'West of Matilda' is a sequel to 'Sin, Sweat and Sorrow', the best-selling'
documentary history of Rockhampton, pioneering gateway to the west.
Matilda is the highway running from Cunnamulla in the south to Karumba in the
Gulf of Carpentaria. Historian Lorna McDonald with numerous books to her credit,
has this time celebrated the back country and its people, past and present, from
Charleville and the 'Heartbreak Corner' of the Tullys in the south-west, through
Birdsville and Bedourie and Boulia, all the way to Mount Isa, Cloncurry,
Normanton, Burketown and Camooweal in the north-west.
Events covered include the 1891 shearers' strike, waltzing Matilda, the
beginnings of Qantas and the discovery of fossil rocks at Riversleigh. In our
own time, 87 outback men and women share their fascinating stories of changing
lifestyles between the 1930s and the year 2000. This is a living history of
Matilda country.
Contents:
Acknowledgements
Editor's Preface
1. The Restless Years, 1890-1901
2. Life on the Land
3. Inigenous Australians
4. The Natural Environment
5. Women of the West
6. From Cobb & Co. to Road Trains
7. Keeping in Touch
8. Reading, Writing and Arithmetic
9. Where No Roads Go By
10. Non-British Queenslanders
11. Towns and Tourism
12. Outback Lifestyles
Conclusion
Appendix
Abbreviations
Index of Places
Index of Names
Related Products:
Sin, Sweat and Sorrow: The Making of Capricornia, Queensland 1840s-1940s
