Songs of the South. Second Series. The Wild White Man and Other Poems
London, Ward, Lock & Bowden, Limited, 1895.
Octavo, 199 pages (the last three being 'Press Notices of the First Series', continued from page [2]).
Olive-green cloth unevenly sunned, lightly flecked and a little bumped; top edge gilt, others uncut; endpapers lightly foxed; overall, an excellent copy.
Not least, 'The Wild White Man. An Australian Tale' ('founded on historical facts', pages 101-196). William Buckley (1780-1856) was transported for life in 1802; the following year he absconded from a camp at Port Phillip. He was 'befriended by Aboriginals of the Watourong tribe, who believed the big white stranger to be a reincarnation of their dead tribal chief. He learnt their language and their customs, and was given a wife, by whom, he said, he had a daughter'. He lived with them for thirty-two years, finally giving himself up in July 1835 ('Australian Dictionary of Biography').
Item #86629
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