The Bushman — Life in a New Country

The author records life in a distant colony through personal narrative and essays that blend travel anecdote, natural history, and political critique. Scenes of frontier existence and outdoor pursuits—kangaroo and emu hunts, river and desert travel, and encounters with isolated stations—alternate with observations on indigenous peoples, their customs and physical traits, and on colonial institutions including juries, governance, penal settlements, and mismanagement. Geological, botanical, and meteorological notes accompany practical assessments of resources—wool, wine, coal, timber—and reflections on settlers' trials, economic potentials, and proposed reforms to colonial policy.