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AUSTRALIANA FICTION - THE GOLD RUSHES & BUSHRANGERS
Picture Books
The Stew That Grew (Michael & Rhonda Gray) $3 PB VGC A lovely picture book set in the 1850s when thousands of people from all parts of the world were lured to the goldfields of Australia. Few of them find their fortune but, in this humorous verse-story, many discover the value of friendship and sharing. Wonderful pictures. 5-10 Lesson ideas: http://books.google.com/books?id=ArMS9OUdFEMC&pg=PA60&lpg=PA60&dq=the+stew+that+grew+michael+%26+rhonda+gray&source=web&ots=rz52U8sXje&sig=Pp-P9-u_YqttYyrw220XusDX-dI#PPA60,M1
The Gold Smugglers (John Gunn) $3 HB VGC Written by the girls and boys of the ABC children's hour Argonauts Club. Set in Ballarat in its gold rush days, this story gives a good insight into life on the gold fields. 7-11 YO
The Little Candlemaker And His Dragon (John Kenney) $3 HB VGC A charming story how a poor young candle maker discovered gold and how the town of Bendigo got its name. 5-9 YO http://www.oztion.com.au/vshops/item.aspx?itemid=9913546&tid=
The Loaded Dog (Henry Lawson – Young Australia Series) $3 HB EC Lovely picture book on the rugged goldfields life. Dave Regan, Jim Bently, and Andy Page were sinking a shaft at Stony Creek in search of a rich gold quartz reef which was supposed to exist in the vicinity. There is always a rich reef supposed to exist in the vicinity; the only questions are whether it is ten feet or hundreds beneath the surface , and in which direction. They had struck some pretty solid rock, also water which kept them bailing. They used the old-fashioned blasting-powder and time-fuse...but what about that mischievous dog??!! 6+ http://www.desertship-books.com.au/picture-books/1980-1989/henry-lawson-the-loaded-dog/prod_18.html
Tales From The Diggings “Lost Gold” (Richard McRoberts) $3 PB VGC An exciting book centring around children living on the Australian gold fields in 1887. True-to-life fiction magnificently illustrated with photographs taken at Sovereign Hill goldmining township at Ballarat and ink sketches. 5-10 YO
Tales From The Diggings “Humbug!” (Richard McRoberts) $3 PB VGC An exciting book centring around children living on the Australian gold fields in 1887. True-to-life fiction magnificently illustrated with photographs taken at Sovereign Hill goldmining township at Ballarat and ink sketches. 5-10 YO
A Gift From the Past (Mavis Scott) $2 PB NEW A lovely picture book in which Annaliese and her younger brother Luke spend their summer holidays camping with their family around Tenterfield in NSW. There they explore the giant granite boulders and cave used as hideouts and lookouts by Thunderbolt and actually come face to face with the bushranger, himself! 5-9 YO
Ned: A Leg End (A Thoroughly Misleading Account of His Life and Times) (Susanne Ferrier) $4 PB VGC (Rare) Recounts some of the exploits of Ned Kelly in a humorous manner. Great cartoon-like illustrations. 7-10 YO http://www.leurabooks.com.au/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=35538&isFrom=1&title=ned+a+leg+end&sortby=product_author&adv_search_bttn=search&__utma=252215444.1361270596.1278908993.1278908993.1278908993.1&__utmb=252215444.4.10.1278908993&__utmz=252215444.1278908993.1.1.utmcsr=google|utmccn=(organic)|utmcmd=organic|utmctr=0006623352&__utmc=252215444&fas=1&CLSN_2841=12789089792841ed2ba4b1d91f9deb33
Herman’s German Band Meets Thunderbolt (Alex Hood) $5 HB GC The true story of Herman and his happy band of musicians who delighted townsfolk in little outback settlements all over the Australian countryside at the end of the last century. The performance that Herman and his band remembered the rest of their lives was the time when they played for the famous bushranger, Captain Thunderbolt. Great picture book. 4-8 YO http://cgi.ebay.com/Hermans-German-Band-Meets-thunderbolt-Alex-Hood-/370319344883?cmd=ViewItem&pt=AU_Books_Childrens_New&hash=item5638c0c4f3
The Oath Of Bad Brown Bill (Stephen Axelsen) $3 PB VGC Gruff and tough, shrewd and rude, Bad Brown Bill was a bushranger of the worst kind. Mounted on his mare, Mudpie, he bailed up every bank and pub from Broome to Cooper’s Creek, and bundled up the Mudgee not one, but every week. A lively picture book written rhyming verse. Great illustrations! CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL AUSTRALIA COMMENDATION http://www.oztion.com.au/-THE-OATH-OF-BAD-BROWN-BILL-by-Stephen-Axelsen/auction/170375.aspx
Dirty Dave The Bushranger (Roland Harvey) $4 PB VGC Dirty Dave is one of Australia’s roughest, toughest and nastiest bushrangers. So is his sister Sue. As for their mother Maude, she’s the stuff that nightmares are made of. When Dave, Sue and Maude hold up a particularly fashion-conscious load of innocents, the results are surprising, funny and profitable for the whole family. 6-11 http://www.sella.co.nz/general/books/children-babies/picture-books/other/77m8bp/
Chapter Books & Novels
Gold Fever (Susan Coleridge) $5 PB EC (Ex lib) Other kids were looking forward to the excursion to Sovereign Hill, the gold mining town in Ballarat, but not Bert. In fact, ever since his father died, Bert didn't look forward to anything much. When he gets there though, he changes his mind. Sovereign Hill seems fun – like it really is a step back in time, right down to the costumes and dusty streets. He's about to have a time-warp experience like no other! http://www.fishpond.com.au/Books/Childrens/Fiction/General/9780734409607/
Making Best (Josephine Crosner) $4 PB VGC (Ex lib) Caleb and his family lived and worked under difficult conditions at the gold diggings and he can’t understand why there is such racism toward the Chinese in the close-knit community. He tries to fight the hatred shown towards these Chinese by whites including his own father. 6-10 YO http://books.google.com.au/books?id=o8BqIonvE_gC&dq=Making+Best+(Josephine+Croser)&source=gbs_navlinks_s
The Currency Lad (Bill Scott) $4 PB GC (Ex lib) Running away from the men who killed his father and stepmother, Snowy happens upon a swag of bush characters in this vivid adventure of New South Wales in the mid-1800s. An exciting novel, full of authentic period detail, that brings to life all the colour and excitement of the gold rushes in NSW. 11+
Hustler’s Gold (Pat Spencer, illustrated by Rachel Tonkin) $4 HB GC (Ex school) Set in the gold diggings of Bendigo in the 1890s, the story takes place against the background of a real life mining company of the time, the Hustler. This company operated several mines on Hustler’s Reef which runs through the centre of the city. Albert and Jim are best friends who try to discover the secret behind the mysterious gold disappearances that keep occurring in the mine. 10+ http://i.ebayimg.com/00/$(KGrHqQOKigE4p11j!rIBOMRcJS)Hw~~0_12.JPG
Gold On The Wind (Valerie Thompson) $4 HB GC (Minor bumping to top edge of spine) Fourteen year old Rob is totally alone and penniless in the Colony. How will he survive the eight month wait until he can rejoin his family? Then the 1850’s gold rushes begin and with gold fever, he joins the rush to the goldfields of Victoria. 12+ http://www.cornstalk.com.au/pix/64912.jpg
Rough Road South (Valerie Thompson) $4 HBDJ EC Rob is 14 years old and alone in Sydney Town and has to reach Melbourne before his uncle sails for England early in July. As a newcomer to this strange, harsh land, he looks every inch the ‘new chum’, so Rob’s ride takes on many extra, unknown problems. Especially since the road between Sydney and Melbourne should really have been called a track. Yet there were times when it was crowded with a fascinating cross-section of people from bushrangers to gold-seekers. 10+ http://www.oztion.com.au/oa/oa_previewpic.aspx?itemid=10477795&picnum=1&#pic
Fight For Gold (Denys Burrows) $5 HBDJ GC (A vintage collectible book in very good condition but dust jacket has a little wear and some tattering) The adventures of brothers, Andrew and Jamie Murray on the Ballarat goldfields in the 1850's. Andrew and Jamie Murray joined the wealth seekers of bewildering nationalities to dig for gold and witnessed the bitter war between the diggers and troopers. 10+ http://www.cornstalk.com.au/pix/57005.jpg
Moondyne Kate (Garry Disher) $2 PB EC (Ex lib) “I goses by the name Moondyne Kate . . . I was a Orphan Girl and fell into a great melancholy of the spirit, great discouragement was my lot . . .” Canongate was a colourful town in 1865 - convicts, a gold rush, marauding bushrangers - but nothing much happens now and there's nothing much to do until Nat Whistler discovers a thrilling link to the past: he’s descended from the Whistler, who robbed banks and gold escorts with the notorious Captain Kydd in Canongate! And who was the mysterious Moondyne Kate who could ride like the wind and whose voice sings from the past? 12+ http://www.middlemiss.org/lit/bookcovers/moondynekate.jpg
Valley Of Gold: One Valley’s Stories Of Gold Through The Ages (Jackie French) $3 PB EC Interspersed with historical and geological information are stories that bring to life the valley and its occupants. First we meet Mirrigan, a young Aboriginal man hunting the last of the mainland thylacine to present its skin to his female friend, Dhani. From there we move through stories of European settlement, gold rushes, Chinese immigration, bushrangers, relations between indigenous and European people, world wars, the Depression and natural disasters. When we arrive at the present day, the substance that has so shaped the valley's recent history – gold – is still an important commodity, but no longer at the expense of the valley. 10+ NOTABLE BOOK IN THE CHILDREN'S BOOK COUNCIL BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDS http://www.harpercollins.com/harperimages/isbn/medium/2/9780207199882.jpg
Five Honest Guineas (Ronald Rose) $3 PB VGC How Meg wishes that they had never left Sydney Town, where her father had been doing well as a groom. Now they are stuck in the Araluen Valley digging for gold! 11+ http://i.ebayimg.com/00/$(KGrHqUOKowE0fe4jMQtBN,O5oW8rQ~~_35.JPG
The Rusty Kee Adventures (Garry Hurle) $2 PB VGC Rusty, the illegitimate son of a Chinese gold-prospector, is brought up by Smiler Harris, the false-teeth maker, during the gold rushes of the last century, the boy having been found abandoned on the doorstep by Ah Kee, Smiler's servant. Smiler Harris needs to obtain enough teeth for Widow McDuff's new dentures. This quest leads to a far more dangerous search for a key which provides the directions to a fabulously rich gold mine. Introduces a very strong puzzle element involving measurement, this time based on the cuts of a key. 10+
The Chinese Boy (David Martin) $4 HB GC, $3 PB FC (Cover wear) Angelica meets Ho, a fourteen year old boy travelling with five Chinese villagers to find their fortune on the Kiandra goldfields, and later at Lambing Flat, now the town Young, over 100 years ago. She is in danger and seeks the Chinese boy’s help – but neither of them has any idea of the terror and danger that awaits them. Complete with map.10+
The River’s Revenge (Angela Badger) $2 PB GC A Chinese prospector discovers the secret of ‘The Jeweller’s Shop’ gold mine and goes missing. His nephew, Jimmy, and a newly arrived English girl Anne, search for the truth behind the prospector’s disappearance. But in their way stands a gang of bushrangers, their evil employer Maria Mitchell, and the perilous river that flows through The Crossing. 6-9 YO
New Golden Mountain (Mavis Thorpe Clark) $2 PB GC It looked like nothing but a dying mining town, with abandoned shafts, old cottages and the Chinese burial grounds. But in days gone by it had been a bustle of activity, with men of a hundred nationalities feverishly working their claims. For the Chinese it had been Hsin-Chin-Shan – the New Golden Mountain. But what does it have to offer a new generation? Louise, resentful of her poverty and her aunt’s lack of ambition, decides to escape, her hopes resting on her prized possession – an exquisite Chinese painting on glass. 11+
The Eureka Stockade (Raffaello Carboni) $2 PB FC (Inner spine starting to split – taped) In Australia's folk memory, one event will forever stand as the great example of courage and resistance to authority: the Eureka Stockade. Here is the only full-length eyewitness account of the Stockade, published a year after the uprising, written by an Italian revolutionary who wrote the book to 'set the record straight'. 12+
Eureka Stockade (Richard Butler) $4 PB VGC (Minor tanning) Captures the spirit of Australia’s wild gold mining past and brings to life the Eureka drama and its chief players: the digger leader Peter Lalor, the corrupt magistrate John D’Ewes and all the rest of those determined men and women who took part in the confrontation. Contains original photos, sketches and maps. Highly recommended. 12+ http://www.richardbutler.com.au/catalogue/Non_Fiction.htm
Go Ahead, Go Anywhere! (Richard Butler) $4 PB GC (Tape residue, ex school) The story of John Murray Peck and the establishment of Cobb & Co. coach line that operated in Victoria in the 1850s carrying passengers, food, goods and gold to and from the diggings. Thorough research has guaranteed historical accuracy and authenticity. 11+
On the Trail of Cobb & Co: A Selection of Short Stories (Kay Catterick) $2 PB VGC Cobb and Co is the name of a transportation company in Australia. It was prominent in the late 1800's when it operated stagecoaches to many areas in the outback and at one point in several other countries as well. 10+ http://ukbookworld.com/book-details/Booksforever/282/catterick-kay-the-trail-cobb-selection-short-stories
They Found a Cave (Nan Chauncy) $2 HBDJ VGC Nan Chauncy used Browns Cave at Chauncy Vale, Tasmania, as the inspiration for the setting of this, her famous children’s novel. This is a story about a bushranger who hides out in the cave. A great story about kids in the Tasmanian bush. 10+ http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B0000CK33O/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_all
Secrets Of Walden Rising (Allan Baillie) $2 PB VGC As the drought continues, the town dam of Jacko Marsh recedes until from its depths rises the old gold-rush town of Walden. When the boys in the story become immersed in its history, incredible detail about the bushranger Thunderbolt and his time come to light. 11+ http://www.amazon.ca/Secrets-Walden-Rising-Allan-Baillie/dp/0670873519
The Bushranger (Dal Stivens) $5 HBDJ EC (Small cut out of endpaper) Against a backdrop of true bushranging country, the author has written a sympathetic account of men on the run. Bruce Treloar's illustrations capture the spirit of these bygone days. Recommended! 8-12 YO http://www.cornstalk.com.au/pix/42993.jpg
Bushrangers “Billy Fishbone: King Of The Kids” (Dianne Bates) $2 PB VGC On the Buttibotti goldfields, a gang of orphaned kids are running wild! The leader, Billy Fishbone, and his gang, are taking a holiday from bushranging and causing chaos wherever they go. Archibald McBean Esquire, the very strict school teacher, is sure that he can tame the feral gang. 7-10 YO
Robbery Under Arms (Rolf Boldrewood) $4 PB VGC An Australian classic that has never gone out of print since it was first published in 1888. The story of Dick Marston, his life and his association with the notorious bushranger Captain Starlight, a renegade outlaw from a noble English family. Set in the bush and gold fields of Australia in the 1850s, Starlight's gang, with Dick and his brother Jim's help, sets out on a series of escapades that include cattle theft and robbery under arms. 9+ http://www.newholland.com.au/product.php?isbn=9781741106893 (Cover different)
The Girl Who Didn’t Know Kelly (David Martin) $5 HB VGC (Ex school) Kit is the daughter of a bank manager in the gold-mining town of Beechworth. It is 1880 and the town is split in its attitudes to the famous bushranger Ned Kelly; is he a wicked outlaw or a victim who deserves some sympathy? Kit is torn between the views of her parents and those of some of the locals. A sensitive, fast-moving story about growing up, set against a colourful era in Australia’s history. 10+
Black Snake: The Daring Of Ned Kelly (Carole Wilkinson) $6 PB VGC (Ex lib) Ned Kelly was a thief, a bank robber and a murderer. He was in trouble with the law from the age of 12. He stole hundreds of horses and cattle. He robbed two banks. He killed three men. Yet, when Ned was sentenced to death, thousands of people rallied to save his life. He stood up to the authorities and fought for what he believed in. He defended the rights of people who had no power. Was he a villain? Or a hero? What do you think? Carole Wilkinson takes the reader beyond the surface of the Ned Kelly legend... She brings the story alive through the everyday life and struggles of this unlikely hero and leads readers to ponder how Ned became an Australian icon. A lively format which consummately uses fact and fictional reconstructions to achieve its purposes. Each chapter is introduced by a "What if you were there" section, which is a great innovation. Written from the point of view of a various eyewitnesses, these short scripts are an interesting and personal introduction to the events covered within the chapter. 10+ THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA SHORT-LISTED BOOK http://www.bailup.com/booksChildrens.htm
Ned Kelly’s Helmet (Paul Stafford) $5 PB VGC (Ex lib) Written as a 'timeslip' adventure, to give readers a taste of travelling back to the time of bushrangers, with a mission in mind - the kids in question are trying to steal Ned Kelly's helmet to win a history project prize. 10+ http://www.glenrowan1880.com/ned_helmet.htm
Midnite – The Story Of A Wild Colonial Boy (Randolph Stow) $3 PB VGC, $2 PB FC Randolph Stow grew up in Western Australia where there was once a famous bushranger called Moondyne Joe, a very comic character. He was good at escaping from prison, but was otherwise dim-witted and accident-prone. He had a hide-out in the Moondyne Hills, on land belonging to the author’s great-grandfather and once escaped from the troopers by hiding under Mrs. Stow’s bed. From the stories about Moondyne Joe, Randolph Stow has created the character of Captain Midnite and added five animal friends who make an amusing and strange band of outlaws, legendary in Australia. 9+ http://www.bookworm.com.au/shop/scditem.asp?ProdID=18467
(Last update January, 2012)
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