OUT-BACK AUSTRALIA

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22949, 29 January 1938, Page 4 (Supplement)

OUT-BACK AUSTRALIA

PATROL IN THE FAR NORTH That modern historian of Australia, lon L. Idriess, who has done so much to bring before the notice of ■, Australians themselves the plight and problems -of _ the primitive blacks' ranging parts of the vast continent in ever-de-creasing numbers, adds a fresh chapter to his,saga in '' Over .the Range." It? is an ; account of a patrol made in 1933,' in on® of-the wildest : areas in Australia, that stretch of lonely country north of the King Leopold Range, in the extreme north-western corner, of the country.

Much of the information published ib Mjr. Idriess' books has been gathered by the author at first-hand, and the story of " Over the Range " is no exception. Mr. Idriess' rode with the patrol that rounded up native murderers, visited lonely settlers battling against nature and the natives to wrest a living from the soil, and gave much-needed attention to the lepers and other shy victims of disease.

A sympathetic understanding of the Australian aborigine, a genuine affection for his country and a facile pen, enable Mr, Idriess to paint a faithful picture of life in out-back Australia. The .loneliness, the immense distances, and the small bands of stone-age natives are shown in, true perspective until the reader marvels at the genial patience of the patrol officers and their parties of " civilised " trackers. * Those who imagine, the Australian aborigine stupid—and there are many who do—should read Mr. Idriess' description of how two of these wild men with only a string laboriously woven from human hair and a scrap of wire, managed to open police , handcuffs believed to be capable of resisting a skilled /locksmith armed with all the implements of his trade. They should also learn something of the sign language of the blacks, their prowess as hunters, qnd their almost incredible skill as trackers of man or beast. Written in Mr. Idriess' usual unaffected vein, simply and with sincerity, the book is a worth while addition to the series he has produced in recent years. The many readers who look npon another Idriess book as an event will not be disappointed by the quality of the latest, " Over the Rantfe," by lon L. Idriess, .(Angus and Robertson.)