The Pioneers by Katharine Prichard on Free Audio Book Download

The Pioneers is set against the background of pioneering life in the Gippsland region of Victoria in pre-Federation Australia. Mary and Donald Cameron are free-settlers who make a home in the wilderness and grow a prosperous cattle operation that establishes their position as prominent members of the new settlement. At first, the novel privileges MaryвЂ™s perspective as she encounters escaped convicts, bush fires, and raising a son in a remote community. Later, it follows her son, Davey, as he struggles for independence against his fatherвЂ™s harsh authority. Davey encounters further obstacles in the figure of local hotel owner, Thad McNab, who is determined that DaveyвЂ™s childhood sweetheart, Deirdre, should be his own bride.