'After falling in love with my husband, Rick, I moved to a property called McAllister in the remote Gulf Country of far north Queensland, where I found myself living in a shed with a 44-gallon drum for my stove and a shower rose and a bucket in a tree for the bathroom!'
When 22-year-old Jenny Old followed her heart to the vastness of the Gulf of Carpentaria, she had no idea of the primitive conditions she'd find herself in. Often her only contact with the outside world was through her two-way radio. Stretched to the limits, she achieved more than she ever thought herself capable of. With every setback and in the toughest of times when the odds seemed insurmountable, she learnt to dust herself off, find a smile and just keep on going.
For eighteen years Jenny and Rick battled flood, drought, cyclones and personal hardship. Yet their world was a big as the landscape in which they lived, filled as it was with generosity, wonderful characters and the joy of life. At McAllister they established an oasis for their family and friends.
Jenny's motto is: life throws many curve balls at us, but it's how we deal with them that counts. This is the extraordinary story of a woman of the bush and her indomitable spirit.
Back of Beyond : One woman's remarkable story of love, adventure, disasters and wonderful times in the Gulf Country
Description
Table of Contents
Prologue
Part One
1. From the Riverina to the Gulf
2. McAllister at Last
3. Home Sweet Home
4. Testing Times
5. A Memorable Day
6. Setting Up
7. I Do
8. Home Again
9. An Urgent Need for a House
10. Playing the Hostess
11. Friends, Neighbours and Shareholders
12. Off to Mount Isa
Part Two
13. A Sticky Situation
14. Enjoying Ourselves
15. From the Wet to the Dry
16. Hard Times
17. Friends of the North
18. Forces of Nature
19. Uncertain Times
20. The Burke and Wills
21. The Joys of Parenthood
Part Three
22. Our Caravan
23. Back Home
24. Stormy Weather
25. Raising Spirits
26. Light at the End of the Tunnel
27. A Dream Come True
28. The Invasion
29. Boarding School
30. Keeping Busy
31. Disaster Strikes
32. The End of an Era
33. Our Sad Farewell
Reflections
Acknowledgements
Author Description
Brought up on a comfortable farm in the Riverina, at twenty-two, Jenny Bull fell in love with Rick Old and went to live and work with him on his property, McAllister, in the Gulf of Carpentaria. There, she faced incredible hardship, living in a hut with not even basic necessities. Her only contact with the outside world was a two-way radio. In this vast empty landscape, she battled drought, flood, fire, and cyclones. For eighteen years she and Rick struggled to stay on in the Gulf, eventually triumphantly turning McAllister into a thriving oasis.