The last muster by Leonie Norrington

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.

On the surface, this could be read as an action packed adventure story. The reader becomes engrossed in the story of Shane's attempts to tame a wild stallion and the danger when the pair 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 the narration gains the reader'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 will be enjoyed for the exciting story. At the same time, it will give its readers the opportunity to reflect on ownership and care of the land.

Pat Pledger