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The Life and Adventures of William Buckley
Introduction by Tim Flannery
‘At 2.00 pm on Sunday, 6 July 1835, a giant of a man shambled into the camp left by John Batman at Indented Head near Geelong…’
In 1803 the convict William Buckley, a former soldier, escaped from the first official settlement in Victoria, near Sorrento on Port Phillip Bay. For three decades the ‘wild white man’ lived with Aborigines around the bay, before giving himself up in 1835. First published in 1852, The Life and Adventures William Buckley is the ultimate survival story of early Australia and provides an extraordinary insight into pre-contact indigenous society.
‘At 2.00 pm on Sunday, 6 July 1835, a giant of a man shambled into the camp left by John Batman at Indented Head near Geelong…’
In 1803 the convict William Buckley, a former soldier, escaped from the first official settlement in Victoria, near Sorrento on Port Phillip Bay. For three decades the ‘wild white man’ lived with Aborigines around the bay, before giving himself up in 1835. First published in 1852, The Life and Adventures William Buckley is the ultimate survival story of early Australia and provides an extraordinary insight into pre-contact indigenous society.
256 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2002
36 people are currently reading
165 people want to read
About the author
Tim Flannery
132 books392 followersTim Flannery is one of Australia's leading thinkers and writers.
An internationally acclaimed scientist, explorer and conservationist, he has published more than 130 peer-reviewed scientific papers and many books. His books include the landmark works The Future Eaters and The Weather Makers, which has been translated into more than 20 languages and in 2006 won the NSW Premiers Literary Prizes for Best Critical Writing and Book of the Year.
He received a Centenary of Federation Medal for his services to Australian science and in 2002 delivered the Australia Day address. In 2005 he was named Australian Humanist of the Year, and in 2007 honoured as Australian of the Year.
He spent a year teaching at Harvard, and is a founding member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, a director of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, and the National Geographic Society's representative in Australasia. He serves on the board of WWF International (London and Gland) and on the sustainability advisory councils of Siemens (Munich) and Tata Power (Mumbai).
In 2007 he co-founded and was appointed Chair of the Copenhagen Climate Council, a coalition of community, business, and political leaders who came together to confront climate change.
Tim Flannery is currently Professor of Science at Maquarie University, Sydney.
An internationally acclaimed scientist, explorer and conservationist, he has published more than 130 peer-reviewed scientific papers and many books. His books include the landmark works The Future Eaters and The Weather Makers, which has been translated into more than 20 languages and in 2006 won the NSW Premiers Literary Prizes for Best Critical Writing and Book of the Year.
He received a Centenary of Federation Medal for his services to Australian science and in 2002 delivered the Australia Day address. In 2005 he was named Australian Humanist of the Year, and in 2007 honoured as Australian of the Year.
He spent a year teaching at Harvard, and is a founding member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, a director of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, and the National Geographic Society's representative in Australasia. He serves on the board of WWF International (London and Gland) and on the sustainability advisory councils of Siemens (Munich) and Tata Power (Mumbai).
In 2007 he co-founded and was appointed Chair of the Copenhagen Climate Council, a coalition of community, business, and political leaders who came together to confront climate change.
Tim Flannery is currently Professor of Science at Maquarie University, Sydney.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 22, 2016
This is NOT a Spoiler Alert!!!
A WARNING BEFORE READING -
Fortunately or Not,
but certainly VERY Interestingly,
this book contains TWO accounts of the story of William Buckley (1780 - 1856).
Both of these books were written with HIS assistance...BUT ..(here is that Topsy-Turvey word !!)
the two accounts were written 14 to 17 years apart under widely different circumstances
and from totally different motives.
Buckley is known to have lied during his long life,as some critics have pointed out,
and I must say I was very glad to hear about this, because it means he was a typical
member of the Human Race to which I happen to belong as well - yes, I too have lied.
(I caught a lovely and funny dog I knew very well lying once...believe it or not !!!)
Tim Flannery, who wrote the 46 page Introduction to the Two Tales,
concludes with a WARNING, which he sees as a bit of a challenge.
"Now it is time to take up with William Buckley in his travels and adventures.
It is as well to keep your eyes open and your wits about you as you do."
Tim seems to have cottoned on that finding 'lies' may merely mean having a sort of Game trying to spot where a minor 'hiccup' may have occurred; or perhaps where putting the emphasis on one thing rather than another may arise; or a sign of a weakening memory discovered, because William was about 72 years old when the second book about his Extraordinary Life was finally published in 1852. His uniqueness had not helped him to get any Government support for all he had done to assist both the settlers and his Indigenous family. In fact, by 1853, there were only 34 members of the Wothowurong tribe who had cared for Buckley for 32 years remaining, with only one under 10 years old. In 1836, there had been 173 of them, but the whites had already started killing them.
And they were ALL dead by 1885.
Tim, a scientist, archaeologist and antropologist also lectures at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, has most probably lied sometimes, but I would not think in any of his many publications.
His telling the Truth has, however, got him into much trouble, particularly with the unliberal Liberal Party Government, because he has been warning Us All here about Climate Change for several decades now. I think William Buckley may have had similar experiences.
He probably just told the truth too often.
William Buckley was in a unique position in the Australian White Society of 1803 !!!
He knew MORE about the indigenous people, or certainly a particular group of them , because they were divided into thousands of Language Groups, he knew more than any other white person AND he was prepared to speak on their behalf and even in their Defence.
Many White settlers hated him IMMEDIATELY they realised this, and after they had killed his horse he feared they would soon kill him. They had already started killing the Aborigines about property, and Buckley's main tribe,the Wothowurong, were now being murdered as well, because it irritated the founding settlers of Melbourne,that these blacks were living where they wanted to graze their sheep.
In England, where killing other English people was against the Law of the Land, the Peasant Class who had got in the way of the Sheep Graziers, just as the Indigenous people were now doing in European Colonies, but had been dealt with by getting the British Government to privatize their lands and then the Establishment of the Enclosure System meant that fencing off the land soon made it obvious to the Peasants that their class of people were now required to work in and support the Industrial Revolution by moving to where the factories were. And mines ! Fewer were needed on the Land. This led to the Rise of the Working Class and the Chartist Movements where the Rights of these people were finally won and which are now still being gradually undone and abolished by Governments as we move into the 21st century.
Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774) wrote about this AMAZING takeover in his poem "The Deserted Village".
And in the 19th Century, Elizabeth Barrett-Browning (1806-1861) wrote a famous poem,"The Cry of the Children", about the very young children who had to work in Factories and Coal Mines,
a much more practical alternative to genocide.)
Buckley is NOT listed among "Australia's Famous Men and Women".
Does THAT surprise YOU ?
Those we choose to imitate and hold up as Icons say MUCH about our values.
His face appears on no coin or paper note or nor does any statue exist that I know of.
But there are expressions such as " You have Buckley's Luck /Hope /Chance of that happening" acknowledges that Buckley's Luck was Rare; and several places in Melbourne bear his name, where he was known to have lived his Native Life of 32 years. He had lived and enjoyed mostly an alternative valid existence, where disease was rare, food was plentiful and no gods spoilt one's peace of mind. Spirits had a history - they had shaped the land and many had been transformed into the Native Animals which were now taken as Guardians, one special animal for each person. The Land, the Trees, the Rivers, the Animals and the Peoples...all were to suffer Terrible Loss at the Hands of the Newcomers. They suffer still.
No White Invader really seemed to acknowledge that these apparently primitive, uncivilised Black People might have untapped depths, hold keys, Keys to Secrets, Keys of Knowledge. Did they ever think to ask or observe or get an opinion? Native Food was scorned; customs ignored, scorned and abandoned. To Our Detriment. Bushfires once prevented now occur and kill Every Summer; rivers turn salty; erosion is rampant; reefs diminish as does Everything.
Some few did learn..and Buckley would have been one of the First.
Why is he not remembered and generously?
Can we admit to our Great Failure, to the Wrong Turnings we made and whose paths we persist in still following?
What do Ned Kelly and Burke and Wills offer us except staggering failures.
Burke and Wills died where Native Peoples had survived for centuries.
It did not take them long to perish.
It is not taking long for us either.
My Vision I have long contemplated is when we in our boats set off seeking refuge in nearby Asia
leaving the Original Peoples behind, will they assist us, wave us a Fond Farewell from Sydney's clifftops or will they be too busy preparing a Corroboree of Joy and wondering can the Land now cure itself with their aid?
These Two Tales of Buckley are precious beyond Price.
Another which reads more easily and blends many other facts together is
"Buckley's Hope" by Craig Robertson which was published in 1980.
I've heard it has never been out of print.
A WARNING BEFORE READING -
Fortunately or Not,
but certainly VERY Interestingly,
this book contains TWO accounts of the story of William Buckley (1780 - 1856).
Both of these books were written with HIS assistance...BUT ..(here is that Topsy-Turvey word !!)
the two accounts were written 14 to 17 years apart under widely different circumstances
and from totally different motives.
Buckley is known to have lied during his long life,as some critics have pointed out,
and I must say I was very glad to hear about this, because it means he was a typical
member of the Human Race to which I happen to belong as well - yes, I too have lied.
(I caught a lovely and funny dog I knew very well lying once...believe it or not !!!)
Tim Flannery, who wrote the 46 page Introduction to the Two Tales,
concludes with a WARNING, which he sees as a bit of a challenge.
"Now it is time to take up with William Buckley in his travels and adventures.
It is as well to keep your eyes open and your wits about you as you do."
Tim seems to have cottoned on that finding 'lies' may merely mean having a sort of Game trying to spot where a minor 'hiccup' may have occurred; or perhaps where putting the emphasis on one thing rather than another may arise; or a sign of a weakening memory discovered, because William was about 72 years old when the second book about his Extraordinary Life was finally published in 1852. His uniqueness had not helped him to get any Government support for all he had done to assist both the settlers and his Indigenous family. In fact, by 1853, there were only 34 members of the Wothowurong tribe who had cared for Buckley for 32 years remaining, with only one under 10 years old. In 1836, there had been 173 of them, but the whites had already started killing them.
And they were ALL dead by 1885.
Tim, a scientist, archaeologist and antropologist also lectures at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, has most probably lied sometimes, but I would not think in any of his many publications.
His telling the Truth has, however, got him into much trouble, particularly with the unliberal Liberal Party Government, because he has been warning Us All here about Climate Change for several decades now. I think William Buckley may have had similar experiences.
He probably just told the truth too often.
William Buckley was in a unique position in the Australian White Society of 1803 !!!
He knew MORE about the indigenous people, or certainly a particular group of them , because they were divided into thousands of Language Groups, he knew more than any other white person AND he was prepared to speak on their behalf and even in their Defence.
Many White settlers hated him IMMEDIATELY they realised this, and after they had killed his horse he feared they would soon kill him. They had already started killing the Aborigines about property, and Buckley's main tribe,the Wothowurong, were now being murdered as well, because it irritated the founding settlers of Melbourne,that these blacks were living where they wanted to graze their sheep.
In England, where killing other English people was against the Law of the Land, the Peasant Class who had got in the way of the Sheep Graziers, just as the Indigenous people were now doing in European Colonies, but had been dealt with by getting the British Government to privatize their lands and then the Establishment of the Enclosure System meant that fencing off the land soon made it obvious to the Peasants that their class of people were now required to work in and support the Industrial Revolution by moving to where the factories were. And mines ! Fewer were needed on the Land. This led to the Rise of the Working Class and the Chartist Movements where the Rights of these people were finally won and which are now still being gradually undone and abolished by Governments as we move into the 21st century.
Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774) wrote about this AMAZING takeover in his poem "The Deserted Village".
And in the 19th Century, Elizabeth Barrett-Browning (1806-1861) wrote a famous poem,"The Cry of the Children", about the very young children who had to work in Factories and Coal Mines,
a much more practical alternative to genocide.)
Buckley is NOT listed among "Australia's Famous Men and Women".
Does THAT surprise YOU ?
Those we choose to imitate and hold up as Icons say MUCH about our values.
His face appears on no coin or paper note or nor does any statue exist that I know of.
But there are expressions such as " You have Buckley's Luck /Hope /Chance of that happening" acknowledges that Buckley's Luck was Rare; and several places in Melbourne bear his name, where he was known to have lived his Native Life of 32 years. He had lived and enjoyed mostly an alternative valid existence, where disease was rare, food was plentiful and no gods spoilt one's peace of mind. Spirits had a history - they had shaped the land and many had been transformed into the Native Animals which were now taken as Guardians, one special animal for each person. The Land, the Trees, the Rivers, the Animals and the Peoples...all were to suffer Terrible Loss at the Hands of the Newcomers. They suffer still.
No White Invader really seemed to acknowledge that these apparently primitive, uncivilised Black People might have untapped depths, hold keys, Keys to Secrets, Keys of Knowledge. Did they ever think to ask or observe or get an opinion? Native Food was scorned; customs ignored, scorned and abandoned. To Our Detriment. Bushfires once prevented now occur and kill Every Summer; rivers turn salty; erosion is rampant; reefs diminish as does Everything.
Some few did learn..and Buckley would have been one of the First.
Why is he not remembered and generously?
Can we admit to our Great Failure, to the Wrong Turnings we made and whose paths we persist in still following?
What do Ned Kelly and Burke and Wills offer us except staggering failures.
Burke and Wills died where Native Peoples had survived for centuries.
It did not take them long to perish.
It is not taking long for us either.
My Vision I have long contemplated is when we in our boats set off seeking refuge in nearby Asia
leaving the Original Peoples behind, will they assist us, wave us a Fond Farewell from Sydney's clifftops or will they be too busy preparing a Corroboree of Joy and wondering can the Land now cure itself with their aid?
These Two Tales of Buckley are precious beyond Price.
Another which reads more easily and blends many other facts together is
"Buckley's Hope" by Craig Robertson which was published in 1980.
I've heard it has never been out of print.
August 11, 2017
‘This account, in Buckley’s words…has all the elements of a Boy’s Own yarn: convicts, savages, privations, wars, cannibalism, survival, treachery and the founding of a colony.’
Herald Sun
‘Flannery has done us a service first by reissuing the story of a fascinating adventure from 200 years ago, and then by setting these events in perspective with his lucid introduction.’
Canberra Times
Herald Sun
‘Flannery has done us a service first by reissuing the story of a fascinating adventure from 200 years ago, and then by setting these events in perspective with his lucid introduction.’
Canberra Times
June 18, 2024
A genuinely special book which suffers from what it could have been
The Life and Adventures of William Buckley contains both accounts of an escaped convict who spent 30 years living among the Aboriginal people of Victoria during the very early days of colonisation. The hope in reading such an account will be that it will provide detail and insight that would otherwise be inaccessible.
However while you do get Buckley’s unique story, the majority of his account is limited to describing the numerous conflicts he witnessed and his movements. Buckley was a simple man whose main focus of those 30 years was mere survival. So unfortunately the information about the Wathaurong people is fairly limited and unlikely to be particularly new if you have read about the broader subject. Still an interesting example of Australian castaway literature.
The Life and Adventures of William Buckley contains both accounts of an escaped convict who spent 30 years living among the Aboriginal people of Victoria during the very early days of colonisation. The hope in reading such an account will be that it will provide detail and insight that would otherwise be inaccessible.
However while you do get Buckley’s unique story, the majority of his account is limited to describing the numerous conflicts he witnessed and his movements. Buckley was a simple man whose main focus of those 30 years was mere survival. So unfortunately the information about the Wathaurong people is fairly limited and unlikely to be particularly new if you have read about the broader subject. Still an interesting example of Australian castaway literature.
January 23, 2018
Life before white man
It really is quite amazing to think of how dislocating it must have been for Buckley to switch worlds like this. The fact that he not only survived, but thrived is equally astonishing. To read about his experiences living with an Aboriginal society untainted by white man is a really precious gift to any Australian reader.
It really is quite amazing to think of how dislocating it must have been for Buckley to switch worlds like this. The fact that he not only survived, but thrived is equally astonishing. To read about his experiences living with an Aboriginal society untainted by white man is a really precious gift to any Australian reader.
July 28, 2018
An excellent story about life with the Australian aboriginals of the southern Victoria region, pre-Melbourne days. It tells the story of life as it was, between the tribes and within the tribes. There is none of the modern day romanticism of Aboriginal life. This book tells it as it was, in all its facets. Highly recommended.
July 13, 2018
How is this book not better known and more frequently read?!? A fascinating tale of a man who slips away from his Australian penal colony and lives for 32 years among the Aboriginal Australians, to the point that he loses track of time and his ability to speak English.
July 2, 2023
There are a lot of comforting illusions of Australia's early history and it’s not surprising that this book never makes it on to school reading lists. We get the unvarnished truth in this eye-witness account and it’s not pretty. Pre-1788 the continent was far from a peaceful wonderland but a brutal, chaotic horrorshow. The people were brave, resourceful and exceptionally hardy to endure in such a life for countless centuries. Endless violence, cannibalism and infanticide, and a struggle for life without any comforts: ‘almost entirely naked, enduring nearly every kind of privation, sleeping on the ground month after month, year after year’.
William Buckley spent 32 years among the tribes around what is now Melbourne and Geelong – a region conducive to farming and settlement – but contrary to Bruce Pascoe’s delusional Dark Emu, there was absolutely none of that. Nor were there any ‘nations’. Instead the land featured tribes of a few hundred people who were constantly roaming and warring with each other. There were no laws or even chiefs but only the men at the head of each family group, who had total control. The women were beasts of burden and sexual chattel, and disputes over their ownership fuelled most of the conflict since “the wealth of the men may be said to consist in the number of their wives”. The rest of the violence was from the belief in sorcery, “for they do not suppose that any one dies from natural causes, but from human agencies” – meaning almost any death called for bloody vengeance.
Here are some other titbits that were never mentioned in school:
– the custom of ‘infant bestowal’ meant little girls were given to much older men
– “men and women were fighting furiously, and indiscriminately, covered with blood; two of the latter were killed in this affair, which lasted without intermission for two hours … the men cut the flesh off the bones, and stones were heated for baking it; after which, they greased their children with it, all over.”
– “the poor women get much the worst of it, for after having had their furious combats amongst themselves, the husbands think it necessary to thrash them into quietude.”
– women and children were fair game in the constant blood feuds between the tribes: “many women and children laying about in all directions, wounded and sadly mutilated”
– often the only way to end a blood feud is one tribe giving up some women to the other, and “should the women object, there is little chance of their lives being spared, as this law of custom is absolute”.
– “when a woman has been promised to one man, and is afterwards given to another; in such case, her first-born is almost invariably killed at its birth.”
– “They have a brutal aversion to children who happen to be deformed … I saw the brains of one dashed out at a blow, and a boy belonging to the same woman made to eat the mangled remains … some evil would befall him if he had not done so.”
– “when the parents cannot be punished for any wrong done, they inflict it upon the offspring. So now, the savages having got hold of a child of about four years of age … they immediately knocked it on the head, and having destroyed it, they killed the murderer’s brother, also spearing his mother through the thigh, and wounding several others”
– “they cut the most of the flesh off his body, carrying it away on their spears to mark their triumph. The next day and night there was a continued uproar of dancing and singing … during which, the mangled remains of the man were roasted between heated stones—and they eat part of them”
– “they take a man’s kidneys out after death, tie them up in something, and carry them round the neck, as a sort of protection and valuable charm”
– “a tribe notorious for their cannibal practices; not only eating human flesh greedily after a fight, but on all occasions when it was possible”
– “They eat also of the flesh of their own children to whom they have been much attached should they die a natural death—when a child dies they place the body in an upright position in a hollow tree and allow it to remain there until perfectly dry when they will carry it about with them.”
– “So soon as they have as many [children] as they can conveniently carry about and provide for, they kill the rest immediately after birth”
– “a syphilis disorder is very prevalent among them— attacking not only the adults but the children”.
Yet amidst all the terror and hardship, life in the old Australia could be wildly fun and exciting. The corrobborees by night with fire and dancing, the great meetings between tribes, the hunting and raiding, the stories told under the stars, the plentiful fish and game to be roasted and shared.
William Buckley spent 32 years among the tribes around what is now Melbourne and Geelong – a region conducive to farming and settlement – but contrary to Bruce Pascoe’s delusional Dark Emu, there was absolutely none of that. Nor were there any ‘nations’. Instead the land featured tribes of a few hundred people who were constantly roaming and warring with each other. There were no laws or even chiefs but only the men at the head of each family group, who had total control. The women were beasts of burden and sexual chattel, and disputes over their ownership fuelled most of the conflict since “the wealth of the men may be said to consist in the number of their wives”. The rest of the violence was from the belief in sorcery, “for they do not suppose that any one dies from natural causes, but from human agencies” – meaning almost any death called for bloody vengeance.
Here are some other titbits that were never mentioned in school:
– the custom of ‘infant bestowal’ meant little girls were given to much older men
– “men and women were fighting furiously, and indiscriminately, covered with blood; two of the latter were killed in this affair, which lasted without intermission for two hours … the men cut the flesh off the bones, and stones were heated for baking it; after which, they greased their children with it, all over.”
– “the poor women get much the worst of it, for after having had their furious combats amongst themselves, the husbands think it necessary to thrash them into quietude.”
– women and children were fair game in the constant blood feuds between the tribes: “many women and children laying about in all directions, wounded and sadly mutilated”
– often the only way to end a blood feud is one tribe giving up some women to the other, and “should the women object, there is little chance of their lives being spared, as this law of custom is absolute”.
– “when a woman has been promised to one man, and is afterwards given to another; in such case, her first-born is almost invariably killed at its birth.”
– “They have a brutal aversion to children who happen to be deformed … I saw the brains of one dashed out at a blow, and a boy belonging to the same woman made to eat the mangled remains … some evil would befall him if he had not done so.”
– “when the parents cannot be punished for any wrong done, they inflict it upon the offspring. So now, the savages having got hold of a child of about four years of age … they immediately knocked it on the head, and having destroyed it, they killed the murderer’s brother, also spearing his mother through the thigh, and wounding several others”
– “they cut the most of the flesh off his body, carrying it away on their spears to mark their triumph. The next day and night there was a continued uproar of dancing and singing … during which, the mangled remains of the man were roasted between heated stones—and they eat part of them”
– “they take a man’s kidneys out after death, tie them up in something, and carry them round the neck, as a sort of protection and valuable charm”
– “a tribe notorious for their cannibal practices; not only eating human flesh greedily after a fight, but on all occasions when it was possible”
– “They eat also of the flesh of their own children to whom they have been much attached should they die a natural death—when a child dies they place the body in an upright position in a hollow tree and allow it to remain there until perfectly dry when they will carry it about with them.”
– “So soon as they have as many [children] as they can conveniently carry about and provide for, they kill the rest immediately after birth”
– “a syphilis disorder is very prevalent among them— attacking not only the adults but the children”.
Yet amidst all the terror and hardship, life in the old Australia could be wildly fun and exciting. The corrobborees by night with fire and dancing, the great meetings between tribes, the hunting and raiding, the stories told under the stars, the plentiful fish and game to be roasted and shared.
February 1, 2025
One of the best books I have ever read. That the ethnographical value of this book hasn't been acknowledged is completely insane to me. I did an Aboriginal Anthropology subject at university and this book was not mentioned once. William Buckley tells the story of his life, and the events which occurred in his 32 years living with the Wadawurrung. This is as close as we will likely ever get to seeing how these people actually lived, and quite an unbiased account. This is a must read for anyone interested in Indigenous Australians, their customs, laws, traditions, stories, and the interactions between them and Europeans in the first years.
November 23, 2017
An important book in terms of local history and written observations of precontact Aborginal society.
I particularly enjoyed reading of his travels throughout the Geelong region, to places I am quiet familiar with. Amazing he survived to tell the story.
Pretty shocking the regular warfare and cannabalism which he reports having taken place.
A great introduction by Flannery to really put a few things in perspective.
I particularly enjoyed reading of his travels throughout the Geelong region, to places I am quiet familiar with. Amazing he survived to tell the story.
Pretty shocking the regular warfare and cannabalism which he reports having taken place.
A great introduction by Flannery to really put a few things in perspective.
August 5, 2018
This is a simply written adventure story which contains warmth and beautiful images of Aboriginal life even as the shadow of colonisation looms over it. A must read for anyone who likes to think through Australian history and the very elements of historicity.
August 10, 2020
The unbelievable story of an English convict from the first fleet escaping to live with an Aboriginal tribe for 30+ year's.
February 8, 2021
Interesting insights...I had SO many questions though.
May 12, 2021
A fascinating life of probably the first European (a runaway convict) to live among Australia's aborigines for 34 years.
November 12, 2021
One of my favourite books.
Easy to read, and interesting account of history.
Easy to read, and interesting account of history.
August 14, 2016
Wikisource version available freely to those with an internet connection, which you must have to be seeing this.
A rather good read. Old language, wear instead of weir, and minor transcription errors, such as confusing cl with d, are plentiful in this text (Wikisource version), so be forewarned (about the Wikisource version).
An extraordinary life, about a man of great luck and pluck, a European implant into a mixture of Australian communities now inextricably lost or irrevocably changed. Early shadows of political correctness, AKA politeness, are to be found in these pages, describing hairstyles. Bunyips emerge from swamps, children risk being buried alive to scout wombat tunnels, sky burials shielded from birds, cannibal tribes being incinerated alive, denizens of the deep lurk about an ocean side cave, violence, corroborees, forced cannibalism. Such facts are the meat of the book, a brief outline of W. Buckley's early life preface it, and a semi-thorough accounting of his later life fill out the books 200 odd pages.
Later chapters illustrate the early colonial process and conflicts. There were a great many conflicts, and W. Buckley's recollections are blind to no side of the divide, first expressing the thieving, murderous inclinations of the various aborigines near the camp, and immediately following this up with discussion of the hoax of land sale perpetrated by the white colonialists and pioneers. More words are spent criticising the conduct of persons unknown, who he felt to be spreading malicious and possibly deadly attitudes about him, and directly & repeatedly interfered with his mission as a constable to locate, dead or alive, to missing notable personages.
If you like Robinson Crusoe, survival tales, or Australiana, read this e-book .
A rather good read. Old language, wear instead of weir, and minor transcription errors, such as confusing cl with d, are plentiful in this text (Wikisource version), so be forewarned (about the Wikisource version).
An extraordinary life, about a man of great luck and pluck, a European implant into a mixture of Australian communities now inextricably lost or irrevocably changed. Early shadows of political correctness, AKA politeness, are to be found in these pages, describing hairstyles. Bunyips emerge from swamps, children risk being buried alive to scout wombat tunnels, sky burials shielded from birds, cannibal tribes being incinerated alive, denizens of the deep lurk about an ocean side cave, violence, corroborees, forced cannibalism. Such facts are the meat of the book, a brief outline of W. Buckley's early life preface it, and a semi-thorough accounting of his later life fill out the books 200 odd pages.
Later chapters illustrate the early colonial process and conflicts. There were a great many conflicts, and W. Buckley's recollections are blind to no side of the divide, first expressing the thieving, murderous inclinations of the various aborigines near the camp, and immediately following this up with discussion of the hoax of land sale perpetrated by the white colonialists and pioneers. More words are spent criticising the conduct of persons unknown, who he felt to be spreading malicious and possibly deadly attitudes about him, and directly & repeatedly interfered with his mission as a constable to locate, dead or alive, to missing notable personages.
If you like Robinson Crusoe, survival tales, or Australiana, read this e-book .
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews