From the 1800s to the onset of World War I, pioneers making their home in
outback Australia were joined by their wives, many of whom had no idea of the
difficulties and dangers ahead.
These women encountered conditions which would test their resilience and
resourcefulness to the utmost: relentless heat, dust and isolation; hostile
wildlife; no medical facilities; and never-ending, backbreaking work.
The outback was indeed 'no place for a lady'. Yet many women with no previous
experience of hardship rose to the challenge of creating homes, nursing, farming
- and keeping journals which provided a starling picture of the life they faced.
'Great Pioneer Women of the Outback' profiles ten female pioneers, from
Jeannie Gunn, author of 'We of the Never-Never', to equally remarkable but
lesser known women, such as Emma Withnell in Western Australia and Evelyn
Maunsell in Queensland. Building on the women's records and her own knowledge of
Australian history Susanna de Vries documents the grit and determination it took
to build what many today would consider an extraordinary life.
Contents:
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Introduction
1. Farming Fresh Fields
- Georgiana Molloy
- Frances ('Fanny') Bussell
- Elizabeth ('Bessie') Bussell
- Charlotte Cookworthy Bussell
2. The Spinifex Pioneer who Became to 'Mother of the North-West'
- Emma Mary Withnell
3. Mothering Seven Little Australians at Alice Springs
- Atlanta Hope Bradshaw
4. The Story Behind 'We of the Never-Never'
- Jeannie Gunn, OBE
5. An English Rose in the Outback
- Evelyn Maunsell
6. On the Desert Fringe
- Catherine Langloh Parker
- Myrtle Rose White
Endnotes
Index
