Will's Status Before Moving to Thornhill's Point
In The Secret River, Will's status before he gets land at Thornhill's Point is pretty low.
Economically speaking, Will works for Mr. King at the time, smuggeling liquor. Will's wealth when he does not have land is so low he has to resort to illegal actions to make money. A criminal who works for someone, usually, does not have high status. Even before, Will moves to Thornhill's point, it is seen how being better off economically will lead to a higher status, as when Will and Sal move to a bigger hut, Sal is able to open a bar, which leads to them having more wealth and looked upon with more respect by their community. Even when Will is hired by Blackwood, even though his economic position is getting better, he is still under someone's unders and relys on someone for money to pay for his family's survival.
Legally, Will is considered a slave to Sal. He has no rights and lives under her rule. Even though the both of them lived as if this legal relationship never existed, outside of the occasional joke, Will, still, legally had no power over himself and was subject to the wishes of Sal.
Socially, Will had no influence during this time. He was, first, coming into New South Wales and had no valuable information or had any other type of status. So, how could he have social status? He pretty much had no skills outside of the rowing a boat and no friends in New South Wales at the time.
