Squatter’s Castle: The Story of a Pastoral Dynasty: Life and Times of Edward David Stewart Ogilvie, 1814–96 by George Farwell

Book Description

Secondhand. Very good condition. Minor wear to book corners and edges. Dust jacket has light creasing at edges and spine. Fading to spine. Pages have a slight wobble from too many winters, otherwise interior and binding are still very good.

This magnificent chronicle of the life of New England squatter Edward David Stewart Oligive (1814-1896) is a mirror to a wider theme - the pastoral age in Australia.

Initially, the squatters were the one dynamic force in an isolated, unproductive colony. They dared to move out of the embryonic cities in the tracks of the European explorers. They chose their holdings and settled, fighting the alien land, struggling to build, rear, and keep sheep, to feed, clothe, educate, and care for their children.

Edward Oligive was one of them. Coming to Australia with his parents, the family settled in the Hunter River region and eventually prospered there. In 1840, Edward, his brother and party reached the Clarence River at Tabulum. Downstream, Edward took up 90km on both sides of the river and later named the runs Yulgibar. (Australian Dictionary of Biography)