ghost towns of australia, any body doing them, its a book

possumyvonne · Senior Member

ghost towns of australia, any body doing them, its a book

Gerty Dancer · Guru

That sounds really interesting Yvonne. Have been to a couple of old towns in SA, and ended up with a huge respect for our pioneers, especially the women.
Could you give us the name of the book and author please?

possumyvonne · Senior Member

hi hope you are well and hows things going
i thought it would be a good topic for every one, we could talk about differant things
the name of the book is
ghost towns of australia, the new version is out next month here in qld ,i think book world will have it for $50.00. not sure os the author, but it is out next month,
let me no what you think
regards possum@ yvonne

Sheba · Guru

Pretty sure I've got one with that title in my library. It's not new though. [Mine that is.]
I'll look for it later and post the authors' name later today.
That's one thing I'll be doing on my travels when I start.

Found it on the way back to bed. " Ghost Towns of Australia" by George Farwell.

Originally printed in 1965 by Rigby. Mine is a 1970 Seal re-print. 23 Chapters. [Paper-back].

One of my op-shop finds for a dollar or two.

Cheers,
Sheba.

-- Edited by Sheba on Thursday 15th of July 2010 05:00:29 AM

Gerty Dancer · Guru

Thank you, will look for it. smile

Ron and Shirley · Senior Member

Yes we are interested in this type of "thing" as it adds to the touring so will keep an eye out for that book.

Always been fascinated by how our pioneers lived and worked, often in the most inhospitable places, then for one reason or another whole townships eventually closed down then disappeared.

A related book, though area specific, is Ghosts & Gold in the Victorian High Country: the story of mining and settlement in Victoria's historic alpine areas. by R.W. Christie

Gold discovery in the 1850's in the Victorian High Country saw many villages and large towns established in the most isolated, though beautiful, of places. However there is little trace of them today except in some cases rusting machinery, hand carved water races, cemetery, etc often deep in the bush.

When you see where these pioneers once lived and worked, particularly at this time of year in freezing conditions, you only have to marvel.

PeterD · Guru

Try this link There does not seem to be any very new editions.

For the skinflints who wish to do their research on the web (and there are many of us) Try this link

For those who like to discuss them try this forum

Firefly · Guru

We visited Victoria Settlement at Port Essington on the Coburg Penn in the NT a few years ago. That is an amazing place as well. When I get home I will post some pics, its brilliant. smile

Cruising Granny · Guru

In the 70's when I was prawn fishing with my ex across the north of Oz we sheltered in Port Essington for repairs.
We went exploring in the tinny, watching for crocs the whole time.
We wanted to have a look at Paspaley's pearl farm, but a little Japanese man came running out along the pontoons yelling at us to "Go away! You go away! You no come!"
So we changed direction and headed into another cove, where we went ashore and stumbled upon the ruins of the settlement f Victoria, originally destined to be the capital of NT. Lack of fresh water changed the plan.
None of my school history lessons ever taught us about this place nor any of the other settlements of this type around the country.
I guess the only way to learn about this part of our culture is to do our own exploration.
The local Angus and Robertson store actually displays and sells local books, and in the case of the one here, much has been written about the tablelands and hinterland communities by local writers and historians.
I will always be in awe of the settlers who set up camp and then townships, before moving on for whatever reason.