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The Warrumbar
On the day man first walks on the moon thirteen-year-old Robbie Brennan meets Moses, an old man camped by the side of the road. Over the following months, Robbie is drawn to Moses’ stories — tales of hardship, war, and redemption — unearthing a past entwined with his own. When Robbie learns that Moses grew up at the Mission, the Aboriginal reserve that once existed on the outskirts of town, with his mother Delsie, Robbie’s understanding of his family’s history and identity is forever changed.
At home, Robbie must navigate the unpredictable wrath of his beloved but sometimes violent father, a man whose temper keeps the household in a constant state of anxiety. But when Robbie witnesses a tragic event at the Warrumbar dam, his world is shaken further. Haunted by his past in the boys' home and terrified of the consequences, he faces a choice: speak the truth and risk everything or stay silent and carry the burden forever.
But in a small country town where a boy like Robbie — poor, on society’s margins, and with ‘some of that black blood in him’ — is rarely believed, does the truth matter? Set against the backdrop of 1969 Australia, The Warrumbar is a compelling coming-of-age story about love, injustice, and the courage it takes to do what’s right.
At home, Robbie must navigate the unpredictable wrath of his beloved but sometimes violent father, a man whose temper keeps the household in a constant state of anxiety. But when Robbie witnesses a tragic event at the Warrumbar dam, his world is shaken further. Haunted by his past in the boys' home and terrified of the consequences, he faces a choice: speak the truth and risk everything or stay silent and carry the burden forever.
But in a small country town where a boy like Robbie — poor, on society’s margins, and with ‘some of that black blood in him’ — is rarely believed, does the truth matter? Set against the backdrop of 1969 Australia, The Warrumbar is a compelling coming-of-age story about love, injustice, and the courage it takes to do what’s right.
300 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2025
3 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 15, 2025
The Warrumbar is the first novel by Australian author, William J. Byrne. It’s July 1969, and Robbie Brennan is almost fourteen when he first encounters the Aboriginal man who calls himself Moses. He’s on the way home from school, with his sisters, and the man claims to be related to Robbie’s mum, Delsie.
Against his (white) father’s specific instructions, he continues to seek Moses out: stories of the man’s chequered life are just so fascinating.
Then he witnesses something shocking at the dam on the Warrumbar, an altercation with tragic consequences, something he knows he should tell someone about, but he’s afraid. He’s well aware that he has no agency; anyone in authority is unlikely to believe him; and he fears that what he perceives as his own past transgressions, witnessed by another, will be used against him. A dilemma no fourteen-year-old should have to face.
His uncle, Delsie’s much younger brother, gives advice on the hypothetical problem Robbie describes, but it’s from a very youthful perspective, which doesn’t assuage his guilt at not speaking up. Nightmares and flashbacks affect his moods, his performance at school, and his promising future as a cricketer.
With wonderful descriptive prose and popular culture references, Byrne easily evokes his era and setting. Byrne gives the reader a wholly credible plot with a jaw-dropping final page. This is a powerful coming-of-age story that also explores racism, guilt, privilege, and the compulsion to set the record straight. An outstanding debut.
This unbiased review is from a copy provided by UWA Publishing.
Against his (white) father’s specific instructions, he continues to seek Moses out: stories of the man’s chequered life are just so fascinating.
Then he witnesses something shocking at the dam on the Warrumbar, an altercation with tragic consequences, something he knows he should tell someone about, but he’s afraid. He’s well aware that he has no agency; anyone in authority is unlikely to believe him; and he fears that what he perceives as his own past transgressions, witnessed by another, will be used against him. A dilemma no fourteen-year-old should have to face.
His uncle, Delsie’s much younger brother, gives advice on the hypothetical problem Robbie describes, but it’s from a very youthful perspective, which doesn’t assuage his guilt at not speaking up. Nightmares and flashbacks affect his moods, his performance at school, and his promising future as a cricketer.
With wonderful descriptive prose and popular culture references, Byrne easily evokes his era and setting. Byrne gives the reader a wholly credible plot with a jaw-dropping final page. This is a powerful coming-of-age story that also explores racism, guilt, privilege, and the compulsion to set the record straight. An outstanding debut.
This unbiased review is from a copy provided by UWA Publishing.
January 26, 2026
Ed’s a coward
October 9, 2025
I loved this book. It had all the elements a good Australian read should have (in my opinion); just enough familiarity, great language and really wonderful characters. And, contrary to so many books, the ending was fabulous.
Robbie is a young boy working out the world. His dad is away a lot working, and his mum holds the family together while cleaning houses for the 'wealthy' folk of town. Robbie spends his time yabbying and hanging out with his beloved dog. Until, one day, Robbie happens upon a man living in the bush. Moses is a returned serviceman whose life has not gone the way he had hoped, and he has returned home to try and make amends.
When Robbie witnesses a terrible event, it shapes his life into adulthood. He realises that the only way he is going to be truly free is to confront those involved.
Robbie is a young boy working out the world. His dad is away a lot working, and his mum holds the family together while cleaning houses for the 'wealthy' folk of town. Robbie spends his time yabbying and hanging out with his beloved dog. Until, one day, Robbie happens upon a man living in the bush. Moses is a returned serviceman whose life has not gone the way he had hoped, and he has returned home to try and make amends.
When Robbie witnesses a terrible event, it shapes his life into adulthood. He realises that the only way he is going to be truly free is to confront those involved.
December 4, 2025
‘They can send a bloody man to the moon in a rocket ship, but here we are, still in this bloody hovel, living hand to mouth.’
This is a beautifully descriptive, transportive, coming of age novel.
Our main character is 14 year old Robbie, oldest child of five, an indigenous boy whose life is forever changed when he meets Moses. Moses grew up at the mission with Robbie’s mother and his tales of his traumatic past instantly draw Robbie in and a friendship is formed.
A tragic current event then occurs, placing Robbie in a challenging position.
It’s hard to tell the truth when it may come with negative ramifications.
It was interesting to see how this unravelled.
I felt completely immersed in a time and place, warts and all.
I applaud the decision not to water down the language - this was powerful and highlighted the horrific prejudices.
This is a great read for the high school cohort. It’s a snapshot of history. Entailing what day to day like looked like for a poorer indigenous family in 1969.
This and ‘The White Girl’ by Tony Birch would make for a fabulous high school curriculum reading duo.
Thank you to uwa for sending me a copy of this beautiful story in exchange for an honest review.
This is a beautifully descriptive, transportive, coming of age novel.
Our main character is 14 year old Robbie, oldest child of five, an indigenous boy whose life is forever changed when he meets Moses. Moses grew up at the mission with Robbie’s mother and his tales of his traumatic past instantly draw Robbie in and a friendship is formed.
A tragic current event then occurs, placing Robbie in a challenging position.
It’s hard to tell the truth when it may come with negative ramifications.
It was interesting to see how this unravelled.
I felt completely immersed in a time and place, warts and all.
I applaud the decision not to water down the language - this was powerful and highlighted the horrific prejudices.
This is a great read for the high school cohort. It’s a snapshot of history. Entailing what day to day like looked like for a poorer indigenous family in 1969.
This and ‘The White Girl’ by Tony Birch would make for a fabulous high school curriculum reading duo.
Thank you to uwa for sending me a copy of this beautiful story in exchange for an honest review.
October 26, 2025
.....📚 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 📚.....
The Warrumbar is the debut adult fiction novel by Australian author William J. Byrne. It is a quiet triumph of storytelling that lingers long after the final page.
On the day man first walks on the moon thirteen-year-old Robbie Brennan meets Moses, an old man camped by the side of the road. Over the following months, Robbie is drawn to Moses’ stories — tales of hardship, war, and redemption — unearthing a past entwined with his own. When Robbie learns that Moses grew up at the Mission, the Aboriginal reserve that once existed on the outskirts of town, with his mother Delsie, Robbie’s understanding of his family’s history and identity is forever changed.
At home, Robbie must navigate the unpredictable wrath of his beloved but sometimes violent father, a man whose temper keeps the household in a constant state of anxiety. But when Robbie witnesses a tragic event at the Warrumbar dam, his world is shaken further. Haunted by his past in the boys' home and terrified of the consequences, he faces a choice: speak the truth and risk everything or stay silent and carry the burden forever.
But in a small country town where a boy like Robbie — poor, on society’s margins, and with ‘some of that black blood in him’ — is rarely believed, does the truth matter? Set against the backdrop of 1969 Australia, The Warrumbar is a compelling coming-of-age story about love, injustice, and the courage it takes to do what’s right.
Byrne’s prose is gentle and unpretentious, like a yarn told around a campfire. What makes this book so special is its authenticity as it's drawn from Byrne’s own family stories and lived experience on Wiradjuri and Ngunnawal Country. The emotional weight is never forced; it’s carried in the silences and the way Robbie listens more than he speaks. This novel is a love letter to memory, family, and the stories that shape us. If you loved Jasper Jones or The Yield, this one’s for you. It’s not loud, but it’s powerful. A tender, deeply Australian coming-of-age tale that reminds us how history lives in our bones — and how storytelling can be an act of healing.
.
.
Thank you to @uwapublishing for my copy in exchange for an honest review
The Warrumbar is the debut adult fiction novel by Australian author William J. Byrne. It is a quiet triumph of storytelling that lingers long after the final page.
On the day man first walks on the moon thirteen-year-old Robbie Brennan meets Moses, an old man camped by the side of the road. Over the following months, Robbie is drawn to Moses’ stories — tales of hardship, war, and redemption — unearthing a past entwined with his own. When Robbie learns that Moses grew up at the Mission, the Aboriginal reserve that once existed on the outskirts of town, with his mother Delsie, Robbie’s understanding of his family’s history and identity is forever changed.
At home, Robbie must navigate the unpredictable wrath of his beloved but sometimes violent father, a man whose temper keeps the household in a constant state of anxiety. But when Robbie witnesses a tragic event at the Warrumbar dam, his world is shaken further. Haunted by his past in the boys' home and terrified of the consequences, he faces a choice: speak the truth and risk everything or stay silent and carry the burden forever.
But in a small country town where a boy like Robbie — poor, on society’s margins, and with ‘some of that black blood in him’ — is rarely believed, does the truth matter? Set against the backdrop of 1969 Australia, The Warrumbar is a compelling coming-of-age story about love, injustice, and the courage it takes to do what’s right.
Byrne’s prose is gentle and unpretentious, like a yarn told around a campfire. What makes this book so special is its authenticity as it's drawn from Byrne’s own family stories and lived experience on Wiradjuri and Ngunnawal Country. The emotional weight is never forced; it’s carried in the silences and the way Robbie listens more than he speaks. This novel is a love letter to memory, family, and the stories that shape us. If you loved Jasper Jones or The Yield, this one’s for you. It’s not loud, but it’s powerful. A tender, deeply Australian coming-of-age tale that reminds us how history lives in our bones — and how storytelling can be an act of healing.
.
.
Thank you to @uwapublishing for my copy in exchange for an honest review
February 9, 2026
This short novel is split into two parts. Part One follows the 2nd half of 1969, while the much shorter Part Two skips between 1986 and 2019. The story is told through the eyes of 14 year old Robbie Brennan, who live in a small fibro house on the edge of an outback town. He adores his Mother, and has a difficult relationship with his Father, depending on whether he is drunk or sober. The story opens when he meets an older Aboriginal man who goes by the name of Moses. In fact he meets up only a couple of hours after man first walked on the Moon, a significant fact in the timeline of the story. In quickly becomes known that Moses is an Uncle to Robbie, but had been cast out of the family's story due to an incident many years before. When he informs his parents of these meetings, both parents forbid him from seeing him. Being a 14 year old intrigued by Moses stories, he of course ignores these commands. As the year progresses, various things happen good and bad that usually occur to teenage boys. But two tragic events in the later part of the year cause an unraveling of his and his families life in part due the families Aboriginal heritage and the white power structure in place in a small town. The Moon landing does play a significant remembrance in Part 2 which is an attempt to tie up the loose ends of part one a bit too neatly and quickly, yet redemption does occur again a bit too neatly. But overall this a beautifully written first novel, 5 stars for Part One and 4 stars for Part Two
October 19, 2025
I was completely drawn in by the story and the way it brings Australia’s past to life — especially the parts of our history that were ignored for far too long. It doesn’t shy away from showing how Aboriginal people were made invisible in their own land, and it’s honestly shocking to realise how recently that was still happening. I really appreciate the Authors Note that explains the necessity of this dialogue to recognise the brutality of this part of history.
Having said that, this book is a powerful reminder that this isn’t ancient history — it’s something that still shapes Australia today.
This book handles the subject with honesty and respect, helping readers see the truth of what happened and why it matters. It makes you stop and think about how far we’ve come, but also how much more work there is to do in recognising and valuing First Nations people and stories.
Beyond the message, the writing itself is beautiful — vivid, emotional, and full of heart. The characters feel real, the setting feels alive, and every page pulls you in deeper.
The Warrumbar is more than just a great story — it’s an important one. It makes you proud of how far we’ve come, but also aware that we still have a long way to go.
Having said that, this book is a powerful reminder that this isn’t ancient history — it’s something that still shapes Australia today.
This book handles the subject with honesty and respect, helping readers see the truth of what happened and why it matters. It makes you stop and think about how far we’ve come, but also how much more work there is to do in recognising and valuing First Nations people and stories.
Beyond the message, the writing itself is beautiful — vivid, emotional, and full of heart. The characters feel real, the setting feels alive, and every page pulls you in deeper.
The Warrumbar is more than just a great story — it’s an important one. It makes you proud of how far we’ve come, but also aware that we still have a long way to go.
November 19, 2025
The Warrumbar was such a gentle and poignant tale. It drew together themes of poverty, resilience, injustice, identity, and the lasting impact of history. Though set in a fictional town, the novel is deeply reflective of the lived experiences of William J Byrne’s family history: his grandmother’s upbringing on an Aboriginal reserve, disadvantage across generations, and the contrasts between prosperity and dispossession, all forming a foundation for Robbie Brennan's story.
Thirteen-year-old Robbie lived in a shack in Warrumbar Bridge, navigating poverty, a year in a boy's home for school truancy, the loss of loved ones, racism, a passion for cricket, and the unpredictability of the late 1960s world around him. His world looked different when he met Moses (his mother’s uncle), camped by the river. Despite warnings to stay away, Robbie was drawn in by Moses’ stories that illuminated the injustices endured by Aboriginal people, and challenged Robbie’s understanding of his own identity and heritage. The battle for moral courage intensified after Robbie witnessed a tragic incident regarding Moses at the Warrumbar Dam. Would the authorities listen to the eyewitness of a poor Aboriginal boy? Would this torment carry through those who inflicted the action? This was such a strong reflection of how Aboriginal people have to continually navigate power, prejudice, and the fear of not being heard.
There was such a softness to the narration in this book, and this came from the intimate connection to family stories, cultural memories, and a desire to deepen the understanding of Australia’s complex past, and the impact of these continued inequalities.
Thank you #UWApublishing for the #gifted copy.
Thirteen-year-old Robbie lived in a shack in Warrumbar Bridge, navigating poverty, a year in a boy's home for school truancy, the loss of loved ones, racism, a passion for cricket, and the unpredictability of the late 1960s world around him. His world looked different when he met Moses (his mother’s uncle), camped by the river. Despite warnings to stay away, Robbie was drawn in by Moses’ stories that illuminated the injustices endured by Aboriginal people, and challenged Robbie’s understanding of his own identity and heritage. The battle for moral courage intensified after Robbie witnessed a tragic incident regarding Moses at the Warrumbar Dam. Would the authorities listen to the eyewitness of a poor Aboriginal boy? Would this torment carry through those who inflicted the action? This was such a strong reflection of how Aboriginal people have to continually navigate power, prejudice, and the fear of not being heard.
There was such a softness to the narration in this book, and this came from the intimate connection to family stories, cultural memories, and a desire to deepen the understanding of Australia’s complex past, and the impact of these continued inequalities.
Thank you #UWApublishing for the #gifted copy.
October 21, 2025
The Warrumbar has been a very compelling read. William's story telling has been top notch, covering the landscape of rural Australia from the 60s and 70s through the eyes of Robbie, a 14 year old. William masterfully explores the faultlines that were in the society then and possibly even now, without making the reading too heavy or exhausting. And the ending left me thinking deep about humanity, conscience, accountability, privilege and closure. Had I not known, it would have been impossible to say this is his debut novel.
December 27, 2025
This book has some really good aspects to it. The narrator’s voice and self-awareness; the divide between class and race; a boy’s love for his hard-working mother…
I wish it had continued in the first person and not introduced additional characters at the end. At times it was also a bit too explanatory. I found myself skipping over huge chunks of text. I think it also finished a bit too neatly and abruptly.
I wish it had continued in the first person and not introduced additional characters at the end. At times it was also a bit too explanatory. I found myself skipping over huge chunks of text. I think it also finished a bit too neatly and abruptly.
November 9, 2025
Great first book!
William J.Byrne is a talented Australian author. The Warrumbar was a powerful story and should be part of the HSC syllabus because the issues covered compassionately in the book are issues that every young Australian should know about. I hope Mr Byrne will keep writing, I’ll be looking out for the next one!!
William J.Byrne is a talented Australian author. The Warrumbar was a powerful story and should be part of the HSC syllabus because the issues covered compassionately in the book are issues that every young Australian should know about. I hope Mr Byrne will keep writing, I’ll be looking out for the next one!!
October 22, 2025
A poignant, beautifully written “time capsule”exploring racism, poverty, guilt and family in Australia in the late 60’s early 70’s.
November 29, 2025
I read a lot of books and this one I couldn't put down. It was one of the best reads I've ever read, well done to Mr WJ Byrne keep them coming.
December 1, 2025
(book club selection)
a very simple easy read. a nice fit into the YA genre with indigenous issues front and centre.
I didn’t mind this read, but nor would I heartily recommend it.
a very simple easy read. a nice fit into the YA genre with indigenous issues front and centre.
I didn’t mind this read, but nor would I heartily recommend it.
November 23, 2025
Very powerful depiction of indigenous life in a country town a few years ago & in the city now. Very simple writing style that make the story more compelling & stark. A gripping quandary for the central protagonist: witnessing a crime but being unable to report it due to racism & society's class structure (plus something of a power imbalance). And the ongoing effect both on the witness & the perpetrators. Compelling book.
December 12, 2025
Thoroughly enjoyed this book, it kept me turning pages until I'd finished it. Looking forward to the next one.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews