John and Nanbaree

Readers of John of Sydney Cove and John of the Sirius will be delighted to meet both John and his First Australian friend, Nanbaree again. History tells that the attempted affiliation between white and black in Australia was a failure, for many of the native people felt they could not combine loyalty to their own folk with friendship towards the white settlers. There is no failure, however, between John and Nanbaree; as they hunt and cook and explore together, John learns much of the fascinating native lore and woodcraft, while the bonds of friendship between them grow ever stronger. But life is not all play. Many problems face the friends when they determine that John’s mother shall have the brick house she longs for to replace the simple mud huts; when an attack by natives brings terror to the little settlement; and above all when all their courage is needed to carry them through the time of deep anxiety when day after day, week after week, the long-awaited supply ships bringing the food they need so desperately fail to arrive.

This book is not only a good story, full of adventure and incident; it is also an authentic piece of Australian history.