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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Jacks Marsh is a small, rural town in the grip of a drought, and Brendan and his father are newly arrived there from England. Brendan becomes engulfed in the town's mysterious past, a past which involves the goldrush and Thunderbolt the bushranger' (Source: NLA).
Affiliation Notes
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This work is affiliated with the AustLit subset Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing because it contains Chinese characters, and discusses the experiences of Chinese migrants during the Australian gold rush.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Australian Children's Literature
2009
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Cambridge History of Australian Literature 2009; (p. 282-302) Discusses themes, trends and developments in Australian children's literature between 1841 and 2006. -
New World Orders and the Dystopian Turn: Transforming Visions of Territoriality and Belonging in Recent Australian Children's Fiction
2008
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , vol. 32 no. 3 2008; (p. 349-359) Through the 1990s and into the new millennium, Australian children's literature responded to a conservative turn epitomised by the Howard government and to new world order imperatives of democracy, the market economy, globalisation, and the IT revolution. These responses are evidenced in the ways that children's fiction speaks to the problematics of representation and cultural identity and to possible outcomes of devastating historical and recent catastrophes. Consequently, Australian children's fiction in recent years has been marked by a dystopian turn. Through an examination of a selection of Australian children's fiction published between 1995 and 2003, this paper interrogates the ways in which hope and warning are reworked in narratives that address notions of memory and forgetting, place and belonging. We argue that these tales serve cautionary purposes, opening the way for social critique, and that they incorporate utopian traces of a transformed vision for a future Australia. The focus texts for this discussion are: Secrets of Walden Rising (Allan Baillie, 1996), Red Heart (Victor Kelleher, 2001), Deucalian (Brian Caswell, 1995), and Boys of Blood and Bone (David Metzenthen, 2003). -
Allan Baillie's Secrets of Walden Rising as Critical Dystopia : Problematising National Mythologies
2005
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , December vol. 15 no. 2 2005; (p. 31-39) "Allan Baillie's Secrets of Walden Rising (1996) is a novel about 'the politics of history' (Fernandez 2001, p.42) and an examination of the text's significant challenges to the dominant historical stories of its time seems appropriate as Australia's 'history wars' continue. In this paper [Pennell] examines the critical dystopian strategies employed in Secrets of Walden Rising to subvert some of the utopian national mythologies of white settler Australia." -
Multiculturalism and Social Values in Australian Fiction: Allan Baillie's Secrets of Walden Rising and Melina Marchetta's Looking for Alibrandi
2001
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , December vol. 11 no. 3 2001; (p. 39-46)Fernandez discusses developments in contemporary Australia regarding ethnic identities through a reading of Alan Baille's Secrets of Walden Rising and Melina Marchetta's Looking for Alibrandi. In relation to the changing nature of Australia's 'ethnic mix', Fernandez views both texts as examples of Australian literature that 'mediates the conflicts between two or more distinct cultures as well as hybrid cultures that have arisen from generation to generation' (p.39). A common feature of multicultural narratives says Fernandez, is the 'breakdown of existing structures of society and the representation of individuals as well as whole communities in a state of transition' (p.42) and in this case, she argues, both texts 'help to open the channels of cross-cultural exchange and social debate' and minimize 'the marginalizing potential of being an ethnic minority' (p.45).
-
[Review] Secrets of Walden Rising
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , November vol. 11 no. 5 1996; (p. 36)
— Review of Secrets of Walden Rising 1996 single work novel
-
[Review] Secrets of Walden Rising
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , November vol. 40 no. 4 1996; (p. 36)
— Review of Secrets of Walden Rising 1996 single work novel -
[Review] Secrets of Walden Rising
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , November vol. 11 no. 5 1996; (p. 36)
— Review of Secrets of Walden Rising 1996 single work novel -
Secret Township
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 184 1996; (p. 58-59)
— Review of Secrets of Walden Rising 1996 single work novel -
Tears and Triumphs
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 16-17 November 1996; (p. rev 8)
— Review of Secrets of Walden Rising 1996 single work novel ; Love, Ghosts and Nose Hair 1996 single work novel ; A Bridge to Wiseman's Cove 1997 single work novel ; Killer Boots 1996 single work novel ; Fireflies 1996 single work novel -
'Secrets of Walden Rising'
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Summer vol. 4 no. 4 1996; (p. 12-13)
— Review of Secrets of Walden Rising 1996 single work novel -
Allan Baillie's Secrets of Walden Rising as Critical Dystopia : Problematising National Mythologies
2005
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , December vol. 15 no. 2 2005; (p. 31-39) "Allan Baillie's Secrets of Walden Rising (1996) is a novel about 'the politics of history' (Fernandez 2001, p.42) and an examination of the text's significant challenges to the dominant historical stories of its time seems appropriate as Australia's 'history wars' continue. In this paper [Pennell] examines the critical dystopian strategies employed in Secrets of Walden Rising to subvert some of the utopian national mythologies of white settler Australia." -
Australian Children's Literature
2009
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Cambridge History of Australian Literature 2009; (p. 282-302) Discusses themes, trends and developments in Australian children's literature between 1841 and 2006. -
Multiculturalism and Social Values in Australian Fiction: Allan Baillie's Secrets of Walden Rising and Melina Marchetta's Looking for Alibrandi
2001
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , December vol. 11 no. 3 2001; (p. 39-46)Fernandez discusses developments in contemporary Australia regarding ethnic identities through a reading of Alan Baille's Secrets of Walden Rising and Melina Marchetta's Looking for Alibrandi. In relation to the changing nature of Australia's 'ethnic mix', Fernandez views both texts as examples of Australian literature that 'mediates the conflicts between two or more distinct cultures as well as hybrid cultures that have arisen from generation to generation' (p.39). A common feature of multicultural narratives says Fernandez, is the 'breakdown of existing structures of society and the representation of individuals as well as whole communities in a state of transition' (p.42) and in this case, she argues, both texts 'help to open the channels of cross-cultural exchange and social debate' and minimize 'the marginalizing potential of being an ethnic minority' (p.45).
-
New World Orders and the Dystopian Turn: Transforming Visions of Territoriality and Belonging in Recent Australian Children's Fiction
2008
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , vol. 32 no. 3 2008; (p. 349-359) Through the 1990s and into the new millennium, Australian children's literature responded to a conservative turn epitomised by the Howard government and to new world order imperatives of democracy, the market economy, globalisation, and the IT revolution. These responses are evidenced in the ways that children's fiction speaks to the problematics of representation and cultural identity and to possible outcomes of devastating historical and recent catastrophes. Consequently, Australian children's fiction in recent years has been marked by a dystopian turn. Through an examination of a selection of Australian children's fiction published between 1995 and 2003, this paper interrogates the ways in which hope and warning are reworked in narratives that address notions of memory and forgetting, place and belonging. We argue that these tales serve cautionary purposes, opening the way for social critique, and that they incorporate utopian traces of a transformed vision for a future Australia. The focus texts for this discussion are: Secrets of Walden Rising (Allan Baillie, 1996), Red Heart (Victor Kelleher, 2001), Deucalian (Brian Caswell, 1995), and Boys of Blood and Bone (David Metzenthen, 2003).
Last amended 30 Oct 2017 14:30:29
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