Pemulwuy The Rainbow Warrior
Historical Fiction Australian Literature Folklore & Mythology Aboriginal Fiction Young Adult Historical Fiction Indigenous Resistance Warrior Epic
Eric Willmot’s 1987 first-edition hardcover “Pemulwuy: The Rainbow Warrior” is the novel that finally put an Aboriginal hero on the world’s bookshelves. In richly detailed prose, Willmot re-imagines the life of the Eora resistance leader who defied Governor Phillip’s troops longer than any European enemy, weaving Pemulwuy’s guerrilla campaigns with the Dreaming stories that crowned him the “rainbow warrior.” The result is an electrifying blend of history and myth that reads like an Indigenous “Braveheart,” yet remains rooted in the country around Port Jackson—maps inside the endpapers let readers walk the same ridges and hidden tracks the Bidjigal war-party once used. For collectors of Australian literature or anyone hunting scarce Aboriginal-fiction titles, this Bantam first printing is the holy-grail edition; it predates later reprints and carries the original dust-jacket artwork that never appeared again.
What makes this copy especially attractive is its clean, unmarked interior—no ex-library stamps, no inscriptions, just crisp pages that let Willmot’s lyrical language shine. The dust jacket shows only light edge-scuffing commensurate with three decades of careful shelving, while the sewn hardcover binding still feels tight and square. A bonus newspaper clipping about the book’s launch is tucked inside, offering contemporary press reaction and adding provenance for collectors. Because the novel was never a mass-market bestseller, first-edition hardcovers surface far less often than the later trade paperback, making this 310-page volume a genuinely scarce piece of Australiana.
Teachers, librarians, and YA readers continue to champion the book: it satisfies curriculum calls for Indigenous perspectives yet delivers the pace and heroics teens crave, while adults appreciate the layered political commentary on colonisation. Keywords like “Pemulwuy resistance novel,” “Aboriginal folklore fiction,” or “scarce 1987 Bantam first edition” consistently drive strong auction results, so securing a presentable copy now is smart both for reading pleasure and future value.
Refer to our eBay listing for a full condition report and many more high-quality pictures of this item.
Buy Now