Description
SECOND HAND BOOK
Spinifex and Sand was first published in 1898 and is one of the most consistently interesting books ever written about the inland exploration of Australia. Beginning with a graphic first hand account of the roaring days on the Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie goldfields, Carnegie goes on to describe the almost unimaginable conditions of life in the worst desert regions of Australia.
The Hon. David Carnegie and his friend Lord Percy Douglas ‘rushed’ to the gold strikes of 1892 with thousands of other immigrants, undergoing the same sufferings and even starvation. Lord Douglas returned to England and floated a mining exploration company, enabling Carnegie to lead his first successful expeditions in 1894 into the fringes of the almost unknown Victoria Desert. With his gold profits, Carnegie himself financed major expeditions in 1896-7, traversing the stone and sandy deserts of the inland as far north as the Kimberleys. He gives a fascinating picture of desert tribes, with their strange survival techniques, weapons and marriage customs. Carnegie and his men faced death on many occasions, but most of the party survived to inform miners and pastoralists what they might expect once they left the known coastal regions. The large exploration maps have been eliminated from this book but in all other respects, the text is a complete facsimile of the original edition of 1898.
Specifications:
Condition: Fair – Pages have notable yellowing and a few early pages have had ears turned in.
Publisher: Penguin Books
Year: 1973
Format: Paperback
Pages: 454
ISBN 10: 0140700366
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