On Our Selection: Australian Farm Sketches

Meet the Rudd family: Dad, Mum, and their lively brood, scratching a living from a stubborn patch of Queensland scrub. Through droughts, floods, fires, and the occasional cricket match, Dad dreams of prosperity while Mum keeps the household together with wit and grit. Dave schemes, Dan stumbles, and young Joe learns the hard lessons of farm life. This modern retelling preserves the warmth, humour, and raw honesty of Steele Rudd’s original sketches, making the outback world of the selection accessible to today’s readers. From building a bark hut to battling rabbits and stubborn pigs, every misadventure rings true. Part of Timeless Classics.