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Step aside Steele Rudd. Decades before you penned On Our Selection in the dying days of the Nineteenth Century, a fellow Queenslander wrote a novel of life in those hard times – and we’ll soon get a chance to see if it’s any good.
And thanks to some ancestral sleuthing work by a descendent many generations removed, that work – Tom Hurstbourne or a Squatter's Life written by John Clavering Wood (1837-1910) will finally be launched later this month – a hundred years after the author’s death.
But for the dogged detective work of Newstead residents, Gloria Grant and Gerard Benjamin (authors of Reflections on New Farm), this precious Queensland heirloom might have been lost to oblivion.
Where did they find the manuscript? Well, that’s a story all of its own but here's a hint: J.C. Wood was Gerard's great-great-grandfather. Gerald uncovered the unpublished Queensland manuscript dating from 1865, and Gloria took up the painstaking task of unravelling and recording the faded manuscript.
Retired High Court Justice and author, Ian Callinan will deliver his own verdict in the matter of Tom Hurstbourne when he launches the book of Hurstbourne’s exploits at the Mercy Heritage Centre, All Hallows' School on February 28.
The event is being hosted by the Brisbane History Group. After the launch, high tea will be served, followed by tours of the Heritage Centre and a seminar exploring the novel’s literary and historical virtues. For details about the launch, please phone 3351 6371 or e-mail: bhg@brisbanehistory.asn.au. All are welcome but an RSVP is essential.
So, is it a gripping drama of an early settler’s life. A man’s brave battle with the elements? A bodice ripper even? Gerard and Gloria think you should read it and make up your own mind.
The softback edition is available locally at Mary Ryan's Bookstore and New Farm Editions, both at Merthyr Village, New Farm. The hardback edition is available online from www.boolarongpress.com.au.
Above: Gloria Grant and Gerard Benjamin of Newstead discovered a long-lost manuscript of a Queensland novel, dating from 1865 and written by John Clavering Wood (top of article).
