author
William Ridley
1819–1878
Drawn to Australia by the promise of missionary work, he became one of the 19th century’s most curious and wide-ranging observers of Aboriginal languages. His books blend travel, language study, and close attention to the people and places he encountered.
1 Audiobook
Gurre Kamilaroi, or, Kamilaroi Sayings (1856)
by William Ridley
About the author
Born in Essex in 1819, William Ridley was educated at King's College London and the University of London before leaving England for Australia in 1850. He worked as a Presbyterian minister and missionary, but he is especially remembered for his serious interest in Australian Aboriginal languages.
Ridley traveled widely in New South Wales and Queensland and studied several First Nations languages, with a particular focus on Gamilaraay. His writing joined missionary experience with linguistics and ethnographic observation, and works such as Kamilaroi, Dippil, and Turrubul helped preserve important records of language and culture.
Later in life he also worked in journalism, including editorial roles on Sydney newspapers. He died in 1878, leaving behind a body of work that is still noted for its contribution to the study of Aboriginal languages in Australia.