For tens of thousands of years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have cared for this country sustaining and maintaining it through the generations. through careful custodianship working in careful collaboration with nature. They farmed without fences, relied on indigenous flora and fauna rather than introduced species, harvested only what they needed and left the small to grow, and cared for Country in a way that non-Indigenous peoples are beginning to understand and appreciate.
Using a conversational tone that begins by inviting readers to investigate whose Country they are living on, and some of the natural features and inhabitants, this is an adaptation of the original by Bill Gammage and Bruce Pascoe whose books Dark Emu and Young Dark Emu have changed a lot of earlier perceptions about Indigenous farming practices that encourages them to understand the interdependence and symbiosis of habitants and their inhabitants and consider how to take better care of our environment today by using more traditional methods. Beginning with a chapter that explores the land before and after 1788, how it has changed and why, connections are made between then and now with questions and activities that promote understanding, respect and a desire to do better.
This is the third in this series that is an adaptation of that written for older readers which includes Astronomy, Innovation, Plants, Health, Design and Law so our younger readers have a better understanding of First Nations Peoples and their history and beliefs, wisdom, innovation and ingenuity and it would be an excellent extension to Prayer for a Riverand other books that focus on Connection to Country and traditional practices.
If you believe in legends then you will enjoy this intriguing story about Jessie Hickman, not only considered to be the last bushranger, but a female engaged in activities that have traditionally been associated with men.
In 1898, at the age of just eight, for reasons undisclosed, Jessie joined a travelling bush circus and quickly became the star of the show with her tightrope walking, acrobatics, sharpshooting, stockwhip mastery, and trick riding on the back of her horse, Houdini. But as World War I loomed, the days of people having money and time to attend the circus were dwindling and when it finally closed, Jessie and Houdini were left to their own devices. And so they took to the mountains, where her circus skills led her into an entirely different life altogether…
One of Australia’s foremost teams for winkling out little-known people and events in Australia’s history, and then bringing them to life for young readers through accessible text and lively illustrations, Greenwood and Lessac have once again combined to not only shine a light on Hickman herself, but also raise questions about women in our history, generally. Were they not there or was a woman’s place “barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen” “keeping the home fires burning”? Or are their stories just emerging as a less-misogynistic look at the past comes to the fore?
While there has been and always will be debate about the rights and wrongs of bushranging, particularly at a time when there was no government support, financial or otherwise, for those who were unemployed, and women received nothing until the introduction of the War Widows’ Pension in 1942, Greenwood has managed to tell Hickman’s story objectively, without glorifying her actions but still raising questions for the astute reader about what her options might have been, making it an ideal springboard into any study about the role of women in Australia during that period. While the book focuses on her years roaming the bush of the Hunter region in NSW, including a 12-month stint in Long Bay Reformatory, Hickman’s life generally was far from conventional and for those who want to know more there is an interview with the creators here, and more extensive biographies here and here, opening up not only further insights into Hickman’s life but perhaps a new reading adventure as they investigate other females in the same game.
What I do know is that if I see a book with either Greenwood or Lessac or both on the cover, I know I am in for both a good. enlightening read as well as a burrow down some interesting rabbit holes!
In the orchard, an ancient tree whose tangled branches form a crown, the Peach King watches over the younger trees as they grow and change as Mother Nature and the seasons cycle, warning of weather and calling the birds when the grasshoppers threaten. Little Peach Tree blossoms and fruits, loses its leaves and shivers through winter in the endless rotation of life as the weather works through the annual patterns of life on the far south coast of New South Wales.
But changes are coming as the rains come less often, the neighbouring forest turns brown, Peach King’s limbs turn brittle and fall, and as the air itself crackles and shimmers, people came and picked every peach, ready or not, off the branches…
And then comes the fire…
Described as “a contemporary fable about the resilience of nature” because eventually the rains come and while the Peach King is lost, Little Peach Tree and the others in the orchard, literally dig deep and begin the cycle again, it is in the author’s notes that the origins of the story are revealed – the Black Summer of 2019-2020 when the fire dragon devoured so much of the south-east of NSW, particularly the Currowan fire which began just north of Bateman’s Bay and raged for 74 days destroying so much in its relentless push eastward as it joined with other fires, stopped only when it reached the sea, and the torrential rains which finally fell in February. So while this is a story about the strength and endurance of Mother Nature as the trees sprout new growth, the birds return and the Little Peach Tree’s limbs twist and grow into a crown, because the impact of the fire is still being felt, and fire season is on our doorstep again, it could be a trigger for some who are still recovering.
Beyond that though, this is a story that explores the concept of life cycles, the constant renewal of life in the landscape, generational change as young grow and mature and take their place as leaders while acknowledging and building on those who have gone before, all supported in various ways through the artistry of Harricks, so as well as possibly being a trigger it could also be a pathway forward as despite the devastation, the reader is taken beyond that to a thriving future. As well as personal memories – we, ourselves, evacuated twice – there are plenty of images of blackened landscapes that record how it was, and how, five years on, the extent of the recovery is evident. The ‘then’ scars are still evident, but the ‘now’ images are visible, offering hope and expectation of a more positive future.
As with most other books, how this one is interpreted will depend on what existing knowledge is brought to the reading. For those who did not or have not been through the experience, it offers scope for delving deeper into climate change, environment and sustainability and other phenomena, while for those who remember the time when the sky was black at midday and even breathing was difficult, it offers a chance to reflect and mark the milestones that have been achieved and continue moving forward.
Whenever our young people hear the now familiar Welcome to Country or recite their school’s Acknowledgement of Country, are they just hearing or saying words or do they have an understanding of the meaning and purpose behind them?
Ever since 1835 when NSW Governor Richard Bourke implemented the legal principle of terra nullius in Australian law as the basis for British settlement until its repeal in 1992 by the High Court’s Mabo Decision that recognised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ continuing connection and rights to land through Native Title., there was a legally perpetuated belief that Australia was, indeed, a “land belonging to no one”, having “a complete absence of people and additionally the absence of ‘civilised’ people capable of land ownership” and thus, was used to justify and legitimise the dispossession, dispersal, and inhumane treatment of First Nations peoples.
But in this book, the younger readers adaptation of Songlines from the critically acclaimed, best-selling First Knowledges series, the authors and illustrators have provided a critical insight into the culture and history that underpins those statements and helping them better appreciate what they are hearing and saying.
Through easily accessible language, impactful illustrations and an appealing layout, readers learn how that connection to Country is established as they “walk through the oldest, biggest library of knowledge on Earth.” Not a physical library populated by shelves and shelves of books that may not be read for years on end but one that holds the knowledge of the land, sea and sky and which is read in “the rocks and the stones, the animals and the plants, the seasons and the weather. It’s also told through paintings and carvings, and in the designs of baskets and weapons, And it’s in the memories , songs and dances of the Australian Aboriginal people…”
These are the Songlines – the connections that run through place and time , families and kinship as they are passed on and around so that each new generation learns to find their way around, get food and drink, connect with friends and family and know the right and safe way to make and do things. How were these sorts of things navigated before shops made acquiring items easy, you could carry a search engine in your pocket or satnav and Google Maps were invented?
In this book the authors invite the reader to “walk the Songlines with them across Country” to see and learn about it in a new way and really begin to understand what is meant by those ceremonial practices and words. Spanning art, history, song, science and culture, this is a collaboration between Margo Neale, senior Indigenous curator at the National Museum of Australia, and Lynne Kelly, a science writer working as an honorary research associate at La Trobe University and award-winning illustrator Blak Douglas, that gives it authority and authenticity relating the contemporary to the ancient and vice versa, with each chapter concluding with an opportunity for the reader to reflect on what they have learned through challenges which might require them to research, discuss or create something from the ideas presented including identifying whose country they live on, or exploring the Emu in the Sky constellation , or comparing Stone Henge and Wurdi Yoang, or maybe visiting the Ara Irititja historical and cultural archive. There is also discussion about why some Songlines have been broken, particularly since those words of Governor Bourke and how their importance is now being recognised and communities are working to rescue and rebuild them.
IMO, if there is ever to be true reconciliation with our First Nations Peoples, then we need books (and series) like this so we can delve deeper into their beliefs, values, practices and priorities so we have a better understanding and a greater respect for them. Both this and Design & Building on Country have been CBCA Notables in their respective years, and the third Caring for Countrywill be released on September 30, 2025.
In the heart of Sydney’s CBD is an iconic, sprawling building that few who have been to the city and used public transport in the last 150+ years would not know for Central Station with its coach terminal, light rail, bus interchange, bus stands, platforms, and access to trains to the airport, and intercity trains is the hub of land-based transport in the city.
First sited on Gadigal land now known as Redfern and opened in 1855, it began as a big corrugated iron shed to cater for the burgeoning rail industry that was destined to open up this vast continent in ways that horse and cart could never do, and then replaced by a brick and stone building in 1874 that soon proved not only too small but too far from the city centre, and so the present structure in Eddy Avenue, Haymarket was conceived and eventually opened in 1906, it has overseen the evolution of transport over decades and generations -all explored in this new release from Jackie French and which is going to appeal to anyone with an interest in trains and their impact on the development of this nation.
While its lift-the-flap format superbly illustrated by Martina Heiduczek is a departure from the engaging historical fiction novels that we are more familiar with Jackie writing, its meticulous research is not as we are taken on a journey through its history including the change from steam power to electric, overland to underground to the new Metro, and so much more. Even the ghosts of those who were buried in the Devonshire Street Cemetery which originally stood on the site rise up to greet you.
Given that 96% of all Sydney trains run through it and more than a quarter of a million travellers pass through it daily, Central Station is a significant site not just in Sydney and a journey through its history is as fascinating as a train journey through the country itself, with flaps to lift to divulge more information making it even more intriguing.
The publisher describes this as “a highly designed, colourful picture book aimed at celebrating traditional names of well-known Australian places such as Gadigal (Sydney) and Lunawuni (Bruny Island), from a popular breakthrough Indigenous artist” but it is so much more and has the potential to be an amazing asset to any teaching program as little ones, particularly, not only learn the basic geography of Australia and the place names but learn that they were known to First Nations people by traditional names long before European settlers put their stamp on them. At the same time, older students who already know the country’s landscapes and landshapes can use their knowledge as well as the visual clues and cues in the illustrations to work out what place is being featured. Where might the glossy black-tailed cockatoo soar above floodplains looking for a dunnart? Or where might you tread softly along the river bank looking north to “Gubbi Gubbi Country through the clouds of bogong”?
A peek inside…
There are some clues on the map on the title page which identifies the fifteen places visited, but not all are the major cities or places that tourists would expect. But, interestingly, Canberra is given its modern name despite local history saying it is an evolution of Kamberri, meaning “meeting place” and the traditional lands of the Ngambri people.
As well as becoming aware that familiar places such as have a history and significance connected to the land and its creatures that stretch far back in time, students might also want to investigate their own region and then, using Dank’s distinctive style, create an additional page for the book. And just as Dank learned life lessons on her journey –I learned to watch, I learned joy, I learned to walk soft – they might also reflect on how their connection to their environment has shaped them as they, too, learn Country…
The late 19th century was a time of growing nationalism in Australia’s colonies as Edmund Barton and his colleagues and supporters called for unification under Federation and. as well as the emergence of the Heidelberg School where a group of artists including Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton, Frederick McCubbin, and Charles Conder were capturing iconic Australian outdoor scenes that focused on the unique light and colours of the landscape and the lives lived within them, so too were the wordsmiths – the “bush poets” – among them .Andrew Barton “Banjo ‘ Paterson. And, in 1890, he published what is perhaps his most iconic poem – The Man from Snowy River – which tells the story of the escape of a colt “worth £1000” who “joined the wild bush brumbies” and the chase that ensued to recapture him.
While some may argue that Waltzing Matilda is Paterson’s most eminent work as it has become our alternative national anthem, The Man from Snowy River is still having a deep and divisive impact today as government investigation and legislation split the community, particularly that in the Kosciuszko region, between those with a sentimental connection to the role of the brumby in the area’s heritage and those who see them as destroyers of the fragile alpine environment, to be culled by aerial shooting almost to extinction. While those in the high country town of Corryong hold an annual festival to pay tribute to the iconic stockmen, their horses, and the spirit of the Australian bush, and particularly Jack Riley, about whom the poem is said to be based, further north the division between the two schools of thought flares regularly whenever photos of brumby carcasses emerge or the issue is again debated in state parliament.
But for all the pros and cons, the fors and againsts, at the heart is a poem that has endured for over 135 years, which has been learned and recited ad infinitum by countless students over time, which has been put to music and made into a movie seen by millions, with a big-name director, big-name stars and a sequel!
No one who has seen that memorable clip from the movie as Burlinson races past his more experienced peers who have pulled up at the edge of the ravine and leaps over the edge will forget it, but while they are carried along by the heroics, the actions and the music, does anyone think about how the colt was feeling and faring?
Enter this brilliant concept and beautiful piece of writing by Dianne Wolfer, renowned for her ability to take a snippet of Australian history and turn it into the most readable narrative such as Soaring with the Sugarbird Lady, bringing the stories of the past to life for a new generation. Accompanied by exquisite collages by Erica Wagner which echo the landscape I see out the window, this is not a retelling of that chase but a re-imagining of it from the colt’s perspective as he flees through the bush with the stockmen in hot pursuit.
A peek inside….
Using carefully chosen language, the odd snippet from the original, and those extraordinary illustrations the reader almost becomes the colt, experiencing the sights, sounds, smells and panic as he charges through the bush, whips cracking at his heels and where “the wild hop scrub grew thickly, and the hidden ground was full of wombat holes, and any slip was death” for both him and his pursuers. But while Paterson’s poem ends with “the man from Snowy River is a household word today, And the stockmen tell the story of his ride”, Wolfer has created a whole new ending that is one of joy and hope and comfort, making this one of the best books I have read and reviewed this year.
However, the book doesn’t end with the ending of Wolfer’s version for the original poem is included, also illustrated by Wagner’s wonderful work, and then information about Paterson himself, Australian bush poetry, the brumbies, and the purported original man from Snowy River. But, more interestingly, there is the author’s note that describes her connection to Australia’s high country – for many who have been raised here, it is a landscape and a heritage that is in their DNA – and why the retelling was so important to her taking over six years to bring to fruition.
As well as connecting today’s readers to such an important piece of Australia’s literary heritage in a unique way, it also encourages them to consider point-of-view, perspective, and that there are at least two sides to every story. While for some time teachers have asked their students to consider the bears’ side of Goldilocks, or the wolf’s encounter with Little Red Riding Hood, given the emotions and debate associated with the 21st century issue of the brumbies in Kosciuszko National Park, this is one that could be used across all ages. As well as exploring the usual aspects of literature and literacy, the teachers’ notes touch on this aspect by having students explore the introduction of brumbies, their impact and the author’s intent, there is the potential for much deeper argument accompanied by justification and evidence – somewhat like the conundrum of whether Ned Kelly was a villain or a victim.
It’s as though Wolfer has read, heard, seen and explored all the interpretations of the original but has been nagged by the question, “Whose voice has not been heard?” and has set out to redress this.
As a lover of Paterson’s works this is one that is going to join my collection to be shared over and over again.
During the late 19th century a strong nationalistic sentiment developed in Australia particularly as the moves towards uniting the six British colonies into one nation grew and the value of the wool industry to the economy was recognised. One of the outcomes was the growth on what became known as the Heidelberg School – a group of artists which included Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton, Frederick McCubbin, and Charles Conder who chose to capture iconic Australian outdoor scenes that focused on the unique light and colours of the landscape and the lives lived within them.
One of the most prominent paintings to emerge was Shearing the Rams created by Tom Roberts during a visit to Brocklesby Station, Corowa, New South Wales, in the late spring of 1888 and which was eventually completed after subsequent visits in 1890.
But this wasn’t just a painting of a group of men shearing sheep in a scene that could be found in any shearing shed across the country at the time – it had a unique element embedded in it. For the only person with their face completely visible is in fact, a girl, distinctive because, at the time, girls and women were not found in such sheds. The cry of “ducks on the pond” was (and remains) an indication that a female is approaching and language and behaviour needs to be appropriate. In this intriguing and enlightening story both author and artist in a perfect marriage of text and illustration, explore how this young girl came to be such an unexpected inclusion.
It is the true story of Susie Bourne, shy and all but invisible on the family farm, overshadowed by her rowdy brothers and sister, despite undertaking many of the chores that children were expected to do at the time. Like Roberts, White and Anthony have brought her to life telling a story not just of Susie (who went on to live to almost 99) but one that could lead to a comparison between the lives of children, particularly girls, in the 1890s and those in the 2020s, perhaps even sparking an investigation into not only how they have changed but why, and who was responsible.
Through narrative non fiction like this, the hidden stories of history are uncovered and shared with a new, modern audience, breathing life into little-known, sometimes long-forgotten back stories that are not only fascinating in themselves but offer insights that spark interest and inspiration decades, if not centuries, on. Who knew that a little girl who was paid sixpence by the artist to kick up dust so he could capture just the right light and atmosphere, could lead this reviewer down so many rabbit-holes?
When the First Fleet arrived in Australia in 1788 Australia’s First Nations people had already lived on the continent for at least 60,000 years.
Matthew Flinders drew an accurate map of Australia’s coastline, but none existed of inland Australia. Aboriginal people knew their Country in detail without the need for maps. They had a network of tracks across the continent and detailed knowledge of food and water sources. But for the European settlers Australia was a 7.7 million km2 mystery to solve.
This is how they set about Filling in the Map of Australia.
Using images of people, places and maps sourced through a range of official libraries, archives and museums, younger readers are taken on an historical journey of how this country was explored by Europeans after Captain Arthur Phillip established the first permanent settlement in 1788 in what Captain James Cook had named Port Jackson but which Phillip renamed Sydney. While acknowledging that the Aboriginal people had been here for thousands of years prior to Phillip’s settlement and knew the country intimately with established tracks called Songlines and which the Europeans used, often without consent, this book focuses on those early European explorers beginning with Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson penetrating the seemingly impenetrable Blue Mountains in 1813 and includes the travels of Hume and Hovell, Charles Sturt, Thomas Mitchell, Edward John Eyre, Leichardt, Burke and Wills, John McDouall Stuart, and Albert Canning offering straightforward factual information of each expedition.
While it provides an overview of the opening up of the continent for future European settlement for the casual reader. teachers’ notes linked directly to the Australian Curriculum History strand, particularly those in Years 3-5, offer ideas that will make it come alive for those students, particularly connecting the past to the present.
It is the ideal companion to its predecessor, Putting Australia on the Map (Wild Dog, 2020) offering not only a peek into the past of this country but also the opportunity to consider how countries were explored and mapped before satellites, drones and other devices and how we actually found our way before Google Maps, satnav and GPS. (It’s only 20 years since my students sat watching our school janitor demonstrate how he found his way on his 4WD expeditions using a handheld GPS device, being fascinated by it and wanting to have a go to pinpoint the school as we asked “Where is Palmerston? as a special assignment for the school website!)
And for those who prefer non fiction, it is the ideal book for this year’s CBCA Book week theme, “Book an Adventure”. What if you were a journalist reporting on one of the expeditions as you accompanied it, particularly if you could timeslip while taking today’s technology with you?
As the Great Depression of the late 1920s began to squeeze on Australians, families were in dire straits and there was little to cheer about, and even less money to do it with, Then, in 1927 Harry Telford, a little known horse-trainer with big ambitions, travelled to the famous Trentham Yearling Sales in New Zealand – not an easy journey in those days – and based on his knowledge of breeding and pedigree, persuaded American businessman David J Davis to buy a gangly, ungainly and unwanted colt for £160 (about $A16 000 today) in exchange for a third of any prize money.
And so began the story of the great Phar Lap – originally named Far Lap meaning “lightning” in Thai but changed to Phar Lap because of Telford’s superstition that “Melbourne Cup winners should have two word names and seven letters.”
When it comes to winkling out history’s mysteries, especially those related to Australia, there are few who can equal Mark Greenwood, and in this new addition to the History Hunter series, he explores the story of a horse that distracted a nation from its mystery. All the familiar events like the remarkable wins, his legendary strapper Tommy Woodcock, and the increasing dangers of the underworld’s interest are explored but it is Phar Lap’s mysterious death in the United States that provides the focal point. Why were some of his organs supposedly taken and buried in a secret place after the autopsy, never to have been found? Was he poisoned accidentally or intentionally? Could his death have been from natural causes that modern technology reveals? Or is there another explanation altogether?
With “ownership” of the great horse contested between Kiwis and Aussies as much as pavlova, Russell Crowe and Keith Urban, nevertheless this is an intriguing tale that will introduce young readers to one of the greatest horses in Australian, perhaps global, history, one whose influence went far beyond the racetrack, and another of one of the many legends that Greenwood has shed a spotlight on.
Phar Lap and jockey Billy Elliot a week before the Agua Caliente race in 1932
