Boney was was an Australian television series made in 1992. There were only 13 episodes made. The series was criticised for casting a white man (Cameron Daddo) as the title character Detective David John Bonaparte (Bony), under the tutelage of "Uncle Albert", an elderly Aborigine played by Burnum Burnum. Bony was supposed to be a descendent of the Bony character created by Arthur Upfield in dozens of novels from the late 1920s until his death in 1964.
Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte in the novels had a Masters Degree in Criminal Science from Brisbane University.[1] He was half Aboriginal and half-European. His white father was unknown and his Aboriginal mother was murdered while he was still an infant.[2]
The first Boney television series was made in 1972 and 1973, featuring James Laurenson in the title role. There were two series made of 26 episodes in total. The name was spelt 'Boney' for the first television series, and some later editions of the novels kept this spelling.