You are thirty-four-years-old, and your widowed mother died last year. Then a close relative gives you something that offers you a personal glimpse into what mum, dad and older sister did just a few years before you were born: they emigrated to Australia.
How would that affect you?
Would you want to go and see Australia for yourself, and trace those family footsteps?
Well, I would.
And I did – but it took me another thirty-three years…
How would that affect you?
Would you want to go and see Australia for yourself, and trace those family footsteps?
Well, I would.
And I did – but it took me another thirty-three years…
By March 2020 I had reached a position when I felt ready to put normal life aside for almost a month and make that long-awaited pilgrimage. I’d already done some meticulous research, and the result of that is self-evident on another page of this website in A Kangaroo In My Sideboard.
What’s more, I wasn’t going on my own. My wife had struck a deal in similar fashion to that done by Mollie Veale in 1946: while mum insisted on taking an antique sideboard with her, Elaine wanted to do more than wallow in my South Australian family history – she insisted on including a trip to Sydney as well, just to do the touristy stuff. All went well until the world trembled under the growing threat of a pandemic, and our plans began to come adrift… …and then, of course, there was The Jackaroo! |
I kept a daily log of our Epic Aussie Adventure,
and the result is here in the form of a Blog if you wish to read it.
But my writer’s instinct is to create books.
and the result is here in the form of a Blog if you wish to read it.
But my writer’s instinct is to create books.
So, as an afterthought, I re-worked the entire blog into an eBook entitled THREE BEARS and a JACKAROO!, complete with over 200 photos and illustrations. It was always my intention that this particular publication should be FREE for anyone to read – after all, there’s no charge to access the Blog on my website! But Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) would only allow free downloads for a maximum of one week. That exclusive arrangement has expired, so you can now download the entire eBook free of charge below. If you prefer to use Amazon and pay for a copy, that is entirely up to you!
Download the FULL KINDLE version:
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Download the FULL EPUB version:
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