Nanberry is a young aboriginal boy living happily with his family. When the white ‘ghosts’ arrive to Nanberry’s land – so does the smallpox – killing his entire family. On the edge of death, he is saved by Surgeon White, the doctor in the white mans’ camp.

During his recuperation, Surgeon White observes how quickly Nanberry learns the English language – and so he decides to train him as an interpreter between the natives and the English. Lonely in the camp, he also wants to raise him as a son.

This is the story of how the great city of Sydney began – a ramshackle bundle of huts – full of convicts, and lazy officers and a handful of those who wanted to make the best of a new life in the hostile land.

Author – Jackie French

Age – 13+

(Australia, Aborigine, Fitting in, Family, Blended Family, Belonging, Historical, Racial, Assimilation, Acceptance)