Australian Outback: A Story About the People Who Loved and Endured the Hardships of the Great Outback

Living miles away from civilization comes with many challenges. This story is centred around two contrasting, colourful characters who are partnered together as a result of the death of Tom's old mate and how over time, they too became "old mates".

The cattle station owned and run by their "Boss" is about two days drive North West of Alice Springs. The story begins in the mid 1940's and follows the lives of the characters as they deal with the trials and tribulations of being so far away from pretty much anywhere in wild country where the most simple of tasks can become highly complicated.

Their daily experiences can be captivating, exciting, amusing and sometimes highly emotional with tragedy often not very far away:

"With the shadow of death hovering over him, the naked boy staggered into the yard just before day break and collapsed full stretch on the dusty ground.

The foreman Stan Henderson came across the scrawny lad when he went to ride out the main gate. The sight of the boy’s blistered skin and his general state shocked even Stan’s hard nature. He leapt from his horse, lifted the boy gently in his arms and carried him to the big house.

Molly held him easily in her strong plump arms and looked down at his face; she had seen this many times before. The boy, he could only have been eleven or twelve she thought, had discarded his clothes like most people do when the sun has cooked their brains and sucked the moisture from their body. A few more hours, she thought, and he would have been food for the dingos and birds. "Why he can’t be more than twelve" she said as she cradled him."

The outback has its own special set of challenges ranging from almost daily battles for survival to wonderful natural wonders and surprises:

"Why the hell do we stay here, in this arid, dead part of the country Tom when we could be down flirting with the girls at Bondi?" Bill, who would be twenty-four next birthday, shared the same end of a bunkhouse with Tom at the cattle station and they were good mates despite the age difference. The older man grinned, he knew that his mate loved the place as much as he did himself.

"It's the space and emptiness that gets me, why I bet there's not a living soul within fifty miles of us right now!"

"Well you'd be wrong there mate," Bill replied. "Why don't you say hello to these living souls." Tom looked up quickly.

Standing watching them with round, dark, sparkling eyes were two young Aboriginal boys, of about eight years. Both were as naked as the day they were born and both carried long sticks in imitation of their fathers’ spears. One of the boys had a lizard dangling from his hand. It looked as if it were dead but it was hard to tell. Before he could say anything to the surprise visitors he saw a few more children approaching and further behind them, just appearing around the bend, came their mothers and the women of the tribe carrying bundles in their arms and babies on their backs. The men would be further behind, carrying only their spears, killing boomerangs and the odd nulla-nulla."

And of course what would a story be without a touch of romance:

"He saw her. Her long blonde hair was shining and she was dressed, as if for a dance, in a swinging bright floral gown with a broad tight belt that emphasized her slim waist. She looked a picture and the image of her framed by the billowing steam would be forever emblazoned on his mind. The noise and hustle of the crowd faded to a soft murmur as he swept her up in his arms. Senses shut out everything around them but each other. There was little said in words, but the message was clear in their young expressive eyes."