This book is an attempt to tell that story as best one can with the information that still exists. It’s a simple story but the problem nowadays is by what yardstick should it be told. Should we see it as the loss of a pioneer attempting to settle the Australian outback, attempting to advance Australia. Or is the real story the relentless march of the white man’s livestock trampling the flora and fauna and encroaching on koori country. Who should come first the wool or the environment? John Dowling had a job to do. He never expected to be killed in carrying out the ambitions and aspirations of the white citizens of Queensland. On the other hand, the intrusion of foreign squatters onto the fields and streams of the outback has left a lasting trail of regret in the minds of some.