In 1837, mere months after proclamation, Samuel Joseph Stuckey was born in the state of South Australia. Despite evidence to the contrary, he would claim to be the first native-born South Australian for the rest of his life, and his fortunes would mirror those of the fledgling state.

Edited and annotated by his great-granddaughter Mary Louise Simpson, Stuckey’s memoirs chart his failures and successes first hand. He explains his role in the Burke and Wills tragedy; the trials of opening up new grazing lands in the inhospitable north; and expeditions to British India (now Pakistan) to buy camels for use in the outback.

However, no event would have such an impact - nor be so remembered - as the moment in 1864 when he shot and killed an Aboriginal man named Pompey. His reasons for this action, and the events that followed it, form the focal point of a fascinating account of early colonial life.