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    Buckley's Chance
    Buckley's Chance
    Buckley's Chance
    Ebook68 pages57 minutes

    Buckley's Chance

    By Raymond Boyd Dunn

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    About this ebook

    In the Australian vernacular “you’ve got Buckley’s Chance” or “you’ve got Buckley’s” means “you have no chance”, or “it’s nearly impossible”. Despite the eventual outcome of his adventure, the phrase is believed to refer to the improbable survival of an escaped convict, William Buckley, who lived among the Aborigines of Victoria, Australia, for thirty-two years, before returning to civilization.
    This is a fictional story of his adventures, based on actual events.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRaymond Boyd Dunn
    Release dateOct 18, 2013
    ISBN9781301128235
    Buckley's Chance
    Author

    Raymond Boyd Dunn

    Raymond Boyd Dunn is a "born and bred" third generation Australian. After his retirement Raymond Boyd became a grey nomad, and, with his wife, spent some time touring this vast country of Australia. He was born in the small Burnett Valley town of Monto, Queensland, and for his entire life has answered to the name of 'Boyd'. Apart from his travels he has lived all of his life in Queensland, and after satisfying his thirst for seeing first hand this wonderful country we live in, settled on the Sunshine Coast to spend his remaining years in the sunshine near the beach.He commenced his working life as a Bank Officer and resigned after thirteen years to become self-employed. At various stages he has owned a Corner Store, a small Supermarket Chain, a Butchery, a Milk Run, a Printery and a Cattle and Grain Farm. He has been involved, in various capacities, in Cricket and Tennis Clubs; Jaycees, Lions and Rotary Clubs and Aero Clubs. He was a Cricketer, played tennis, tried to play golf, and was a keen long distance runner.Upon taking a well-earned retirement he wrote his unpublished autobiography, which was for distribution among his family of six children and numerous grand-children. A visit to Cooktown, where he learnt of the Palmer River Gold Rush, was the incentive to keep writing and produce his first novel 'Palmer Gold' He then settled down to write novels, producing two more books to complete a Trilogy...'An Australian Ranch' and "Carly and Sam...Will and Effie'. There followed numerous short stories, and other novels: 'Lord of the Manor in Australia', and 'The Vintage Years'. He continues to write whilst enjoying life in the sunshine on the beautiful Sunshine Coast in Queensland.

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      Book preview

      Buckley's Chance - Raymond Boyd Dunn

      Buckley’s Chance

      The Story of an Escaped Convict

      By Raymond Boyd Dunn

      Copyright 2013 Raymond Dunn

      Smashwords Edition

      Because this book is classified as ‘Australiana’ genre, the Australian author has checked all spelling with the Heinemann Australian Dictionary.

      In the Australian vernacular you’ve got Buckley’s means you have no chance, or it’s nearly impossible. Despite the eventual outcome of his adventure, the phrase is believed to refer to the improbable survival of an escaped convict, William Buckley, who lived among the Aborigines of Victoria, Australia, for thirty-two years, before returning to civilisation.

      This is a fictional story of his adventures, based on actual events.

      Chapter 1

      1803

      William Buckley, a twenty-four year old ex-soldier of the King’s Own Regiment, wounded in the service of his country in the Netherlands fighting Napoleon’s Army, and an unjustly convicted felon, was aroused from his slumber in the uncomfortable hammock on the convict transport ship Calcutta by the rattle of the anchor chain as it splashed into the harbour of Rio de Janeiro.

      He had tried to keep count of the days since leaving Portsmouth, and he estimated that at least two months had passed since he and his fellow prisoners had said goodbye forever to the shores of England to sail south-west across the turbulent Atlantic Ocean. It must now be near the end of June; the middle of summer in his native England, but quite mild in this part of the world at this time of the year. The prison deck of their ship was very stuffy, and despite their efforts to regularly clean the deck and daily clean and air their hammocks, it was evil-smelling with the combined sweat, vomit and body gases of so many men in a confined space. He looked forward to the daily exercise and cleaning periods when they were allowed to go on deck to enjoy the fresh air and the freedom of movement. His six foot six inch frame was not designed to be bent over continually in the low headroom of their cramped living area.

      Crossing the equator had provided a break from the boredom of his enforced captivity. The parts of King Neptune and his wife were to be played by the ugliest men available, and Buckley’s unfortunate lot was to be voted the ugliest of countenance on board the Calcutta. He was quite aware of his lack of facial appeal, and enjoyed the extra time above deck, despite the indignities they had to bear. The faces of the two men were painted in garish colours, and their hair and beards were well greased and dusted with coloured powder. Buckley was handed a boathook meant to represent a trident, and the two were seated in chairs mounted on a gun carriage, and pulled around the deck by a group of sailors who were supposed to be Tritons.

      After interrogating the Captain about his destination, they presented him with the ship’s cat, which was his in any case. Then the guncarriage was rolled forward to a large tub of sea-water, where King Neptune’s beard was shaved off. The barber was so rough that even a face such as Buckley’s looked even worse, taking on the appearance of the stuff of nightmares as he grimaced, before he was up-ended into the tub, and held down spluttering his wrath. But, eventually, he thought it was a small price to pay for the freedom of a day in the open air.

      His conviction for stealing a bolt of cloth was entirely unjustified. A young lady struggling to carry the bolt had drawn his attention, and he had offered to carry it for her. They had conversed in a friendly manner, before a shrill whistle interrupted him in mid-sentence. He looked around to find that the young lady was no longer by his side, but a couple of burly policemen were fast approaching. He had done nothing wrong, so he stood where he was. They arrested him. The end result was that he was convicted, despite his protestations of innocence, of being in possession of stolen goods, and was sentenced to fourteen years in the penal colony of New South Wales which, in effect, meant for life.

      His physical appearance would not have helped him in his plea of innocence. He was an ungainly giant of a man; his untidy black hair hung low over beetled eyebrows, and a short nub of a nose nestled between eyes too small for the size of his face. The smallpox scars which marked his countenance appeared to strengthen the probability of him being a man who was capable of anything, not only the relatively minor crime of theft ─

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