Sydney's early history abounds with tales of men and women behaving badly. Robert Forrester, who arrived in Sydney Harbour aboard the First Fleet vessel 'Scarborough' on 26 January 1788, at first glance was just another ne'er-do-well. He was caught up in a 'scam' in London. He was charged with drunkenness and insolence in Sydney. He was the first man in Australia who appeared before a court enquiry into the murder of an Aborigine. His legal wife, and then his second 'common law' wife, disappeared from the records. Yet determined detective work, recreating his adult life, has revealed that Robert Forrester might even have been 'a decent bloke'.

Includes index.
Bibliography: p. 357-424.