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'As a successful trader and merchant in Sydney in the late 1870s, "Young James" Beckett believes he has put his past behind him. When the enigmatic bushman Lancaster reappears in his life, Beckett knows he must confront the haunting truth of his early years.
After arriving in New South Wales in 1832, Young James and his father, the Captain, set out with an expedition of convicts and a guide called Lancaster to claim property on the Morrombidgee River in Wiradjuri country. Lancaster's unusual knowledge of the Wiradjuri initially helps the Becketts to peacefully establish their pastoral holding, Yalda Waters. But after Young James meets Tomawirra, a local Wiradjuri man, and witnesses some of his culture, he begins to see why this land will never truly be theirs.
As land is opened up for further settlement, more whites arrive and the delicate balance that has been in place between the Beckett family and the Wiradjuri is shattered. When the new settlers destroy sacred sites and hunting ground, the Wiradjuri retaliate with attacks on settlers and their stock. What happens next is so shocking it will torment Young James for life and it is only his chance encounter with Lancaster decades later that provides the final clue to those terrible events.' Source: www.uqp.uq.edu.au/ (Sighted 02/07/2012).
Notes
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Dedication: For Joey Lyonsd.
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Author's note: While The Yalda Crossing is fiction, the events depicted follow closely the history of white settlement along the Murrumbidgee River nera what is now the township of Narrandera, and the fighting of the Second Wiradjuri War, which took place there between 1836 and 1942. The conflict culminated in the slaughter of the Wiradjuri on Murdering Island.....
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Large print.
Works about this Work
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Fiction
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 25 August 2012; (p. 30) The Sydney Morning Herald , 25-26 August 2012; (p. 32)
— Review of The Yalda Crossing 2012 single work novel ; The Traitor Queen 2012 single work novel -
Fatal Crossing
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 18 August 2012; (p. 20)
— Review of The Yalda Crossing 2012 single work novel -
Brave Exploration of Contested Terrain
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 11-12 August 2012; (p. 18-19)
— Review of The Yalda Crossing 2012 single work novel -
Untitled
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 28-29 July 2012; (p. 22)
— Review of The Yalda Crossing 2012 single work novel
-
Untitled
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 28-29 July 2012; (p. 22)
— Review of The Yalda Crossing 2012 single work novel -
Brave Exploration of Contested Terrain
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 11-12 August 2012; (p. 18-19)
— Review of The Yalda Crossing 2012 single work novel -
Fatal Crossing
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 18 August 2012; (p. 20)
— Review of The Yalda Crossing 2012 single work novel -
Fiction
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 25 August 2012; (p. 30) The Sydney Morning Herald , 25-26 August 2012; (p. 32)
— Review of The Yalda Crossing 2012 single work novel ; The Traitor Queen 2012 single work novel
- Sydney, New South Wales,
- Narrandera area, Leeton - Narrandera area, Riverina - Murray area, New South Wales,
- 1870s
- 1830s
- 1840s