Unbranded

Book excerpt: A unique, authentic novel of friendship and brotherhood, based on the author' s long years droving on stock routes of inland Australia. Herb Wharton, former drover, now celebrated author, unleashes a strikingly original vision of outback Australia. From the riotous picnic races to the famous Mt Isa rodeo, from childhood in the yumba to gutsy outback pubs, Unbranded presents a rollicking cast of stockmen, shearers, barmaids and tourists. At its heart this novel is the story of three men: Sandy is a white man; Bindi, a Murri; Mulga is related on his mother's side to Bindi, and on his Irish father's side to Sandy. Their lives and enduring friendship cover forty years in the mulga country of the far west. Unbranded recounts how Sandy achieves his dream of owning a cattle empire, how Bindi regains part of his tribal lands for his people, and how Mulga finally sits down to write about their shared experiences.