William Buckley, c. 1890–1910, oil on canvas, State Library Victoria

Like John Pascoe Fawkner, convict William Buckley travelled to the Sorrento colony on board the Calcutta. He escaped from the ill-fated settlement in 1803, and lived with the Wathaurong people until 1835, when he walked into John Batman’s camp. Buckley became an important translator in negotiations with the local Indigenous tribesmen. This painting is after a lithograph by Ludwig Becker, drawn for the frontispiece to an 1852 version of Buckley's story as narrated to John Morgan. Buckley’s extraordinary story of survival is remembered today in the classic Australian saying 'Buckley's chance'.