children he declared he had none, but had adopted a boy and girl the children of a brother-in-law, who had been "waddied" out of the world. Some old settlers were certain there were several young Buckleys in existence, and a Mr. A. Sutherland testified to two handsome girls as Buckley's daughters, whilst others spoke of two good-looking sons. Dr. Ross, of Van Diemen's Land, made references to a daughter of Buckley's in Port Phillip. At last the "Rebecca," with Batman's party arrived. The members of it left behind lived in tents on the N.E. side of Indented Head.
At this time a plan was laid by the natives to murder the whites for the sake of their tomahawks, etc., which Buckley attempted to dissuade them from by telling them that if they did so soldiers would come over and kill the whole tribe; but the threat had no effect, and they would have carried their intention into execution, had not Buckley taken steps to defend his countrymen, arming himself with a musket, the deadly effects of which he explained to the blackfellows,
When Buckley first attempted to address the strangers he was unable to articulate a word of English; for—
"So long hath he been traversing the wilds,
And dwelling in the realms of savagery,
That he hath nigh forgot his mother tongue."
He made several spasmodic attempts to speak, but ineffectually, until one of the white men, named John Greene, offered him a piece of a loaf and called it bread. Buckley clutched it with his hand, looked at it, took a bite of it, and the word "bread" burst from his lips. He then displayed his arm, on which the letters "W. B." were tattooed—a memorial of some barrack-life freak, and the uncertainty as to whether he was a black or a white man (for his colour was a dark whitey-brown, covered with hair) vanished. They were some time before they could ascertain his name, and several guesses were made. That "W" stood for William was admitted; but what could the "B" indicate? Was it Brown, Bryan, or Burgess? Some thought it must be " Burgess;" but the unknown, upon whose dimmed intellect the light was breaking, shouted " Buckley !" " William Buckley!" and thus was the monogram elucidated. Several written descriptions of him are to be found. Nicholas Goslyn, one of the primitive colonists, writes:—" That when he (Buckley) was taken from the blacks he was a monster of a man, stood six feet three inches in height, and stout in proportion." According to Fawkner, "He stood six feet five inches in his stockings, was not very bulky, nor over-burdened with nous."
By degrees he was able to recollect a few words, but it was more than a week before he could hold anything like a connected conversation, and according to Mr. Wedge "nothing could exceed the joy he evinced at once more feeling himself a free man, received again within the pale of civilized society." Buckley's restoration occurred on the 12th July, 1835, and it is admitted that he was instrumental in promoting a friendly feeling between the two races. It was no easy work to bring the recovered barbarian into something like ship-shape; for his hair was long and matted, his beard hung in profusion, and he was a regular "Wild man of the woods." It is not known whether his face was denuded of its hirsute crop by means of a reaping hook, a shears, or a razor, but possibly through the aid of the three implements it was brought into a trim according with his new position. The first shirt manufactured in the colony was made for him by one of Batman's daughters.
It was not long before a new-born trouble gave him an anxious mind, for he soon became sensible of the dangerous position in which he stood as an escaped convict, liable to arrest at any moment. This anxiety was, however, promptly removed through the intercession of Batman and Wedge with Sir George Arthur, Governor of Van Diemen's Land, who, on the 25th August, 1835, granted him a free pardon. Buckley remained in Port Phillip for a couple of years, rendering himself useful as a mediator between the whites and blacks, and as a guide to persons undertaking excursions into the then unknown interior. Proceeding to Hobart Town, he filled several minor appointments there, where he acted as a constable, was porter at the Female Nursery, and assistant storekeeper to the Immigrants' Home. His varied experiences in coloured married life seemed to have rendered celibacy distasteful, for in 1840 he contracted a matrimonial alliance with a white woman, the widow
