Packhorse & Waterhole is a rare book. It is the story of a man who paved the way and made the tracks easy for others to follow and it is written by this man’s son.

The book documents the legendary Nat "Bluey" Buchanan’s life and his great droving and exploration trips in the vast remote northern areas of Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia, between 1859-1896.

A chapter is included in the book, describing Alexander Forrest’s valuable exploration journey across the North West of Australia in 1879. This journey had an immense influence on the men who followed, such as Nat Buchanan and others, to develop and stock this vast area of our continent.

In 1882 the author, as an 18 year old joined his father and accompanied him on many of his now famous inland ventures. Their part in pioneering the notorious Murranji track, and the stocking and establishment of many great cattle stations, stretching from the Barkly Tableland, across the Northern Territory to the Kimberley are among the great stories unfolded by the writer. At the time of writing his book, Gordon Buchanan was the only one still living, of the six men who were directly involved in pioneering and opening up this famous Murranji stock-route.

Frank Clune in his book "Roaming Around Australia" described ‘Packhorse and Waterhole’ as ‘a fair dinkum bush classic’ He was spot on! S/c. 118pp.

Raparapa presents the raw and gritty stories of the Aboriginal drovers and stockmen of the Kimberley, in their own words. 

In 1853, a young American arrived in the new colony of Victoria hoping to make his fortune from the world's greatest gold rush.  He soon realised where the real money was to be made, and established a coach company that would eventually carry his name onto every household in the land: Cobb & Co.

But Freeman Cobb himself was long gone by the time the company bearing his name became an Australian legend.  Wild Ride is the story of the two extraordinary men, James Rutherford and Frank Whitney, who along with their business partners took Freeman Cobb's humble company and made it into an Australian legend.  These were pioneers, carving a path through otherwise impassable terrain, settling unsettled land, enduring bushrangers and terrible accidents, and making their fortunes.  The Rutherford and Whitney families became two of the most significant of their era, unrivalled in their influence and, finally, vicious in their falling out.

Written with unprecedented access to these families' letters and diaries, Wild Ride reveals the Cobb & Co story in all its drama, conflict and tragedy.  It is the compelling and human story of Australia's first great company and the people who made it an icon.