Minnie : The Remarkable Story of a True Trailblazer Who Found Freedom and Adventure in the Outback.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Velzen, Marianne van.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

History.

Women.

Women miners.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (287 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Sydney : Allen & Unwin, 2023.

Summary:

The inspiring story of a feisty pioneering woman who sought freedom and adventure in the outback and became the first woman to work as an opal miner in Australia. 'Destined to become an outback classic' Liz Harfull People always asked her if she was ever afraid, living out in the desert alone with all those rough and scruffy men, but Minnie Berrington was not the faint-hearted type and never had been. Being tough came naturally to her, growing up with three brothers and a family that went from riches to ruins. Only a slip of a girl, Minnie could match any man in stamina, perseverance and strength. She arrived in Coober Pedy when essential supplies still arrived by camel, and water was so scarce no-one washed. Together with the other miners, she braved the heat, the flies and the dust. Every day she waited for that special sound the pick made when it cracked opal. The first woman to dig her own shafts in the Australian opal fields, Minnie began her working life as a typist in London. But she and her younger brother Victor sought freedom and adventure in the 1920s and found plenty of it in the outback. ' Minnie brings to life a gutsy, independent woman living a remarkable but simple life in the harshest of conditions.' Juliet Wills, author of The Diamond Dakota Mystery 'Through enthralling descriptions of the countryside and of the emotions of characters, Marianne van Velzen describes a fascinating life in an enchanting way.' George Paxinos, neuroscientist and author of A River Divided

Contents:

Cover

About the author

Also by the Author

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

CONTENTS

PREFACE

1 AUSTRALIA

2 THE ADVENTURE

3 THE GHAN

4 ANNA CREEK

5 THE LURE OF OPAL

6 THE UNDERGROUND TOWN

7 WONDERLAND

8 BUSH HOUSE

9 THE DUTCHMAN AND BIG LICK

10 GOING BUSH

11 FINDING OPAL!

12 BELONGING

13 MONEY PROBLEMS

14 SPEEDWAY AND KEEPING SHOP

15 THE RED TERROR

16 MAKING HEADLINES

17 FIVE MILE

18 LIFE ON AN OPAL FIELD

19 BRINGING BACK AH CHEE

20 THE SECRET FIELD

21 LEARNING TO BLAST

22 THE STORM

23 THE MAN WITH THE HARP

24 THE THREAT OF WAR

25 DOING ONE'S BIT

26 A POSTMISTRESS, TEACHER AND TELEPHONIST

27 OPAL FIT FOR A QUEEN

28 STONES OF FIRE

29 HOME

PICTURE SECTION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Other Format:

Print version: van Velzen, Marianne Minnie

ISBN:

9781761186462

OCLC:

1373987539