276:. John Batman was engaged to track and capture the (Tasmanian) Aboriginal at large that were harassing colonial settlers in the South-Esk and Ben Lomond region. He was initially permitted by Lieut-Governor George Arthur to select a party of nine men including two ‘Sydney Aborigines’ and three ticket-of –leave men commissioned to serve three years in the bush, or in the field police, before receiving conditional pardons. The six others might receive tickets of leave after 12 months service as dictated by Batman's appointment as a leader of a Roving Party under Thomas Anstey, Police Magistrate at Oatlands. Anstey was also responsible for the Roving Party led by Gilbert Robertson that had captured 5 Aboriginal people near Swanport on 7 November 1828. Arthur eventually approved a grant of 2000 acres for Batman after one year of service, making the commission a profitable venture for Batman.
289:
Yunbai) was from the
Illawarra or Tharrawal language group in southern NSW. After the success of the operation described in the novel, Pigeon and Crook accompanied Batman back to Sydney for the purposes of procuring more Indigenous men. Ultimately, 7 NSW Indigenous men were employed by Batman for Roving Parties over the 4 years between 1829-1833 and were based at his property at Kingston on the Ben Lomond Rivulet. Command of the NSW men, and further Roving Parties, was taken by
313:' man and he was employed by John Batman as a general farmhand or for the purposes of capturing hostile Indigenous clanspeople. He had a long relationship with Batman, after the events described in the novel he remained a roving party member under the leadership of Cottrell but probably still residing at Kingston. Gumm accompanied John Batman when he sailed to Port Phillip in the venture to establish a settlement that would eventually become the city of
180:, ruthless, singleminded; four convicts, the youngest still only a stripling; Gould, a downtrodden farmhand; two free black trackers; and powerful, educated Black Bill, brought up from childhood as a white man. This is the roving party and their purpose is massacre. With promises of freedom, land grants and money, each is willing to risk his life for the prize. Passing over many miles of tortured country, the roving party searches for
202:
of child abduction was common at the colonial frontier in
Tasmania. At some point Ponsonby was baptised and he appears to have worked on Clarendon farm, and became a capable farmer. A man who is highly likely to be Ponsonby is mentioned as a witness to a sexual assault at a farm near Freeman's Reach on the South Esk River in December 1825 and the next mention of him is in his assistance in capturing the Bushranger
225:
described in the novel. At or around this time also met
Catherine Kennedy, another baptised Tasmanian Aboriginal raised by settlers at Cross Marsh (now Kempton), in the south of Van Diemens Land, and married her at Batsman's property on 16 August 1830. Shortly afterwards, and due to their success in the aforementioned roving party, John Batman appealed to
201:
The novel is based on the life of
William 'Black Bill' Ponsonby, of whom little survives in the historical record. What is known of William Ponsonby is that he was raised by James Cox of Clarendon, near Nile, in Northern Tasmania. It is unknown how Cox came by an indigenous child but the practice
288:
Nation from the modern day Sydney Basin area. Pigeon and Crook emigrated to Van
Diemens Land at Batman's request sometime before September 1829, however they were not Dharug men. Pigeon (Indigenous name Beewurher/Warroba) was a Yuin man from the Shoalhaven area and John Crook (Indigenous name
241:
left
William Ponsonby after a domestic dispute and was 'forcibly taken by the blacks at Ben Lomond', even though she 'spoke nothing of the language'. A similar report in March 1831 described an Aboriginal woman 'brought up by whites' living with two sawyers at 'Stringybark Gully- 6 Miles from
297:
or 'Sall' rather than the presence of the NSW men. Pigeon and Crook were also reported to have been recommended land grants adjacent to
Kingston but, although plans of the region show their grants, they never took up the land. It appears that Batman sold these allotments, along with William
224:
district. On
September 7, 1829, Ponsonby, in a party of assigned men and mainland Aboriginal men, attacked an indigenous encampment at the Break O'Day Plains (near modern day Fingal) capturing members of the plangermaireener clan as well as killing and wounding several others - the incident
229:
to have 100 acres of land granted to
William and Catherine as a reward for his service, a controversial proposal at the time. Ponsonby appears to have sought a partner to help run the property but ultimately this land was never granted and was subsequently sold by Batman.
242:
Massey's farm' (perhaps under
Stringy Bark Tier, near Deddington) - whereupon she was captured when the sawyers were attacked by hostile clansmen. Despite a search party being organised by Massey, it was presumed that she was killed by her abductors .
298:
Ponsonby's, to help finance his expedition to Port Phillip and the founding of Melbourne. Due to the discontent of the men, and their perceived lack of efficacy by the colonial government, all of the NSW men were returned to NSW by March 1833.
27:
237:, in his diaries, and John Batman, in his letters, refer to a 'civilised' aboriginal woman at Ben Lomond who was subsequently abducted by hostile Aboriginal clans. James Simpson, police magistrate at Campbell Town wrote in 1831 that, '
604:
284:
Pigeon and John Crook were two Aboriginal men employed by John Batman for the purposes of tracking Indigenous Tasmanians. In the novel they are described as 'Dharug', that is men of the
184:, taking few prisoners and killing freely, Batman never abandoning the visceral intensity of his hunt. And all the while, Black Bill pursues his personal quarry, the much-feared warrior,
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William Ponsonby went on to assist John Batman with his commission to capture remnants of the Indigenous clans who were attacking settlers in the
712:"SEARCH PAGE: List of immigrants to VDL/Tasmania before 1905 with country of departure or ancestry beyond the UK & Ireland (Ongoing draft)"
370:
327:
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293:, a local constable and pound-keeper, but further successes may have been attributable to the employment of a Tasmanian Indigenous woman
169:
won the 2011 Vogel Award. The novel was also shortlisted for the 2011 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction.
334:
834:
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738:"List of immigrants to VDL/Tasmania before 1905 with country of departure or ancestry beyond the UK & Ireland (ongoing draft)"
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was a convict transported to Van Diemens Land in 1822. By the time of his employment with John Batman he was a'
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217:. It appears that around this time Ponsonby took up with John Batman as an employed hand.
203:
60:
357:
2012 shortlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — Australian Newcomer of the Year
454:"Manuscript 3251: Van Diemen's Land 1821-1862 Original accounts from frontier Tasmania"
858:
404:
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Subsequently, Robinson reported in his diaries that Catherine Kennedy was killed by
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2012 shortlisted The National Year of Reading 2012 Our Story Collection — Tasmania
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2012 shortlisted Festival Awards for Literature (SA) — Award for Fiction
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2012 co-winner The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist of the Year
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804:
Friendly Mission: The Tasmanian Journals of George Augustus Robinson
764:
Friendly Mission: The Tasmanian Journals of George Augustus Robinson
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Friendly Mission: The Tasmanian Journals of George Augustus Robinson
683:
Friendly Mission: The Tasmanian Journals of George Augustus Robinson
624:
Friendly Mission: The Tasmanian Journals of George Augustus Robinson
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BEYOND THE PALE - world immigrants to Van Diemen's Land before 1900
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Land Settlement in Early Tasmania: Creating an Antipodean England
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Land Settlement in Early Tasmania: Creating an Antipodean England
376:
2013 shortlisted Tasmania Book Prizes — Tasmania Book Prize
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Little more is known of the fate of the couple; however,
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an Elder of the Tyerrernotepanner (Stony Creek) Nation.
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Batman's former black absconded and headed a tribe.'
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249:(probably Moulteherlargenner / Multiyalakina aka
835:Vogel Winner follows in contentious footsteps
495:Six Forgotten Bushrangers of Van Diemens Land
366:2012 shortlisted Indie Awards — Debut Fiction
8:
19:
492:von Stiegliz, Karl Rawdon (10 April 1956).
592:. Cambridge University Press. p. 159.
549:. Cambridge University Press. p. 159.
161:. Wilson's first book, it is published by
25:
18:
349:New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards
342:New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards
260:stated to Robinson in January 1834 that '
386:
802:Plomley (Ed.), N.J.B. (Brian) (2008).
762:Plomley (Ed.), N.J.B. (Brian) (2008).
696:Plomley (Ed.), N.J.B. (Brian) (2008).
681:Plomley (Ed.), N.J.B. (Brian) (2008).
622:Plomley (Ed.), N.J.B. (Brian) (2008).
520:"The Hobart Town Courier". 3 Oct 1839.
501:. Birchalls Launceston: Self-published
206:in December 1826, with local settlers
685:. Quintus. QVMAG. pp. 579, 1041.
637:"Launceston Advertiser". 14 Mar 1831.
394:Booktopia interview with Rohan Wilson
7:
850:UTAS - Grad awarded 2011 Vogel Award
330:— The Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction
264:but no mention is made of his fate.
766:. Quintus. QVMAG. pp. 505–507.
405:The Australian/Vogel Literary Award
371:Tasmanian Premier's Literary Prizes
351:— Christina Stead Prize for Fiction
335:The Australian/Vogel Literary Award
328:Victorian Premier's Literary Awards
661:Australian Dictionary of Biography
603:Moore-Robinson, J. (17 Oct 1934).
14:
806:. Quintus. QVMAG. pp. 506–7.
197:Black Bill and Catherine Kennedy
337:(for an unpublished manuscript)
626:. Quintus. QVMAG. p. 111.
1:
778:"Convict Records: James Gumm"
870:Australian historical novels
272:See the wikipedia entry for
452:Gough, Julie (2009-10-24).
344:— UTS Award for New Writing
153:is a 2011 novel written by
906:
192:Historical basis for novel
16:2011 novel by Rohan Wilson
716:List of immigrants to VDL
605:"The Life of John Batman"
575:"Colonial Times (Hobart)"
561:"Colonial Times (Hobart)"
439:"Colonial Times (Hobart)"
24:
141:To Name Those Lost
890:Allen & Unwin books
880:English-language novels
588:Morgan, Sharon (2003).
545:Morgan, Sharon (2003).
534:, 12 September 1929, p2
532:The Hobart-Town Courier
875:Novels set in Tasmania
865:2011 Australian novels
845:Sydney Writer's Centre
653:"Eumarrah (1798–1832)"
609:The Mercury (Tasmania)
373:— Margaret Scott Prize
321:Awards and nominations
479:"Hobart Town Gazette"
279:
657:Eumarrah - Biography
416:Theconversation.com
21:
427:Premier.vic.gov.au
347:2012 shortlisted
256:As to Black Bill,
215:John Charles Darke
885:2011 debut novels
821:Allen & Unwin
700:. Quintus. QVMAG.
326:2011 shortlisted
247:Maleteherbargener
211:John Helder Wedge
163:Allen & Unwin
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91:Publication place
75:Allen & Unwin
20:The Roving Party
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577:. 8 Oct 1830.
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785:. Retrieved
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746:. Retrieved
744:. 2010-05-10
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369:2013 winner
340:2012 winner
333:2011 winner
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280:The 'Dharug'
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173:Plot summary
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159:Rohan Wilson
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41:Rohan Wilson
787:30 November
722:30 November
649:Michael Roe
505:21 November
463:21 November
274:John Batman
268:John Batman
258:John Glover
239:Black Kate'
208:John Batman
178:John Batman
859:Categories
840:ABC review
748:2019-06-05
381:References
307:James Gumm
302:James Gumm
222:Ben Lomond
182:Aborigines
315:Melbourne
155:Tasmanian
110:Paperback
95:Australia
71:Publisher
666:27 April
651:(2005).
251:Eumarrah
106:Hardback
47:Language
831:The Age
157:author
104:Print (
61:Western
51:English
286:Dharug
108:&
37:Author
499:(PDF)
117:Pages
57:Genre
789:2016
724:2016
668:2019
507:2016
465:2016
213:and
126:ISBN
86:2011
120:282
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