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'Four English orphans—Cherry, Nigel, Brick and Nippy—migrate to Tasmania, to the care of their Aunt Jandie on her farm outside Hobart. Their arrival is greeted with enthusiasm by young farm boy Tas, and weeks of exploration and good times follow before Aunt Jandie goes to hospital, leaving the children in the care of Ma and Pa Pinner, her foreman and housekeeper.
'A few days of tyrannical treatment by the Pinners forces the children to seek refuge in a secret cave, where they set up home to await the return of Jandie. Despite Pa’s repeated efforts to recapture them, the children stay, fending for themselves in the bush, until Nigel’s secret trip to town uncovers a plot by the Pinners to abandon the farm and swindle Aunt Jandie.' (Publication summary : Text Classics)
Adaptations
-
form
y
They Found a Cave
( dir. Andrew Stean
)
Melbourne
:
Visatone Island Pictures
,
1962
Z987206
1962
single work
film/TV
children's
adventure
Evacuated from war-torn London, Cherry and her brothers are sent to live with their Aunt Jandie on a farm in faraway Tasmania. When Jandie is taken ill and sent to hospital, the children are left on the farm under the guardianship of nasty old Ma Pinner, who is disliked even by her own son Tas. The children rebel against Ma Pinner's harsh and spiteful treatment and escape to the secret cave they found while exploring the bush. They later uncover a plot by Ma Pinner to rob their aunt of her farm.
Teaching Resources
This work has teaching resources.
Teaching resources written by Anthony Shaw, published by AustLit.
Notes
-
Also published in braille and sound recording formats
Contents
- Introduction, essay
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
In Chauncy Vale
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: Island , no. 149 2017; (p. 68-75) -
y
Teaching Classic Australian Children's Fiction
Anthony Shaw
,
St Lucia
:
AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource
,
2016-
15827758
2016
website
prose
This Exhibition is a collection of extensive teaching resources for classic Australian children's texts. The resources are aimed at upper primary school and lower high school teachers. The collection forms part of Anthony Shaw's Learning with Literature program.
-
Relationships to the Bush in Nan Chauncy’s Early Novels for Children
2014
single work
criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 14 no. 3 2014; 'In the 1950s, bush settings were strong favourites for children’s novels, which often took the form of a generic mix of adventure story and bildungsroman, novel of individual development. In using bush settings to take up the environmental concerns of the period, the early novels of Wrightson and Chauncy added a new dimension to traditional settler images of rural life as central to Australian national identity. The bush is loved for its beauty and revered as a source of knowledge and character building, rather than being represented as an antagonist which must be overcome or domesticated. In this respect, Chauncy in particular anticipates later ecological concerns in writing for children.' (Publication abstract) -
[Untitled]
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 27 July 2013; (p. 22)
— Review of They Found a Cave 1948 single work children's fiction -
Writers Who Shaped Our Literature
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Winter vol. 21 no. 2 2013; (p. 24-25)
— Review of Hills End 1962 single work children's fiction ; I Own the Racecourse! 1968 single work children's fiction ; They Found a Cave 1948 single work children's fiction ; The Watcher in the Garden 1982 single work children's fictionReviews of the Text Classics editions of The Watcher in the Garden, I Own the Racecourse!, Hills End and They Found a Cave.
-
Untitled
1987
single work
review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , vol. 31 no. 3 1987; (p. 59)
— Review of They Found a Cave 1948 single work children's fiction -
Writers Who Shaped Our Literature
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Winter vol. 21 no. 2 2013; (p. 24-25)
— Review of Hills End 1962 single work children's fiction ; I Own the Racecourse! 1968 single work children's fiction ; They Found a Cave 1948 single work children's fiction ; The Watcher in the Garden 1982 single work children's fictionReviews of the Text Classics editions of The Watcher in the Garden, I Own the Racecourse!, Hills End and They Found a Cave.
-
[Untitled]
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 27 July 2013; (p. 22)
— Review of They Found a Cave 1948 single work children's fiction -
Farewell, Rewards and Fairies?
1962
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Quadrant , Autumn vol. 6 no. 2 1962; (p. 61-63) -
Leave to Flee Bad Parents
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 25-26 May 2013; (p. 28-29) 'John Marsden celebrates an author who redefined children's literature.' -
Relationships to the Bush in Nan Chauncy’s Early Novels for Children
2014
single work
criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 14 no. 3 2014; 'In the 1950s, bush settings were strong favourites for children’s novels, which often took the form of a generic mix of adventure story and bildungsroman, novel of individual development. In using bush settings to take up the environmental concerns of the period, the early novels of Wrightson and Chauncy added a new dimension to traditional settler images of rural life as central to Australian national identity. The bush is loved for its beauty and revered as a source of knowledge and character building, rather than being represented as an antagonist which must be overcome or domesticated. In this respect, Chauncy in particular anticipates later ecological concerns in writing for children.' (Publication abstract) -
In Chauncy Vale
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: Island , no. 149 2017; (p. 68-75) -
Introduction
2013
essay
— Appears in: They Found a Cave 2013;
- Tasmania,
