AustLit

'Author Harry Hill was 13 when his father Clem died at age 51 after a hard day of sheep shearing. Clem Hill - born in Brungle, near Tumut, in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains of Australia - had a hard life working as a stockman and a general laborer. The author has reconstructed his father's life, and where information was spare, has carefully researched how such people lived. Harry has illuminated his father's life with material including photographs. He's also supplemented the book with letters home from the World War I battlefront where Clem served in the 36th Battalion, AIF. Clem Hill's life was one of hard work under harsh conditions, tempered by his skill as a bushman. He was My Father is a picture of life in rural Australia before, during, and after World War I and the Depression.' (Publication summary)