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It Ain't Half Hot Mum

2025-10-27T08:17:56Z

115.42.12.30: Added details about actor.

{{Short description|British TV sitcom (1974–1981)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox television
| image = It Aint Half Hot Mum television comedy.jpg
| runtime = 30 minutes
| caption = Series title card (1974 - 1975)
| genre = [[Sitcom]]
| creator = {{plainlist|
* [[Jimmy Perry]]
* [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]]
}}
| writer = {{plainlist|
* Jimmy Perry
* David Croft
}}
| developer =
| producer = {{unbulleted list|David Croft|Graeme Muir}}
| director = {{unbulleted list|David Croft|Graeme Muir|[[Bob Spiers]]|[[Ray Butt]]| Paul Bishop| John Kilby}}
| starring = {{unbulleted list|[[Michael Bates (actor)|Michael Bates]]|[[Windsor Davies]]|[[George Layton]]|[[Melvyn Hayes]]|[[Don Estelle]]|[[Donald Hewlett]]|[[Michael Knowles (actor)|Michael Knowles]]|[[Christopher Mitchell (actor)|Christopher Mitchell]]|[[John Clegg (actor)|John Clegg]]|[[Stuart McGugan]]|Barbar Bhatti|[[Dino Shafeek]]|[[Kenneth MacDonald (English actor)|Kenneth MacDonald]]|[[Mike Kinsey]]|[[Andy Ho]]}}
| narrated =
| theme_music_composer = Jimmy Perry
| opentheme = "Meet the Gang"
| endtheme = {{unbulleted list|"Meet the Gang"|"[[Land of Hope and Glory]]"}}
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| network = [[BBC One|BBC1]]
| first_aired = {{start date|1974|1|3|df=y}}
| last_aired = {{end date|1981|9|3|df=y}}
| num_series = 8
| num_episodes = 56
| list_episodes = List of It Ain't Half Hot Mum episodes
}}

'''''It Ain't Half Hot Mum''''' is a British [[television]] [[British sitcom|sitcom]] about a [[Royal Artillery]] [[Concert Party (entertainment)|concert party]] based in [[Deolali]] in [[British Raj|British India]] and the fictional village of Tin Min in [[Myanmar|Burma]], during the final months of the [[Second World War]]. It was written by [[Jimmy Perry]] and [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]], who had both served in similar roles in India during that war.

Fifty-six episodes were broadcast across eight series on [[BBC One|BBC1]] between 1974 and 1981, covering a real-time historical period of approximately thirteen weeks. Each episode ran for thirty minutes. The title originates from the first episode, in which young Gunner Parkin ([[Christopher Mitchell (actor)|Christopher Mitchell]]) writes home to his mother in England.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Lewisohn |first=Mark |title=Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy |publisher=[[BBC Worldwide]] |year=2003 |isbn=0563487550 |edition=2nd |location=[[London]] |pages=414 |author-link=Mark Lewisohn}}</ref> In 1975, a recording of "[[Whispering Grass#Windsor Davies and Don Estelle version|Whispering Grass]]" performed by [[Don Estelle]] and [[Windsor Davies]] in character as Gunner "Lofty" Sugden and Sergeant Major Williams (respectively), reached number 1 on the [[UK Singles Chart]] and remained there for three weeks.

The series, which attracted up to seventeen million viewers in its heyday, has been accused of racism, [[homophobia]] and a pro-imperialist attitude.<ref name="Jeffries" /><ref name="Tgraph2019">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2019/01/20/windsor-davies-star-aint-half-hot-mum-obituary/|title=Windsor Davies, starred as the bellowing Welsh sergeant major in 'It Ain't Half Hot, Mum' – obituary|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=20 January 2019|access-date=18 July 2022}}</ref> One specific criticism has been the casting of Indian-born [[Urdu]]-speaking [[Anglo-Indian]] [[Michael Bates (actor)|Michael Bates]] as an Indian character, with darkening makeup that some have claimed was [[brownface]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jeffries |first1=Stuart |title='I lied to get the part': Melvyn Hayes on his 'angry young man' beginnings – and It Ain't Half Hot Mum |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/jul/22/melvyn-hayes-it-aint-half-hot-mum-crossdressing-gunner-gloria |work=The Guardian |date=22 July 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Govinda |first1=Manick |title=Apu is an American hero |url=https://www.spiked-online.com/2017/11/16/apu-is-an-american-hero/ |access-date=21 August 2024 |work=www.spiked-online.com |date=16 November 2017}}</ref>

==Premise==
Set in 1945, the series follows a [[Royal Artillery]] [[Concert party (entertainment)|concert party]] during the final months of the [[World War II|Second World War]]. The main characters are performers in the base's concert party; their duties involve performing comic acts and [[Number (music)|musical numbers]] (similar to those seen in a [[music hall]]) for other soldiers prior to their departure for the front lines. The concert party prevents the soldiers from partaking in combat duty; thus, the soldiers love being part of the outfit. Some even daydream of becoming world-famous actors when they leave the army.

Many songs of the era were performed by the cast in their re-enactment of wartime [[variety show]]s.

== Theme ==
The theme song for the show, titled "Meet The Gang", was performed by cast members [[Mike Kinsey]], [[Stuart McGugan]], [[Melvyn Hayes]], [[George Layton]], [[Christopher Mitchell (actor)|Christopher Mitchell]], [[Don Estelle]] and [[Kenneth MacDonald (English actor)|Kenneth MacDonald]] who were filmed as they danced and sang the song on stage; close up shots of the seven as well as shots of [[Michael Bates (actor)|Michael Bates]], [[Windsor Davies]], [[John Clegg (actor)|John Clegg]], [[Dino Shafeek]] and Barbar Bhatti (and other non-main actors who appeared in an episode) were inserted. When Layton left after series 2, the theme was re-filmed to only have Kinsey, McGugan, Hayes, Layton, Mitchell, Estelle and MacDonald on stage.

The theme was reshot again in series 5 when the concert party moved to Burma. Insert shots of Bates and Bhatti were removed from the opening and ending following Bates' death after series 5 and Bhatti's departure after series 6. Series' 7 and 8 feature insert shots of [[Andy Ho]], who played Ah Syn.

== Production ==

=== Development and casting ===
''It Ain't Half Hot Mum'' is set in 1945 during the final months of the [[Second World War]], in the period after the German surrender, when the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] were attempting to finish the war by defeating Japan in Asia. The scripts make clear that the performers are members of a [[Concert Party (entertainment)|concert party]] of the [[Royal Artillery]] and are thus enlisted soldiers, rather than being members of [[Entertainments National Service Association|ENSA]].<ref name="Morgan-Russell">{{cite book |last=Morgan-Russell |first=Simon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3W97f5u9ZZEC&pg=PA69 |title=Jimmy Perry and David Croft |publisher=[[Manchester University Press]] |year=2004 |isbn=9780719065569 |location=Manchester / New York City |pages=69–70}}</ref> Initially, the British soldiers are stationed at the Royal Artillery Depot in [[Deolali transit camp|Deolali]], British India, where soldiers were kept before being sent to fight at the front lines. The series was based on the experiences of its creators during the Second World War; Jimmy Perry, aged nineteen,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Manchester Evening News |date=10 December 2007 |title=Comedy kings still laughing |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/comedy-gigs/comedy-kings-still-laughing-1013676 |access-date=20 December 2023 |website=[[Manchester Evening News]] |language=en}}</ref> had been a member of a Royal Artillery concert party in [[Deolali]], India,<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Morgan-Russell" /> while David Croft had been an entertainments officer in [[Pune|Poona]] (now in the Indian state of [[Maharashtra]]).<ref name="Morgan-Russell" />

The characters in the series were based on colleagues co-writer Jimmy Perry knew while stationed in Deolali as a Royal Artillery concert party member.<ref name=":0" /> Perry recalled: "I assure you that all those wonderful characters were based on real people in that concert party. They know who they are!"<ref name=":1" /> The character of Battery Sergeant Major Williams, played by [[Windsor Davies]], was based on Perry's own [[Company sergeant major|Battery Sergeant Major]]; according to Perry, Davies's character was less harsh than Perry's own Sergeant had been.<ref name=":0" />

[[George Layton]] left his previous show in which he wrote and starred, ''[[Doctor in Charge]]'', to appear as Bombardier "Solly" Solomons in ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum''. In 1975, after two series, Layton left to pursue other interests.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=George Layton - In Conversation |url=https://www.beyondthetitle.co.uk/portfolio/george-layton/ |access-date=20 December 2023 |website=Beyond The Title |language=en-GB}}</ref> [[Michael Bates (actor)|Michael Bates]], who played Indian [[Porter (carrier)|bearer]] Rangi Ram, died after the fifth series had been broadcast.<ref name=":0" /> The part of [[Chaiwala|chai wallah]] Muhammad, played by [[Dino Shafeek]], was increased as a result.<ref name=":0" />

=== Music ===
The theme song, "Meet the Gang", was written and composed by Jimmy Perry and Derek Taverner. Two singles were released, featuring songs performed in-character by Don Estelle and Windsor Davies. The first, "Whispering Grass", reached No. 1 in the British singles chart for three weeks from 7 June 1975.<ref name=":0" /> The second, "[[Paper Doll (The Mills Brothers song)|Paper Doll]]", reached No. 41 later that year.<ref name="officialcharts.com">{{cite web |title=WINDSOR DAVIES & DON ESTELLE - full Official Chart History |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/15343/windsor-davies-and-don-estelle/ |publisher=Official Charts Company}}</ref> They also recorded a top 10 LP titled ''Sing Lofty''.<ref name="officialcharts.com" />

==Characters==

===Officers===
*'''[[Lieutenant-Colonel (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant-Colonel]] Charles Arthur Digby St John Reynolds ([[Donald Hewlett]])'''
Lieutenant-Colonel Reynolds is the most senior officer in charge of the concert party and enjoys their shows immensely. He thinks army life in Asia is very hard, while all he does is sit around sipping [[pink gin]] and dining with the elite. He is having an affair with Daphne Waddilove-Evans, whose husband, Major Waddilove-Evans, has left for the [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]]. He is a stereotypical British Army officer, with a "stiff upper lip" and prim and proper manner. Captain Ashwood's utter stupidity does occasionally infuriate him, but he is effectively good-natured and tries at all costs to avoid losing the easy life he has. Reynolds is revealed to be a [[solicitor]] in civilian life.
*'''[[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|Captain]] Jonathan Tarquin "Tippy" Ashwood ([[Michael Knowles (actor)|Michael Knowles]])'''
Captain Ashwood is an even bigger fan of the concert party than Colonel Reynolds, especially when they dress up as girls. He is not very bright, and often unknowingly ruins other people's plans, especially the Sergeant Major's. His catchphrase is "It's a tricky one, sir", which he says in reply to Colonel Reynolds asking for his opinion when the concert party runs into a particular problem. He occasionally writes skits for the concert party, which they reluctantly accept, although they are, on the whole, of very low quality. He has absolutely no military bearing, which makes it very easy for the Sergeant Major and the others to manipulate him into using his authority to achieve their own ends. He is known for his stupidity, high-pitched voice, and love of gardening. He is exceptionally devoted to his wife, Fiona, though he does at one point have a fling with a local girl.

===Warrant officer===
*'''[[Battery Sergeant Major]] Tudor Bryn "Shut Up" Williams ([[Windsor Davies]])'''
The [[Welsh people|Welsh]] Sergeant Major is the only professional soldier among the concert party and its officers. He is extremely bigoted in his views, making every effort to bully the Indian camp staff and remind everyone of British supremacy in Asia. He has only one goal in life: to get his soldiers posted up the jungle and into action as fast as he can. Williams has a cunning and fierce pirate-like look. He is disgusted that his soldiers "prance about" on the stage wearing dresses and make-up all the time, and frequently calls them a "lot of poofs". He is sometimes portrayed as a stereotypical "devious" Welshman, using cunning schemes to turn events in his favour. He dislikes all members of the concert party, apart from Parkin, whom he believes to be his son. He has a particular loathing for "Lah-Di-Dah" Gunner Graham, owing to Graham's university education, although Williams will praise him for it if it serves his purposes. Williams often mispronounces long words, turning "hysterical" into "historical" or "hysterectical", "sadistic" into "statistics", "misapprehension" into "mishappropriation", "education" into "heducation" and "ignorant" into "higorant". Williams also has a tendency to roar "Shut up!" when he hears something that meets his disapproval, hence his nickname, and is also remembered for his sarcastic remark, "Oh dear, how sad, never mind!" invariably delivered in a flat monotone. He plans, when at some future time he should leave the army, to marry a widow who owns a pub.

(In one episode, a letter addressed to Gunner Parkin and intended to be opened only in the event of the Sergeant Major's death falls into the hands of the Concert Party, who read that he is only being hard on the men in order to turn them into soldiers, and he actually thinks that "they are all grand lads, especially little Lofty".)

There is inconsistency over Williams's full name. In the Series 3 episode "Don't Take the Micky", Williams's thoughts are broadcast and he uses the name Tudor Bryn Williams to refer to himself, but in the final episode he reads out the name on his newly issued ration book as "B.L. Williams".

===Concert party===
*'''[[Bombardier (rank)|Bombardier]] "Solly" Solomons ([[George Layton]])'''
"Solly" is a showbiz man who always plays the male leads in the concert party's shows and is also the party's producer. He is very intelligent, and often has some sort of devious plot to avoid being posted or to get one over on the Sergeant Major. His father was a pawnbroker in Bond Street, and he is [[British Jews|Jewish]]. He leaves at the end of Series 2 when he is [[demob]]bed and returns to England.
*'''[[Gunner (rank)|Gunner]]/Bombardier "Gloria" Beaumont ([[Melvyn Hayes]])'''
"Gloria" Beaumont is a very effeminate person who cannot handle the violence, heat and [[mosquito]]es of army life in [[India]] very well. He considers himself an "artiste", and does not believe he should be in the Army, often trying to emphasise his show business angle and ignore the "soldier" parts of his job. He has a passion for show business and always dresses up as famous film stars during the concert party shows, especially [[Ginger Rogers]]. He was later promoted to Bombardier when Bombardier Solomons was demobbed. Despite Beaumont's effeminacy, he meets a nurse in the episode "Ticket to Blighty" and they announce they are to be wed. However, no more is heard of this plot line.
*'''Gunner Nigel "Parky" Parkin ([[Christopher Mitchell (actor)|Christopher Mitchell]])'''
"Parky" is the youngest member of the concert party and has tried everything to become part of them, including being a ventriloquist, comedian, and singer, although he is very clumsy and never does anything right. The Sergeant Major falsely believes that Parkin is his son (Williams had a relationship with Parkin's mother Edith in [[Colchester]], which is why he treats him much better than he treats the others, and keeps telling him he has "a fine pair of shoulders"). He is not Williams' son, but when the rest of the concert party discover what the Sgt Major believes, Parkin is welcomed into the party, for the Sgt Major would want to stop it being sent into battle as long as Parkin is a member. In an early episode, the party get hold of Williams' and Parkin's medical records; they discover that Parkin's [[Blood type|blood group]] O and Williams' is AB, so Parkin cannot be his son, but they alter the record of Parkin's blood group so that Williams will still believe he is his son. Consequently, Williams becomes very selective about Parkin's achievement – praising him when he does something right and ignoring the failure when he makes huge blunders. Lacking any talent as a putative entertainer in the concert party Parkin is appointed as the Battery Clerk, but misunderstands orders. Sergeant-Major Williams instructs him to "remove the mess by the Officers' lines", referring to a pile of old beds that were to be discarded. Instead, Parkin proceeds to have the Officer's Mess demolished. Later, Colonel Reynolds tells him to order 200 tent pegs, and he instead orders 200 tents.

Comedy historian Robert Ross describes Parky as being a "beloved staple of the show", whose naivety, dim-wittedness misunderstandings and letters home to his mother "humanised" the show's comedy.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Ross |first=Robert |date=February 2024 |editor-last=Reid |editor-first=Sharon |title=Forgotten Heroes of Comedy |journal=Yours Retro |location=[[London]] |publisher=[[Bauer Media Group|H. Bauer Publishing]] |issue=71 |page=28}}</ref> Ross wrote that Parky's relationship with Sergeant Major Williams gave the series "real heart".<ref name=":2" />

Parkin references the show's title in its first episode, when he signs off a letter to his mother with the words "I've been in India now two days, and it ain't half hot, Mum." He was born on 2 October 1924, and celebrates his 21st birthday at the end of Series 4, in the episode "Twenty-One".
*'''"La-De-Dah" Gunner "[[Paderewski]]" Jonathan Graham ([[John Clegg (actor)|John Clegg]])'''
Gunner Graham is the concert party's pianist. His appearance – bald and bespectacled – marks him out as a stereotypical "[[boffin]]". He has a university degree in English literature (in early episodes, he claims to have attended [[University of Oxford|Oxford]], but later this is changed to [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]]). He is very clever, speaking in an educated manner. This is why the Sergeant Major frequently repeats what he says in an exaggeratedly effete tone, as well as mockingly addressing him as "Mister La-De-Dah Gunner Graham". Graham often produces difficult and ingenious plans to solve the concert party's problems, but these plans never seem to work and often result in him saying "Oh well, bang goes that theory." The others (even the Sergeant Major and the officers) often rely on his intelligence to get them out of awkward situations.
*'''Gunner "Atlas" Mackintosh ([[Stuart McGugan]])'''
"Atlas" Mackintosh (nicknamed after the bodybuilder [[Charles Atlas]]) performs the strong man act in the show, which involves tearing telephone directories in half. He is rather short-tempered, especially when Beaumont calls him a "great, big, butch, hairy [[haggis]]". He is very masculine, and is a bit of a contradiction to what Beaumont thinks is right for the concert party. Nevertheless, Mackintosh always tries his best and copes with what is given to him.
*'''Gunner "Lofty" Harold Horace Herbert Willy Sugden ([[Don Estelle]])'''
"Lofty" is a soldier whose appearance can be summarised by quoting the Sergeant Major: "Is it a [[mushroom]]? No. Is it a soldier? No. It's Gunner Sugden." Lofty is the diminutive, rotund lead singer of the concert party usually seen in an old-fashioned [[pith helmet]]. He has an amazing [[tenor]] voice, which even the Sergeant Major cannot resist when he sings. Unfortunately, he is always picked out by the Sergeant Major as a "volunteer" when there is a particularly unpleasant or dangerous task to be carried out. He has been married three times; his two previous wives were called Agatha and Betty. Sugden's third and present wife is mentioned as sharing a house with Betty.
*'''Gunner "Nosher" Evans ([[Mike Kinsey]])'''
"Nosher" Evans does a paper-tearing act. He is always eating something (and once stayed on punishment in the canteen for four hours after he was relieved, as he was enjoying himself); this results in him spraying the contents of his mouth all around him when he speaks. According to actor Mike Kinsey, his character originally did not have a nickname however when [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]] saw him eating pie and chips during break he looked at Kinsey and said "I know the name for you now; Nosher".<ref>{{Cite web |title=57 - Mike Kinsey "It Ain't Half Hot Mum" Interview (May 2021) |url=https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/thecroftperrypodcast/episodes/2021-05-02T10_43_29-07_00 |access-date=2025-09-23 |website=Podomatic}}</ref>
*'''Gunner "Nobby" Clark ([[Kenneth MacDonald (English actor)|Kenneth MacDonald]])'''
"Nobby" Clark performs a whistling act in the show, and can do excellent bird impersonations. He is not particularly clever and often makes nonsense comments or observations about situations in which they find themselves.

===Indians===
*'''[[Bearer (carrier)|Bearer]] Rangi Ram ([[Michael Bates (actor)|Michael Bates]])'''
Rangi Ram is the concert party's Indian [[Porter (carrier)|bearer]] and very proud to be of service to the army. The Sergeant Major shouts at him more than at anyone else, but Rangi is also the one he confides in when he wants to talk about problems. Rangi often [[breaks the fourth wall]], providing the audience with an "old Hindu proverb" at the end of each episode, such as "There is an old Hindu proverb which say that if you see two eyes looking at you in the dark, it is not always a [[tiger]]. It might be two one-eyed tigers!" He is devious, and can often manipulate the situation for his own ends, usually financial. A frequently recurring gag connected with Rangi Ram is his continual references to "we British" and "us British" while at the same time referring to the other Indian characters as "ignorant coolies" or "damned natives". However, when asked to burn the Indian flag by the Sergeant Major, he refuses. He frequently clears his throat with a hacking sound. Following the death of Michael Bates, Rangi disappears from the series without explanation at the end of Series 5.
*'''[[tea|Chai]] [[wikt:wallah|Wallah]] Muhammad ([[Dino Shafeek]])'''
Muhammed the [[Tea|char]] [[wikt:wallah|wallah]] walks around the camp all day, selling tea from his urn. He also sings the musical interruptions between the scenes, which are mostly American hit songs, accompanied by a [[sitar]]. At the end of the credits, he starts to sing "[[Land of Hope and Glory]]" only to be interrupted by the Sergeant Major shouting "SHUT UP!!!". After Rangi leaves, he takes on the role of Bearer to the concert party, as well as still being the Char Wallah.
*'''[[Punkah Wallah]] Ramzan (Barbar Bhatti)'''
Ramzan the [[punkah]] wallah always sits outside the officers' quarters, pulling a string that is attached to a large fan indoors. He comments on everything in Urdu, and always adds a few words in English at the end. Rangi often tells him to "sit up straight while you are punkah-ing" (with the word "sit" pronounced with an initial "sh" sound for comedic effect) and not to "be such Clever Dickie". He is far more intelligent than the others give him credit for, and much of what he observes early on is often borne out in the end, but no one notices. He disappears without explanation at the end of Series 6.

===Others===

====Deolali, India====
*'''Mrs Daphne Waddilove-Evans ([[Margaret Courtenay (actress)|Margaret Courtenay]]/Frances Bennett)'''
Mrs Waddilove-Evans is the wife of a local major, who lives in a large house near the camp in Deolali. In the earlier episodes, she is the lover of Colonel Reynolds; the two have a strong relationship, to the point when she accompanies the patrol on a journey to a nearby town. However, the group's vehicle breaks down and Rangi recommends that they spend the night in a nearby fort. The Colonel and Mrs Waddilove-Evans agree to meet at midnight and they do so. As Colonel Reynolds is distracted, Mrs Waddilove-Evans is kidnapped by a group of [[Pashtuns|Pathan]] tribesmen and the concert party, Rangi, Muhammed and Rumzan attempt to save her. They are surprised when they meet her on a horse further on, having gained her freedom. It is implied that she escaped by granting sexual favours to the smugglers.
*'''Ling Soo ([[Yasuko Nagazumi]])'''
Ling Soo is a local girl who works as a maid for Major and Mrs Waddilove-Evans. She and Sergeant Major Williams have a continuing relationship. Her father, the owner of the Deolali Chinese restaurant, arranges for Williams and Ling Soo to elope to the mountains and marry secretly. This horrifies Williams, for he would be classed as a deserter, and creates a dilemma for him; should he stay on at the camp, or should he marry Ling Soo? Eventually he reluctantly chooses his profession, and his relationship is not mentioned again.
*'''Inspector Singh ([[Nik Zaran]])'''
The Inspector is the head of police in Deolali, who warns Colonel Reynolds and Captain Ashwood on a few occasions when the locals are rioting, demanding that the British go home.

====Tin Min, Burma====
*'''"Pretty Boy" Me Thant ([[Burt Kwouk]])'''
Me Thant is a Burmese smuggler, who is bribed by GHQ with twenty pieces of [[gold]] a week to keep away from, and avoid assaulting, the local British troops. Later on, he challenges Sergeant Major Williams to a test to see which of the two is more "manly". Me Thant cheats to make sure he wins the test, but his gang is infiltrated by members of GHQ, resulting in him and his gang being tied against a small plank, "Burmese style".
*'''Ah Syn ([[Andy Ho]])'''
Ah Syn is the cook for the camp later in the series, a man of Chinese ethnicity who served food that Captain Ashwood describes as "furniture stuffing". Gunner Graham in particular moans that the food is inedible and disgusting. When Captain Ashwood asks if he knows about [[spotted dick]] and [[toad in the hole]], he misunderstands entirely and thinks that spotted dick is an illness.

==Episodes==
{{Main|List of It Ain't Half Hot Mum episodes}}
The series ran for eight series from 1974 to 1981. Each series had between six and eight episodes. In total, there were 56 episodes, and each had a duration of 30 minutes.

===Missing episodes===
Two episodes from the first series, "A Star is Born" and "It's a Wise Child", are currently missing from the [[BBC Archives]], since they were [[Lost television broadcast#Wiping|wiped]] after their repeat broadcasts.<ref name="Homewood">{{cite web |last1=Homewood |first1=Dave |title=Dad's Army - The Lost Episodes |url=https://www.cambridgeairforce.org.nz/Dads%20Army%20Lost.html#other |website=Dad's Army - An Appreciation| access-date=4 November 2023 |date=2008}}</ref><ref name="BCG4">{{cite web |title=It Ain't Half Hot Mum Series 1, Episode 4 - A Star is Born - British Comedy Guide |url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/it_aint_half_hot_mum/episodes/1/4/ |website=[[British Comedy Guide]] |access-date=4 November 2023 |date=2023}}</ref><ref name="BCG6">{{cite web |title=It Ain't Half Hot Mum Series 1, Episode 6 - It's A Wise Child - British Comedy Guide |url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/it_aint_half_hot_mum/episodes/1/6/ |website=[[British Comedy Guide]] |access-date=4 November 2023 |date=2023}}</ref> In 1988, two off-air [[VHS]] recordings of the missing episodes were discovered in [[Australia]]<ref name="BCG4" /><ref name="BCG6" /> by Dave Homewood, the founder of the [[New Zealand]] branch of the [[Dad's Army Appreciation Society]]. They had been recorded from Australian broadcasts on [[Seven Network|Channel 7]]; however, they are incomplete, since Channel 7 edited certain scenes from the episodes so that they would fit within the channel's timeslot.<ref name="Homewood" /> An estimated four minutes has been edited from these episodes.<ref name="Boxset">{{cite web |title=It Ain't Half Hot Mum - Complete Collection DVD - British Comedy Guide |url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/it_aint_half_hot_mum/shop/2026/complete_collection/ |website=[[British Comedy Guide]] |access-date=12 November 2023 |date=2023}}</ref>

==Reception==

===Contemporary reception===
''It Ain't Half Hot Mum'' attracted up to seventeen million viewers during its run.<ref>{{cite news |last=Baker |first=Richard Anthony |url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/obituaries/2011/david-croft/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126013951/https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/obituaries/2011/david-croft/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 January 2017 |title=David Croft |date=3 October 2011 |access-date=10 February 2019}}</ref>

American actor [[John Wayne]] was filming in London in 1974, and caught an episode on television. Unimpressed with what he was seeing, he is reported to have said: "Well, at least the guy playing the sergeant-major has a great voice".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/windsor-davies-obituary-bkc97sn9d|title=Windsor Davies obituary|work=The Times|date=21 January 2019|access-date=12 June 2020|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

[[Spike Milligan]] is reported to have considered Windsor Davies' performance the most comedic he had seen.<ref name="Clark2005">{{cite news |last=Clark |first=Neil|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/listen-and-repeat-after-me-ncjlj2rpbcr |title=Listen and repeat after me . . . |work=The Times |date=1 September 2005 |access-date=14 October 2019|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

===Accusations of racism and homophobia===
Unlike other sitcoms written by Perry and Croft, such as ''[[Dad’s Army]]'', the series does not get repeated by the BBC, as it is regarded as differing from modern broadcasting standards concerning its content.<ref name="Jeffries" /> In 2014, [[Ed Richards (chief executive)|Ed Richards]], then chief executive of [[Ofcom]], said 1970s and 1980s sitcoms with racist and offensive content "are unimaginable today", with all viewers objecting to such broadcasts. ''[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]'' specified ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum'' as one of the shows to which he was referring.<ref name="Knapton">{{cite news|last=Knapton|first=Sarah|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/11316397/Racist-1970s-comedies-would-be-banned-now-says-head-of-Ofcom.html|title=Racist 1970s comedies would be banned now, says head of Ofcom|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=29 December 2014|access-date=12 February 2022|quote=(Richards) There are comedies from the seventies which had certain racial stereotyping in the[m], which are unimaginable today and if they were shown people would find them offensive and that wouldn’t just be people from black and ethnic minority communities, it would be everybody.}} The Telegraph article is derived from: {{cite news|last=Burrell|first=Ian|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/ed-richards-parting-view-of-ofcom-chief-we-hate-jokes-on-the-disabled-9947486.html|title=Ed Richards: Parting view of Ofcom chief... we hate jokes on the disabled|work=The Independent|date=28 December 2014|access-date=12 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Furness |first=Hannah |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10321781/Banning-It-Aint-Half-Hot-Mum-from-TV-is-a-shame-creator-says-as-non-PC-moments-are-just-historical-truth.html |title=Banning It Ain't Half Hot Mum from TV is a 'shame', creator says, as non-PC moments are just 'historical truth' |work=The Telegraph|location=London |date=20 September 2013 |access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref>

Perry told ''[[The Guardian|Guardian]]'' journalist Stuart Jeffries in 2003, "It is without doubt the funniest series that David Croft and I wrote. Of course, it is also the show that we're not allowed to talk about any more." Jeffries reported, "It's regarded as a racist show, and banished to the televisual margin that is [[Gold (British TV channel)|UK Gold]]".<ref name="Jeffries">{{cite news|last=Jeffries|first=Stuart|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/feb/03/race.stuartjeffries|title=Some like it hot|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=3 February 2003|access-date=16 February 2018|quote=and a blacked-up Michael Bates as the bearer Rangi Ram. ... But why did you cast a white man (Michael Bates) as an Indian bearer? 'At the time we found it impossible to find an Indian actor who could perform the role, to be perfectly honest.'}}</ref> In the opinion of journalist Neil Clark, for a profile of Perry written for ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' a decade later, it "appears to have fallen victim to political correctness".<ref name="Clark2013">{{cite news|last=Clark|first=Neil|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10302174/Jimmy-Perry-turns-90-a-tribute-to-the-genius-behind-Dads-Army.html|title=Jimmy Perry turns 90: a tribute to the genius behind ''Dad's Army''|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=20 September 2013|access-date=20 September 2013}}</ref> Clark maintains the show is a classic of the sitcom genre.<ref>{{cite news |last=Clark |first=Neil |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2006/oct/20/moderntvcomedynolaughingm |title=No laughing matter |work=The Guardian |date=20 October 2006 |access-date=14 October 2019}}</ref>

The casting of the white actor [[Michael Bates (actor)|Michael Bates]] as the Indian bearer Rangi Ram has been described as an example of [[blackface]].<ref name="Jeffries" /><ref name="Tgraph2019" /> In the 2013 ''Daily Telegraph'' interview, Perry rejected the accusation that Bates "blacked-up", saying "all he wore was a light tan".<ref name="Clark2013" /> David West Brown wrote, in ''English and Empire'', that the case for Bates' character rests on an assumption that his "dramatic and social functions are not derogatorily comic in the way that depictions of African diaspora identities are" in a series like ''[[The Black and White Minstrel Show]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Brown |first=David West |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JMBtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA232 |title=English and Empire: Literary History, Dialect, and the Digital Archive |location=Cambridge |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2018 |page=232|isbn=9781108426558 }}</ref> The BBC website article about the series describes Bates as having "blacked up".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/itainthalfhotmum/ |title=It Ain't Half Hot Mum |publisher=BBC |access-date=14 October 2019}}</ref> The show's creators had been aware of the issues around the casting of a white actor wearing darkening makeup to play one of the Indian characters, but went ahead owing to the creators' belief that there was a lack of suitable Indian actors at the time.<ref name="Jeffries"/> In his 2013 ''Daily Telegraph'' interview, Perry defended the casting, commenting that Bates, who was born in India to English parents, "spoke fluent Urdu, and was a captain in the Gurkhas".<ref name="Clark2013" /><ref name="Jeffries" /> Comedian and actor [[Sanjeev Bhaskar]], who is of Indian ethnicity, stated in a 2010 interview: "I've always felt that the criticism of him was too simplistic. Michael Bates was a very funny actor ... and had great comic timing. Rather than race it was really about the class differences between the officer toffs and the sergeant major. [Bates's character] Randhi was like [[The Phil Silvers Show|Bilko]], he had the quick lines and I never felt that he was taking the mickey out of Indians."<ref>{{cite news|last=Matthews|first=Tony|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/proginfo/tv/2010/wk46/sanjeev_bhaskar_feature.shtml|title=Network TV BBC Week 46 The Indian Doctor feature – interview with Sanjeev Bhaskar|work=BBC Press Office|date=November 2010|access-date=12 February 2022}}</ref>

Perry told an interviewer from ''[[Radio Times]]'' in 2014 about this rejection: "You might as well be in [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]]'s Russia. You don't want to upset anyone".<ref>{{cite news |last=Keeley |first=Annie |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/it-aint-half-hot-mum-outlawed-by-our-pc-attitudes-says-writer-9gjmwskfzcj |title=It Ain't Half Hot Mum outlawed by our PC attitudes, says writer |work=[[The Times]] |date=18 March 2014 |access-date=10 February 2019|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Jeffries asked Perry about the exchanges between the Battery Sergeant Major and the troupe which went "You're a load of poofs! What are you?", followed by the standard response "We're a load of poofs!". Perry commented: "People complain that the language was homophobic, and it was, but it was exactly how people spoke." He referred to the behaviour of his own Sergeant Major in the concert party in India, who told them: "'No man who puts on make-up and ponces about on a stage is normal - what are you?' 'We're a bunch of poofs!' we'd reply".<ref name="Jeffries" /> Of the depiction of the Melvyn Hayes character 'Gloria' Beaumont, Croft told interviewer Simon Morgan-Russell that the character "never expressed any interest in other males" and, in fact, "was a transvestite, not a homosexual".<ref>Morgan Russell [https://books.google.com/books?id=3W97f5u9ZZEC&pg=PA77 ''Jimmy Perry and David Croft''], p. 77</ref>

The series' overall tone of sympathy towards imperialism is believed to be at least partly responsible for it being no longer repeated on British television in later years,<ref name="Jeffries"/> along with, according to Darren Lee writing for the [[British Film Institute]]'s [[Screenonline]] website, a belief that it contains "national stereotyping and occasionally patronising humour",<ref name="Lee">{{cite news |last=Lee |first=Darren |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/479586/index.html |title=It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974-81) |work=BFI Screenonline |date=2003–2014 |access-date=16 February 2018|quote=That this second excursion for the David Croft/Jimmy Perry comedy team has not enjoyed the enduring popularity of its predecessor is principally due to its perceived national stereotyping and occasionally patronising humour. This has not prevented the series developing a cult comedy status, as demonstrated by its inclusion on various nostalgia TV retrospectives.}}</ref> or in the words of Stuart Jeffries in 2015, it contained "obliging underlings sporting cheerful grins that, even when I was a boy, made me cringe."<ref>{{cite news |last=Jeffries |first=Stuart |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/mar/19/the-best-exotic-nostalgia-boom-why-colonial-style-is-back |title=The best exotic nostalgia boom: why colonial style is back |work=The Guardian |date=19 March 2015 |access-date=14 October 2019}}</ref> [[A. A. Gill]] wrote in ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' in 2013, "Rather than being satirical, or dramatic, or even a parable, it relied solely on English prejudice and nostalgia".<ref>{{cite news |last=Gill |first=A.A. |author-link=A. A. Gill |url=https://www.thetimes.com/comment/register/article/a-comedy-bomb-however-you-try-to-hide-it-pzns7k6jj0l |title=A comedy bomb, however you try to hide it |work=[[The Sunday Times]] |date=17 March 2013 |access-date=14 October 2019|url-access=subscription}}</ref> According to Mark Duguid, again for Screenonline, it suffers "from its narrow stereotypes of its handful of Indian supporting characters as alternately servile, foolish, lazy or devious".<ref>{{cite web |last=Duguid |first=Mark |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1108234/ |title=Race and the Sitcom |work=BFI Screenonline |date=2003–2014 |access-date=1 May 2018}}</ref> Neil Clark, in a 2005 article for ''[[The Times]]'', said the series "delightfully lampooned the attitudes of the British in India".<ref name="Clark2005" /> Its perceived flaws have not stopped it appearing in several retrospectives.<ref name="Lee" />

Concerning the issues with ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum'', [[Alex Massie (journalist)|Alex Massie]] wrote in January 2019, shortly after the death of Windsor Davies, that "even when judged by modern standards" the series is a "relatively minor offender when compared with programmes" such as ''[[Mind Your Language]]'', ''[[Love Thy Neighbour (1972 TV series)|Love Thy Neighbour]]'' and ''[[Curry and Chips]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Massie |first=Alex |url=https://capx.co/dont-believe-the-myth-that-this-is-a-nation-of-little-englanders/ |title=Don't believe the myth that this is a nation of Little Englanders |work=CapX|date=22 January 2019 |access-date=22 January 2019}}</ref>

On 16 June 2023, the series began repeats on [[That's TV]]. The intention was to screen all episodes of the series (including those retrieved from off-air recordings) in their complete broadcast form, without editing any potentially offensive material.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grandle |first=Jane |date=14 June 2023 |title=It Ain't Half Hot Mum comes to That's TV |url=https://www.oldtimereview.co.uk/it-aint-half-hot-mum-thats-tv/ |access-date=19 December 2023 |website=Old Time Review |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Home releases==
All eight series have been released on [[DVD region codes]] 2 and 4. A complete collection [[box set]], containing all eight series of the sitcom, was released on 4 October 2010 in Region 2 and re-released in 2018.<ref name="Boxset" /> No complete series boxset has been released in [[Australia]], Region 4.

The missing episodes of the first series ("A Star is Born" and "It's a Wise Child"), although not of broadcast quality, are included as special features on both the first series [[DVD]] and the complete collection box set.<ref name="Boxset" />

{| class="wikitable" style="width:99%; left:0 auto; text-align:center;"
|-
!colspan="2" rowspan="2"|DVD Title
!rowspan="2"|Code
!rowspan="2"|No. of discs
!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|No. of episodes
!colspan="2"|Release date
|-
![[DVD region code#2|Region 2]]
![[DVD region code#4|Region 4]]
|-
| style="background:#fff;"|
|[[List of It Ain't Half Hot Mum episodes#Series 1 (1974)|Complete Series 1]]
|CCTV 30213
|1
|1974
|8
|5 September 2005
|2 March 2006
|-
| style="background:#ffef00;"|
|[[List of It Ain't Half Hot Mum episodes#Series 2 (1975)|Complete Series 2]]
|CCTV 30227
|1
|1975
|8
|10 October 2005
|5 October 2006
|-
| style="background:#B1151A;"|
|[[List of It Ain't Half Hot Mum episodes#Series 3 (1976)|Complete Series 3]]
|CCTV 30269
|1
|1976
|6
|13 February 2006
|7 March 2007
|-
| style="background:#177245;"|
|[[List of It Ain't Half Hot Mum episodes#Series 4 (1976)|Complete Series 4]]
|CCTV 30295
|2
|1976
|8
|1 May 2006
|5 September 2007
|-
| style="background:#560319;"|
|[[List of It Ain't Half Hot Mum episodes#Series 5 (1977)|Complete Series 5]]
|CCTV 30328
|1
|1977
|6
|31 July 2006
|5 March 2008
|-
| style="background:#004953;"|
|[[List of It Ain't Half Hot Mum episodes#Series 6 (1978)|Complete Series 6]]
|BBCDVD 2645
|1
|1978
|7
|9 June 2008
|4 September 2008
|-
| style="background:orange;"|
|[[List of It Ain't Half Hot Mum episodes#Series 7 (1980)|Complete Series 7]]
|BBCDVD 3008
|1
|1980
|6
|24 August 2009
|3 September 2009
|-
| style="background:#ffbf00;"|
|[[List of It Ain't Half Hot Mum episodes#Series 8 (1981)|Complete Series 8]]
|BBCDVD 3047
|1
|1981
|7
|5 October 2009
|4 March 2010
|-
| style="background:#000;"|
|'''[[List of It Ain't Half Hot Mum episodes#Series 1 (1974)|Complete Series 1]]–[[List of It Ain't Half Hot Mum episodes#Series 4 (1976)|4]]'''
|CCTV 30532
|5
|1974–1976
|30
|30 October 2006
|{{N/a}}
|-
| style="background:#000;"|
|'''[[List of It Ain't Half Hot Mum episodes#Series 1 (1974)|Complete Series 1]]–[[List of It Ain't Half Hot Mum episodes#Series 8 (1981)|8]]'''
|BBCDVD3329
|9
|1974–1981
|56
|4 October 2010
|{{N/a}}
|}

==See also==
*[[Entertainments National Service Association]] (ENSA)
*''[[Desert Mice]]'' (1959)
*''[[Privates on Parade (film)|Privates on Parade]]'' (1982 film)

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
*{{citation |title=Jimmy Perry and David Croft |chapter=It Ain't Half Hot Mum |first=Simon |last=Morgan-Russell |publisher=[[Manchester University Press]] |year=2004 |isbn=9780719065569}}

==External links==
*{{BBC Online|comedy/guide/articles/i/itainthalfhotmum_1299001653.shtml|''It Ain't Half Hot Mum''}}
*{{BBC programme}}
*{{IMDb title|0081878}}
*{{British Comedy Guide|tv|it_aint_half_hot_mum}}
*{{Epguides|ItAintHalfHotMum}}
*{{Screenonline TV title|479586}}
* {{discogs master|2118187}}
*[http://www.phill.co.uk/comedy/hotmum/ ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum''] British TV Comedy Guide
*[http://www.melvynhayes.com Melvyn Hayes Official Website]

{{Jimmy Perry}}
{{David Croft}}

[[Category:1970s British sitcoms]]
[[Category:1980s British sitcoms]]
[[Category:1974 British television series debuts]]
[[Category:1981 British television series endings]]
[[Category:BBC television sitcoms]]
[[Category:Television series created by David Croft (TV producer)]]
[[Category:British English-language television shows]]
[[Category:Military comedy television series]]
[[Category:Race-related controversies in television]]
[[Category:Television series created by Jimmy Perry]]
[[Category:Television series set in the 1940s]]
[[Category:Television shows set in Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Television shows set in the British Raj]]
[[Category:World War II television comedy series]]
[[Category:Cross-dressing in television]]

John Batman

2025-10-27T07:32:44Z

115.42.12.30: Restored cause of death (as per numerous referenced statements in article) to infobox.

{{short description|Australian explorer (1801–1839)}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = John Batman
| image = John Batman portrait.jpg
| caption = Early-20th-century drawing of Batman, based on an earlier engraving
| birth_date = 21 January 1801
| birth_place = [[Rosehill, New South Wales|Rosehill]], [[New South Wales|Colony of New South Wales]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1839|5|6|1801|1|21}}, of [[syphilis]],
| death_place = [[Melbourne]], [[New South Wales|Colony of New South Wales]]
| education =
| occupation = Grazier, entrepreneur, colonial founder
| title =
| spouse = [[Elizabeth Callaghan]]
| children = 8
| nationality =
| signature =
| website =
| burial_place = [[Old Melbourne Cemetery]]
}}

'''John Batman''' (21 January 1801{{spaced ndash}}6 May 1839) was an Australian [[Pastoral farming|grazier]], entrepreneur and explorer, who had a prominent role in the [[foundation of Melbourne|founding]] of [[Melbourne]]. He was also involved in many attacks against Aboriginal Australians.

Born and raised in the then-British colony of [[New South Wales]], Batman settled in [[Van Diemen's Land]] (modern-day [[Tasmania]]) in the 1820s, where he rose to prominence for hunting [[bushranger]]s and leading massacres of Aboriginal people in the [[Black War]].

He later co-founded the [[Port Phillip Association]] and led an expedition which explored the [[Port Phillip]] area on the Australian mainland with the goal of establishing a new settlement. In 1835, Batman negotiated [[Batman's Treaty|a treaty]] with Aboriginal people in Port Phillip by offering them tools, blankets and food in exchange for thousands of hectares of land. However, the treaty was declared void by the government and it has been disputed by Aboriginal descendants. This expedition ultimately resulted in the [[Foundation of Melbourne|founding of Melbourne]], eventual capital of [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] and one of Australia's largest and most important cities. Batman moved to the colony with his [[convicts in Australia|convict]] wife, [[Elizabeth Callaghan]], and their seven daughters, settling on what is now known as [[Batman's Hill]]. He died of [[syphilis]] shortly afterwards at the age of 38.

Batman's treaty stands as the only attempt by a European to engage [[Aboriginal Australians|Australian Aboriginal]] people in a treaty or transaction rather than simply claiming land outright. However, Batman's motives and the validity of the treaty remain of great historical interest and debate.

==Early life==
John Batman was born on 21 January 1801 in [[Parramatta]], [[Colony of New South Wales]]. His parents, William and Mary Bat(e)man, arrived at [[Sydney]] aboard ''[[Ganges (1792 ship)|Ganges]]'' on 2 June 1797. William was sentenced to fourteen years' [[Penal transportation|transportation]] the previous year for receiving stolen [[Potassium nitrate|saltpetre]], while his wife paid her fare to accompany him, bringing along their children Maria and Robert.<ref name="adb" />{{Sfn|Boyce|2012|pp=47–48}}

William obtained his [[ticket of leave]] and started a timber-yard at Parramatta, where his five sons and daughter were raised. His sentence expired in 1810 and William later became a devout [[Wesleyan theology|Wesleyan]]; his children were trained as [[Anglicanism|Anglican]]-[[Methodism|Methodists]]. As Aboriginals were encouraged to come into Parramatta for charity and education, John knew many Aboriginals. John was apprenticed as a blacksmith in Sydney in 1816.<ref name="adb" />{{Sfn|Boyce|2012|pp=47–48}}

== Move to Tasmania ==
In December 1821, John and his younger brother Henry journeyed to [[Van Diemen's Land]] (now known as Tasmania) to settle on land in the north-east, near [[Ben Lomond (Tasmania)|Ben Lomond]], to become a [[Pastoral farming|grazier]].<ref name=adb/>{{Sfn|Boyce|2012|pp=47–48}} He acquired "Kingston", a property said to be "...large in acreage and poor agriculturally,...".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.utas.edu.au/library/companion_to_tasmanian_history/B/John%20Batman%20and%20John%20Pascoe%20Fawkner.htm|title=John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner|first=Gwenda|last=Webb|work=Companion to Tasmanian History|publisher=[[University of Tasmania]]|access-date=5 November 2011}}</ref>

In early 1826 Batman captured the bushranger [[Matthew Brady]], resulting in an additional grant of land by the government.<ref name="adb">{{Australian Dictionary of Biography|last=Brown|first=P. L.|year=1966|id=|title=Batman, John (1801–1839)|access-date=14 March 2008|volume=1|id2=batman-john-1752}}</ref><ref name=dab>{{cite web
| first=Percival
| last=Serle
| author-link=Percival Serle
| title = Batman, John (1801–1839)
| publisher =[[Project Gutenberg Australia]]
| work=[[Dictionary of Australian Biography]]
| url =https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks15/1500721h/0-dict-biogBa.html#batman1
| access-date = 14 March 2008}}</ref>
Brady had been wounded in the leg in a conflict with the authorities, but got away safely. Batman went out unarmed on his own in search of Brady, and found him quite accidentally. He saw a man limping in the bush near a shallow creek, and hastened forward to him. It was Brady. He induced Brady to surrender and return with him. The outlaw was ill and suffering much pain, and did as he was asked. Brady was duly handed over to authorities at Launceston Gaol and later sentenced to death.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37405330 |title=LIFE OF BUSHRANGER POWER. |newspaper=[[Western Mail (Western Australia)|Western Mail]] |date=12 February 1910 |access-date=15 April 2012 |page=43 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> He was hanged at [[Hobart]].

== Participation in massacres of Aboriginal people and the Black War ==
{{Further|Black War}}
[[File:John Glover Ben Lomond.jpg|thumb|[[John Glover (artist)|John Glover]]'s painting ''Batman's Lookout, Benn Lomond'' (c. 1840). A neighbour and fierce critic of Batman, Glover based the title of the painting on Batman's "frequenting this spot to entrap the Natives."<ref name="Bill Gammage 2011 p.40"/>]]
Batman participated in the many killings of [[Tasmanian Aborigines|Tasmanian Aboriginal people]] while in Tasmania. Many such killings are well documented in the Tasmanian State archives and Victorian State library records.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Batman 'treaty' is signed |url=https://www.deadlystory.com/page/culture/history/Batman_treaty/ |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=www.deadlystory.com}}</ref>

Batman participated in the capture of some Aboriginal people in 1829.<ref>Henry Reynolds, (1995) Fate of a Free People: A Radical Re-examination of the Tasmanian Wars, Penguin, Melbourne, p.50</ref> He employed mainland Aboriginal people hired in Sydney, New South Wales, for 'roving parties' hunting Tasmanian Aboriginal peoples.<ref>Henry Reynolds, (1995) Fate of a Free People: A Radical Re-examination of the Tasmanian Wars, Penguin, Melbourne, p.78</ref> Between 1828 and 1830 Aboriginal people in this region were shot or rounded up by bounty hunters like Batman.<ref name="Bill Gammage 2011 p.40">Bill Gammage, (2011) The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, p.40</ref>

As Tasmanian Colonial Governor, [[George Arthur]], observed, Batman "...had much slaughter to account for". Closer examination of this quote from Governor Arthur reveals a more complex picture of Batman's motives and actions on behalf of the government in these so-called "roving parties".<ref>John Batman – C. P. Billot pp 48.. '..{Batman}proceeded not with a sword but an olive branch, and whose sympathy for the much injured and unfortunate race of beings was second only to that of George Augustus Robinson's, had much slaughter to account for...' Billot provides further details here that help us in the 21st century begin to understand the events discussed in this following paragraph.. quote pp 48 of the same book '[in September 1829 Batman] and his party was attacked by a well-armed group of some seventy of the most dangerous natives of the island. The attack was so closely pressed that, for the first and probably only time in his life, John was forced to order his men to open fire on the natives. As a result of this order fifteen natives were killed."</ref> For example, in September 1829 Batman (aged 28), with the assistance of several "Sydney blacks" he brought to Tasmania, led an attack on an Aboriginal family group together numbering 60 to 70 men, women and children in the [[Ben Lomond]] district of north-east Tasmania. Waiting until 11pm that night before attacking, he "...ordered the men to fire upon them..." as their 40-odd dogs raised the alarm and the Aboriginal people ran away into thick scrub. In his report of the incident to the police magistrate at Oatlands, Batman estimated that they killed 15 Aboriginal people.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Campbell |first=Alastair. H |title=John Batman and the Aborigines |publisher=Kibble Books, Malmsbury, Victoria. |year=1987 |isbn=9780908150083 |edition=1st e.d |location=Australia |pages=23 |language=}}</ref> The next morning, he left the place for his farm, with two badly wounded Tasmanian men, a woman and her two-year-old boy, all of whom he captured. However, he "...found it impossible that the two former [the men] could walk, and after trying them by every means in my power, for some time, found I could not get them on I was obliged to shoot them." The captured woman, named [[Luggenemenener]],<ref>Rosalind Stirling, John Batman: Aspirations of a Currency Lad, Australian Heritage, Spring 2007, p.41</ref> was later sent to [[Campbell Town]] gaol and separated from her two-year-old son, Rolepana, "...whom she had faced death to protect."<ref>James Boyce (2008) Van Diemen's Land, Black Inc, Melbourne, pp.200–201</ref> Batman reported afterwards to British Colonial Secretary, John Burnett, in a letter of 7 September 1829, that he kept the child because he wanted "...to rear it...".<ref>Henry Reynolds, (1995) Fate of a Free People: A Radical Re-examination of the Tasmanian Wars, Penguin, Melbourne, p.81</ref> Luggenemenener died on 21 March 1837 as an inmate at the Flinders Island settlement.<ref>Kristyn Harman, Send in the Sydney Natives! Deploying Mainlanders against Tasmanian Aborigines, University of Tasmania Web site (https://www.utas.edu.au), p.14</ref>

Later, Rolepana (aged 8 years), traveled with him as part of the founding party of Melbourne in 1835. After Batman's death in 1839, Rolepana would have been 12 years old. Boyce notes that Rolepana was employed by colonist George Ware at 12 pounds a year with board on Batman's death, "...but what became of him after this is also unknown."<ref>James Boyce (2011) 1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia, Black Inc, Melbourne, footnote No. 136 on p.236</ref> However, Haebich records Rolepana as having died in Melbourne in 1842 (he would have been about 15 years).<ref>Anna Haebich, 2000, Broken circles: fragmenting indigenous families, 1800–2000, Fremantle Press, p.101</ref> She also says that:

:Batman openly defied Governor Arthur and [George Augustus] Robinson by refusing to hand over two Aboriginal boys in his employ: Rolepana (or Benny Ben Lomond) and Lurnerminer (John or Jack Allen), captured by Batman in 1828. He claimed the boys were there with the consent of their parents,....He also demonstrated a strong proprietorial interest in the boys, when he told Robinson they were 'as much his property as his farm and that he had as much right to keep them as the government'. Indeed Batman was convinced that the best plan was to leave the children with the colonists, who clothed and fed them at no expense to the government and raised them to become 'useful members of society'. In a series of letters to Governor Arthur, he 'pleaded hard for the retention of youths educated by settlers and devoted to their service'.<ref>Anna Haebich, 2000, Broken circles: fragmenting indigenous families, 1800–2000, Fremantle Press, p.100</ref>

Batman rose to prominence during the time of the [[Black War]] of 1830 (aged 29), during which he participated in the [[Black Line]]—the formation of a "human chain" across the island to drive Aboriginal people from their lands into a 'manageable' area.

In February 1830, Batman wrote to the British Colonial Secretary, John Burnett, about his difficulty in 'coming up' with [i.e., capturing] the Aboriginal people.<ref>Henry Reynolds, (1995) Fate of a Free People: A Radical Re-examination of the Tasmanian Wars, Penguin, Melbourne, p.69</ref> In the same letter, he asked in explaining his difficulty in capturing Aboriginal people in the bush, "...if he could follow known [Aboriginal] offenders once they had made it 'to their own ground'.<ref>Henry Reynolds, (1995) Fate of a Free People: A Radical Re-examination of the Tasmanian Wars, Penguin, Melbourne, p.128</ref>

The 19th-century artist, [[John Glover (artist)|John Glover]], captioned one of his Tasmanian paintings ''Batman's Lookout, Benn Lomond'' (c. 1840) "...on account of Mr Batman frequenting this spot to entrap the Natives."<ref name="Bill Gammage 2011 p.40"/> Batman's neighbour in Van Diemen's Land, Glover said that he was "a rogue, thief, cheat and liar, a murderer of blacks and the vilest man I have ever known".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nma.gov.au/engage-learn/schools/classroom-resources/multimedia/interactives/batmania_html_version/whos_who|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303233422/http://www.nma.gov.au/engage-learn/schools/classroom-resources/multimedia/interactives/batmania_html_version/whos_who|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 March 2014|title=Who's Who|publisher=[[National Museum of Australia]]|access-date=9 September 2014}}</ref>

Batman was diagnosed with [[syphilis]] in 1833.

By 1835, Batman's property, "...Kingston [near [[Ben Lomond (Tasmania)|Ben Lomond]]], covered more than {{Convert|7000|acre}}, had appropriate animals and buildings, and numerous hands; but it was too rugged to be highly productive."<ref name="adb"/>

== Foundation of Melbourne and Batman's Treaty ==
{{further|Foundation of Melbourne|Batman's Treaty}}
[[File:Batman signs treaty artist impression.jpg|thumb|right|A late-19th century artist's impression of [[Batman's Treaty]] being signed]]
Batman sought land grants in the [[Western Port]] area, but the New South Wales colonial authorities rejected this. So, in 1835, as a leading member of the [[Port Phillip Association]] he sailed for the mainland in the [[schooner]] ''[[schooner Rebecca|Rebecca]]'' and explored much of [[Port Phillip]].

When he found the current site of central Melbourne, he noted in his diary of 8 June 1835, "This will be the place for a village."<ref name=adb/><ref name=dab/>{{Sfn|Boyce|2012|p=74}} and declared the land "Batmania".<ref>Bill Wannan, ''Australian folklore: a dictionary of lore, legends and popular allusions'', Lansdowne, 1970, p.42</ref><ref>Alexander Wyclif Reed, ''Place names of Australia'', Reed, 1973, p.149</ref>

[[File:John Batman painting.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Painting of Batman by [[William Beckwith McInnes]]]]
[[Batman's Treaty]] negotiations with [[Kulin people]]s (Aboriginal peoples of now central Victoria) took place in June 1835 on the banks of the [[Merri Creek]] in present-day [[Northcote, Victoria|Northcote]] (an inner suburb of Melbourne), "...using legal advice from the former Van Diemen's Land attorney-general, [[Joseph Gellibrand]], and with the support of his "Sydney Blacks", which were his Aboriginal employees from [[New South Wales]] and [[Van Diemen's Land]]."<ref>James Boyce, (2008) Van Diemen's Land, Black Inc, Melbourne, p.245</ref> These Aboriginal men, namely John Pigeon (''Warroba''), Johnny Crook (''Jonninbia'' or ''Yunbai''), Joe the Marine (''Quanmurrer''), Stewart (''Nillang''), Mackey (''Macher''), John Allen (''Lurnerminer''), Bill Bullets, Old Bull, and Joe Bangett, performed a central role in the cross-cultural negotiations and the maintenance of these relations.{{Sfn|Boyce|2012|pp=64–70}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Plomley |first1=NJB |last2=Robinson |first2=George Augustus |title=Friendly Mission, the Tasmanian journals and papers of George Augustus Robinson |date=2008 |publisher=Quintus |location=Hobart |isbn=9780977557226 |pages=505-508}}</ref>

[[File:Johnny Crook or Yunbai.png|thumb|right|Johnny Crook (''Yunbai''), one of Batman's "Sydney Blacks"]]
However, Batman did not visit the colonial camp that was later set up on the [[Yarra River]] (i.e., Melbourne) until November 1835.{{Sfn|Boyce|2012|p=85}} Debate has continued for more than a century over this moment in the birth of Melbourne. Batman writes in his diary on Monday, 8 June 1835 that "... the boat went up the river I have spoken of, which comes from the east, and I am glad to state, about six miles up found the river all good water and very deep. This will be the place for a village. The natives on shore." The previous day Batman and his party had returned from their meeting with the Kulin Elders along the hills bordering the northern banks of the Yarra. It remains quite unclear whether the party saw the 'place for a village' by the 'Falls'—a long-used homesite for the local peoples, and similarly unclear whether Batman was in the boat that explored the Yarra on the 8th. But the site has already been noted for its virtues by numerous Britons including John Helder Wedge and Batman's Parramatta friend Hamilton Hume."

[[File:John Batman Memorial by J.W. Brown.jpg|thumb|upright|John Batman Memorial at Queen Victoria Market]]

Batman negotiated a treaty (now known as [[Batman's Treaty]] but also known as the Dutigulla Treaty, Dutigulla Deed, Melbourne Treaty or Melbourne Deed), with Kulin peoples to rent their land on an annual basis for 40 blankets, 30 axes, 100 knives, 50 scissors, 30 mirrors, 200 handkerchiefs, 100 pounds of flour and 6 shirts. It is unlikely that Kulin people would have understood this as a transfer of land or agreed to it if they had, but, as [[Percival Serle]] wrote, "No doubt the blankets, knives, tomahawks, etc., that he gave them were very welcome". In any case, [[Richard Bourke|Governor Bourke]] deemed such a treaty invalid, as the land was claimed by the Crown, rather than the Kulin people, and other colonists including the rival party of [[John Pascoe Fawkner]] arrived to settle Melbourne.

== Later life ==
Batman and his family settled at what became known as [[Batman's Hill]] at the western end of [[Collins Street, Melbourne|Collins Street]]. Having sold his property "Kingston" in Tasmania and brought his wife, former [[Convicts in Australia|convict]] [[Elizabeth Callaghan]], and their seven daughters to Melbourne, he built a house at the base of the hill in April 1836. His son, John, was born in November 1837.<ref name=adb/>

[[File:John Batman's House.jpg|thumb|Watercolour of Batman's house on [[Batman's Hill]] overlooking the [[Yarra River]]]]
However, Batman's health quickly declined after 1835 as syphilis had disfigured and crippled him, leaving him in constant pain. By the end of 1837 he was unable to walk and was forced to give up squatting and move into trading and investment, but he greatly overstretched his finances and was left vulnerable by his reliance on delegating work to others.<ref name=adb/> As the disease eroded his nose, forcing him to wear a bandage to conceal his ruined face,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Annear |first1=Robyn |title=Bearbrass: Imagining Early Melbourne |date=2005 |publisher=Black Inc |isbn=1863953973 |page=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T30wBB5kPN0C&pg=PA4 |quote=Constant pain in his feet and legs has made him dependent on this wickerwork Batmobile, and the bandage around his face (such a noble profile in his centenary portrait) hides the fact that his nose is decaying.}}</ref> he became estranged from his wife. In his last months of his life Batman was cared for by his Aboriginal servants, who carried him around in a wicker perambulator.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hunt |first1=David |title=True Girt: The Unauthorised History of Australia, Volume 2 |date=2016 |publisher=Black Inc |isbn=978-1925435320 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ypyDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT254 |access-date=5 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Hinchcliffe |first1=Joe |title=Call to remove statue of John Batman, 'founder of Melbourne', over role in Indigenous killings |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/call-to-remove-statue-of-john-batman-founder-of-melbourne-over-role-in-indigenous-killings-20170826-gy4snc.html |website=The Age |access-date=5 April 2020 |date=26 August 2017 |quote=He was ostracised by the white community and wheeled around town in a barrow by two Aboriginal men – ironically among the few people who would acknowledge him.}}</ref>

Following Batman's death on 6 May 1839 his widow and family moved from the house at Batman's Hill and the house was requisitioned by the government for administrative offices.<ref name="newsrail">{{cite journal
| author = Sid Brown
|date=November 2002
| title = Batman's Hill to Southern Cross – via Spencer Street
| journal = Newsrail
| pages = 335–347
}}</ref> Batman's will, made in 1837, was out of date at his death as many of the assets bequeathed to his children had already been sold.<ref name=adb/> Years of legal wrangling followed his death, led by Eliza Batman, who had remarried in 1841 to Batman's former clerk, William Willoughby, and had only been left £5 in the will by her embittered first husband. The case dragged on, even after Batman's heir-at-law, his son John, drowned in the [[Yarra River]] in 1845, and its costs absorbed what was left of Batman's estate.<ref name=adb/>

==Legacy==
[[File:John batman statue melbourne.jpg|thumb|right|Statue of John Batman at former National Mutual Plaza off [[Collins Street, Melbourne|Collins Street]] in Melbourne unveiled 26 January 1979]]
[[File:Indented Head monument.jpg|thumb|The historical monument marking where Batman landed at [[Indented Head, Victoria|Indented Head]] in 1835]]

Batman was buried in the [[Old Melbourne Cemetery]]<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/onthisday/decade.cfm?d=1830
|title=On These Days – Parliament of Victoria
|publisher=www.parliament.vic.gov.au
|access-date=6 July 2008
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090608213733/http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/onthisday/decade.cfm?d=1830
|archive-date= 8 June 2009
}}</ref> but was exhumed and re-buried in the [[Fawkner Crematorium and Memorial Park|Fawkner Cemetery]], a cemetery named after his fellow colonist (and rival), [[John Pascoe Fawkner]].<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.whitehat.com.au/Melbourne/People/Batman.asp
|title=John Batman
|publisher=www.whitehat.com.au
|access-date=6 July 2008
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704064250/http://www.whitehat.com.au/Melbourne/People/Batman.asp
|archive-date= 4 July 2008
}}</ref> A bluestone [[obelisk]] was constructed in 1922 which was later moved to Batman Avenue before being returned to the Queen Victoria Market site in 1992. The obelisk is inscribed with the Latin "circumspice" meaning "look around", the entire city of Melbourne being his legacy. The obelisk also states that Melbourne was "unoccupied" prior to John Batman's arrival in 1835.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.theage.com.au/news/General/Redefining-city-limits/2005/06/02/1117568309920.html
|title=History should have no divide
|work=The Age
|author=Carolyn Webb
|date=3 June 2005
|access-date=21 August 2017
}}</ref>

Australian sprinter [[Daniel Batman]] was a direct descendant of John Batman.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/Sport/Brats-all-folks-sprint-ace-Batman-comes-of-age/2005/03/04/1109700675887.html
|title=Brat's all folks: sprint ace Batman comes of age
|work=[[Sydney Morning Herald]]
|author=Jacquelin Magnay
|date=5 March 2005
|publisher=www.smh.com.au
|access-date=6 July 2008
}}</ref>

===Controversy over massacres===
Despite his responsibility for many Aboriginal deaths, Batman is widely considered to have been sympathetic towards Aboriginal people.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Clements |first=Nicholas |date=May 13, 2011 |title=The truth about John Batman: Melbourne's founder and 'murderer of the blacks' |url=https://theconversation.com/the-truth-about-john-batman-melbournes-founder-and-murderer-of-the-blacks-1025 |access-date=January 5, 2023 |website=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]]}}</ref> Batman's legacy has been challenged in the 21st century, and most criticism has focused on his killings of Indigenous people in Tasmania. In 2016, [[City of Darebin|Darebin Council]] voted unanimously to change the name of Batman Park in [[Northcote, Victoria|Northcote]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tippet |first1=Harrison |title=Darebin Council unanimously backs plan to rename Batman Park |url=https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/north/darebin-council-unanimously-backs-plan-to-rename-batman-park/news-story/19305bf66abed9399d004ab3b2d51190 |website=Herald Sun |access-date=5 April 2020 |date=22 July 2016}}</ref> It is now called Gumbri Park, after Gumbri (Jessie Hunter), great-niece of [[Wurundjeri]] leader [[William Barak]] and the last girl born on the [[Coranderrk|Coranderrk Aboriginal Reserve]] in Healesville.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/north/batman-park-in-northcote-to-be-renamed-gumbri-park/news-story/5c8c6617e18cb26b97238246b8ed44ec |title=Batman Park in Northcote to be renamed Gumbri Park |author=Gardiner, Ed|date=11 May 2017|work=[[Herald Sun]]|access-date=24 August 2017}}</ref>

In 2017, artist [[Ben Quilty]] called for Batman's statue to be removed from the Melbourne CBD, describing him as a mass murderer who "makes the [[Confederate States of America|American Confederates]] look friendly" and adding that "changing the inscription [on his statue] to 'mass murderer' might slightly appease my sense of justice."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hinchcliffe |first1=Joe |title=Call to remove statue of John Batman, 'founder of Melbourne', over role in Indigenous killings |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/call-to-remove-statue-of-john-batman-founder-of-melbourne-over-role-in-indigenous-killings-20170826-gy4snc.html |website=The Age |access-date=5 April 2020 |date=26 August 2017}}</ref>

The Victorian electoral [[Division of Batman]] was abolished in 2018 and renamed the [[Division of Cooper]] after Aboriginal political activist [[William Cooper (Aboriginal Australian)|William Cooper]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Names and boundaries of federal electoral divisions in Victoria decided |url=https://www.aec.gov.au/media/media-releases/2018/06-20.htm |website=Australian Electoral Commission |access-date=5 April 2020 |date=20 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-06-20 |title=Melbourne electorate of Batman renamed after Indigenous activist |url=http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jun/20/melbourne-electorate-of-batman-renamed-after-indigenous-activist |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

===Places named after John Batman===
[[File:Batman Avenue.jpg|thumb|A roadsign for Batman Avenue in Melbourne]]

* [[Batman Bridge]] (Tasmania)
* [[Division of Batman]] (Victorian electoral division; now known as the [[Division of Cooper]])
* [[Batman Park]] (Melbourne CBD)
* Batman Park ([[Northcote, Victoria]]) – now renamed as Gumbri Park
* [[Batman's Hill]] (Melbourne CBD)
* [[Batman railway station]] ([[Coburg North]], Melbourne, Victoria)<ref name="stnnm">{{cite book | author= Thomas O'Callaghan | title = Names of Victorian Railway Stations | publisher = Government Printer| year = 1918 | isbn =0-9580716-0-8 }} (2003 facsimile edition)</ref>
* [[Batman Avenue]], Melbourne
* Batman Avenue, [[Keilor Park]]
* Batman Avenue, [[Sunbury, Victoria|Sunbury]]
* Batman Avenue, [[Hurstbridge]]
* Batman Avenue, [[Shepparton]]
* Batman Close, [[Thornton, New South Wales|Thornton]]
* Batman Lane, [[Surry Hills]]
* Batman Road, [[Eltham, Victoria|Eltham]]
* Batman Road, [[Indented Head]] – the original landing site of John Batman in Port Phillip Bay
* Batman Street, [[Burnside Heights]]
* Batman Street, [[Footscray, Victoria|Footscray]]
* Batman Street, [[Altona Meadows]]
* Batman Street, [[Aberfeldie]]
* Batman Street, [[Fitzroy North]]
* Batman Street, [[Portarlington, Victoria|Portarlington]]
* Batman Street, [[Braddon, Australian Capital Territory|Braddon]]
* Batman Walk, [[Parramatta]]
* John Batman Drive, [[Melton West]]
* John Batman Gardens, [[Sandringham, Victoria|Sandringham]]

==See also==

{{Portal|Biography}}

* [[History of Melbourne]]
* [[Strandloper (novel)|''Strandloper'']] – a novel by Alan Garner involving John Batman
* ''[[The Roving Party]]'' – a novel by Rohan Wilson involving John Batman

== References ==

{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==

* {{Cite book |last=Boyce |first=James |url=https://archive.org/details/1835foundingofme0000boyc |title=1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia |publisher=[[Schwartz Publishing|Black Inc.]] |year=2012 |isbn=9781863955683 |location=Melbourne, Victoria |language=en |author-link=James Boyce (author) |orig-date=2011}}

==Further reading==

* Attwood, Bain (2009), ''Possession: Batman's Treaty and the Matter of History'', Miegunyah Press, Melbourne, (xviii + 416 pages)
* Bell, Agnes Paton (1965). ''Melbourne: John Batman's village''. Melbourne: Cassell
* Billot, C. P. (1979). ''John Batman: the Story of John Batman and the Founding of Melbourne''. Melbourne: Hyland House. {{ISBN|0-908090-18-8}}
* Billot, C. P. (1985). ''The life and times of John Pascoe Fawkner''. Melbourne: Hyland House. {{ISBN|0-908090-77-3}}
* Boyce, James (2008), ''Van Diemen's Land'', Black Inc, Melbourne {{ISBN|978-1-86395-413-6}}
* Boyce, James (2012), ''1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia'', Black Inc, Melbourne {{ISBN|978-1-76064-480-2}}
* Campbell, Alastair H. (1987). ''John Batman and the Aborigines''. Malmsbury, Australia: Kibble Books. {{ISBN|0-908150-09-1}}
* Clark, Ian D. (1990) ''Aboriginal languages and clans: An historical atlas of western and central Victoria, 1800–1900'', Dept. of Geography & Environmental Science, Monash University (Melbourne), {{ISBN|0-909685-41-X}}
* Clark, Ian D. (1995), ''Scars in the landscape: A register of massacre sites in western Victoria, 1803–1859'', Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (Canberra), {{ISBN|0-85575-281-5}}
* Clark, Ian D. (2003) ''{{'}}That's my country belonging to me' – Aboriginal land tenure and dispossession in nineteenth-century Western Victoria'', Ballarat Heritage Services, Ballarat.
* Critchett, Jan (1990), ''A distant field of murder: Western district frontiers, 1834–1848'', Melbourne University Press (Carlton, Vic. and Portland, Or.) {{ISBN|0-522-84389-1}}
* Harcourt, Rex (2001), ''Southern Invasion. Northern Conquest. Story of the Founding of Melbourne'', Golden Point Press, Blackburn South. {{ISBN|0-646-40336-2}}
* Prior, Wannan and Nunn (1968). ''A Pictorial History of Bushrangers''. Melbourne: Paul Hamlyn
* Reynolds, Henry (1995), ''Fate of a Free People: A Radical Re-examination of the Tasmanian Wars'', Penguin, Melbourne {{ISBN|0-14-024322-4}}, at page 50, onwards for role in removal of Tasmanian Aboriginal people.
* Wettenhall, Gib, and the Gunditjmara People (2010), ''The People of Budj Bim: Engineers of aquaculture, builders of stone house settlements and warriors defending country'', em Press, Heywood (Victoria)

===Online===
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090921234032/http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/portphillip/inter/3565.shtml Transcript of John Batman's journal] at the State Library of Victoria.
* [http://www.nma.gov.au/kidz/batmania/ Batmania: a fun way to explore the people and events surrounding the foundation of Melbourne, images of the Batman Land Deed and other historical documents] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080503183854/http://www.nma.gov.au/kidz/batmania/ |date=3 May 2008 }} at the National Museum of Australia.
*[http://collectionsearch.nma.gov.au/object/58198?solrsort=score%20desc&search=John%20Batman/ Batman Land Deed] – National Museum of Australia

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Batman, John}}
[[Category:1801 births]]
[[Category:1839 deaths]]
[[Category:Explorers of Australia]]
[[Category:Australian explorers]]
[[Category:Settlers of Melbourne]]
[[Category:Australian people of English descent]]
[[Category:19th-century Australian businesspeople]]
[[Category:Deaths from syphilis]]
[[Category:Australian city founders]]