 James Gumm was a convict transported to Van Diemens Land in 1822.By the time of his employment with John Batman he was a'ticket of leave' man and he was employed by John Batman as a general farmhand or for the purposes of capturing hostile Indigenous clanspeople.He had a long relationship with Batman, after the events described in the novel he remained a roving party member under the leadership of Cottrell but probably still residing at Kingston.