Author: David Cox | Published by Allen & Unwin | ISBN 9781742375212 | RRP $29.99
The road to Goonong was just a pair of wheel tracks packed down by buggies and drays that had travelled that way over the years. It ran through forest and passed by farmhouses and the hut where the Schmidt boys lived. Goonong, our farm, was at the end of the road. We had beef cattle and dairy cattle, and there was plenty of room to play and plenty of horses to ride. It was a time when timber-cutters felled big ironbarks and blacksmiths’ hammers rang out from the forge. The skies were always blue over Goonong…
With laid-back charm, bush humour and a spirit of optimism, David Cox captures the joy and freedom, as well as the harsh reality of farming life during the Great Depression.
This heartwarming story is told in David’s words and his lively and humorous illustrations. What a lovely way for children to learn about life in the outback a long time ago.
Good Reading, 2011
“This is an absolutely faithful record, and it is essential that it be preserved not only for those of us who have experienced the joys and the solid values of growing up in a cohesive rural community, but for city children for whom milk is something that comes in a bottle or carton. The publishers are to be thanked for helping preserve part of our nation’s heritage – and in such an appropriate and pleasing format. No website, or even a carefully constructed documentary, could achieve what David Cox has in this book so generously shared with his readers.”
MS Reading Time, 2011
“In good times and bad, the warmth, and love of the family shine through. As the parents break the news of their enforced move to town, they tell the kids, Think of all the good things. Don’t be afraid. Get right back on the horse that threw you.”
Magpies, 2011
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