Minnie: The Remarkable Story of a True Trailblazer Who Found Freedom and Adventure in the Outback by Marianne Van Velzen

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 that 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.