AustLit

As described by Upfield within the series of 29 novels based on the detective Napoleon Bonaparte, Bony was a foundling born of an Aboriginal mother and a white father and raised in a mission. An exceptional student, he won scholarships to secondary school and university but later abandoned the 'white' culture to return to his mother's people and become initiated into their tribe. The issue of living half-way between two cultures lies at the very centre of Bony's existence and provides his character with a rich complexity of attributes - intellect, cunning, arrogance, compassion and an inherent understanding of the land and of ancient bushcraft. His career as a policeman began after helping solve an outback murder. Recognising his exceptional skills, the Queensland police persuaded him to join the force and he quickly rose to the rank of Detective Inspector. His talents are such that he is often loaned to other state to help solve outback crimes.

A television series ostensibly based on Arthur Upfield's series of detective novels, and stemming from a telemovie aired two years earlier.

After protests from Indigenous groups about the casting of a white actor as a descendant of Detective Napoleon Bonaparte, the production was altered to make the character a white man who had once lived with Indigenous Australians. As such, it bears little real connection to Upfield's novels.

The series was not a success, and was cancelled after the first thirteen episodes.