Hamilton Hume: the life and times of our greatest explorer. Robert Macklin. 2017.

New South Wales, 1814. The young colony is desperate for arable land, and an intrepid 17-year- old farmer and his aboriginal friend set off on their first journey of exploration…

we all know the Hume Highway, but few know the incredible story of its namesake, Hamilton Hume. While English-born soldiers and surveyors have claimed pride of place among the colonies’ explorers, the real pathfinder was a genuine Australian. Human had a deep understanding of the Aboriginal people and an almost mystical relationship with the Australian bush; he led settlers from the cramped surrounds of Sydney Town to the vast fertile country that would provide the wealth to found and sustain a new nation. 

This is the heroic tale of a young Australian who outdid his English ‘betters’ by finding a land route from Sydney to Port Phillip, and discovering the Murray and Darling rivers.