In the unforgiving spinifex country, Rose MacGregor and her baby sister face danger as their family holiday turns perilous. Threatened by armed strangers during a gem-fossicking expedition, Rosie’s mettle is tested. In the searing 38-degree heat and desolate wilderness, she must rely on her army cadet training—wits, brains, memory, and determination—to navigate the treacherous terrain and protect her little sister. Can Rose overcome the odds and protect her sister in the vast, challenging landscape of the Selwyn Ranges? Spinifex is a gripping tale of courage, resourcefulness, and the indomitable spirit of a young army cadet in the rugged heart of Northwest Queensland.
Pt. 2, p.35-36; Near Mount Quinn, brush fences set up to trap wallabies, native grave described; p.47-53; Water holes at Mount Luck, native camps; Pt. 5; Notes on previous explorers in the interior; employment of natives by expeditions; Native taken prisoner to act as guide to find water (Victoria Desert); Empress Spring - native camps, native cairns, 8 words listed with meanings; native well near Browne Range; Camp - implements - bark coolamons, wells, wind-breaks, camp lay-out, grindstones, yam sticks, plant foods; kurdaitcha shoes found; physical appearance of natives; method of cooking kangaroo rats, lizards; pearl shell pubic covering traded from coast 500 miles distant, firesticks carried, sporrans or tassels made of various materials; Chap. 11; Natives encountered at Wilsons Cliffs, searching for water, manufacture of chewing ball - native tobacoo; Helena Spring, 7 native words with meanings; Chap. 13; Shelter described, native with scarifications and painted body; native wells; spears, wommeras, shields and short throwing sticks carried by natives (near Southesk Tablelands); native village near Mount Ernest, wurlies, pronounced Jewish features of Aborigines, hair style; Chap. 17; Creek Aborigines treatment of prisoners - chains used; description od corroboree (Emu), body decoration; Appendix to pt. 5; Diagrams and description of weapons; Spears Kimberley and Desert - method of throwing; wommera; tomahawks - Desert; boomerangs; clubs and throwing sticks; shields, quartz knife, ceremonial sticks; rain-making boards, message sticks; brief notes on marriage laws (with tables); p.372; Method of catching ducks; p.374; 12 words with meanings from Sturt Creek area; p.380-411; Encounters with natives west of Mount Webb - wells, notes on trading.
Who invented hieroglyphics? Who did Einstein's mathematics? Which country did the Trung Sisters defend in 40 AD? Who invented the first computer? Who was the first woman to make a million dollars? Who built the pyramid at Giza? Who developed the Merino sheep? Who was the first writer in the world? Who invented the wheel? All were women. When the next person asks: Where are all the famous women artists / inventors / architects / writers / scientists -- this book will make it easy to find their names.
Nick Harris has been drifting for years – until the day he finds himself amid red dirt and razor wire, a refugee-prison guard in a detention center. Nick is no crusader and no bleeding-heart. He's just a man in debt who needs a job. Time passes slowly behind the wire, no matter who you are. To distract themselves, the asylum seekers tell Nick about their lives and cultures, and the families they have left behind. They steal from him with good humour, and swear at him with bad. Nick breaks all the rules: slacking off when he guards the cordial machine, swimming with crocodiles, brawling with locals, romancing workmates. And then there is the cardinal sin – becoming friends with the detainees. --- The novel is a realistic window into the hidden world of immigration detention centres, drawn from the experience of a former guard. It is one man's vision, looking through the wire at the people locked inside our desert prisons, and looking out at the people who put them there.
The story in this book is about a young Irishman who came on a visit to Australia and has a fascination with the great outback and wants to get himself a job on one of the large cattle properties, but he doesn?t know how to go about it. Young Shaun McCready was in Sydney and walking along Bondi beach when he saw some strange looking characters sitting on the sand with some pretty girls. The men had their shirts off and their skin color was Lillie white in places and dark tan in areas that had obviously been in contact with plenty of sun. Shaun spoke to the men and began a conversation. The men told him they were ?Ringers from the top end.? That means stockmen from the north of Australia, especially the Northern Territory. Shaun had worked with his uncle in Ireland training race horses and the men told him that this would be enough experience to get him a job on a Territory cattle station. All he needed to do was go to the head office for the company right here in Sydney. Shaun went to the head office and had no problem acquiring a start on one of their properties in the far north west of Australia. The next day he was on his way by plane and coach that took a couple of days to travel to the remote outback of the Northern Territory. Shaun was collected by the mechanic of the station who took him straight out to the mustering camp situated in the wide plains where you couldn?t even see a tree. He was absolutely fascinated with this amazing sight before his eyes. Shaun soon learned to work cattle and to learn the ways of the wild men that lived in that area. Most of the staff were native aborigines, and they were terrific cattlemen and horsemen. He learned much from just watching how they operated. Shaun found out things about himself that he didn?t know existed. All it took was the lifestyle where he now lived that brought amazing skills to the surface in his life Shaun met a lovely girl who worked at the post office in town and he soon fell in love with her. Shaun loves his new life and he knows for a fact that he?s going to be in it for the long haul and not just a few months experience. Shaun is living in an environment that most people have never heard about. Everything he does is totally fascinating, which he happily adapted to in no time at all. He even began to speak with an Aussie accent. Shaun?s experience in the outback of Australia is an example of the way of life that most people do not know about. Even people living in Australia are not really familiar with what goes on in the country where they live. The story of Shaun McCready is an example of how people over the years immigrate to Australia, and soon adapt to their new environment and become the special people who live in this great country of Australia today.
Fire is pivotal to the functioning of ecosystems in Australia, affecting the distribution and abundance of the continent's unique and highly diverse range of plants and animals. Conservation of this natural biodiversity therefore requires a good understanding of scientific processes involved in the action of fire on the landscape. This book provides an up-to-date synthesis of current knowledge in this area and its application in contemporary land management. Central to the discussion is an exploration of the concept of the fire regime and its interactions with biodiversity.
