Memoirs of Mixed Fortunes: Samuel Joseph Stuckey, a Pioneer of the North and South East of South Australia, 1837-1912

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.