
Back of Beyond
One Woman's Remarkable Story of Love, Adventure, Disasters and Wonderful Times in the Gulf Country
By Jenny Old | Paperback | 1 Review(s)

'After falling in love with my husband, Rick, I moved to a property called McAllister in the remote Gulf Country of far north Queensland, where I found myself living in a shed with a 44-gallon drum for my stove and a shower rose and a bucket in a tree for the bathroom!'
When 22-year-old Jenny Old... read more followed her heart to the vastness of the Gulf of Carpentaria, she had no idea of the primitive conditions she'd find herself in. Often her only contact with the outside world was through her two-way radio. Stretched to the limits, she achieved more than she ever thought herself capable of. With every setback and in the toughest of times when the odds seemed insurmountable, she learnt to dust herself off, find a smile and just keep on going.
For eighteen years Jenny and Rick battled flood, drought, cyclones and personal hardship. Yet their world was a big as the landscape in which they lived, filled as it was with generosity, wonderful characters and the joy of life. At McAllister they established an oasis for their family and friends.
Jenny's motto is: life throws many curve balls at us, but it's how we deal with them that counts. This is the extraordinary story of a woman of the bush and her indomitable spirit.
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If you enjoy non-fi ction especially tales from outback Australia then this is one to reach for. “One woman’s remarkable story of love, adventure, disasters and wonderful times in the Gulf Country, Far North Queensland.” Jenny was raised in the Riverina region of New South Wales and after training as a nurse at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, she had plans to travel overseas with nursing friends for a year. Her well organised life was turned upside down in the late 60s when she met up with the dashing Rick from affl uent North Shore Sydney at the local ‘Batchelor and Spinster Ball’. After a year of travel, Jenny joined Rick who had organised a shared lease and management role for the property called McAllister in the Gulf of Carpentaria in Far North Queensland. The nearest ‘town’ was Mt Isa 450 kilometres away. This was their home with their two sons for eighteen years. The Shed was their fi rst home complete with long drop toilet and cooking was via a 44 gallon drum sitting on three legs beside a stack of wood and an axe. Power was from a fi ckle 32volt generator – luxuries were non-existent. These were testing times but showed Rick that Jenny was capable of surviving the rigours of outback life. Together with their stock horses, Rick and Jenny eventually cultivated their cattle station taking it from strength to strength. Though it was far from the rural life Jenny knew, she persisted and found a personal resolve. They took McAllister from shed to hut, to basic house to fi nally a seven bedroom home with fl ourishing fruit trees, vegie gardens, two large dams with effi cient water fl ow and a successful operation. A fascinating story refl ecting the pioneering spirit we admire as Kiwis too.

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