George Dunderdale

Born in Lancashire in 1822, he later spent time in the United States as a schoolteacher before heading to Australia during the gold-rush era in 1853. He went on to work in colonial Victoria as a clerk of courts and a customs official, experiences that gave him a close view of everyday life in a fast-changing society.

His writing is remembered for its energetic, accessible picture of early Australia. In The Book of the Bush, he gathered sketches and stories about squatters, whalers, convicts, diggers, and other settlers, aiming to capture the rough texture of colonial life for later readers.

He died in 1903. Today, his work remains of interest to readers who enjoy memoir-like history and firsthand accounts of nineteenth-century Australia, especially the world of the bush and the goldfields.