True Story: You’ve got two chances—Buckley’s and none

The famous Australian phrase "Buckley’s chance"—which famously means "no chance at all"—ironically commemorates a man who beat the ultimate odds. While the saying implies a hopeless situation, the real-life story of William Buckley is one of the most astonishing tales of survival and cross-cultural integration in colonial history.

The Great Escape
In 1803, William Buckley, a towering former British soldier turned convict, arrived at Port Phillip Bay (near modern-day Sorrento, Victoria) to help establish a new penal colony. The settlement quickly fell into misery due to a severe lack of fresh water. On a hot night later that year, Buckley and a few other prisoners decided to risk everything and escaped into the rugged, unfamiliar Australian bush.

The group's sense of geography was so poor that they initially believed they could walk all the way to China. Ill-equipped and starving, Buckley's companions eventually lost hope and turned back, never to be heard from again. Buckley pushed on alone, surviving on shellfish and wild roots until he collapsed from pure exhaustion. Back at the camp, authorities gave him up for dead.

Saved by a Ghostly Reincarnation
Buckley’s luck took an extraordinary turn when he was found by the Wathaurong (Wadawurrung) Aboriginal people. When they discovered him, he was leaning against a spear he had taken from an Indigenous burial site. Because of this, the Wathaurong people believed the massive, two-metre-tall white stranger was actually Murrangurk, a revered tribal elder who had returned from the dead.

Instead of harming him, the tribe adopted Buckley. He completely integrated into their society, living with them for 32 years. Over three decades, Buckley fully mastered the Wathaurong language and forgot how to speak English.

Adopted their traditional way of life, hunting, gathering, and wearing clothing made of possum skins.

Acted as a vital mediator and witness to early Indigenous customs before European intervention shattered their way of life.

The Return of the "Wild White Man"
In 1835, Buckley overheard a plot by some tribesmen to ambush a newly arrived party of British settlers led by John Batman. Eager to prevent bloodshed, Buckley walked into the European camp at Indented Head.
Dressed in animal skins, sporting a wild white beard, and unable to speak his native tongue, the settlers were initially terrified. It wasn't until he pointed to a faded "W.B." tattoo on his arm that they realised he was a long-lost European convict.

The Legacy of "Buckley's Chance"
Buckley received an official pardon and briefly worked as a government interpreter, though he ultimately found himself trusted by neither the suspicious settlers nor the displaced Indigenous population. He eventually relocated to Hobart, Tasmania, where he lived out a quiet life until he died in 1856.

The phrase "You’ve got two chances—Buckley’s and none" cemented his place in Australian folklore. It serves as a reminder of a lone convict who went into the bush with absolutely "no chance" of surviving, yet somehow walked out of it 32 years later.