BUCKLEY’S HOPE: The Story of Australia’s Wild White Man

Buckley’s life with Port Phillip Aborigines between 1803 and 1835; subsequent life in white community.
On Boxing Day 1803 a young English convict named William Buckley escaped from Victoria’s first settlement at Sorrento. Soon after, the settlement was abandoned and Buckley was left behind. For thirty-two years Buckley survived in the wilderness, mainly because he was adopted and helped by local aboriginal tribes. In 1835 Buckley emerged with his tribal friends to meet Melbourne’s founders, and quickly became an important guide and interpreter in the crucial first years of the European conquest of the Port Phillip region. Suddenly, trapped in the rapidly ensuing conflict between two vastly different societies, Buckley found himself mistrusted by his former black friends and by his white compatriots. He was so harshly reviled that his reputation has suffered to this day. This is a story whose time has come. With great sensitivity, and based on meticulous research, Craig Robertson has recreated the fateful encounter between Australia’s ‘wild white man’ and the original inhabitants of the continent. Remarkably, through Buckley’s eyes we can see how much was at stake and how much was lost when two worlds collided. The enthralling story of William Buckley’s odyssey continues to haunt and challenge us all.
288 p. ; 23 cm. #0821/X010422 (Prev. ownership name.) First Edition