"The hated Protector" tells for the first time the real story behind the extraordinary experiences of Charles Sievwright, Assistant Aboriginal Protector from 1839-42 in what was then part of the British colony of New South Wales, but is now the Western District of the Australian state of Victoria. Sievwright, an Edinburgh-born former British army officer, lived in the bush with his young family as he tried to save the Aborigines of the District from extinction. In doing so, he would isolate himself from the rest of his fellow whites. The hated Protector tells of this process. The book should appeal to anyone interested in British colonial and Australian history, particularly in the years of first contact between British settlers and the Aborigines. More broadly, it should also appeal to anyone interested a story of one man's battle against overwhelming odds, where the price of failure was numerous deaths. It is a story of hatred, prejudice, courage, determination, and hope. In telling Sievwright's story, Lindsey Arkley draws largely on original archival material, including official reports, journals and letters, found in Melbourne, Sydney, Hobart, Edinburgh and London. Most has never before been published. The archival material is supplemented by contemporary newspaper accounts, and some oral history. Full notes are given to all sources, and the book is indexed and lavishly illustrated with drawings by Joan Bognuda, as well as about 80 paintings and samples of documents. Contents: 1. In the bush 2. "Equal and indiscriminate justice" 3. "A few doses of lead" 4. "A curse to the land" 5. "The most unpopular man" 6. Retaliation 7. A hostage debate 8. Hallucinations 9. A mass escape 10. Possessors of the soil 11. Move to Keilambete 12. Bureaucratic 13. "A hideous pandemonium" 14. Divine visitations 15. Pay backs 16. Explanations 17. A squatter on trial 18. Claptrap and deceit 19. The black cap - 20. To Mt Rouse 21. "The impending evil" 22. In the balance 23. An arrest at Mt Rouse 24. A fair moral name 25. Roger's trial 16. Intensified evidence 27. A declaration of war 28. Mr Cold Morning 29. Holding ranks 30. To rags 31. Fightback 32. Return to London 33. The inquiry 34. Judgement 35. And what remains.maps, document reproductions, b&w photographs, colour photographs, b&w illustrationscharles wightman sievwright, racial policies, british colonial history, race relations, victorian history