Black and White and Read All Over Quiz

Answer: Robbery Under Arms

Along with Captain Starlight and Warrigal, brothers Dick and Jim Marston and their father Ben form a formidable quintet of bushrangers. They are guilty of the typical activities of men of their ilk, such as cattle duffing, horse stealing, mail coach bail ups and bank robbery. Although his skills with handling cattle and as a master horseman, as well as his tracking abilities are well respected by the others, Warrigal is still never completely trusted by any of them. There is a mutual disliking between the Marston brothers and Warrigal, and Ben Marston's opinion is that Warrigal is "worth watching." Even after all his loyalty during their clandestine escapades, Captain Starlight's treatment of Warrigal is, at times, little more than contemptible; "Starlight used to knock him down like a log if he didn't please him." Yet with all the admiration he has for Starlight, Warrigal takes it all in his stride, even to the extent that he is "regular put out once when Starlight hurt his knuckles against his hard skull." But there's no honour amongst thieves as the old adage says and Warrigal eventually turns police informant, leading to the inevitable downfall of himself and the Starlight Gang.

Rolf Boldrewood, the pen name of Thomas Alexander Browne, began writing 'Robbery Under Arms' in 1880 and it was printed the following year in serial form in the 'Sydney Mail' newspaper. It was first published in book form in 1888 in three volumes and has become Boldrewood's best known work having been adapted since into a stage play and several films. Although it is a work of fiction, many of the characters and events in the story were inspired by and based upon real Australian bushrangers and their cunning escapades.

'For the Term of His Natural Life' was written by Marcus Clarke in 1870 and follows the story of a convict transported to the penal colony of Van Diemen's Land. Contrary to its title, Peter Carey's 2001 Booker Prize winning 'True History of the Kelly Gang' is a fictionalised account of Australia's most famous bushrangers. 'The Wild Colonial Boy' is a traditional ballad originating in Ireland that has made its way to the antipodes and, with a few changes to the wording, become a popular Australian bush ballad.

Answer: An escaped convict

When Ralph Rashleigh has his death sentence for house burglary commuted to transportation for life, he finds himself in the penal colony of New South Wales. Upon arrival he is assigned to work for the schoolmaster, having had a good education and former employment as a clerk in England, but after engaging in political debate with "other educated convicts" his tenure ends and the years that follow are filled with hard labour, meagre rations and cruel and sadistic punishments. Amongst the trials he endures are two years tree felling and forest clearing at Emu Plains, slave labouring on the farm of a settler, being taken prisoner by a gang of bloodthirsty bushrangers and three years working in the coalmines of Newcastle followed by the lime kilns at Lime Burner's Bay. It is while doing the latter that Rashleigh and seven other convicts make a bid for freedom. They steal a boat, sail north along the coast and eventually harbour on a beach. But following a series of murders amongst themselves and at the hands of an Aboriginal tribe, only Rashleigh and one other convict are left living. The two of them set about making a canoe to further their flight north until a torrent of floodwaters crash through the coastal mountains and wash them away.

When Rashleigh regains consciousness on another beach he is surrounded by a second tribe of Aborigines. He is accepted into the tribe at the word of the elderly carandjie, a witch doctor/medicine man type, who keeps a watchful eye over his safety. He is fed and nursed back to health and the traditional initiation rituals of manhood are performed upon his body; a tooth is knocked from his mouth and deep lacerations are cut into his chest and back. He is also given a dark pigment to rub into his skin and after a few weeks application his appearance is like that of his Aboriginal saviours. He is provided with weapons and taught to hunt and the carandjie presents him with one of his very own wives. Ralph Rashleigh "was well contented to fall in with the destiny which fate had so strangely put upon him, convinced as he was that it was safer and better than what awaited him if he returned to live among white men." But when the carandjie dies the new tribal elders are not so taken with Rashleigh and attempts are made on his life and so he leaves and continues his northbound journey on foot.

'The Adventures of Ralph Rashleigh' reads like one great ripping yarn of a man who experiences more in one lifetime than most would in ten. The surprising thing is, although there has been some minor conjecture as to its authorship, that it is in part the true self-penned story of a convict identified as James Tucker using the nom de plume Giacomo di Rosenberg. But this culturally significant work of Australian literature was almost condemned to join the list of lost literary works. Fortunately the original manuscript, which had been privately owned for more than thirty years, was given to Sydney librarian Charles Bertie. He realised the potential importance of the work, typed it out in full and sent it to an English publishing house which, after altering the archaic language style to make it more appealing to modern readers, while at the same time keeping intact the structure of the story, published it in 1929.

Answer: Coonardoo

On the remote Wytaliba cattle station in the north-west of Western Australia, Hugh Watt, the only child of the widowed boss lady Mrs. Bessie, and Coonardoo grow up together as childhood friends and playmates until Hugh is sent away to boarding school. Mrs. Bessie has great respect for the Aborigines who make their camp on her property and treats them with an "iron hand in the velvet glove" philosophy. She invests much time in Coonardoo and teaches her to read, write, cook, clean and sew as well as allowing her to ride during cattle musters. Coonardoo grows into a beautiful and much desired young woman, marries within her tribe and bears two children.

Ten years or so pass and Hugh returns to Wytaliba with his fiance Jessica, but Jessica is not made for the rural life and soon returns home much to the delight of Mrs. Bessie who, not long after, finds herself on her deathbed giving Hugh some final advice for living after she is gone; "I don't want you to go mucking round with gins. But I'd rather a gin than a Jessica."

After his mother's death, Hugh succumbs to aimless and absent minded wanderings during the nights, building fires and sleeping under the stars, all the while, and unbeknownst to him, being carefully watched by Coonardoo. On the night she does make herself seen to Hugh, they lay together and the seed is sown. When Hugh's health deteriorates he is transported to hospital hundreds of miles away in Geraldton and in his absence Coonardoo gives birth to his son Winni. Hugh returns to Wytaliba a married man, knowing, but not openly acknowledging, that Winni is his offspring when he first sees him. In the years that follow, Hugh's wife Mollie gives birth to five girls, but not one son that Hugh can call his own without shame. But Mollie eventually figures out who Winni belongs to and gives Hugh the ultimatum that either Coonardoo is banished from Wytaliba or she and the girls leave; Mollie loses out and remains true to her word. Soon after Coonardoo's husband dies and, in line with Aboriginal customs, his brother comes to Hugh to stake his claim on her. Hugh refuses and sends him away with some gifts in lieu and tells Coonardoo "You will be my woman, now, Coonardoo."

Katharine Susannah Prichard was inspired to write 'Coonardoo' after staying on a remote station in Western Australia's Kimberleys region in 1926. At the time she was virtually ignorant of outback Australia and Aboriginal culture but it was an experience that spawned not just 'Coonardoo' but the play 'Brumby Innes' and some short stories as well. It was not so much the sexual aspect of the relationship between Hugh and Coonardoo that caused such a stir though. It was well known, but never spoken of publicly, that white men had used and exploited Aboriginal women for their own sexual gratification since arriving on the continent, but that a white man could actually have feelings of love for a black woman was a completely absurd and abhorrent concept. In the year before its 1929 publication, 'Coonardoo' was printed in serial form in the 'Bulletin' and received hundreds of letters of complaint protesting the content of the story. If ignorance is indeed bliss, then those letter writers must have been the happiest people on the planet.

Answer: Xavier Herbert

While all four answer options may have written under blokey monikers, Xavier Herbert was the only male amongst them. Miles Franklin dropped her given name of Stella for her 1901 novel 'My Brilliant Career,' Jeannie Gunn adopted her husband's name Aeneas for the 1908 published 'We of the Never Never' and Henry Handel Richardson was the pen-name used by Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson for her trilogy of novels which were later collected and published in one volume under the title 'The Fortunes of Richard Mahony.'

Xavier Herbert's first calling in life was as a pharmacist, but after having some short stories published, a desire to be a writer saw him travel to the Northern Territory in 1927 to research an idea he had for a novel. It was more than a decade later when this book, 'Capricornia', was finally published in 1938. Set in Australia's tropical north, it featured a cast of dozens of characters but primarily focused on three generations of the one family. It explored the theme of sexual relationships between white men and black women, and the treatment of Norman, the illegitimate offspring of one such union. It was an ambitious novel and was critically acclaimed, but it seemed to drain the author of his creativity; it was a further twenty-one years before his second novel, 'Seven Emus' was published. In between these two novels however, Herbert was appointed to the government position of Protector of Aborigines (or more simply Superintendent) on an Aboriginal compound in Darwin. At a time when racist attitudes towards Aboriginal people were the norm and such compounds were akin to prison camps, Herbert found something of a spiritual connection with the Aborigines and endeavoured to make their lives better by erecting buildings, improving health and sanitation and offering schooling to the children of the compound. There is no doubt that his tenure there had a great influence on his novel 'Poor Fellow My Country,' but if you're expecting a brief synopsis of this tome, I'm sorry to disappoint you. At more than 1,400 pages in length this is the longest Australian novel to ever be published and one of the longest published in any language worldwide.

Answer: 1788-1792

1788 - On a fateful day in January, the eleven tall ships of the First Fleet drop anchor in the waters of Port Jackson under the watchful eye of the indigenous tribes who inhabit the surrounding land. Their initial thoughts upon first seeing the pale-skinned men on the decks of their vessels are that they are the spirits of their deceased ancestors and will disappear in a few days. But a small group of white men make land and plant a stick in the ground with a piece of red, white and blue cloth attached to it. In the days that follow, more men, women and children leave the ships for dry land, and as days turn to weeks, and weeks turn to months, the natives resign themselves to the fact that these strange people are not here for a brief visit. Both parties are warily curious of each other, interaction is made with small trinkets gifted to the Aborigines, but for Governor Arthur Phillip these token gestures are not enough for understanding these people, their culture and their customs. A daring raid on a native camp is staged in which Arabanoo is captured and taken to the Governor's residence. He is fed, bathed and shaved, his hair is trimmed and his naked body is clothed for the first time in his life. The process for teaching him the white man's way and learning the black man's way begins.

1789 - Although he pines to be amongst his own people, Arabanoo settles in reasonably well with the white man. He is particularly popular with the young children of the convict camp who are just as eagerly curious as the adults to learn the words of his language. As the year progresses an outbreak of smallpox is detected amongst the Aborigines and the populations of the native camps that are situated closest to the white settlers suffer greatly. Arabanoo also falls victim to the disease towards the end of the year which prompts Governor Phillip to give the order to again capture a native to provide the communication link between black and white. This time two men are captured; Bennilong, who takes to the white man's ways like a duck to water and sees it as an honour to be selected by them, and Colbee whose feelings are the exact opposite and so at the first available opportunity flees his captors.

1790 - The bond and friendship between Governor Phillip and Bennilong grows strong, so much so that the latter even refers to the former as "Be-anga" (father). It is with great pride that Bennilong wears the white man's clothing, has his beard and hair trimmed and speaks their language, but what he enjoys most of all is the seemingly endless supply of food from the colony's storehouse. Food becomes scarce however when a supply ship fails to make its expected appearance in port and rations throughout the whole colony are reduced. This encourages Bennilong to follow the lead of Colbee and he also makes a successful escape back to his tribe. Another factor influencing Bennilong's departure is that he can't understand nor accept the differences in how each group views what is right and what is wrong. Why does the white man say it is bad that Bennilong punishes his wife according to tribal law with a beating when they mete out punishment with a flogging, hanging or shooting? or why is it bad for a starving Aborigine to take a couple of potatoes from a white man's crop when the white man takes fish from the waters and kangaroos from the land for their own consumption?

1791 - Contact with Bennilong and Colbee is re-established but no attempt is made to force them back to the settlement. It is decided that their roles of interlocutors between black and white would be better served amongst their tribe. Both men accept an invitation to join an inland expedition to act as guides but only Colbee ends up participating; Bennilong is forbidden to join by his wife, (yep, it's an age old problem gents.) Apart from this event and a witnessing of a traditional Aboriginal funeral there is not a great deal of interaction between the two groups in this year.

1792 - As the colony enters its fifth year of existence, Governor Phillip takes time to reflect on what has been achieved. Three fleets of convicts have arrived in New South Wales by this time and the population has grown to more than two-thousand people. Rows of tents have been replaced with the first vestiges of buildings, the barren land has been planted out with various crops and inroads have been made for a peaceful co-existence with the Aborigines. But Governor Phillip knows that there is still much more that needs to be done; unfortunately he won't be able to oversee any future progress though. He returns to England on the first available ship in this year and chooses Bennilong to accompany him for a journey that would never have been thought possible just five years ago.

An enormous amount of research went into the writing of 'The Timeless Land' and much of what happens in it is factual and many of the characters are real. Interspersed with these true events though are purely fictitious stories such as that of Andrew Prentice, a convict who manages to escape from the penal colony and lives amongst an Aboriginal tribe. Although the correct spelling for his name is Bennelong, I have opted to use the spelling used throughout the book. Eleanor Dark's trilogy of novels was completed with the publication of 'Storm of Time' in 1948 and 'No Barrier' in 1953.

Answer: Ludwig Leichhardt

North from Sydney by ship to Moreton Bay, then an inland trek to Jildra Station on the Darling Downs. Thus begins the ill-fated expedition of Johann Voss and his party in their attempt to be the first men to cross the Great Southern Land from east to west. Whilst at Jildra, the party and its horses, mules, cattle, sheep and goats is complimented with the addition of two Aborigines to assist as guides; Dugald, an "elder native," and the "really quite young" Jackie. To each man Voss presents a small gift; a military brass button to the former and a pocket knife to the latter. But these two men are not the only natives the party encounters. As their expedition takes them into the drought stricken desert of the continent, they are constantly shadowed by an Aboriginal tribe. This causes a feeling of uneasiness in Dugald; "Blackfeller no good this place," and he asks of Voss to be allowed to return to Jildra Station, a request that is granted. But Dugald only makes it as far as a billabong where he encounters another Aboriginal tribe. The lure to return to the nomadic ways of his own people is too strong for Dugald to resist and so he rids himself of all signs of the whitefeller influence; the swallowtail coat he wears, the brass button gifted to him and some letters he was charged with delivering to Jildra.

As drought gives way to the wet season, progress is halted and the party is forced to shelter in a cave. While some men fall physically ill and others battle their own inner demons, the bond between Voss and Jackie strengthens. The rains eventually cease and the party continues its trek, once again being followed by the Aboriginal tribe. When a compass goes missing from a tent the natives are suspected of theft and a man is chosen to communicate with them only to be speared to death. This incident leads to division in the party and the men are split into two groups; those for continuing the expedition and those in favour of returning home. Just like Dugald before him, Jackie returns to his own people and, at their encouragement, Voss eventually falls victim to Jackie's hand and the gift he had earlier welcomed him with.

So what became of the real life Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt? This still remains a mystery. The last reported sighting of Leichhardt's party was at Coogoon sheep station in 1848. When no word was heard from them it became evident that something had gone awry. Search parties were deployed to find the men but these proved fruitless with the exception of the discovery of a few small items, which could not be conclusively linked to Leichhardt, and trees marked with the letter L. Theories that have been proposed for the disappearance of the men include starvation, exposure to weather and drowning in flood waters. But the theory of murder explored by Patrick White in his novel stems from a report of an Aboriginal tribe relating such a story years later to a Queensland station owner. Whatever the truth might be, the fact remains that somewhere within the vast expanse of this predominantly barren landscape lie the remains of a group of men who attempted a bold journey across the Great Southern Land.

Answer: Storm Boy

When his wife died Tom and his son moved from the city life of Adelaide to the secluded area on the South Australian coast called the Coorong, a region known for its system of lagoons at the mouth of the Murray River, rolling sand dunes and the varied birdlife it sustains. Apart from trips to the nearest town of Goolwa to buy supplies and sell the fish that he has caught, Tom keeps to himself and is therefore known as Hide-Away Tom. His son spends much of the days wandering along the beaches looking for anything the waves and tides have washed ashore, even in the most inclement of weather conditions, and this is why he is called Storm Boy. Fingerbone is their only neighbour, an Aboriginal man who helps Hide-Away with labour and teaches Storm Boy about all the animals and the land around the Coorong. Mr. Percival is one of three orphaned pelicans that Storm Boy cares for and raises from chicks to fully grown birds. When he releases them back into the wild Mr. Proud and Mr. Ponder remain there, but Mr. Percival returns to where Storm Boy lives.

Storm Boy and Mr. Percival become inseparable, where one goes the other follows. Storm Boy even trains Mr. Percival to fetch and retrieve a ball in the same way any other child would teach a dog. This trick is the saviour of six fishermen whose boat is damaged in rough seas and stormy weather leaving them unable to return to land. Storm Boy suggests that Mr. Percival could fly out to the boat and drop a line to the fishermen so that they can be pulled to safety. Hide-Away ties a lead sinker to some fishing line and places it in Mr. Percival's beak before he is pointed in the direction of the boat and told to fly. It takes ten attempts for Mr. Percival to find his target and drop the fishing line to the men on the boat. They then tie some rope to the line and Hide-Away, Fingerbone and Storm Boy gently pull the rope back to themselves on the beach. One by one each fisherman is slowly but surely pulled along the rope back to the safety of the beach.

All of the answer options are stories written by Colin Thiele but it is 'Storm Boy' that he is most remembered for. As I write this quiz in 2013 'Storm Boy' is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. A simple yet heartwarming tale, it has been a much loved story for many generations of Australian kids. I loved it when I was young and still do now as an adult. Unfortunately a simple man such as myself can't find the right words to do it the justice it deserves. You'll either have to believe what I've said, or better yet, read it yourself if you haven't yet done so.

Answer: Blacksmith

Born the bastard son of an Aboriginal woman and a white man, Jimmie Blacksmith is raised on the Brentwood Christian mission camp under the watchful eye of Reverend Neville who sees Jimmie as a potential protege, even believing Jimmie could one day "find a nice (white) girl off a farm to marry." Jimmie's Aboriginal brethren however want him to join them in their boozing and fornicating lifestyle. Much to his credit, Jimmie opts to enter the workforce and starts taking contracts to build boundary fences for landowners, only to be paid less than the sum he is promised for his labours. A short stint as a police tracker ends when an Aboriginal man, whose arrest he assists in, is most certainly raped and hanged by the police senior constable. Jimmie then works on the shearing floor at a property where he meets Gilda, a "wayward girl" who later announces she is pregnant by Jimmie. With fatherhood impending, Jimmie returns to fencing and is given a sizeable contract on the Newby family homestead. He builds a simple humpy on the property and marries Gilda in a Christian ceremony.

Life seems to be on the up for Jimmie and Gilda, and the Newbys even allow them to purchase food supplies on credit with the costs later deducted from Jimmie's wage. But the birth of a fully white-blooded baby marks the beginning of a downward spiral. Jimmie is mocked and ridiculed by the Newby men, and the Newby women try to encourage Gilda into leaving him. In addition, relatives of Jimmie appear with the intention of persuading him into a traditional marriage with an Aboriginal woman. The line of credit is discontinued by Mr. Newby on the pretext that his property "has been turned into a blacks' camp." When Jimmie learns of this he speaks to Mr. Newby whose position is unchanged and harsh words are exchanged between the two. Jimmie, full of rage and anger, then approaches the Newby homestead and attacks the women and children therein with an axe. Jimmie then spends many of the following months on the run, declaring war and seeking revenge on those who have wronged him in the past. And while the newspaper reporters and the general public view the half-caste Jimmie Blacksmith as a villainous black devil, it is he alone who ponders that "the white seed might have been the bad seed."

Probably more well known outside of Australia as the author of 'Schindler's Ark', Thomas Keneally is one of the most respected and loved authors this nation has produced. In writing 'The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith' Keneally took his inspiration from the life and crimes of Jimmy Governor, who at the turn of the twentieth century evaded police capture for ninety-nine days, leaving behind him nine murder victims.

Answer: David Malouf

Janet, Meg and Lachlan, the two young daughters and nephew of Jock McIvor are the first to see the dark-skinned stranger cross the boundary fence of the McIvor property and immediately fear that they are about to be attacked by a tribe of natives. Using a stick which he pretends to be a gun, Lachlan approaches the stranger who stutters out "Do not shoot. I am a B-b-british object." The children march him to the centre of the settlement where word soon spreads of the stranger's presence and all come out to see him. The realisation that he is not a native but a white man instead soon dawns on the people and they begin to question him. It is a long time since he has spoken the tongue of his birth so much of what he communicates is in the form of half forgotten words and comical charades. They settle on his name as being Gemmy Fairley and the McIvor family agree to provide him shelter.

As the novel progresses and the details of Gemmy's life are revealed, we learn that he was tossed overboard from a sailing ship as a teenager. His body washed up on a beach where it was found by an Aboriginal tribe who nursed him back to health and with whom he spent living, from his reckoning, sixteen years. Back amongst the whiteman, the settlement is divided as to what Gemmy's presence means to them. For some like the McIvors, it is seen as an opportunity to better understand the Aboriginal people and their customs and so they are compassionate towards Gemmy. Others fear that Gemmy has been sent by the natives as a spy so that they can invade the settlement and attack its inhabitants. This paranoia reaches its climax when two Aborigines are seen by one of the latter types entering the settlement and talking at length with Gemmy before handing him a stone and leaving. The McIvor property is then targeted by unseen people at night; a boundary fence is destroyed, their geese are killed and excrement is smeared on the walls of a shed. When Gemmy is found physically assaulted one night Jock McIvor determines that measures must be taken to ensure Gemmy's safety. But Gemmy sees his attempt to re-enter the white society that he was born into as futile so he walks away from the settlement and is neither seen nor heard from again.

Another well respected author, David Malouf is no one trick pony. Apart from novels and short stories he has also written poetry, plays, essays and libretti, one of which was for the opera based on the novel in question six of this quiz, 'Voss.' To the best of my knowledge and research, the significance of the Aborigines handing a stone to Gemmy is that it is a spiritual custom that says the recipient will one day return to his people. All three incorrect answer options are Australian sportsmen who, as seems to be the fashion for sporting types, have probably turned their hand to writing, or at least narrating, some sort of memoir of their sporting lives at one time or another.

Answer: The Secret River

When convicted timber thief William Thornhill arrives in Sydney in 1806, he is a good deal more fortunate than the large majority of other convicts. Because his wife Sal is able to secure passage on the same ship and lands in Sydney with him, Thornhill is immediately assigned to her to be employed in whatever fashion she so desires rather than being employed at His Majesty's pleasure. After serving just one year of his life sentence, Thornhill is granted a ticket of leave which allows him to travel freely for the purpose of work. He plies his old trade as a River Thames boatman delivering supplies along Sydney Cove until a further three and a half years later when he is granted a full pardon. At the advice of an old London acquaintance named Thomas Blackwood, Thornhill purchases his own boat and stakes a claim on a hundred acre piece of land on the Hawkesbury River where the opportunities to prosper that were never available to him in the mother country are made possible for a young and growing family.

Thornhill and his two oldest sons immediately set about cultivating the ground for the planting of corn and while doing so notice some daisy-like flowers planted loosely in the soil. To the Thornhills they are weeds and as such are dug up and left to die, but to the pair of Aborigines secretly watching these foreign men they are native yams, a valuable food source being destroyed. The Aborigines approach Thornhill, the first of their many encounters, but the barrier of no common language between them renders the conversation to meaningless words and a charade of hand gestures with Thornhill finally declaring "My place now, you got all the rest."

Also beginning new lives for themselves on the Hawkesbury are the Thornhill's neighbours; the already mentioned Thomas Blackwood and the widowed Mrs. Herring who have both learnt to compromise and find a middle ground to co-exist with the natives. Blackwood's sage advice to Thornhill is "You got to work it out your own way, but when you take a little, bear in mind you got to give a little." In direct contrast to these two are others like Smasher Sullivan, Sagitty Birtles and Spider Webb whose methods for dealing with the natives are cruel and barbaric, in Sullivan's words "a whip is a mighty handy thing to have around your average black savage" and he has a dog which he has trained up "special to go for black skin." In time, and after much contemplation, Thornhill comes round to the same way of thinking as the latter group and is persuaded into participating with them in the senseless slaughter of the Aboriginal tribe who, possibly for millenia, have inhabited the lands around this stretch of the Hawkesbury River that the white settlers now claim as their own.

Kate Grenville originally intended 'The Secret River' to be a non-fiction work about her convict ancestor Solomon Wiseman, but during her extensive research decided upon a fictional story, heavily inspired and based upon Wiseman's life, as her own personal apology to Australia's indigenous people for the treatment they have suffered since white man's arrival. In 2006 she published 'Searching For the Secret River,' an account of the research and writing processes she undertook to produce what has, in such a short time, already been recognised as a classic and important work in Australian literature. In 2008 she published 'The Lieutenant' and in 2011 'Sarah Thornhill' to complete a loose trilogy of novels. 'The Man From Snowy River' is a Banjo Paterson poem first published in 1890, 'All the Rivers Run' by Nancy Cato is a 1958 novel set on the Murray River and 'Tirra Lirra by the River' is a 1978 novel by Jessica Anderson which, in direct to contrast to 'The Secret River,' has its main character leave Sydney to begin a new life in London.