Description
First published in 1883. It is an account of Brodribb's life as a squatter, pioneer and explorer in the mid 1800s.
This facsimile edition is published in association with the Royal Australian Historical Society, Sydney with an introduction by Professor A G L Shaw of Monash University.
The son of one of the few convicts transported to Australia for a purely political crime, William Brodribb spent his boyhood in Tasmania. In 1835 he moved to Sydney to seek his fortune in the unexplored lands of NSW and Victoria. During his lifetime Brodribb established stations in Maneroo (Monaro), Gundagai, the Broken River, Deniliquin and the Lachlan River. He was the second person to overland cattle to Port Phillip; he explored parts of Gippsland and travelled across the Australian Alps.
The descriptions of his expeditions are interesting and informative. As a squatter he experienced many successes and some hardships. His wife and family also suffered hardship, especially in time of sickness. As a man of property, he became involved with elections and wool marketing. His fortunes fluctuated but when he died in 1886 he was a wealthy man. Pioneering, he wrote, 'requires a great amount of perseverance, energy and, above all, courage'. William Brodribb, pioneer, squatter, and explorer, possessed those qualities.
Hardcover, good condition, 237 pages, 22cm
Hon W A Brodribb, FRGS and MLC, 1978