The Pedestrian and The Politician is a fascinating fictionalised story about two men, one black and one white, one outcast and one privileged, from their births to their deaths. Charles Samuels, an indigenous Australian, was born in 1864 on Jimbour Station on the western Darling Downs, then owned by the Bell family. First named Sambo Combo, he grew up with the eldest son, Joshua Thomas Bell, whom he called Master Joey. This is the story of the white boy, future debonair politician, and the black boy, the fastest foot runner in the world in his time, from Jimbour Station in Queensland.

The lives of Sambo and Master Joey diverge, testing their childhood friendships, as one enters races and the other enters politics. Their story is intricately entwined with Queensland colonial history, especially the ill treatment of indigenous people, the domination of squatters, like JP Bell, Master Joey’s father, on the land and in the parliament, and the men and women who moulded the incipient state.