The Wild White Man Who Lived Among Them | Adelaide News

Adelaide News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Aug 29, 2026 · 2m

A convict who escaped Australia in 1804 and lived for 30 years with the Wathaurong people, William Buckley became a legendary “wild white man” — half-civilized, half-Indigenous, speaking no English and covered in possum skins. After surviving alone in the bush, rescued by two women, and slowly assimilating into their culture, he later surrendered to the British, hoping to broker peace between settlers and Indigenous groups. Though he tried to rebuild his life in Hobart, his legacy faded — even his gravestone was destroyed — but his improbable journey inspired the phrase “you’ve got a…