History has been made most readable lately by some very well written books.  The Surgeon of Crowthorne took us through the Oxford Dictionary, Krakatoa to exploding islands in Indonesia, and Longitude around the world on maps.

Now Victorian author and illustrator John Nicholson has added to the list with his study of River Murray steamboat pioneer, Francis Cadell.  Was Cadell an unlucky gentleman or an unscrupulous rogue?  Nicholson looks at him as an actor on the stages of his time – from the ship industries of Scotland, through Britain’s imperial and trade wars, into the mad rushes for gold and land in Australia, and finally the Pacific slave trade of “blackbirding”.

Cadell was the entrepreneur who established the first steamboat services up the Murray and Darling, helping to open up vast areas of Australia to white settlement.  Born into a Scottish sea-trading family, he was also involved in wars in China and New Zealand, brought a detailed knowledge of new ship and engine technologies to Australia, surveyed great stretches of the Murray river system as well as the coast of northern Australia, built several shipping companies with driving enthusiasm and energy, and establish a reputation for glamour, achievement and bravery.

He also managed to lose plenty of money, other people’s as well as his own, make as many fierce enemies as firm friends, and end his days murdered by the disgruntled crew of his “blackbirding” ship.

Nicholson tells Cadell’s story partly as history and partly as a novel.  Each new chapter, with all the historical facts, is introduced by a fictionalised scene from that point in his fascinating life.  This makes the book immediate, moving quickly from one episode to another.  It also puts Cadell in front of us as a believable character, not just some dry relic from the past.

The one disappointment is that Nicholson has not included any of the brilliantly detailed illustrations that are such a great feature of his other information books.  There are some maps and drawings, but nothing like his “Mighty Murray” or “Animal Architects”.

It is an excellent study nevertheless, leaving it up to the reader to decide whether Cadell was a scoundrel or just unlucky.

Other books by this author:
Animal Architects (Allen & Unwin, 2003)
The Mighty Murray (Allen & Unwin, 2002)
The State of the Planet (Allen & Unwin, 2002)

Review by David Beagley

© 2004 David Beagley