A Different Drummer: The Story of E.J. Banfield, the Beachcomber of Dunk Island

by Michael Noonan

Genres: Australia

292 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Mandy Partridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Noonan wrote this book, which was performed as a play by the Queensland Theatre Company, in 1986. It tells the story of EJ Banfield and his wife Bertha, who went to live on Dunk Island, north Queensland, by themselves in 1908. In the years around 1900, all remaining Aboriginal people in Queensland were rounded up and sent to four small reservations, leaving beautiful places like Dunk island uninhabited. EJ and Bertha lived a comfortable but hard and isolated life, and left journals, which Noonan has drawn from to write this fascinating piece. Dunk is a resort island now.