REWRITE: • Known as Mac, The Bunyip. German and Irish heritage. See, Grant, Camel, Train and Aeroplane: The Story of Skipper Partridge, p 295

Bryan Bowman, who lived on Tempe Downs during the 1930s, writes about Billy McNamara in his short history of Central Australia. Of the man who was also known as Billy Mack, Bowman describes a ‘remarkable man and like most of the old timers, had a marvellous personality and a fund of stories, which though no doubt based on fact, were usually wildly exaggerated. He also had a terrific sense of humour and could tell stories…far into the night' (p 38).

Born at Mintaro in South Australia, McNamara worked for the Duracks as a young man in the Kimberleys before buying his own property. It was here, writes Bowman, that Billy became known as a ‘”trigger man”’, one who was ‘said to have played some part in the running down the Abo outlaw Pigeon.’ (38)

In approximately 1914, McNamara mustered all his cattle and left his property in the Kimberleys, possibly because of Malaria. He drove the mob via Halls Creek to Alice Springs and met Archie Giles. Together the two men set up Bowsons Hole, (which is today part of the Ayerieunga Native Settlement), in around 1916. McNamara 'acquired’ an Aboriginal wife, and the couple had a son called Alex, who was later shot and killed during a ‘drunken spree’ at Hidden Valley Station in around 1967.

During the early days the Giles/McNamara station was plagued by cattle killing, perpetrated by Aboriginal people. McNamara’s solution was murder, causing a rift between McNamara and his partner. ‘He masterminded a massacre of some of the worst offenders, according to him, six,' writes Bowman. 'Giles, who was part Aboriginal himself, objected to this and withdrew from the partnership. They divided the cattle equally and Giles took his half on to a new lease, Red Bank, now Narwietooma Station, north of Glen Helen on the Ormiston.’ (36)

Bowman says McNamara was a poor manager. He 1925 he wound up in heavy debt, which spiralled out of control. .........more

Reference

Bryan Bowman, "A History of Central Australia 1930-1980", ...