Uncovering Australia’s dark past: True crime from the outback
The book chronicles historical events from towns, villages and settlements from across western NSW and south-western Queensland, and covers the decades from the mid-1850s to the 1940s.
The auth takes readers well beyond the bare facts of crime and punishment, and postscripts add fascinating backgrounds and outcomes to those involved.
His detailed research takes the reader into townships, settlements and the wide-open spaces of the outback where there is no escape from the shocking and often brutal events he vividly recreates.
Bush Tragedies throws a light on shocking events that occurred far from the country’s big cities – tragedies that disrupted and divided tight-knit communities in obscure towns and settlements, splitting families and testing loyalties.
Readers become observers at inquests and trials, even join the witnesses at the gallows, and travel a gruesome journey across outback NSW.
You will be introduced to rogues and villains, their unfortunate victims, and the lawyers and judges who decide their fate.
This rollicking time capsule brings to life the truly appalling crimes and tragedies that horrified a nation all those years ago.
Bush Tragedies has twice featured in the Daily Telegraph’s Weekend Magazine and has received very positive reviews.
Research over three years included trawling through the National Library of Australia’s incredible resource Trove and sourcing court- and law-related documents from NSW and Queensland State Archives, military and service records from the Australian War Memorial and relevant information from the National Archives of Australia.
About the author
His passion is the thoroughbred racing industry, and he wrote extensively on this subject for numerous magazines, newspapers and websites across the eastern states of Australia for more than thirty-five years.
Bill’s research for a book on the history of horse-racing in north-western NSW was the reason Bush Tragedies serendipitously evolved — historical stories of crime, murder, misery and heartache kept dragging him away from the project at hand.
Bill won the John Newfong Award for Outstanding Indigenous Affairs reporting at the 2016 NRMA Kennedy Awards for Excellence in NSW Journalism and was also nominated for three Racing NSW Awards for Excellence in Media (2003, 2005 and 2010), winning in 2010.
Bill lives in Moree with his wife Cindy and stepson Yang.
Bill and Cindy own and manage Moree Online News, established in 2024.