The Ghost and the Bounty Hunter: William Buckley, John Batman and the Theft Of Kulin Country

Adam Courtenay

May 2020 · Bolinda · Narrated by John Derum

Audiobook

9 hr 28 min

Unabridged

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About this audiobook

Just after Christmas 1803, convict William Buckley fled an embryonic settlement in the land of the Kulin nation (now the Port Phillip area), to take his chances in the wilderness. A few months later, the local Aboriginal people found the six-foot-five former soldier near death. Believing he was a lost kinsman returned from the dead, they took him in, and for thirty-two years Buckley lived as a Wadawurrung man, learning his adopted tribe's language, skills and methods to survive. The outside world finally caught up with Buckley in 1835, after John Batman, a bounty hunter from Van Diemen's Land, arrived in the area, seeking to acquire and control the perfect pastureland around the bay. What happened next saw the Wadawurrung betrayed and Buckley eventually broken. The theft of Kulin country would end in the birth of a city. The frontier wars had begun. By the bestselling author of The Ship That Never Was, The Ghost and the Bounty Hunter is a fascinating and poignant true story from Australian colonial history.

About the author

Adam Courtenay is the son of Australia's best-loved storyteller, Bryce Courtenay. He is a Sydney-based writer and journalist who has had a long career in the UK and Australia, writing for papers such as the Financial Times, the Sunday Times, the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review. He has written three books on the Amazon and has a love of Australia history and Australian stories.

John Derum has been acting, writing and directing for theatre and television since his teenage years. He has performed More Than a Sentimental Bloke, his tribute to C.J. Dennis, more than 500 times around Australia. He has recorded the audiobooks of the Joseph Furphy classic novels, Such Is Life, Rigby’s Romance and The Buln-Buln and the Brolga. In 2019, John was appointed a member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his significant contribution to the performing arts and the community.

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