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Arno Nietz, a young teacher fresh from training was appointed to be the Head teacher of Farina, in far north South Australia in 1918
Soft-cover
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An Operational and sometimes social history of the last years of the Quorn to Hawker section of the great northern railway From 1957 to 1970.
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Ryle Winn is the master of the cock and bull tale, and this is a collection of the funniest yarns he’s ever heard. There’s something for everyone-life-of-the-party jokes, rib-tickling pub stories and fair dinkum yarns, which are worth the wait for the punch line. All of them remind us that we’re a motley mob who view the world from down under.
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Puttapa embraced the sites of the township Beltana and of the headquarters of the much larger Beltana Station established by Thomas Elder after the purchase of Puttapa from Haimes in 1862 and, a few years later, of the Mount Deception Run (95 square miles) immediately west of Puttapa. These additional leases of areas on the western plain between the ranges and Lake Torrens were merged to form one station embracing 500 square miles. Thus after seven years Puttapa lost its separate identity.
Puttapa (an Aboriginal word of uncertain meaning ) like many of the Aboriginal names retained for stations, has been spelt in various ways. After nearly half a century of serving simply as a part of Beltation Station, Puttapa was detached to take on again its separate identity. As related in this account, several owners held Puttapa from 1911 until the end of 1936 when it was bought by Len Ragless and his wife Dorothy who with children Richard and Margaret made Puttapa their home
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Queensland Desperadoes is a very readable collection of yarns about Queensland’s wild and adventurous past.
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After the success of the first ‘Red in the Centre’ journey for radio, Monte Dwyer was commissioned by Channel 7’s Sunrise programme to go bush and re-create his spontaneous storytelling style for television. But t everything went as planned. This book follows Monte’s evolution from struggling techphobe to self-assured multimedia something-or-other, as he travelled the land in search of the stories seldom told. ‘Through the Crooked Lens’ is a celebration of life beyond suburbia, a quirky snapshot of remote Australia taken by a man with an eye for detail and an acute sense of fun.
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Red Sand Green Heart explains how the unique wildlife and vegetation of the Australian outback have been shaped by the harsh climate of this vast, infertile land.
In recent years indigenous groups have been joined by pastoralists, conservationists, miners, tourists and military, communications and transport users as key stakeholders in the outback.
From taipan snakes and pelicans to hippie activists and hardline miners, John Read brings to life the characters, creatures and cultures of the outback. Through vivid, personal stories he shares his experiences as an ecologist making new discoveries; challenging conventional approaches to pastoralism, mining, tourism and environmental management; and witnessing the precarious balance of nature as species are pitted against the harsh climate of the outback.
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Oil; uranium; geology; conservation; these are the catch-cries of our times and Reg Sprigg embodies them all. Rock Star tells the life of this intrepid, determined and oft-times irreverent pioneering Australian renowned as one of our nation’s greatest geologists.
By the time he was 50 Reg had driven the first vehicle across the Simpson Desert and crossed the continent from north, south, east and west. He had also launched Arkaroola Wildlife Sanctuary, one of Australia’s first eco-tourism resorts.
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The South Australian Railway Narrow Gauge Journal series is being produced to record as much as possible about the 3ft 6in (1067mm) gauge railway lines of South Australia including Commomwealth and private railways. Very little now remains of these isolated systems but thanks to Historians, enthusiasts and preservationist they will not be forgotten.
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As the seed of the coolabah is scattered, blown away on the searing summer wind or washed away by the floods of autumn to take root and grow far from the parent free, so the Yandruwandha and Yawarrawarrka people have been scattered across the face of Australia, far from their country of origin. Theirs was a tenure measured in thousands of years
-it took only a century to virtually end it.
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‘Don Loffler’s first book, She’s a Beauty!, was published in 1998, marking 50 years since Prime Minister Ben Chifley launched the original Holden 48-215 (‘FX’) with this famous exclamation. Six successive volumes on early Holdens followed. All Don’s books showcase a special way of telling the human stories behind the cars and in 2021 the marvellous Cars We Used to Drive joined his collection. She’s a Beauty! has been revised twice before (2006 and 2009) but this time is to be published in two volumes. Don, a natural and fluent social historian, shows how the Holden drove its way into Australian culture, changing the nation forever in the process.
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Casuarinanceae is one of many tree families that occur in Australia. Others may be well known and have been utilised more. So why a story about this family we affectionately call Sheoaks, Bull Oaks, Riveroaks and other common names?
Casuarinaceae evoke many stories and memories for Australians. This family of trees consists of some of the great hardwoods on earth. It is a timber that wood enthusiasts use for its unique patterns. It is a tree with many myths; a tree that early Australian foresters gave little credence to its potential, yet other countries embraced this tree which is now planted worldwide.
Casuarinas have a tolerance for wind and salt water. They have been a popular choice for arresting and stabilising sand drifts and erosion in many coastal and desert habits.
DID YOU KNOW
That the Sheoak tree is and has been a sacred tree for its many uses and beliefs in Australian Aboriginal Mythology and Culture.
The Casuarina tree was the first tree to be botanically sketched from the Australian Coast 1699
Sheoak tree seeds collected from Australia’s East Coast by Banks and Solander were the first trees grown in England from Australia,
Casuarina timber from Australia was the first timber taken from Australia to be used to make furniture in England. 1790
The first large ship built in Sydney Cove, Australia, was from Casuarina timber. 1799
Casuarina timber, used as firewood, was voted the best in the world, according to the Academy of Sciences 1995.
Species of Casuarina is considered to be the hardest timber on earth of those timbers tested to date according to the Janka Scale 2015.
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Shoot Me First is a gripping personal account of life in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The author offers intriguing insights into the culture of the tribal territories that straddle the two countries. This is home to the Taliban, an untamed land which continues to absorb so much of the world’s attention and military endeavour. Lock is shrewd and laconic but above all compassionate. His experience of the world’s two major religions deserves careful consideration.
Supporting micro-hydroelectric systems, empowering Afghan widows and overseeing a massive eye-care program, Grant and Janna Lock’s development work in Afghanistan and Pakistan followed their notable success as cattle breeders in South Australia.
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Reinhold (Jack) Schuster was an illegal German immigrant. A trained soldier in the German Armeekorps, he sat out both world wars in the Australian outback of Broken Hill. Jack’s story debunks the myth that salutes the mining town as the birthplace of solidarity – by exposing divisiveness, prejudice and powerlessness.
The only enemy attack to take place on Australian soil during World War I occurred in Broken Hill, and Jack was there to witness the mob violence that followed. He watched unionists stone the troop trains heading off to war and learned of brutality against his countrymen in the Torrens Island internment camp.
Christine Ellis’s grandfather came to life through stories told by her mother – some of which defied belief. Christine’s research confirmed them. Silver Lies, Golden Truths is Jack Schuster’s story. It tells of the love between a father and his young daughter, of idyllic family times, and the cruel cost of working in the mines.
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South Australia’s mining heritage not only traces the story of mining and its people, but also interprets mining sites, and demonstrates the importance of the mining industry to South Australia’s cultural and economic development.
In a series of articles-originally presented as papers at a seminar on mining heritage-together with photographs and diagrams, South Australia’s mining heritage forms an informative kaleidoscope. Mining sites, machinery, communities, conservation, families and individuals are included; and read as a whole or as separate articles, this adaptable and absorbing book is an invaluable reference for those with an interest in South Australia’s history.
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