Local author Ryan Butta penned 'The Ballad of Abdul Wade,' an intriguing true account highlighting Australia's unsung pioneers, the Afghan cameleers. Additionally, he authored 'A Certain Kind of Power.' In a recent interview by Bernie Hems of KCR on 3 October at 7 am, an interesting story about Butta’s life emerged.

In the 1980s Butta grew up on the remote opal fields about an hour from Lightning Ridge and later moved to Mudgee and the upper Hunter Valley. He confesses to being an avid reader, mostly Wilbur Smith novels. At the age of 17, his deep curiosity led him to explore the world. 

He was fortunate to have been offered an African student exchange program, but that was suddenly cancelled, and he went to Brazil instead and spent a year there. In an odd set of circumstances, he found himself in the north in a holiday home of his hosts where no one spoke English, and he was forced to learn Portuguese.

Butta made his way to university in 2003, where he completed his degree in Political Science and Spanish at the University of Queensland. When he graduated, he moved to London to work in corporate investigations and security as an investigator, employed mostly by banks. “It was akin to the banks doing ‘due diligence’,” he said.

In 2007 he moved back to Argentina doing much the same kind of work. It was here that Butta authored 'A Certain Kind of Power,' a work he characterises as a 'slow burn thriller' that unfolds on the streets of Buenos Aires. This gripping narrative offers an in-depth dissection of corruption in Argentina.

At one stage, he found himself playing international cricket for Argentina. “It was a right play right time situation,” he laughs. They won a game against Bermuda, and he bowled well, taking a wicket, remarking that they were a strong side. 

Moving to Colombia in 2011 he spent five years there. A remarkable journey began during a whale-watching trip when he met a young man who told him the villagers were surfers, but he couldn’t see any surfboards! This was because no one could afford them. “They were so poor they swam naked because they had no swimsuits!”

Living in Bogart at the time, he managed to get some boards and gave them to the kids in the village. 

They all learned to surf as Ryan arranged for some young men to train as instructors. This was a huge success because previously, there were no positive role models, and these young men were about to influence youngsters who would otherwise have turned to crime to survive. It was a remarkable change. In 2012, he initiated a Foundation working with Afro-Colombian youth impacted by the violence and drug wars alongside Carolina, whom he later married in 2014. 

Butta left the leadership of the Foundation to friends he had worked with in 2016, who also took rugby to indigenous youth. It was “peacebuilding” and helped to heal the trauma in the communities. Since then, the Columbian government has invested heavily in sports. 

Upon returning to Australia and settling in Denman, Butta did his Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 2016 but described it as “a waste of time”. It didn’t work for him. By this time, he had decided to write and be creative. 

After getting a job in the South Australian State Government as an international trade advisor advising wineries from the Barossa and Clare Valleys, at age 38, he embarked on a mission to acquire his first driver's license. The job required him to cover a vast rural area in a V8 Commodore company car! However, during the driving lessons, old habits die hard, and he occasionally found himself instinctively veering toward the right side of the road due to his prior experiences. Fortunately, he passed his driving test and got his licence just before arriving in Adelaide for the new job, where he stayed for over four years 

Having grown sick of Government life and wanting a change, Butta threw in the agricultural pursuits to pursue his writing. 'The Ballad of Abdul Wade' was released in 2022, a compelling narrative that delves into the heroic exploits of the late 1800s Afghan cameleers. The book was longlisted for Indie Book Awards nonfiction book of the year in 2023.

A fascinating read, it reveals that back in the late 1800s, it was horses that worked transporting goods to remote towns, and the transport union tried to boycott the cameleers. They also weren’t popular around Bourke, which had more than 30 pubs, as the Afghanis didn’t drink. However, when the floods in 1890 had made it impossible for horses to do the job, it was the Afghans and their camels that saved the day. In the book, Ryan reveals the depth and breadth of white Australian protectionism and prejudice.

The Afghans had immense knowledge and skill working with camels and gained a reputation for reliability. So, they gained approval because they kept their promised deadlines for deliveries. Trains of up to 100 camels would carry enormous loads; for example, female camels could carry two bales of wool (weighing 400kg), and male camels could carry three. This exceeded the capacity of the horses. Camels also did not need to stop to eat and drink but could go for days on their internal reserves. 

Butta has also ventured into food writing and released 'Eating is a Serious Matter,' recounting a memorable encounter with an Italian businessman during a flight. The discussion left him with a newfound appreciation for pizza, insisting he wouldn't indulge in it outside Italy. Stunned with that attitude at first, he came to understand the reason why - the quality of the ingredients is paramount. For example, tomato is often tasteless unless ripened on the vine. 

Ryan advises, “If you attempt to cook Italian recipes without Italian-grade ingredients, you are inviting disappointment into your life.”

Ryan Butta moved to Kiama in 2022 to be by the ocean and in nature. He says, “I love it here.” By the way, Butta gives the ‘thumbs up’ to ‘Top Shop’ in Kiama for their juicy plump lemons, which he describes as a “walk on the Amalfi coast”.