In a normal season many farmers would be close to finishing their winter crop plantings. Not this year. While there are some who received the benefit of good rain or were prepared to take a punt on limited moisture profiles, there are many who would be staring at yet another year of dry, unplanted cultivations. [...]
Well before the arrival of designer boutiques sporting stylish outback fashion, the basic needs of the bush man and woman were met through trail and error. Necessity has always been a hallmark of invention and no more so in Australia where distance and the rugged outdoor life of our intrepid pioneers fed the need for [...]
Have you ever noticed that at family gatherings the stories that are shared quite often relate to a moment in a family’s history. We exchange memories of precious times and loved ones, delighting in snippets from the past, a form of reminiscence that can bring great joy and humour, but also reflective sadness. Recently I [...]
Mustering money. It’s a term that can only be applied in Australia. A place where once mighty sheep stations were forged in the outback by men with the ability to raise funds for their far-flung ventures. The majority of company properties (the AACo was established as a land development company in 1824) came into being [...]
Join me and New Zealand's book podcast supremo, Jenny Wheeler as we discuss everything from landscapes, grazing life & writing at The joys of binge reading. Head to the website here to listen.
Social alienation. That’s the best definition of an insane asylum. A place where people are shut away from society. In the 1800s, a person had to be declared insane before they could be admitted to a facility. However a doctor was usually only contacted after someone had been labelled insane due to their social behaviour [...]
Imagine having settled in a new country over one hundred and fifty years ago. You’ve been there for scarcely 30 years trying to carve out a business and home for your family. As a farmer you would need a good understanding about climate and growing conditions and if things turned pear-shaped due to flood, drought [...]
There are books that we read that stay with us forever. Something within the pages grabs at us, hurtling us forwards into a new world where characters become friends, or enemies, where adventure crosses the line to the depths of tragedy and where we are left to question choices made, loves lost, won or denied [...]
As a fourth generation grazier and author living 600 km northwest of Sydney my childhood was spent roaming the bush. Along with my brothers and sister we concocted stories and games, our outdoor adventures complimented by home schooling taught around the dining-room table with lessons sent through the mail from The Correspondence School in Sydney. [...]
If you close your eyes you can see them resting during a break in the fighting on one of the Somme battlefields. The trench is cold and clammy, the men, quiet. Some sit on upturned wooden crates, others crouch low, their backs chilled yet sweating against the earthen wall. Filthy fingers hold hand-rolled cigarettes, lungs [...]
