The Smiths of Elouera

When I set down the last page of Book 5, I wrote that whether a sixth volume would follow was a matter for the fates, and for that greater Author whose editorial hand none of us can anticipate. It seems the fates were feeling generous.

Walter first appeared in one of my books of verse, a farmer in the 1920s with his wife and seven children. Two of my granddaughters told me he deserved a book of his own, and the Smiths have kept me company ever since. Six books and well over a million words later, I still haven’t run out of things to say about them.

This volume carries the family from the autumn of 1926 to Christmas 1927. There is a new baby at Ardmona, and the Elouera Pastoral Company keeps growing, with all the work and worry that brings. A dairy family arrives to take charge of the dairy, and a young Dreadnought Scheme lad, a long way from home, finds out what a country district can offer a stranger. Ann’s path, which I said in Book 5 had yet to be fully walked, takes a few decisive steps. There is also a wedding worth dressing up for, but I’ll say no more than that.

As in the earlier books, please bear in mind that the attitudes and customs of the 1920s were not always those of our own time. I have tried to set down the way people lived, worked, spoke and helped one another as faithfully as I can, from the kitchen to the paddock, the lodge room and the council chamber.

If you have followed the Smiths from the beginning, thank you for your patience with an old storyteller. New readers are very welcome to start here, though the family will be better company if you have met them in the earlier books. So pull up a chair on the verandah, put the kettle on, and welcome back to Elouera.