Homesteads of the Stony Desert by Howard Pearce

Homesteads of the Stony Desert

by Howard Pearce

Rigby, 1978
Black and white photographs throughout, colour photographic plates
ISBN 0727009362
Large hardcover, dustjacket

Condition: Very Good
a little edge and shelf wear with some rubbing and bumping to edges, corners and covers. Dustjacket very good with some rubbing, bumping and chipping to edges and corners (see photographs)

“From the time Charles Sturt first discovered the Stony Desert in 1845 until now, it has caused penury, hardship and tragedy for settlers or would be settlers.  Howard Pearce’s Homesteads of the Stony Desert is not only the story of the struggle to conquer the harsh gibber-strewn country: it is a tribute to the people who made those attempts.
The author points out that a variety of unusual reasons gave impetus to settling the Stony Desert.  It was an era of optimists and opportunists, impetuous for adventure and glory.  By 1940 it had become a point of national honour to discover what lay beyond Australia’s coastal fringe.  After all, the centre of every other known continent in the world had been penetrated and, despite Sturt’s shattered dream of finding lush pastoral country in central Australia, the rush for expansion continued.”