Bony (character)

Detective Inspector Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte is a fictional character created by Australian novelist Arthur Upfield (1890–1964). Bony is a biracial Aboriginal Australian detective with a reputation for solving difficult cases by finding subtle clues. Upfield introduced the character in his 1929 novel "The Barrakee Mystery". 29 novels featuring the character were published.
Upfield said that he based the character on Tracker Leon, a biracial Aboriginal Australian man who worked for the Queensland Police.
Biography.
Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte is the son of an Aboriginal Australian mother and a white father. He was born during a time when an interracial relationship between an Aboriginal and a white person was forbidden. Bony was found in his dead mother's arms, where he was taken in by a Catholic mission; there he was named Napoleon Bonaparte, after the French military leader who lived from 1769 to 1821.
Bonaparte (nicknamed "Bony") holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brisbane University. He is a detective inspector with the Queensland Police. He applies to his astounding tracking skills to crime investigation, and has earned a peerless reputation for solving cases. Occasionally, Queensland's criminal investigation department sends him on assignment to another jurisdiction in Australia, if a murder case there stimies the local authorities. Some of his assignments require him to work undercover. During an undercover operation, he may pose as a station hand or labourer, with only a few senior police aware of his secret identity. He sometimes uses an alias, such as Nat Bonnar or (as in "Death of a Swagman") Robert Burns. When he gives his real name, he often adds "My friends call me Bony".
Bony says that he has been sacked several times for disobeying direct orders from his superiors, but adds that he is always reinstated almost immediately. He and his wife, Marie, live in Banyo, a suburb of Brisbane. They have three adult sons; the eldest, Charles, is studying to be a doctor.
Appearances.
Novels.
"The Sands of Windee".
While working on the second Bony novel, 1931's "The Sands of Windee", Arthur Upfield discussed plot ideas with his outback companions. One of these companions was Snowy Rowles, a man who had previously committed three murders using methods similar to those described in Upfield's novel. When Rowles was caught, Upfield was forced to testify at his trial. The ensuing publicity surrounding the Murchison Murders—as they came to be called—greatly improved the sales of the novel. The ensuing notoriety helped to catalyze Upfield's rise to fame.
Television.
"Boney" was an Australian television series made in 1972, featuring James Laurenson in the title role. The name was spelt 'Boney' for the series, and some editions of the novels kept this spelling for later editions.
"Bony" was also a 1990 telemovie and later a 1992 spin-off TV series (using the original 'Bony' spelling). However, the series was criticised for casting Bony as a white man (played by Cameron Daddo), under the tutelage of "Uncle Albert", an elderly Aborigine played by Burnum Burnum.