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Cotter
Early in 1822 an illiterate nineteen year-old peasant in County Cork took part in a 'Whiteboy' action in the hope of fairer rent and more land for his struggling family. Instead, he was transported to NSW for life.
The story that follows will subvert popular notions of the convict experience. Cotter's alliance with a fierce Aboriginal leader conspired with his second 'crime' to introduce him to a world understood by few Europeans.
The novel points to a haunting moment in Australia's story, when white humility and aboriginal knowledge might have combined to produce a kinder stewardship across the ancient land. Few invaders experienced that fleeting possibility as intimately as Garrett Cotter.
This is a story of power and exploitation, of betrayal and uncertain redemption. It offers a vivid reimagining of real events in the far wilds of a high country 'beyond the limits'.
'An important story of banishment, displacement, and crucial first contact, Cotter also tells of a moving and unlikely friendship between two outcasts. Here is beautiful, assured writing about people and place. A novel for readers of Kate Grenville's The Secret River - Clara Finlay
The story that follows will subvert popular notions of the convict experience. Cotter's alliance with a fierce Aboriginal leader conspired with his second 'crime' to introduce him to a world understood by few Europeans.
The novel points to a haunting moment in Australia's story, when white humility and aboriginal knowledge might have combined to produce a kinder stewardship across the ancient land. Few invaders experienced that fleeting possibility as intimately as Garrett Cotter.
This is a story of power and exploitation, of betrayal and uncertain redemption. It offers a vivid reimagining of real events in the far wilds of a high country 'beyond the limits'.
'An important story of banishment, displacement, and crucial first contact, Cotter also tells of a moving and unlikely friendship between two outcasts. Here is beautiful, assured writing about people and place. A novel for readers of Kate Grenville's The Secret River - Clara Finlay
- GenresHistorical Fiction
366 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2016
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62 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 28, 2019
Irishman Garrett Cotter was only nineteen years old in 1822 when he was caught with a group of “Whiteboy” rebels (so called because of the white shirts they all wore when protesting) and although initially sentenced to hanging, it was changed to transportation to New South Wales for the duration of his natural life. His journey with other male prisoners on the “Mangles” was long and arduous, but because of a kindly doctor who oversaw the men, they were reasonably healthy on their arrival in Sydney Cove.
After a period of a few years with a farmer near Parramatta, Cotter was then moved to new land on Weereewa (Lake George) where the land was lush with plenty of feed for the cattle. It was there that Cotter proved himself a hard worker and a dab hand with animals, especially horses. And it was also where he had his first encounter with the Aboriginal leader Onyong. Cotter and Onyong formed an alliance – at first uneasy – that would last many, many years, with Onyong helping Cotter find fertile land for cattle; their friendship meant he also met Onyong’s family and learned many Aboriginal ways.
Cotter received his ticket of leave, which was then revoked after an incident. His days with the darkness inside fortunately were less than the contented and happy days. His life wasn’t easy, but he was a well respected and liked man – by most. His use of land which Onyong referred to as “my country” was a privilege that Cotter appreciated; the men who didn’t understand the Aboriginal people were many and it saddened Cotter.
Cotter by Aussie author Richard Begbie is outstanding – up there with my favourite books for 2019. Although a fictional recounting, it’s heavily based on fact and with the Cotter Dam and Cotter River in Canberra, and many places mentioned in the book – Queanbeyan, Murrumbidgee River (the lifeblood of the country), Yass, Goulburn and many others – it felt familiar and was easy to visualize. The harshness of those early days in the colony was well told; the hatred by some whites of the Aboriginals; the exploitation and betrayal by many – Cotter was a likeable Irishman, smart and compassionate (he loved his dog Jimmy), and Cotter is a book well worth reading. And I wouldn’t have found it, let alone read it, if I hadn’t needed one for a challenge, which was set in Australia’s capital. A great win for me! Highly recommended.
After a period of a few years with a farmer near Parramatta, Cotter was then moved to new land on Weereewa (Lake George) where the land was lush with plenty of feed for the cattle. It was there that Cotter proved himself a hard worker and a dab hand with animals, especially horses. And it was also where he had his first encounter with the Aboriginal leader Onyong. Cotter and Onyong formed an alliance – at first uneasy – that would last many, many years, with Onyong helping Cotter find fertile land for cattle; their friendship meant he also met Onyong’s family and learned many Aboriginal ways.
Cotter received his ticket of leave, which was then revoked after an incident. His days with the darkness inside fortunately were less than the contented and happy days. His life wasn’t easy, but he was a well respected and liked man – by most. His use of land which Onyong referred to as “my country” was a privilege that Cotter appreciated; the men who didn’t understand the Aboriginal people were many and it saddened Cotter.
Cotter by Aussie author Richard Begbie is outstanding – up there with my favourite books for 2019. Although a fictional recounting, it’s heavily based on fact and with the Cotter Dam and Cotter River in Canberra, and many places mentioned in the book – Queanbeyan, Murrumbidgee River (the lifeblood of the country), Yass, Goulburn and many others – it felt familiar and was easy to visualize. The harshness of those early days in the colony was well told; the hatred by some whites of the Aboriginals; the exploitation and betrayal by many – Cotter was a likeable Irishman, smart and compassionate (he loved his dog Jimmy), and Cotter is a book well worth reading. And I wouldn’t have found it, let alone read it, if I hadn’t needed one for a challenge, which was set in Australia’s capital. A great win for me! Highly recommended.
December 18, 2016
‘It was a Friday, November the eighth, one hundred and forty days since they had sailed from Cork, and Garrett Cotter (prisoner twenty-nine) had arrived. For life.’
The name Cotter is well-known to those of us who live in and around Canberra. There’s the Cotter Dam on the Cotter River, and the Cotter reserve nearby. But who is the Cotter after whom these places are named? I read a little about Garrett Cotter while visiting the Cotter Dam a few weeks ago. When I found this novel a few days later, I immediately added it to my reading list. I’m glad I did.
So, who was Garrett Cotter?
Garrett Cotter, born in County Cork in 1802, was an illiterate nineteen-year-old in County Cork when he took part in a ‘whiteboy’ action in early 1822. (I’ve read that ‘Whiteboy’ actions were part of a series of revolts by the rural poor between the 1760s to the 1840s trying to get better conditions: fairer rent, more land to work.) Garrett Cotter was arrested, tried and sentenced to death. His sentence was later commuted to transportation for life.
In 1822, when Garrett Cotter was sentenced to transportation, European settlement of mainland Australia was confined to a small area around Sydney. When Garrett Cotter died, aged in his eighties, at Michelago in 1886 he was a respected grazier in the district. In this novel, Richard Begbie takes the comparatively few facts known about Garrett Cotter and his long life and uses fiction to flesh out the details.
Three things stood out for me in this novel. The first was Mr Begbie’s portrayal of Cotter’s relationship with the Indigenous people, his appreciation of their relationship with the land:
‘That be just the thing, sir. Onyong – and the other blackfellers – they be seein’ the country different from us. ‘Tis not cut up into square blocks for them but is all one, from the top of the hill to the floor of the river.’ And the blacks they do be lookin’ after the land in their way, and clever with it.’
Mutual respect comes across in the novel.
The second is that Cotter’s punishment, as the result of an altercation with Donald McKay in 1832, provided him with an opportunity. He was sentenced to four years beyond the ‘Limits of Location’, beyond the Murrumbidgee River. This was land Garrett Cotter was familiar with, land that his friendship with the Indigenous leader, Onyong, had led him to during a previous drought.
The third is that the house that Garrett Cotter built at Michelago, the one in which he and his wife Ann raised their family, is still standing. I understand it is still occupied by members of the Cotter family. I travel past that house quite frequently on my way to and from the Snowy Mountains, and had wondered about its history.
Before settling at Michelago, Garrett Cotter lived in various places. Richard Begbie names Coolemon, Currango and Tantangara. I’m familiar with Currango and Tantangara, and happy to learn more.
When ‘Cotter’ had its book launch at the National Library in August 2016, descendants of both Garrett Cotter and Onyong were present. How fitting.
I enjoyed this novel, and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in Australia’s colonial past. In this novel, Richard Begbie draws Garrett Cotter out of the shadows.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
The name Cotter is well-known to those of us who live in and around Canberra. There’s the Cotter Dam on the Cotter River, and the Cotter reserve nearby. But who is the Cotter after whom these places are named? I read a little about Garrett Cotter while visiting the Cotter Dam a few weeks ago. When I found this novel a few days later, I immediately added it to my reading list. I’m glad I did.
So, who was Garrett Cotter?
Garrett Cotter, born in County Cork in 1802, was an illiterate nineteen-year-old in County Cork when he took part in a ‘whiteboy’ action in early 1822. (I’ve read that ‘Whiteboy’ actions were part of a series of revolts by the rural poor between the 1760s to the 1840s trying to get better conditions: fairer rent, more land to work.) Garrett Cotter was arrested, tried and sentenced to death. His sentence was later commuted to transportation for life.
In 1822, when Garrett Cotter was sentenced to transportation, European settlement of mainland Australia was confined to a small area around Sydney. When Garrett Cotter died, aged in his eighties, at Michelago in 1886 he was a respected grazier in the district. In this novel, Richard Begbie takes the comparatively few facts known about Garrett Cotter and his long life and uses fiction to flesh out the details.
Three things stood out for me in this novel. The first was Mr Begbie’s portrayal of Cotter’s relationship with the Indigenous people, his appreciation of their relationship with the land:
‘That be just the thing, sir. Onyong – and the other blackfellers – they be seein’ the country different from us. ‘Tis not cut up into square blocks for them but is all one, from the top of the hill to the floor of the river.’ And the blacks they do be lookin’ after the land in their way, and clever with it.’
Mutual respect comes across in the novel.
The second is that Cotter’s punishment, as the result of an altercation with Donald McKay in 1832, provided him with an opportunity. He was sentenced to four years beyond the ‘Limits of Location’, beyond the Murrumbidgee River. This was land Garrett Cotter was familiar with, land that his friendship with the Indigenous leader, Onyong, had led him to during a previous drought.
The third is that the house that Garrett Cotter built at Michelago, the one in which he and his wife Ann raised their family, is still standing. I understand it is still occupied by members of the Cotter family. I travel past that house quite frequently on my way to and from the Snowy Mountains, and had wondered about its history.
Before settling at Michelago, Garrett Cotter lived in various places. Richard Begbie names Coolemon, Currango and Tantangara. I’m familiar with Currango and Tantangara, and happy to learn more.
When ‘Cotter’ had its book launch at the National Library in August 2016, descendants of both Garrett Cotter and Onyong were present. How fitting.
I enjoyed this novel, and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in Australia’s colonial past. In this novel, Richard Begbie draws Garrett Cotter out of the shadows.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
September 28, 2016
This is a wonderful story set in 1828 of a relationship between an Irish convict Garrett Cotter, a strange man in a strange land, and the Aboriginal leader who knew the land and its peoples better than anyone since that time. How power and ownership could be so very different today if only we had listened and learned from such wise men! A beautifully written work with a seamless incorporation of meticulously researched historical fact into a personal experience of the lands themselves. This engaging writing style makes it very difficult to put the book down- it would lend itself to a film or a TV series- ABC, SBS, BBC take note! [Get the book through www.cotter-novel.com ] The splendour of the magnificent rivers, mountains, grasslands and forests and the self-discovery two vastly different people from different worlds is an experience we should all have. This book is not only a good read, but a personal journey for the reader through another time and the possibility of another, kinder future.
July 1, 2018
Growing up in Canberra and being here since 1970, The Cotter river area was the place we went to for Family picnics year after year, eventually taking my own children there when they were young. As a young adult, The Cotter Pub on the banks of the Cotter river was a place to meet up occasionally with friends. The Canberra fires in 2003 decimated the area and to guard against drought the Cotter Dam was raised higher to increase The Capital's water supply.
Many of my Australian ancestors going back to The First Fleet, came here as convicts and made good of their lives even though there is a lack of oral history of any interactions with aboriginal people, so a novel based on the life of Garret Cotter who the places were named after and revealing something of Onyong, the aboriginal who guided him there, is a fascinating story that resonates.
Like Kate Grenville's, The Secret River, there are all the same tensions between cultures and land ownership, however, the two protagonists in the story have a much kinder interaction leading to, what can be hoped, was a deeper friendship.
In all situations like this there are not only tensions between cultures but also within each, that both men have to deal with, which leads to them depending on each other more at different times in their lives. Cotter has the bigotry towards the Irish and the convict class to deal with and Onyong has conflicts with other warriors to deal with as well.
What resonated, as well, is that these areas are where Miles Franklin grew up and wrote about, so we have a literary history, that is followed in here as well.
Richard Begbie has a background in journalism, has lived and worked on the land, spoken with many descendants of the main characters and this is a well written story with many poignant moments. Highly recommended.
Many of my Australian ancestors going back to The First Fleet, came here as convicts and made good of their lives even though there is a lack of oral history of any interactions with aboriginal people, so a novel based on the life of Garret Cotter who the places were named after and revealing something of Onyong, the aboriginal who guided him there, is a fascinating story that resonates.
Like Kate Grenville's, The Secret River, there are all the same tensions between cultures and land ownership, however, the two protagonists in the story have a much kinder interaction leading to, what can be hoped, was a deeper friendship.
In all situations like this there are not only tensions between cultures but also within each, that both men have to deal with, which leads to them depending on each other more at different times in their lives. Cotter has the bigotry towards the Irish and the convict class to deal with and Onyong has conflicts with other warriors to deal with as well.
What resonated, as well, is that these areas are where Miles Franklin grew up and wrote about, so we have a literary history, that is followed in here as well.
Richard Begbie has a background in journalism, has lived and worked on the land, spoken with many descendants of the main characters and this is a well written story with many poignant moments. Highly recommended.
February 19, 2018
A well written, entertaining and informative story of Garrett Cotter, a young Irishman sent to Australia for 'the term of his natural life' and who was a pioneer of the country I now call home. Thanks to Richard Begbie, I walked the trails and climbed the hills with Cotter, visited the huts and dreamt of those times past. One of the most appealing aspects of the story is that it doesn't dwell on the hardships and hideous treatment of the convicts; rather it focusses on the positive side of their new life in Australia, how anyone could, and many did, make the transition from abject poverty and quasi-slavery to individuals of merit and property, every one an equal to any man or woman..
But wait, as they say. This is not a novel about Garry Cotter as the title informs us, it's really an extremely well researched and written document covering the impact of European civilisation on the Aboriginal, the original, inhabitants of this great land, from their mostly welcoming and helpful nature at the start, through their exploitation and offhand dismissal as less than human, to the ultimate demise of their tribes, their families and their culture.
I enjoyed the book from both points of view and will read it again, albeit at a slower pace, and enjoy it once more.
But wait, as they say. This is not a novel about Garry Cotter as the title informs us, it's really an extremely well researched and written document covering the impact of European civilisation on the Aboriginal, the original, inhabitants of this great land, from their mostly welcoming and helpful nature at the start, through their exploitation and offhand dismissal as less than human, to the ultimate demise of their tribes, their families and their culture.
I enjoyed the book from both points of view and will read it again, albeit at a slower pace, and enjoy it once more.
October 10, 2016
Cotter. A Novel. By Richard Begbie.
Wow! The early history of Australia comes alive here. This book is convincing as a true story although the author acknowledges that it is a novel. He has researched the times thoroughly, including interviewing descendants of the main characters, (see Canberra Times8.8.16).
Begbie doesn’t minimise the struggles of black or white people. He confronts personal, cultural, spiritual and commercial matters and is realistic yet sensitive about their outcomes.
I chuckled, wondered, learnt and cried while reading Cotter. I found myself wishing it could be made compulsory reading so that we could all gain a better understanding of the truth of our white beginnings in Aboriginal Australia.
Cotter left me feeling inspired by the man's life but also bereft by what was lost in the making of this man. I felt glad that the story of Onyong and Cotter has been told so honestly.
Wow! The early history of Australia comes alive here. This book is convincing as a true story although the author acknowledges that it is a novel. He has researched the times thoroughly, including interviewing descendants of the main characters, (see Canberra Times8.8.16).
Begbie doesn’t minimise the struggles of black or white people. He confronts personal, cultural, spiritual and commercial matters and is realistic yet sensitive about their outcomes.
I chuckled, wondered, learnt and cried while reading Cotter. I found myself wishing it could be made compulsory reading so that we could all gain a better understanding of the truth of our white beginnings in Aboriginal Australia.
Cotter left me feeling inspired by the man's life but also bereft by what was lost in the making of this man. I felt glad that the story of Onyong and Cotter has been told so honestly.
October 11, 2016
COTTER by Richard Begbie:
review by Deirdre Morton.
My Godfather was Walter Burly Griffin, I know he and my mother would have really appreciated `COTTER`. It is such a different angle to the discussions about the plans for the Capital and communities that dominated their lives, which I am sure would have included Onyong and his knowledge of country had been understood by them. The research is amazing. Yes, what could have happened but didn’t is an enormous tragedy. Well done Richard.
review by Ivor Morton.
The perception of justice. The Haves and the Have- not’s. The ‘trickle down’ effect on the lives of all the participants. The country itself. “It’s Beauty and it’s Terror”. Cotter confronts it all. Great book.
review by Deirdre Morton.
My Godfather was Walter Burly Griffin, I know he and my mother would have really appreciated `COTTER`. It is such a different angle to the discussions about the plans for the Capital and communities that dominated their lives, which I am sure would have included Onyong and his knowledge of country had been understood by them. The research is amazing. Yes, what could have happened but didn’t is an enormous tragedy. Well done Richard.
review by Ivor Morton.
The perception of justice. The Haves and the Have- not’s. The ‘trickle down’ effect on the lives of all the participants. The country itself. “It’s Beauty and it’s Terror”. Cotter confronts it all. Great book.
October 20, 2022
Wow! This book is unforgettable. I have not been able to stop thinking about it, many months later. This has opened my eyes as to what it must have been like, as an aboriginal, to see the arrival and spread of white people.
March 20, 2018
Reading Richard Begbie’s historical novel Cotter coincided this week with the arrival of the latest Quarterly Essay, Moment of Truth – an essay by historian Mark McKenna about how Australia’s future is contingent on coming to terms with our past. This is the blurb:
In this inspiring essay, Mark McKenna considers the role of history in making and unmaking the nation. From Captain Cook to the frontier wars, from Australia Day to the Uluru Statement, we are seeing passionate debates and fresh recognitions. McKenna argues that it is time to move beyond the history wars, and that truth-telling about the past will be liberating and healing. This is a superb account of a nation’s moment of truth.
“The time for pitting white against black, shame against pride, and one people’s history against another’s, has had its day. After nearly fifty years of deeply divisive debates over the country’s foundation and its legacy for Indigenous Australians, Australia stands at a crossroads – we either make the commonwealth stronger and more complete through an honest reckoning with the past, or we unmake the nation by clinging to triumphant narratives in which the violence inherent in the nation’s foundation is trivialised.”
I don’t need to have read the essay yet to agree that yes, it’s high time for a more honest narrative about the beginnings of modern Australia, but Richard Begbie’s book shows just how hard it can be to get it right. His novel uses the fragmentary record of a pioneer narrative to tell the story of a dispossessed Irish convict-turned-squatter forging an empathetic relationship with the Indigenous owner of the land. It’s engrossing reading, tracing Garrett Cotter’s life from grinding poverty in Ireland where he was caught up in a ‘Whiteboy’ action and sentenced to death, commuted to transportation for life. By temperament Cotter is a quiet and industrious man and he does well in New South Wales, fortunate to be assigned to reasonable men and though illiterate, intelligent enough to make good use of the opportunities that came his way. Like many convicts, he flourished in the colony and ended up as a grazier in the high country around what is now Canberra, and became patriarch of a large and respectable family.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2018/03/20/c...
In this inspiring essay, Mark McKenna considers the role of history in making and unmaking the nation. From Captain Cook to the frontier wars, from Australia Day to the Uluru Statement, we are seeing passionate debates and fresh recognitions. McKenna argues that it is time to move beyond the history wars, and that truth-telling about the past will be liberating and healing. This is a superb account of a nation’s moment of truth.
“The time for pitting white against black, shame against pride, and one people’s history against another’s, has had its day. After nearly fifty years of deeply divisive debates over the country’s foundation and its legacy for Indigenous Australians, Australia stands at a crossroads – we either make the commonwealth stronger and more complete through an honest reckoning with the past, or we unmake the nation by clinging to triumphant narratives in which the violence inherent in the nation’s foundation is trivialised.”
I don’t need to have read the essay yet to agree that yes, it’s high time for a more honest narrative about the beginnings of modern Australia, but Richard Begbie’s book shows just how hard it can be to get it right. His novel uses the fragmentary record of a pioneer narrative to tell the story of a dispossessed Irish convict-turned-squatter forging an empathetic relationship with the Indigenous owner of the land. It’s engrossing reading, tracing Garrett Cotter’s life from grinding poverty in Ireland where he was caught up in a ‘Whiteboy’ action and sentenced to death, commuted to transportation for life. By temperament Cotter is a quiet and industrious man and he does well in New South Wales, fortunate to be assigned to reasonable men and though illiterate, intelligent enough to make good use of the opportunities that came his way. Like many convicts, he flourished in the colony and ended up as a grazier in the high country around what is now Canberra, and became patriarch of a large and respectable family.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2018/03/20/c...
January 3, 2023
What a great start to my reading in 2023 with this fabulous book. Someone gave it to me to read and I thought it was going to be another Irish convict unfairly convicted and comes good in Australia book. While it is I suppose, it is much, much more than that. It really exposes the class system that existed in those times and for the first time focusses on just what happened to the local indigenousness people. But it is so well written that you almost feel like that you are there. I couldn't stop reading it and it painted a picture of what might have been if only our ancestors had picked up how intrinsic the relationship between the Aboriginal people and the land was. What was also clever was the fact that it is a fictional book based on historic research and factual events. I would urge anybody interested in Australian history to read it.
October 8, 2020
Colonialism suxxxx
January 26, 2024
Loved this book so much.
March 12, 2017
This is an excellent and moving fictionalised account of Garrett Cotter and in particular, his friendship with local Aboriginal leader, Onyong, around the region that makes up modern day Canberra. I was reading this over the Canberra Day long weekend and it was enlightening. I found the account of what it meant to be sent "beyond the bounds" as Cotter was to be quite different to what I had expected. I found the portrayal of the relationship between Cotter and Onyong to be thought provoking and moving. A huge amount of research must have gone into this book, which tells this story in a level of detail that could not be realised in non-fiction.
February 1, 2018
Believable, sensitive and educational book, written by a skilled writer & farmer, thinking like a person in tune with nature and history. Easy reading, & clever our first interactions with Koori's are so superficial, not so much Cotter. Months after reading, I still think about this book.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews