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A series of bush stories published in Australian newspapers throughout the 1930s. Some of the works appear to ave been published earlier and without the umbrella title (for example, 'The Acid Test').
Includes
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1The Bishop and Monkey Men 1936 single work short story
— Appears in: The Daily Examiner , no. 15 October 1936; (p. 3) The Gloucester Advocate , 24 October 1939; (p. 4) Stricken by a failed romance and his own poverty, the narrator falls in with a group of evolutionists. -
2The Shooting of the Bunyip 1939 single work short story
— Appears in: The Gloucester Advocate , 27 October 1939; (p. 4) A series of jokes designed to plague a romantic rival backfire on the joker. -
3The Yellow Taxi 1939 single work short story
— Appears in: The Gloucester Advocate , 31 October 1939; (p. 4)A man who forbids his wife to write for a living, as she wishes to, receives a nasty shock on an evening when he thinks she is visiting her sister.
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4Magic Carpet 1939 single work short story
— Appears in: The Gloucester Advocate , no. 3 November 1939; (p. 4)Entranced into eloping with a travelling salesman on promise of marriage, a young girl finds herself stranded miles from home with no hope of getting back before her father returns and discovers her flight.
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5The Perfect Murder 1939 single work short story
— Appears in: The Gloucester Advocate , 7 November 1939; (p. 4)A tale of revenge for the mistreatment of the local Indigenous population at the hands of the men who have taken over the local cattle station.
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6The Love Philtre That Went Wrong 1939 single work short story
— Appears in: The Gloucester Advocate , 10 November 1939; (p. 4)A wealthy widow will only marry her suitor if he finds a steady young man to marry her daughter Sadie. But the plan backfires.
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7When Cupid Stacked the Cards 1939 single work short story
— Appears in: The Gloucester Advocate , 14 November 1939; (p. 4)A young woman waits patiently for the return of her betrothed, despite her mother's pressure to marry a rich neighbour. But her resistance is worn down as the years pass with no word.
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8The Girl and the Grass Thief 1939 single work short story
— Appears in: The Gloucester Advocate , 17 November 1939; (p. 4)A young station girl, denied a promised trip to Sydney when a drought brings unexpected expenses, finds a way to raise funds and prevent a drover from 'pirating' her father's stock of grass.
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9The Acid Test 1926 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Woman's Mirror , 12 January vol. 2 no. 7 1926; (p. 5, 59) The Gloucester Advocate , 21 November 1939; (p. 4)A young woman elicits the assistance of a local man in tracking down her horse, which has vanished from its paddock.
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10y Castles in the Air 1939 9510888 1939 single work short story
An actress and the young son of a grizzled old selector fall in love, but his father and mother will not hear of their son marrying an actress.
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11Scrub-dasher's Christmas 1939 single work short story
— Appears in: The Gloucester Advocate , 19 December 1939; (p. 4)A young Aboriginal man, riding home to spend Christmas with his wife and child, falls foul of a local landowner, who suspects him of cattle rustling.
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12Angel in Moleskins 1940 single work short story
— Appears in: The Gloucester Advocate , 9 January 1940; (p. 4)A new stockman draws entirely false conclusions about his boss's daughter when he meets her for the first time on a stock muster.