Author: Buckley, William
Title: Reminiscenses of James Buckley who lived for thirty years among the Wallawarro or Watourong tribes at Geelong Port Phillip, communicated by him to George Langhorne, manuscript
Date: [1837]
Accession Number: MS13483
Transcript Number: pp0019-003-0


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Reminiscenses of James Buckley for Thirty
Years resident among the Watourong Blacks
at Port Phillip, taken verbatim nearly, from
himself by Mr Langhorne [Langhorne partly underlined]

On inquiring somewhat respecting the early years
of this Individual, the account he gave me
was somewhat confused and as follows.

"I remember very little of my early years - I was
born at Tiverton in _______ where my uncle Buckley
resided when I left England but my Parents had
removed sometime previous to my departure. I was
apprenticed to a Bricklayer from whom I ran
away and enlisted into the Regiment of
foot but changed into the fourth or Kings own Regiment
when that Regiment was ordered to Holland, in
1799 - with the Troops under the command of the
Duke of York - On my return I met with the misfortune
which occasioned my being sent out a prisoner to
New South Wales. One day crossing the Barrack Yard
where our Regiment was quartered a woman whom
I did not know requested me to carry a piece of cloth
to a woman of the Garrison to be made up. I was stopped
with it in my possession, the property had been stolen
I was considered the thief and though innocent
sentensed to transportation for life - In the year 1804
I believe, I arrived here in the Calcutta where it was
proposed [I believe] to form a colony upon some part
of the coast though this design was afterwards abandoned.
dissatisfied with my condition as a prisoner of the Crown
and finding that the ship was about to sail for Van
diemans Land I resolved to make my escape - and
if possible find my way overland to Port Jackson.