'A hundred years before backpacking became popular, and even before the jolly swagman went Waltzing Matilda, Theodor Müller shouldered his swag, left his home and spent nineteen years travelling the Australian outback with no more than what he could carry.
Arriving in Sydney in December 1857 from his home in Switzerland, Müller roamed the sparsely settled regions of Australia, travelling as far north as Brisbane, west to Mudgee, south to Gundagai. Sleeping beneath the stars, finding work where he could, and observing this wild new land, Müller returned home eventually to write his memoirs - Neunzehn Jahre in Australien. This current edition has been translated into English and expanded, with maps, illustrations and historical insights, to bring Müller's trailblazing adventures to full and vibrant life.' -- back cover of The Swiss Swagman (2007).