Renowned Australian author Judy Nunn will visit Bunjil Place Library on the night of Monday 10 November, as part of her nationwide tour for her new novel, Pilbara.
The novel is a sweeping historical epic set against the rugged landscapes and lawless frontier of 19th-century Western Australia.
In Pilbara, Judy transports readers to a time when the region was not yet the mining powerhouse we know today, but a “Wild West” of opportunity and peril.
The story follows Charles, a widower who arrives with his children in the late 1800s to take over his uncle’s cattle and sheep station amid the chaos of early settlement, when pearlers, gold seekers, farmers, and adventurers from across the world converged on the desolate yet promising land.
Judy said she wanted to choose a particularly lawless and violent place for her book, and in Australia, she immediately thought that would be the Pilbara.
“Particularly the town of Cossack, which was the port to the Pilbara in those days, which, within 60 years, actually became a ghost town,” she said.
“There was nothing left of Cossack early on in the 20th century. By about 1910, it was already a ghost town, which is weird when you think about how extraordinarily active it was.
“There were those early settlers, plus there was a discovery of pearling, plus there was a discovery of gold. All of this happened, and people flocked there from all different nationalities.
“There were Malay, Japanese, and Chinese for pearls. There were adventurers there for the gold, as well as the very experienced farmers who came out because the land was very reasonably priced.
“All of these people arrived at the time of Cossack, and you certainly wouldn’t expect it to be a ghost town 60 years later, but it was.”
Judy recalled that she first went to Cossack in 2008 to research for another book, and last year, she revisited the site for Pilbara.
“When I went back this time to research this current book, the amazing thing that happened was that Cossack had sort of resurrected itself.
“It’s run by the Ngarluma people, who are the local indigenous crowd who run this township as a heritage museum,” she recalled.
“There’s the old courthouse, the post office, the bond store, the jail.
“These are real buildings in real stone and exactly the form of architecture.
“So, it was amazing to go back now, researching as it would have been in those first early days, and to see half the town already there, not the whole town of course, but several buildings as museum pieces, it was fascinating.”
Judy said she wanted readers not only to be gripped by the story, but also to “learn something about Australia along the way.”
“The reaction that I get from many people who get in touch about having enjoyed my books is that they will inevitably say that while they were reading a story of characters that really immersed them, they all loved learning something about Australia at the same time,” she said.
“These are not necessarily immigrants. These are people, Americans or English, who happen to be staying here on holiday. It’s also Australians who live in Australia.
“And they keep on saying, I didn’t know that about our country, or I didn’t know that part of our country, that piece of history.
“They said that added to their enjoyment, and I think that’s what I enjoy in the writing of it.”
Pilbara, Judy added, also carries subtle themes of feminism through major characters, women who navigate strength and self-determination in a man’s world. A theme that awaits the readers to explore.
Readers can meet Judy Nunn and hear her talk about Pilbara at Bunjil Place Library on Monay 10 November at 7pm.
To book now, visit: events.connectedlibraries.org.au/event?id=144814
Judy Nunn is the author of 19 novels, including Black Sheep and Khaki Town. She has now sold over one million books in Australia alone.
