This book documents the lives of twenty-one women on soldier settler blocks in New South Wales after World War II. Their stories relate how they came to live on virtually virgin land and lived in tents and sheds with no electricity and no running water. They established their homes and worked side by side with their husbands on the farms. At the same time, they brought up their children far from family support and with medical help difficult to access on sometimes impassable roads. They survived floods, drought, and bushfires. Their stories show it was the women who brought the communities on the soldier settlements together. A number of the women reveal personal tragedies that set even greater challenges for them to face. Through it all though, these women have shown amazing strength, resilience, and selflessness. Their contribution to their families, their farms, their communities, and the state of New South Wales is significant.
Despre autor
Barbara Pillans is the daughter of a soldier settler. She grew up on a farm cut out of Wantabadgery Station, near Wagga Wagga, after World War II. Her mother’s experiences on this farm are what inspired this book. She, therefore, has a deep understanding of the sacrifices and resilience of the pioneering women whose stories are related in this book. She has a degree in Australian history and women’s history from Macquarie University. She has been a teacher all her working life, most recently teaching ESL to migrants in Sydney high schools.