Castaway

The extraordinary survival story of Narcisse Pelletier, a young French cabin boy shipwrecked on Cape York in 1858

Nonfiction, History, Australia & Oceania, Modern, 19th Century, Biography & Memoir
Cover of the book Castaway by Robert Macklin, Hachette Australia
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Robert Macklin ISBN: 9780733638503
Publisher: Hachette Australia Publication: June 25, 2019
Imprint: Hachette Australia Language: English
Author: Robert Macklin
ISBN: 9780733638503
Publisher: Hachette Australia
Publication: June 25, 2019
Imprint: Hachette Australia
Language: English

In 1858, 14-year-old Narcisse Pelletier sailed from Marseilles in the French trader Saint-Paul. With a cargo of Bordeaux wine, they stopped in Bombay, then Hong Kong, and from there they set sail with more than 300 Chinese prospectors bound for the goldfields of Ballarat and Bendigo. Around the eastern tip of New Guinea, however, the ship became engulfed in fog, struck reefs and ran aground.

Scrambling aboard a longboat, the survivors undertook a perilous voyage, crossing almost 1000 kilometres of the Coral Sea before reaching the shores of the Daintree region in far north Queensland, where, abandoned by his shipmates and left for dead, Narcisse was rescued by the local Aboriginal people. For seventeen years he lived with them, growing to manhood and participating fully in their world - until in 1875 he was discovered by the crew of a pearling lugger and wrenched from his Aboriginal family. Taken back to his 'real' life in France, he became a lighthouse keeper, married and had another family, all the while dreaming of what he had left behind...

Drawing from firsthand interviews with Narcisse after his return to France and other contemporary accounts of exploration and survival, and documenting the spread of European settlement in Queensland and the brutal frontier wars that followed, Robert Macklin weaves an unforgettable tale of a young man caught between two cultures in a time of transformation and upheaval.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In 1858, 14-year-old Narcisse Pelletier sailed from Marseilles in the French trader Saint-Paul. With a cargo of Bordeaux wine, they stopped in Bombay, then Hong Kong, and from there they set sail with more than 300 Chinese prospectors bound for the goldfields of Ballarat and Bendigo. Around the eastern tip of New Guinea, however, the ship became engulfed in fog, struck reefs and ran aground.

Scrambling aboard a longboat, the survivors undertook a perilous voyage, crossing almost 1000 kilometres of the Coral Sea before reaching the shores of the Daintree region in far north Queensland, where, abandoned by his shipmates and left for dead, Narcisse was rescued by the local Aboriginal people. For seventeen years he lived with them, growing to manhood and participating fully in their world - until in 1875 he was discovered by the crew of a pearling lugger and wrenched from his Aboriginal family. Taken back to his 'real' life in France, he became a lighthouse keeper, married and had another family, all the while dreaming of what he had left behind...

Drawing from firsthand interviews with Narcisse after his return to France and other contemporary accounts of exploration and survival, and documenting the spread of European settlement in Queensland and the brutal frontier wars that followed, Robert Macklin weaves an unforgettable tale of a young man caught between two cultures in a time of transformation and upheaval.

More books from Hachette Australia

Cover of the book The Divine Wind by Robert Macklin
Cover of the book Whisper by Robert Macklin
Cover of the book Broadcast Wars by Robert Macklin
Cover of the book The Suitcase Baby by Robert Macklin
Cover of the book Sky Legs by Robert Macklin
Cover of the book Where the Road Leads by Robert Macklin
Cover of the book Full Bore by Robert Macklin
Cover of the book The Australian Ghost Whisperer by Robert Macklin
Cover of the book Making the Most of It by Robert Macklin
Cover of the book Secrets of Eromanga by Robert Macklin
Cover of the book Running Like China by Robert Macklin
Cover of the book Kidnapping Mr. Heineken by Robert Macklin
Cover of the book A Letter From Italy by Robert Macklin
Cover of the book Aussie Angels 7: Sheila the Heeler by Robert Macklin
Cover of the book Dark Country by Robert Macklin
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy