Beltana – Six Miles

by E. Lecky Payne

Rigby, 1974, [First Edition], ISBN 0851796850, black and white photographic plates, illustrated endpapers, hardcover, dustjacket

Very Good Condition, a little edge and shelf wear, a little rubbing and bumping to edges and corners, no inscriptions; dustjacket shows minor edge and shelf wear with a little rubbing and bumping to edges and corners (see photographs)

“Real places and real people come to life in this delightfully detailed portrait of a vanished Australian era.  The places are Puttapa Gap, a railway settlement in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia, and the town of Beltana six miles away.  The people are the author, her father and sisters, such characters as Paddy, the Holy Black Duck, “Auntie” Hardy, Waldo the mysterious German, and the other men, women, and children of the tiny community.
The author went to live at Puttapa Gap after a traumatic experience as a “charity brat” in the care of unfeeling relatives.  Reunion with her family began a time of joy which she recalls in a vivid picture of life early this century.”