To Wallal and Back: The Story of a Mullewa Drover by Joan Ridley

Book Description

Secondhand. Good condition. Minor wear to book corners and edges. Marks on back cover. Interior and binding are still excellent.

Mullewa is a small town approximately 100 kilometres inland from Geraldton. Until the 1970s, it was a thriving marketplace for wheat growers and railway workers. The railway junction was pivotal to the economy, transporting the wheat, wool and livestock to Geraldton Port or further south.

Edward (Ned) Ridley was a drover, born in Northampton in 1902. A drover's apprentice by fourteen and a boss drover by 20, by the time he married, he had one of the biggest and best droving teams in the Muellewa Murchison district.

During WWII, the Government instructed drovers to move stock overland and to avoid the risk of naval bombardment by the Japanese. The task was put to the seasoned drovers of the Murchison district, including Ned Riley.