
audiobook
THE - GOLD HUNTER'S ADVENTURES; - OR, - LIFE IN AUSTRALIA. - BY - WILLIAM H. THOMES - A RETURNED AUSTRALIAN. - Illustrated by Champney.
INTRODUCTION.
LIFE IN AUSTRALIA; - OR, - A GOLD HUNTER'S ADVENTURES.
CHAPTER I. - FIRST THOUGHTS OF GOING TO AUSTRALIA.—DEPARTURE FROM CALIFORNIA.—LIFE ON BOARD SHIP.—ARRIVAL AT WILLIAMS TOWN.—DESCRIPTION OF MELBOURNE.—A CONVICT'S HUT.
CHAPTER II. - A MORNING IN AUSTRALIA.—JOURNEY TO THE MINES OF BALLARAT.—THE CONVICT'S STORY.—BLACK DARNLEY, THE BUSHRANGER.
CHAPTER III. - TRAVELLING IN AUSTRALIA.—AN ADVENTURE WITH SNAKES.—CARRYING THE MAILS.
CHAPTER IV. - EATING BROILED KANGAROO MEAT.—AUSTRALIAN SPEARS AND AMERICAN RIFLES.
CHAPTER V. - THE SOLITARY STOCKMAN.—SHOOTING A KANGAROO.
CHAPTER VI. - ADVENTURE WITH A DOG.—THE MURDER IN THE RAVINE.—STORY OF AN OUTRAGED WOMAN.
CHAPTER VII. - BLACK DARNLEY'S VILLANY.—THE CONVICT STOCKMAN.
A returned traveler spins a lively account of life on the Australian goldfields, where endless stretches of red earth hide both glittering riches and hidden dangers. He paints the outback with its bounding kangaroos, rugged bushrangers camped around crackling fires, and the rough‑and‑ready convicts who swarmed the mining camps. The narrative captures the excitement of a hopeful prospectors’ rush, the strain of long voyages, and the first breath of a new world that promises fortune and adventure.
With a wit sharpened by evenings spent sharing wine, cigars, and jokes, the narrator reflects on the fickle nature of friendship and the sudden pull of wealth. He decides to set his stories down for those who once gathered around his table, offering listeners a candid glimpse into the hardships, humor, and camaraderie that defined his quest. Expect a vivid, personable portrait of a bygone era, told with the charm of someone who truly lived the legend.
Language
en
Duration
~28 hours (1628K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2005-06-13
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
1824–1895
Best known for lively adventure stories set on the American frontier and in the far North, this 19th-century novelist also drew on real experience as a sailor and California gold seeker. His fiction mixes travel, danger, and the restless energy of a fast-changing America.
View all books
by Vinceslas-Eugène Dick

by Philippe Aubert de Gaspé

by Abraham Cahan

by Eliza Fowler Haywood

by Pauline E. (Pauline Elizabeth) Hopkins

by Friedrich Gerstäcker

by Laure Conan