Michael Bennett on Pathfinders

There are few Aboriginal icons in White Australia history.

Trackers live in the collective memory as one of the few examples of Aboriginal people's skills being sought after in colonial society. In New South Wales alone, more than a thousand Aboriginal men and a smaller number of women toiled for authorities across the state after 1862. This book tells the often unlikely stories of trackers including Billy Bogan, Jimmy Governor, Tommy Gordon, Frank Williams and Alec Riley.

Michael Bennett is a Sydney-based historian specialising in native title and Aboriginal heritage projects. His interest in trackers emerged while growing up in Dubbo in Wiradjuri country and hearing stories about Tracker Alec Riley.