EPISODE NOTES: Chapter 1 – Part 2: The River Was Our Life

In this evocative second part of Dreamtime Cowboy, Francis reflects on his earliest memories — a childhood spent entirely on the move, deep in the Australian bush. Without a destination, his family journeyed along the winding arteries of the Darling and Murray River systems. For six formative years, nature was home, camp was wherever the fire was lit, and survival depended on ancient knowledge passed from father to son.

Francis shares vivid recollections of his father's bush skills — hunting, fishing, tracking — and the quiet dignity of a man living off the land while keeping his distance from the racism of white towns. We hear how rivers once revered by Aboriginal people for their spiritual and physical nourishment became exploited by colonisers for industry and profit.

The episode also unfolds the backstory of Francis’ mother, Maggie — a white woman scarred by poverty, abuse, and institutional trauma — and the unlikely, powerful love story between her and Norman, Francis’ Aboriginal father. Their union, at the time deeply forbidden, shaped the course of Francis’ life and cast him as both witness and bridge between two worlds. This chapter is not just about movement through space, but through history — revealing how memory, myth, and the land are interwoven in a life born into exile and sustained by resilience.