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Stories of Australian Country People – By Helen Kent

Stories of Australian Country People - By Helen Kent 1

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Available in March 2016 : Pre-order a copy today!

On Saturday December 12, the Pozible campaign for Helen Kent’s coffee table book “Stories of Australian Country People” was funded! Thank you so much to all who gave support.

We look forward to starting on the book, getting it out to those who’ve ordered in March 2016, and hopefully taking more orders in the new year too!

Heartfelt thanks,
Lyle and Helen Kent

“Stories of Australian Country People” ~ By Helen Kent

Queensland family owned and operated Kent Saddlery, is the only Saddlery in Australia that travels the huge distances right across Northern Australia, covering Queensland, NT, Kimberley and south to the Pilbara with their travelling shop. Since 1988, every year, Lyle and Helen Kent have made this extensive journey, visiting up to 140 cattle stations.

Their annual trip has become more than a welcome tradition to every station that they visit. Not only because there aren’t any other saddlery companies or hawkers who are prepared to commit to travelling the huge miles, but more so, Lyle and Helen have established so many friendships and become widely well-known over the years with such a vast number of station people right throughout Northern Australia.

For this reason, it is more than unique the tradition they have established…it is iconic…
Worthwhile noting, a number of Helen’s stories have already being listed with the National Archives, due to their historical value and significance. Based on all of this, if anyone was in the position to produce a book on station people, sharing their stories and way of life throughout Northern Australia, it should be Lyle and Helen Kent….

From the Author:

Lyle and I have been visiting cattle stations of west and northern Australia, with our Kent Saddlery travelling shop, each year since 1991 (in 2015 we visited 140 stations over a five month period). In 2007 I began to gather life stories and yarns from people living mainly in the Outback, and these accounts were included in the back of the annual Kent Saddlery catalogues. A sizable collection has accumulated and it has been suggested “you should write a book”. And thanks to your support that is exactly what we’re doing.

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Mock-up of the Coffee Table book.
Photos : Helen and Lyle Kent in 2007 near Durham Downs, Channel Country, SW Qld, with Macro gooseneck in the background – Kent Saddlery’s travelling shop at the time.
The inside page photo in the mock-up was taken by Kristina Henggeler of her work colleague Brendan Schrag side-stepping his horse to close a gate after shifting cattle out of the yards on Norwood Station, near Blackall, Qld.

The coffee table book will include stories such as Ted Fogarty’s…

You do the work

Deserts, rivers, droughts and floods shape and sharpen a life and Ted Fogarty has lived a long life, intimately connected to all four of these influences. Ninety years ago he was born at Vesty’s Delamere Station, “out from Katherine you know?”…..

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Ted Fogarty in 1940 and then in 2013.

and Ernie and Kylie Camp’s…

Fifty years of Family, Floods and Favour

Mugs of tea have been poured, and a plate of freshly baked Anzac biscuits sits in the middle of the table, begging to be dunked and enjoyed. Overhead, a metal mobile clinks happily in the lunch time breeze….

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Family Photo: Kylie, Ernie, Aidan, Natasha, Zara & Shannon and “The floods”

Available in March 2016 : Pre-order a copy today!

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