Piya by James Porter

Piya

by James Porter

Hodder & Stoughton, 1991 [First Edition], ISBN 0340535784, hardcover, dust-jacket

Near Fine Condition, minor edge and shelf wear, no inscriptions (see photographs)

"PIYA, young as she is, manages to survive the wreckage and desolation wrought by a terrifying cyclone and tidal wave.  Left homeless and alone she finds her father's old canoe - all that is left of her past - and, more dead than alive, is washed ashore on tiny Biagrurra Island.
She is found and cared for by Len Scott a lone writer who has made the island his home.  But Len cannot prevent her being rounded up with other Aborigines scattered by the storm, and taken to a harsh government reserve.
Filled with fierce independence and pride in the way of life of her own people, Piya is determined to be free.  time after time, she escapes - and Len is the only white man she trusts.  He and his friend Susan Tudor, a schoolteacher on the mainland, share Piya's love of the wild and spirit of freedom - the spirit of her namesake, the Sunbird.
But Len is also fighting for the right to live in his own way..."