A new book "Living with the Locals" tells the stories of 13 non-Indigenous men, boys and women who were taken in by the First Nations people of the Torres Strait Islands and eastern Australia. The new arrivals lived in the communities between the 1790s and the 1870s ranging from a few months to over 30 years. It was a time when negative attitudes towards Indigenous people gave rise to misinterpretation of events and sensationalised versions of the stories.
The stories in Living with the Locals' provide a glimpse into Indigenous life at the point of early contact between Indigenous people and British colonists.
There were many Europeans who for many reasons may have run away from the settlements, were escaped convicts, or shipwrecked or simply got lost in the bush and for a period of time lived with Indigenous peoples in Australia.
It was a time when negative attitudes towards Indigenous people often gave rise to gross misinterpretation of events and sensationalised versions of the stories.
The new book reveals that many of the white survivors actually spoke up against the appalling treatment of the Indigenous people, and advocated for reconciliation and land rights.
John Maynard, co-author of Living with the locals says that contrary to widespread belief the Europeans in these stories were totally accepted and were for all intents and purposes, saved by Indigenous Australians. Some of them lived with Indigenous peoples for upwards of thirty years.
A lot of these people came back to live in white communities recounting very positive experiences living with the locals.
They recounted how well they had been treated and the wonderful lifestyle that they experienced
A number of the new settlers had gone through Indigenous ceremonial practices and had been totally accepted into families and communities in that regard.
Stories of assimilation in reverse
'Living with the locals' also tells how white survivors were unwilling to betray Indigenous beliefs and customs to unsympathetic colonists.
John Maynard says "they were very reluctant to reveal aspects of those secret cultural practices. They didn't reveal that.
They also took up the fight of speaking out on behalf of Indigenous people at times of high conflict on the frontier.
The first story in the book is that of John Wilson, also known as Bunboé in his Indigenous adoptive community.
John Wilson totally supported the people that had become a part of.
He also led exploration parties out from the settlements. In regards to that, he opened up access to Western Sydney because of his knowledge of country and his connections with Indigenous communities,
The co-author adds the way settlers were accepted into Indigenous communities is like assimilation in reverse. They were adopted and even took on First Nations names like Bunboé, Murrangurk, Duramboi, Waki, Giom, Anco ….
They also founded families. One of the most famous of them is William Buckley who spent over 30 years.
Buckley became a very proficient hunter as well. He totally immersed himself in cultural practices. He was one of the most outspoken of the colonizers, when he returned to the settlements. Eventually he moved from Victoria to Tasmania in defense of Aboriginal people."
About the authors
Professor John Maynard is a Worimi man from the Port Stephens region of NSW.
He has worked with and within many aboriginal communities focusing mainly on the intersections of Aboriginal political and social history.
Professor Victoria Haskins is a historian at the University of Newcastle.
Her interests include histories of cross-cultural relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous women.