Tigg and the Bandicoot Bushranger

By Jackie French

Reviewed by Mia Macrossan

Jackie French AM is one of Australia’s most beloved and awarded authors, having written more than 140 books spanning all reading ages and genres. She was the Australian Children’s Laureate for 2014/15. One of the many genres she excels at is writing historical novels.

In Tigg and the Bandicoot Bushranger she pays tribute to the endurance and imagination of the Chinese immigrants who made the Long Walk, from the South Australian port of Robe to the gold fields of Ballarat, one of the shameful forgotten episodes in colonial history now brought into the open.

Tigg, a 12 year old orphan, under the careless guardianship of Ma Murphy, is wounded during a bushranging escapade and has to go into hiding. Friends arrange for a disguised Tigg to undertake the Long Walk. What follows is a roller coaster of action and adventure that gives the reader a vivid insight into the people and life in Australia during the gold rush days. Through Tigg, who is enterprising, brave, and generous we see the struggles, aspirations, fears, failures and successes of the “four worlds in Australia; natives, Chinese, people who may come from any other land but not Chinese or dark skinned and ‘true people’ who are the English” p 34.

Jackie has peopled Tigg’s story with some memorable characters including Henry, serious, earnest, educated, cultured, Chinese, who speaks perfect English and takes big risks for his friends; Mr Rudolf a wealthy European non conformist aristocrat, and the Primrose sisters who keep a teashop. Once Tigg starts working there, Jackie can’t resist giving us plenty of tips and tricks for keeping food fresh and tasty, one of the things she manages to do in almost everyone of her stories.

While this is a glorious romp through a chaotic period in Australian history many serious issues that concern us today are embedded in the story. Casual racism e.g. ‘bad luck, bushranger! You must’ve trod on a Chinaman!’p 13, and scenes of drunkeness, brutality, crime and hate were part of the gold rush days, when all sorts of people came from all over the world to try their luck. As Henry says,’ I don’t think many people in Australia really are respectable’ p 107.

Tigg begins to understand that this frantic unceasing tide of humans has changed the land so completely and so quickly. Jackie describes the effects on the bush, the animals, plants and the first people with understanding and compassion. This story resonates on many levels and stays in the mind long after reading its final pages. The lengthy Author’s Note is a thought provoking read either before or after reading the Tigg’s story.

Teaching Guide

HarperCollins 2024

Jackie French

Note: I am a judge for the 2024 Book Links Historical Fiction Award for Children. This review is my personal opinion and does not reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging coordinators, or the Book Links team.