 8 to 12. It's simple but smart, and has wonderfully witty characters - especially Khat, the Siamese cat. It is set in Western Australia and tells the story of Midnite, a not very smart nor handsome seventeen year old boy, who is taken in hand by Khat, a Major Mitchell cockatoo, a sheepdog, cow and a horse to become a bushranger. He is suprisingly successful as a bushranger, and under the guidance of the masterful Khat, becomes known as Captain Midnite. Captain Midnite is in and out of prison, but becomes renowned, even across the seas with Queen Victoria keeping tabs on his doings. He eventually makes a fortune and goes on to try to win the heart of the slightly stand-offish Miss Laura.
There is a lot of Midnite that reminds me of The Magic Pudding (by Normal Lindsay). It's quite irreverent and pokes fun at the law, the monarchy and just about everything we hold in high esteem -- but that's half the fun.
There is a lot of Midnite that reminds me of The Magic Pudding (by Normal Lindsay). It's quite irreverent and pokes fun at the law, the monarchy and just about everything we hold in high esteem -- but that's half the fun.
May 5, 2011
This tale of the not very handsome, not very clever bush ranger is one of my favourite books ever. Sort of my 'feel better/get happy' read. I'm not sure what it is that so attracts me to this book. Possibly the australian backdrop, the humour, the unorthodox 'friendship' between Midnite and Trooper O'Grady - who just keeps catching him and sticking him back into jail no matter how many times he escapes. Possibly it is the rags to riches theme, or the hilarious cast of animals or maybe it is that the heroine shares my name - that's a big thing for a nine year old kid, as I was when I first read this. Most likely it is a mix of all these things and more that causes me to declare undying love for this novel.
December 4, 2012
This is a very enjoyable children's romp, and another to add to my collection of books-I-have-read-to-boys-at-bedtime-and-which-they-enjoyed-quite-a-lot. For obvious reasons I haven't set that category up as a Goodreads shelf.
The story of not-very-bright and almost-handsome West Australian bushranger, Captain Midnite, and his gang of animal companions – led by the fiendishly clever and fierce Khat, a Siamese cat of royal descent, is a lot of fun. Midnite's friendship and rivalry with the kleptomaniacal Trooper O'Grady, his run-ins with authority (all the way up to Queen Victoria) and romance with the lovely Miss Laura Wellborn are neatly and humorously developed.
The story of not-very-bright and almost-handsome West Australian bushranger, Captain Midnite, and his gang of animal companions – led by the fiendishly clever and fierce Khat, a Siamese cat of royal descent, is a lot of fun. Midnite's friendship and rivalry with the kleptomaniacal Trooper O'Grady, his run-ins with authority (all the way up to Queen Victoria) and romance with the lovely Miss Laura Wellborn are neatly and humorously developed.
August 14, 2014
I couldn't get hold of an English edition so I read a Dutch translation instead. What a marvellous book! A wonderful and lovely story, written with so much humour. I really, really enjoyed it and wish I had known about it when I was a kid, because I'm sure I would have loved it then just as much as I loved it now.
See message 32 of the Netherlands & Flanders group Spring Challenge 2014 for a review in Dutch.
See message 32 of the Netherlands & Flanders group Spring Challenge 2014 for a review in Dutch.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews