The Secret River is a 2005 historical novel by Kate Grenville about an early 19th-century Englishman transported to Australia for theft.

[1] The book was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2006, and has been compared to Thomas Keneally's The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith and to Peter Carey's True History of the Kelly Gang for its style and historical theme.

[2]: 13  Her inspiration to understand this came from her taking part in the 28 May 2000 Reconciliation Walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge during which she realised that she did not know much about the early interactions between the settlers and the Aboriginal people.

[3] The Secret River has been adapted for the stage by Andrew Bovell; the play was presented by the Sydney Theatre Company in January 2013[6][7] and included in the Edinburgh International Festival in August 2019.

With his wife Sal and children in tow, he arrives in a harsh land that feels at first like a death sentence.

Thornhill brings alcohol, which he got from Mr. King, back home to set up his own bar, named the "Pickled Herring."

[12] Three years later, Thornhill quits his job and works for Thomas Blackwood, a former convict who is attempting to reconcile himself with the place and its people.

Thornhill also meets Smasher Sullivan, a man whose fear of this alien world turns into brutal depravity towards it.

In order to tell them apart more easily, he gives the Aboriginal people nicknames like "Whisker Harry", "Long Bob" and "Black Dick".

As Thornhill and his family stake their claim on a patch of ground by the river, the battle lines between old and new inhabitants are drawn.