William Linklater
William Linklater | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Adelaide, Australia |
| Died | November 3, 1958 (aged 90) |
| Other names | Billy Miller |
| Occupation(s) | Bushman, drover, prospector, author |
| Known for | The Magic Snake, Gather No Moss |
William Linklater, who also went by the name Billy Miller (29 July 1868 – 3 November 1958), was a multifaceted figure known as a bushman, drover, prospector, and author, spending a significant portion of his life in Australia's Northern Territory. He gained recognition primarily for his literary works The Magic Snake (1946) and Gather No Moss (1968).
Early life
William was born in Adelaide to parents William Robertson and Eleanor Wemys Linklater, belonging to a Scottish Presbyterian lineage. His father, a baker by trade, had aspirations for him to enter the clergy, but William resisted this strict religious upbringing. At the age of 13, following a violent dispute with his father over his intention to run away, he departed from home and ventured into the Australian interior.
By sixteen, he was employed as a drover and adopted the alias "Billy Miller," inspired by "Billamilla," a word from the Yanta Wonta people meaning waterhole—partly chosen to avoid detection by his family. Throughout the 1880s, Linklater journeyed extensively through Western Australia and Queensland. Entering the new century, he found employment with Tom Nugent at Banka Banka Station in the Northern Territory. During this time, he became involved in cattle rustling alongside Nugent before relocating to Halls Creek, Western Australia to pursue prospecting.
Life in the Northern Territory
Following unsuccessful gold prospecting efforts at Halls Creek, Linklater returned around 1887 to the Northern Territory and compensated for his lack of mining success through cattle duffing. He undertook part-time stockman roles across various stations while continuing to steal cattle from regions beyond the Territory’s borders. On one occasion, he notably arrived in Katherine with a large herd of horses bearing the brand of the South Australian Commissioner of Police.
During these years, he served as head stockman at Elsey Station and formed a friendship with Jeannie Gunn, who later modeled a character after him in her books We of the Never Never and The Little Black Princess. He also cultivated connections with writers Bill Harney and Ernestine Hill; Hill featured him in her 1939 article titled "Conquistador - Portrait of a Bushman."
Between 1900 and 1910, Linklater fathered at least two children with "Hollowjacks Alice," a Jingili woman: William (George) and Alice Mary Miller ("Lulla"). By 1910, his work included droving along the Murranji Track between Newcastle Waters Station and Wave Hill Station. Further north, he hunted buffalo and crocodiles but encountered difficulties exporting hides—describing such labor as 'hard and dirty work.' Additionally, he briefly engaged in pearling and mining activities near Pine Creek.
Linklater developed deep connections with Aboriginal communities, mastering several Indigenous languages. Around campfires, he frequently shared readings ranging from Shakespeare to Karl Marx and was an ardent advocate for Aboriginal rights, documenting much of their traditional knowledge.
In 1933, he settled permanently near Katherine and began contributing articles to The Northern Standard under the pen name "Orangballander." His writings often addressed native marriage customs, reproduction, and cultural topics.
Due to deteriorating eyesight, he relocated to Sydney in 1938.
Later life
During his final years in Sydney, Linklater resided in a boarding house and relied on an aged pension for support. He embarked on a writing career aimed at publication, releasing The Magic Snake in 1946, a work that recounted Aboriginal myths. Soon after this, he became a member of the Fellowship of Australian Writers.
Linklater passed away quietly on 3 November 1958 and was laid to rest at Botany Cemetery, where his gravestone bears the inscription "A Conquistador of the North".
Prior to his passing, he entrusted his personal papers to the Mitchell Library. These documents served as the foundation for his memoir, Gather No Moss, which was published in 1968 following editorial contributions from Lynda Tapp. The introduction, penned by Ernestine Hill, referred to him as "a rare classic scholar, as many of the older bushmen are".