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October 9, 2013
Cherbourg’s Jeanette Brown is an Outback Heroine … but she only found out about it when a new book arrived in the mail from Penguin recently for her to review.
The book is “Outback Heroines: True Stories of Hardship, Heartbreak and Resilience” by acclaimed Australian author Sue Williams, which has just been released into bookshops.
Sue visited Cherbourg for a few weeks last year as an Indigenous Community Volunteer, and got to know Jeanette during her stay.
Sue was so impressed with Jeanette’s work on The Ration Shed Museum that she’s devoted an entire chapter of her latest book to telling Jeanette’s story, alongside the stories of 15 other amazing Australian women who’ve made the bush their home.
They include:
- German migrant Frauke Bolten-Boshammer, who drew on enormous inner strength to survive the suicides of her husband and youngest son as well as the failure of the family’s isolated property, then went on to build a diamond merchant empire from its ashes and find a second chance at love
- Heather Jones, who raised and educated two daughters in the cab of her truck while building a trailblazing transport company, achieving outstanding success in a male-dominated field and starting all over again when the GFC hit hard
- Janelle Pugh, who wrangles crocodiles and runs the remote but enormously successful crocodile farm, Coolibah.
- Australia’s 1972 Miss World winner Belinda Green, who credits the outback with saving her life and repays it by rescuing its injured wildlife, in stark contrast to her former high society existence
- Marie Muldoon from the legendary Underwood Outback cattle property empire
- Sister Theresa Morellini, who works in Warmun, WA, and refused to give in even after a terrible flood almost wiped it off the map
- Sarah Cook, breaking records everywhere with her husband, who was terribly injured in a helicopter crash in one of the most remote spots in the world
- Dr Ann Ward, who took up a new job with the Royal Flying Doctors Service at Meekatharra in WA’s isolated mid-west Murchison region and despite incredible hardships, produced amazing results
Australian actress Georgie Parker – who wrote the book’s foreword – said “[These women] simply took my breath away with the kind of courage, daring and resilience that have seen them overcome sometimes crushing difficulties.”
Jeanette told southburnett.com.au she was humbled and amazed to be included as one of Sue Williams’ sixteen “Outback Heroines”, but also very proud of the recognition the book gave the Cherbourg community and The Ration Shed Museum.
“Outback Heroines” can be obtained from most bookstores for $32.99.
