In 1803, Buckley fled captivity near modern-day Melbourne and vanished into the bush, and was presumed dead.
His story offers a remarkable glimpse into both the challenges of exile and the richness of Indigenous Australian culture.
He was raised by his maternal grandfather who sent him to school and arranged his apprenticeship to a bricklayer.
When Buckley turned 19, he joined the Cheshire Militia and later the 4th Regiment.
After his return to England, Buckley was charged with theft of a bale of cloth.
Despite his defence, Buckley was found guilty and sentenced to transportation to New South Wales for life.
Buckley arrived in Sullivan Bay in southern Victoria near what is now Melbourne in 1803 aboardHMS Calcutta.
However, the settlers found that the land was poor and there was little fresh water.
The lack of timber also made construction of houses for the settlement difficult.
Portrait of William Buckley, made a century after his death.
Eventually, they spotted a ship anchored in Port Phillip Bay.
By this time, several weeks had passed since their escape, and the men were weak with hunger.
After six days of futile attempts, the group decided to part ways.
Natives of Port Philip, southern Victoria.
He remained there for some time, gradually regaining his strength.
He sustained himself by foraging for plants, berries, and seafood.
Buckley waited for months, hoping the men would return, but they never did.
As winter approached, he struggled to find enough food and stay warm.
During his journey, he discovered a burial mound with a spear protruding from the earth.
He took the spear, using it as a walking stick.
Further along, while crossing a stream, he slipped and was swept away by the current.
Though he managed to reach the shore, he was left too weak to walk.
William Buckley draped in kangaroo-skin cloak with spears and dagger in hand.
There, he encountered two women who immediately recognized his dire condition.
With the assistance of their husbands, they brought him to their huts.
These people belonged to the Wallarranga tribe of the Wathaurong nation.
They welcomed him and gave him the nameMurrangurk, which had belonged to the departed chief.
For the next several days, ceremonies of mourning and rejoicing took place.
The Wallarranga tribe patiently taught him their language, customs, and essential bush skills.
However, he declined, fearing that such a relationship might provoke jealousy among the men.
He observed that disputes over women were a frequent cause of violent clashes between men of different tribes.
These conflicts sometimes led to fatalities and, in extreme cases, acts of cannibalism.
When the women saw them returning, they also raised great shouts, dancing about in savage ecstasy.
Food was abundance in the region, as Buckley recalled.
They returned home with their baskets filled with them.
We lived very sumptuously, he said.
However, winter brought a stark contrast to these periods of abundance.
As food sources dwindled, the tribe often endured hunger after fruitless foraging expeditions.
Natives fishing under torchlight in their canoes.
Preparing a meal of roasted fish.
Buckley eventually lost track of how long he had been living among the Wathaurong people.
One day, during a violent tribal battle, tragedy struck.
The family who had taken Buckley in, along with many other members of their clan, were killed.
Fearing for his own life, Buckley fled into the wilderness, once again embracing a solitary existence.
Aboriginals hunting birds and possum.
Some time later, some of the members of the clan he had previously lived with discovered his whereabouts.
By this plan of operations, they are enabled to tell with great precision the spot where they are.
The poor things are easily killed, for they offer no resistance to these intrusions on their haunts.
The animal is generally roasted whole.
In his later years among the Aboriginal people, Buckley occasionally encountered European ships along the coast.
Despite his efforts to signal them, he was unable to capture their attention.
Buckley himself had forgotten how to speak English which made him unable to make known his true identity.
Buckleys fortune changed in 1835 when he stumbled upon a camp established by John Helder Wedge and his men.
At first, Buckley couldnt understand a single word the men said.
Years of speaking only the Wathaurong language had caused him to lose nearly all traces of his native tongue.
To further prove his identity, he pointed to an old tattoo on his arm bearing the initialsW.B.
William Buckley and the natives arrive at John Wedges camp.
His fluency in the Wathaurong language made him an invaluable interpreter between the Aboriginal people and European settlers.
On more than one occasion, his intervention prevented what could have escalated into bloodshed.
Grateful for Buckleys efforts, John Helder Wedge advocated for his official pardon, which was soon granted.
Not only was Buckley given his freedom, but he was also offered a position as a government interpreter.
While he initially managed to balance his responsibilities effectively, the situation grew increasingly volatile.
Later, he worked as a gatekeeper at the Female Factory.
In 1840, he married Julia Higgins, a widow with a young daughter.
He was 76 at the time of his death.
Unfortunately, the books reception was lukewarm.
Melbourne historian James Bonwick even accused Morgan of fabricating details.
He seemed as one not belonging to our world.
On Buckleys work in Melbourne, Bonwick confides that he was thoroughly useless.
These qualities cement Buckleys legacy as one of Australias first truebushmen.
