Terra Australis

Peter, a 15-year-old English boy migrates to Australia under the "Big Brother" scheme to relieve strained family finances. This book is a collection of Peter's letters to his mother, a fascinating snapshot of daily life on outback properties in New South Wales and Queensland 1926-1929. Workdays were long and hard but varied, from tilling with a fourteen-disc stump jump plough - drawn by 12 horses to fencing, digging bores, droving, dipping sheep, fighting fires or chasing emus to stop...
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Peter, a 15-year-old English boy migrates to Australia under the "Big Brother" scheme to relieve strained family finances. This book is a collection of Peter's letters to his mother, a fascinating snapshot of daily life on outback properties in New South Wales and Queensland 1926-1929. Workdays were long and hard but varied, from tilling with a fourteen-disc stump jump plough - drawn by 12 horses to fencing, digging bores, droving, dipping sheep, fighting fires or chasing emus to stop them scaring the horses. Conditions were ofter difficult but with youthful optimism, pride in mastering new skills and hard work Peter made his way in a new country. Peter later placed this period in context by writing the chapters "The Early Years" and "A Venture into Mining". With insight into life in times now long past, these letters are an inspiring lesson in human resilience and resourcefulness.