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== Historical basis for novel ==
== Historical basis for novel ==
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 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, or learned farming, as he is mentioned in a letter to a newspaper to be a capable farmer.
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 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=Trove.nla.gov.au|title=Colonial Times (Hobart)|last=|first=|date=08 Oct 1830|work=|access-date=|via=}}</ref>
A man who is highly likely to be Ponsonby is mentioned as a witness to a sexual assault at at a farm near Freeman's Reach on the South Esk River in December 1825<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gough|first1=Julie|title=Manuscript 3251: Van Diemen's Land 1821-1862 Original accounts from frontier Tasmania|url=https://manuscript3251.wordpress.com/2009/10/24/ms-3251-1822-1825-box-2-vol-1/#_edn3|website=Manuscript 3251|accessdate=21 November 2016}}</ref> and the next mention of him is in his assistance in capturing the Bushranger [[Thomas Jeffries]] in December 1826, with local settlers [[John Batman]] [[John Helder Wedge]] and [[John Charles Darke]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=von Stiegliz|first1=Karl Rawdon|title=Six Forgotten Bushrangers of Van Diemens Land|date=10 April 1956|publisher=Self-published|location=Birchalls Launceston|url=http://www.npntfh.org.au/assets/six-forgotten-bushrangers-of-van-diemen-s-land.pdf|accessdate=21 November 2016}}</ref>
A man who is highly likely to be Ponsonby is mentioned as a witness to a sexual assault at at a farm near Freeman's Reach on the South Esk River in December 1825<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gough|first1=Julie|title=Manuscript 3251: Van Diemen's Land 1821-1862 Original accounts from frontier Tasmania|url=https://manuscript3251.wordpress.com/2009/10/24/ms-3251-1822-1825-box-2-vol-1/#_edn3|website=Manuscript 3251|accessdate=21 November 2016}}</ref> and the next mention of him is in his assistance in capturing the Bushranger [[Thomas Jeffries]] in December 1826<ref>{{Cite news|url=Trove.nla.gov.au|title=Hobart Town Gazette|last=|first=|date=28 Jan 1826|work=|access-date=|via=}}</ref>, with local settlers [[John Batman]] [[John Helder Wedge]] and [[John Charles Darke]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=von Stiegliz|first1=Karl Rawdon|title=Six Forgotten Bushrangers of Van Diemens Land|date=10 April 1956|publisher=Self-published|location=Birchalls Launceston|url=http://www.npntfh.org.au/assets/six-forgotten-bushrangers-of-van-diemen-s-land.pdf|accessdate=21 November 2016}}</ref>
It appears that around this time Ponsonby took up with John Batman as an employed hand. He also met and married Catherine Kennedy, another baptised Tasmanian Aboriginal raised at Cross Marsh (now Kempton).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Morgan|first1=Sharon|title=Land Settlement in Early Tasmania: Creating an Antipodean England|date=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=159}}</ref>
It appears that around this time Ponsonby took up with John Batman as an employed hand. He also met and married Catherine Kennedy, another baptised Tasmanian Aboriginal raised at Cross Marsh (now Kempton).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Morgan|first1=Sharon|title=Land Settlement in Early Tasmania: Creating an Antipodean England|date=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=159}}</ref>
It appears that William Ponsonby assisted John Batman with his commission to capture remnants of the Indigenous clans who were attacking settlers in the [[Ben Lomond, Tasmania|Ben Lomond]] district. On September 7, 1829, Ponsonby, in a party of assigned men and mainland Aboriginal men, attacked an indigenous encampment capturing people of the plangermaireener clan as well as killing and wounding several others<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4213833 ''The Hobart-Town Courier'', 12 September 1929, p2]</ref> - the incident described in the novel.
It appears that William Ponsonby assisted John Batman with his commission to capture remnants of the Indigenous clans who were attacking settlers in the [[Ben Lomond, Tasmania|Ben Lomond]] district. On September 7, 1829, Ponsonby, in a party of assigned men and mainland Aboriginal men, attacked an indigenous encampment capturing people of the plangermaireener clan as well as killing and wounding several others<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4213833 ''The Hobart-Town Courier'', 12 September 1929, p2]</ref> - the incident described in the novel.
After this incident Batman appealed to [http://www.utas.edu.au/library/companion_to_tasmanian_history/A/George%20Arthur.htm Governor Arthur] to have 100 acres of land granted to William and Catherine as a reward for his service - but this land was never granted.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Morgan|first1=Sharon|title=Land Settlement in Early Tasmania: Creating an Antipodean England|date=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=159}}</ref>
After this incident Batman appealed to [http://www.utas.edu.au/library/companion_to_tasmanian_history/A/George%20Arthur.htm Governor Arthur] to have 100 acres of land granted to William and Catherine as a reward for his service, a controversial proposal at the time. <ref>{{Cite news|url=Trove.nla.gov.au|title=Colonial Times (Hobart)|last=|first=|date=01 Oct 1830|work=|access-date=|via=}}</ref>Ponsonby appears to have sought a partner to run the property but ultimately this land was never granted.<ref>{{Cite news|url=Trove.nla.gov.au|title=Colonial Times (Hobart)|last=|first=|date=08 Oct 1830|work=|access-date=|via=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Morgan|first1=Sharon|title=Land Settlement in Early Tasmania: Creating an Antipodean England|date=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=159}}</ref>
Little more is known of the fate of this couple; however, G.A. Robinson in his diaries, and John Batman's letters, refer to a aboriginal woman at Ben Lomond raised by settlers who was abducted and later killed. James Simpson, police magistrate at Campbell Town wrote in 1831 that, '<nowiki/>''Black Kate''' left William Ponsonby after some dispute and was 'forcibly taken by the blacks at Ben Lomond', even though she spoke nothing of the language (p. 111). She was later reportedly killed by maleteherbargener (probably moulteherlargenner i.e. Eumarrah) Elder of the Tyerrernotepanner (Stony Creek) Nation (p. 579), 1041.
Little more is known of the fate of the couple; however, G.A. Robinson in his diaries, and John Batman's letters, refer to a aboriginal woman at Ben Lomond raised by settlers who was abducted and later killed. James Simpson, police magistrate at Campbell Town wrote in 1831 that, '<nowiki/>''Black Kate''' left William Ponsonby after some dispute and was 'forcibly taken by the blacks at Ben Lomond', even though she spoke nothing of the language (p. 111). She was later reportedly killed by maleteherbargener (probably moulteherlargenner i.e. Eumarrah) Elder of the Tyerrernotepanner (Stony Creek) Nation (p. 579), 1041.


As to Black Bill, [[John Glover (artist)|John Glover]] stated to Robinson in January 1834 that '<nowiki/>''Batman's former black absconded and headed a tribe.'''<ref>{{Cite book|title=Friendly Mission: The Tasmanian Journals of George Augustus Robinson|last=Plomley (Ed.)|first=N.J.B. (Brian)|publisher=Quintus. QVMAG|year=2008|isbn=|location=|pages=|quote=|via=}}</ref> but no mention is made of his fate.
As to Black Bill, [[John Glover (artist)|John Glover]] stated to Robinson in January 1834 that '<nowiki/>''Batman's former black absconded and headed a tribe.'''<ref>{{Cite book|title=Friendly Mission: The Tasmanian Journals of George Augustus Robinson|last=Plomley (Ed.)|first=N.J.B. (Brian)|publisher=Quintus. QVMAG|year=2008|isbn=|location=|pages=|quote=|via=}}</ref> but no mention is made of his fate.

Revision as of 12:22, 27 November 2016

The Roving Party
AuthorRohan Wilson
LanguageEnglish
GenreWestern, Historical novel
PublisherAllen & Unwin
Publication date
2011
Publication placeAustralia
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages282
ISBN9781742376530
Followed byTo Name Those Lost 

The Roving Party is a 2011 novel written by Tasmanian author Rohan Wilson.[1] Wilson's first book, it is published by Allen & Unwin. The Roving Party won the 2011 Vogel Award.[2][3] The novel was also shortlisted for the 2011 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction.[4]

Plot summary

John Batman, 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 Aborigines, 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, Mannalargenna.

Historical basis for novel

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 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.[5] A man who is highly likely to be Ponsonby is mentioned as a witness to a sexual assault at at a farm near Freeman's Reach on the South Esk River in December 1825[6] and the next mention of him is in his assistance in capturing the Bushranger Thomas Jeffries in December 1826[7], with local settlers John Batman John Helder Wedge and John Charles Darke.[8] It appears that around this time Ponsonby took up with John Batman as an employed hand. He also met and married Catherine Kennedy, another baptised Tasmanian Aboriginal raised at Cross Marsh (now Kempton).[9] It appears that William Ponsonby assisted John Batman with his commission to capture remnants of the Indigenous clans who were attacking settlers in the Ben Lomond district. On September 7, 1829, Ponsonby, in a party of assigned men and mainland Aboriginal men, attacked an indigenous encampment capturing people of the plangermaireener clan as well as killing and wounding several others[10] - the incident described in the novel. After this incident Batman appealed to Governor Arthur to have 100 acres of land granted to William and Catherine as a reward for his service, a controversial proposal at the time. [11]Ponsonby appears to have sought a partner to run the property but ultimately this land was never granted.[12][13] Little more is known of the fate of the couple; however, G.A. Robinson in his diaries, and John Batman's letters, refer to a aboriginal woman at Ben Lomond raised by settlers who was abducted and later killed. James Simpson, police magistrate at Campbell Town wrote in 1831 that, 'Black Kate' left William Ponsonby after some dispute and was 'forcibly taken by the blacks at Ben Lomond', even though she spoke nothing of the language (p. 111). She was later reportedly killed by maleteherbargener (probably moulteherlargenner i.e. Eumarrah) Elder of the Tyerrernotepanner (Stony Creek) Nation (p. 579), 1041.

As to Black Bill, John Glover stated to Robinson in January 1834 that 'Batman's former black absconded and headed a tribe.'[14] but no mention is made of his fate.

Awards and nominations

  • 2011 shortlisted Victorian Premier's Literary Awards — The Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction
  • 2011 winner The Australian/Vogel Literary Award (for an unpublished manuscript)
  • 2012 winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — UTS Award for New Writing
  • 2012 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Christina Stead Prize for Fiction
  • 2012 co-winner The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist of the Year
  • 2012 shortlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — Australian Newcomer of the Year
  • 2012 shortlisted The National Year of Reading 2012 Our Story Collection — Tasmania
  • 2012 shortlisted Festival Awards for Literature (SA) — Award for Fiction
  • 2012 shortlisted Indie Awards — Debut Fiction
  • 2013 winner Tasmania Book Prizes — Margaret Scott Prize
  • 2013 shortlisted Tasmania Book Prizes — Tasmania Book Prize

References

  1. ^ Booktopia interview with Rohan Wilson
  2. ^ The Australian/Vogel Literary Award
  3. ^ Theconversation.com
  4. ^ Premier.vic.gov.au
  5. ^ [Trove.nla.gov.au "Colonial Times (Hobart)"]. 08 Oct 1830. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Gough, Julie. "Manuscript 3251: Van Diemen's Land 1821-1862 Original accounts from frontier Tasmania". Manuscript 3251. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  7. ^ [Trove.nla.gov.au "Hobart Town Gazette"]. 28 Jan 1826. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  8. ^ von Stiegliz, Karl Rawdon (10 April 1956). Six Forgotten Bushrangers of Van Diemens Land (PDF). Birchalls Launceston: Self-published. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  9. ^ Morgan, Sharon (2003). Land Settlement in Early Tasmania: Creating an Antipodean England. Cambridge University Press. p. 159.
  10. ^ The Hobart-Town Courier, 12 September 1929, p2
  11. ^ [Trove.nla.gov.au "Colonial Times (Hobart)"]. 01 Oct 1830. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ [Trove.nla.gov.au "Colonial Times (Hobart)"]. 08 Oct 1830. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Morgan, Sharon (2003). Land Settlement in Early Tasmania: Creating an Antipodean England. Cambridge University Press. p. 159.
  14. ^ Plomley (Ed.), N.J.B. (Brian) (2008). Friendly Mission: The Tasmanian Journals of George Augustus Robinson. Quintus. QVMAG.
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