NAPOLEON EXILED WITH NED KELLY ON QUEENSLAND ISLAND

Seen  relentlessly  searching  for   books  relating to Napoleon  at  the annual  Magnetic Island bookfest   was Australian bushranger  researcher   and  filmmaker, Gary  Hunn . Why Napoleon ?  Hunn  is a fan of  Bonaparte  and  twice visited  the Napoleon  Exhibition in Melbourne .  This   envious  blogger  was  only  able to  snaffle  one  Napoleonic book from  the clutches of  Hunn  , Britain Against  Napoleon , by  Carola Oman , Faber and Faber, London , 1942, 372pp.  It contains the bookplate of  St Patrick's Catholic College, Manly, Sydney , and  the ex libris  sticker of  B.J.McGrath  B.A., B.Science, 1959.

It seems McGrath was  a legal eagle  who  in  the  early 1930s  with   O.J.O'Sullivan , LL.B., presented Sydney University with   a copy of their  joint work ,The Laws of the Commonwealth of  Australia , as a  special prize for  proficiency  in political science .

 A member of the Australian Catholic History Society , McGrath  opened  the 1953 year  there  with a   talk  on   Charles   Badham  and  William  Bede Dalley.

 

Badham  (1813-1884), born England , a professor of classics, came to Sydney University  where as dean of the faculties of  Arts  and Law one of his students was Edmund Barton , Australia's first prime minister ,1901-1903. An industrious person, Badham contributed much to the colonial education system and development  of  libraries .

 

It seems Dalley (1831-1888) , son of convict parents  , a politician and barrister, the first Australian  appointed to the Privy Council in the UK , was  a  friend  of Badham's , and   a  leading  lay  representative  and  champion of  the Catholic community until  he  married  an  Anglican  who died of  typhoid .  

 

A point of interest  for  Gary Hunn's  bushranger  research is that  Dalley  supported the petition  for Frank Gardiner who went into exile (more later ). He also defended Henry James O'Farrell who attempted to assassinate Prince Alfred . The  plea of  insanity was rejected and he was  hanged .

 

The Britain Against Napoleon book contains much underlining and margin notes in pencil , some highlighting of  text  in yellow . Whoever was responsible , possibly two people, one  was  obviously  well  versed   in  the subject, inserting  dates , additional   information  about  key  players  and  events. One of the six volumes  Gary bought at the bookfest was about the uniforms of Napoleon's guards ; in his existing library  is  a  book on the Little Corporal's  marshals. He enthusiastically  tells how  the adventurous French  explorers took back 6000 specimens  from  colonial Australia, including  black swans  and  gumtrees.