Mar 08 2007
The last muster by Leonie Norrington
Louis
Braille Audio
12+ Shane and Red are two teenagers living on a remote cattle
station in the Kimberley region. Shane is captivated by the thought of
taming a wild stallion they saw in the hills. The station has been
taken over by a large corporation, and greedy for profit, it threatens
their positions on the land and Shane and Red find themselves fighting
for the right to stay.
June Oscar, the narrator, is from the Bunuba tribe of the central
Kimberley region where the story is set. She gives an authentic voice
to what on the surface, could be read as an action packed adventure
story. The listener becomes engrossed in the story of Shane's attempts
to tame the wild stallion and the danger when they become lost in
desolate bush. The story of Jandamarra, an aboriginal man who had
hidden from the law in the stone country a hundred years before is
exciting. At the same time her slow, thoughtful narration gains the
listener's sympathy about the complex themes of ownership of the land
and land rights. When Red and Shane work on a project to try and get
land rights for Lofty, Shane's father is very resistant. Gradually he
has to come to grips with the fact that the Aboriginal people owned the
land before his great grandfather took it over and that Lofty and Red
have rights to it now.
This quality audio presentation will be enjoyed for the exciting story.
At the same time, the way it is told by June Oscar will give its
listeners the opportunity to reflect on ownership and care of the land.
Pat Pledger
© Pledger
Consulting, 2007