Barcaldine Downs Station : sheep, shearers, shed hands, & strikes / Ian Waples

Annotation. Self-published author, Ian Waples has delved, again, into the wonderful history of outback Queensland. This book, narrating the history of Barcaldine Downs Station, will complete the trifecta of his best-selling "out on the Barcoo" books, those previously being about Isis Downs and Portland Downs Stations.With a thirst for detail, emanating from his former life as a draughtsman and engineer, Waples homes in on the intriguing past and brings to our attention the lifestyles of our forebears. Would those lifestyles be tolerated today? The dangers of settling, opening up, and developing virgin country in the mid-1850s! Floods; droughts; fires; disease, all those things that we still have today! In those times though, the isolation; the tyranny of distance, and the communication problems for our pioneers were huge challenges in combatting those difficulties. Cricket matches on clay-pan wickets; a Minister of Religion boxing with shearers, and a dodgy racehorse all contribute to the story of life on this outback station. This book is a must-read for those with a genuine interest in our ancestral history. (supplied)