Local History Books For Sale

The Margaret River & Districts Historical Society has books for sale with lots of information about the Margaret River, Augusta and Busselton area.

Please note that all books on this page are subject to availability. Prices are a guide only and are subject to change. Please use the contact form to enquire about purchasing these books or visit The Margaret River and Districts Historical Society at The Old Settlement.

Books

Three Generations - The Hands and Hearts That Built Us

Stephen Palandri

Price: $TBA + postage *

Coming soon

In Three Generations, Stephen Palandri continues the remarkable story of one Western Australian family whose journey began in the mountains of northern Italy before taking root in the forests and farming communities of Margaret River.

Set against the changing landscape of regional Western Australia, Three Generations celebrates the endurance of family, the dignity of labour, the strength found in community, and the enduring influence of those whose love was often expressed through action rather than words.

The Last Wimberman's Wife

Stephen Palandri

Price: $TBA + postage *

Coming soon

Behind every family story are voices that deserve to be heard.

The Last Timberman’s Wife tells the story of Lucia, an Italian woman whose journey from the mountains of northern Italy to Western Australia became one of courage, sacrifice and quiet resilience.

As a migrant, seamstress, wife and mother, Lucia helped build a new life far from everything she had known. While her husband’s world was shaped by timber, farming and physical labour, hers was built around family, home, community and the determination to create something lasting for the generations that followed.

Arts Connecting Margaret River

Heather Locke

Price: $45.00 + postage *

Researching our history, recalling the characters and putting their stories back on stage for this book has been fun, full of surprises, sometimes sad but immensely satisfying. Stories that help shine a spotlight (or a fresnel for the techs amongst us) on our small rural arts organisation that, for 50 years, has been a well loved part of the Margaret River community. All the stories in this collection have a connection with Arts Margaret River, even if the thread of connection is as fine as a single silk thread in a tapestry! More importantly these stories show the threads of connections that over the years have woven us all into a community that values its people, its natural beauty, its history and the talents of the artists, across all genres, that visit or live here. We are all the richer for those who choose to make their homes amongst us and share the wonders of ‘the arts’.

Black Wattle

Joanne Patmore

Price: $35.00 + postage *

In 1924, Alice tells a terrible lie to reinvent herself, seeking refuge in the ill-fated Western Australian Group Settlement Scheme. But the past is not easily erased. As she struggles to forget, fear silences her and history leaves her behind.

Decades later, Jarrah begins to unravel the mystery of Alice's silence. Following a trail of buried secrets from Australia to England, she pieces together a hidden past, one that forces her to question everything she thought she knew about family and identity.

The Early Life and Times of Jane Shervington (Nee McKeon)

John Shervington

Price: $10.00 + postage *

The Early Life and Times of Jane Shervington (née McKeon) is a privately written and published family memoir/biography by her eldest son, John Shervington.

It focuses on the early life and personal history of Jane Shervington (born McKeon). The book includes a formal portrait of Jane on the title page and is presented as a personal tribute and historical record compiled by her son.

For Where I Stand

Clare Smith

Price: $45.00 + postage *

Margaret River is a popular tourist destination, but who are the people who live there? From Where I Stand: Looking at Margaret River is a snapshot of the rich tapestry of life in Margaret River, up to the end of 2020 - from the stunning landscapes to the fascinating stories of locals and the community they have built.

From Stone and Snow to Timber and Wine

Stephen Palandri

Price: $30.00 + postage *

From Stone and Snow to Timber and Wine is a sweeping family memoir of migration, resilience, and quiet courage.

When war and hardship shadow the mountains of northern Italy, the Palandri family leaves the stone houses and snowy peaks of the Apennines for the raw forests of Western Australia. From the crisp Alpine winters of Piandelagotti to the red earth and towering jarrah of Margaret River, they build a new life from timber, soil, and faith.

Drawing on decades of photographs and a treasure of love letters exchanged by his parents, Carlo and Angelina, author Stephen Palandri brings to life the journey of a family who cleared bushland by hand, planted vineyards, and forged community while holding tight to their Italian heritage. He captures the challenges of migration-loneliness, illness, and the hard labour of farming-alongside the everyday joys of family meals, Catholic festivals, and the laughter of children growing up between two cultures.

A Garden on the Margaret : The Path to Old Bridge House

Gillian Lilleyman

Price: $45.00 + postage *

What began as a description of this garden became the story of a community. While researching the garden at Old Bridge House for a conservation report, the writer was drawn into the lives of the settlers at 'the Margaret', as thesmall founding community of Margaret River was known. Tracing the families associated with Old Bridge House, this story follows their links through the generations and underlines the roles they played in shaping Margaret River as it is today. It charts their many sagas and supplies insight into the personalities of those involved. Liberally supplemented with extracts from diaries and letters, it provides the reader with a strong sense of 'being there' as each leave their mark on Margaret River's emerging social heritage.

Geo Tourist & Fossickers Guide

Tom Wenman

Price: $20.00 + postage *

Tom Wenman, addicted fossicker and author takes us through the beautiful south west of Western Australia.
Lost gold mines, "locals" gem fields and hand drawn author maps of where to find garnets, amethyst, amber, gold and more.
Discover limestone caves, petrified forests and the natural beauty from Cape Leeuwin to Cape Naturaliste, and gemstones waiting to be found.
The finding and the location of of gold and gemstones is usually a guarded secret amongst fossickers with the exact location of finds never published.
Tom has prospected the sites, walked the trails and mapped his finds in easy-to-follow diagrams where finds were made and photos of what was found.

www.theresgoldinmargaretriver.com.au

Georgiana Molloy: The Mind That Shines

Bernice Barry

Price: $45.00 + postage *

This meticulously researched biography tells the extraordinary story of Georgiana Molloy, one of Australia's first internationally successful female botanists.From the refined beauty of 19th century England and Scotland, to the dramatic landscape of the West Australian coast, Georgiana The Mind That Shines gives new insight into the life of this pioneering botanist. Following a swift marriage, Georgiana and Captain John Molloy, a handsome hero with a mysterious past, emigrated to Australia among the first group of European settlers to the remote southwest. Here, despite personal tragedy, Georgiana's passion for flora was ignited. Entirely self-taught, she gathered specimens of indigenous flora from Augusta and Busselton that are now held in some of the world's leading herbarium collections.Using Georgiana's own writings and notes, accompanied by full-colour pictures of some of the stunning plants mentioned throughout, Bernice Barry reveals a resilient, independent woman of strong values, whose appreciation and wonder of the landscape around her become her salvation, and her legacy.

Group Settlement in Western Australia

WA Government

Price: $15.00 + postage *

Group settlement in Western Australia book cover

Sold Out

This is a 1923 promotional booklet issued by the Western Australian government under Premier Sir James Mitchell, titled Group Settlement in Western Australia. It was printed by the Government Printer (“Govt. Print.”) in Perth.

I did it my way

Judy Wake

Price: $50.00 + postage *

Judy Wake reflects on her life's journey, which has been full of ups and downs but never boring. She feels blessed by both the challenges and the good times. Judy notes that while one cannot choose family, one can choose friends, and she hopes her readers enjoy her story, which she considers her best work and her last gift.

The book covers eighty-six years of Judy's life, including stages, seasons, events, travels, relationships, and challenges. The author emphasizes that while detailed, the narrative aims to be interesting, honest, and readable. The story is divided into descriptions of work events and daily life over three and a half years, based on a five-year diary. It also mentions a period in 1990 when the author was involved with a hospital, acting as Matron, and acknowledges that this period was intense but short.

Invisible Country

Southwest Australia: Understanding a landscape

Bill Bunbury

Price: $30.00 + postage *

Sold Out

When Europeans first settled in Australia, the land withheld many of its secrets from them. There were broad rivers, wide plains and tall forests, all of which, to European eyes, suggested promising sites for settlement. To many of the new settlers, the First Australians were a puzzle. They moved freely through country they knew intimately. They had useful things to say to the European newcomers – if they would listen. What few realised then was that Aboriginal people, and the land they lived in, were indistinguishable. Failure to read the people made it hard to read the country. Invisible Country describes the environmental change that has occurred in south-western Australia since European settlement, through four case studies of the development of local rivers, forests and coastal plains. These stories, compiled through extensive conversations with farmers, ecologists, traditional owners and others who rely on the land, are book-ended by an examination of the historical perspective in which these changes have occurred. It is a reminder that the land owns people, not the other way around, and is the beginning of a conversation about understanding and care for a land we are all lucky to live in.

Joe's Place

Jan Matthews

Price: $20.00 + postage *

It's 1919. Corporal Joe Barlow returns from the Great War to his home in Oak Tree Place hoping only for peace and order, but this is denied him as he finds himself sole carer for this little sister Ruth and at odds with his widowed aunt who fights to have Ruth live with her. But Joe prevails and his sense of achievement is enhanced when he surprisingly wins the affections of Lydia- beautiful, capricious and entirely out of his league. Joe and the other residents of Oak Tree Place cope doggedly with the depressed years of early 1920s Britain but their vague discontent is suddenly pierced by the wonderful possibilities proposed by the government of Western Australia, which is offering free farms to suitable settlers.

The Last Timberman

Stephen Palandri

Price: $30.00 + postage *

The Last Timberman is a sweeping story of migration and endurance. When a son discovers a box of forgotten letters, he uncovers the hidden life of his father Marco, a man who journeyed from northern Italy to the rugged forests of Western Australia. Arriving with little more than determination, Marco joined a community of laborers who carved homes and futures directly from the bush.

Moving between past and present, the novel explores the world of timber camps and the quiet strength required to build a life in an unfamiliar land. Part historical fiction and part family chronicle, it reflects on migration and identity, sacrifice and legacy.

The Light of Leeuwin

Gail J. Cresswell

Price: $40.00 + postage *

A need to capture the past, sense, and present meaning of 'times gone' seems to lie in family, local and community histories. Such histories look to the past for roots so as to gain a present sense of identity and direction. In this book the author takes us through: Aboriginal inhertitance - early exploration - setlement at Augusta - the timber industry - group settlement - depression and war - growth and diversification.

Many Maps - Charting Two Cultures

Bill and Jenny Bunbury

Price: $30.00 + postage *

The title Many Maps, Charting Two Cultures, looks at the way two contrasting societies often misunderstood each other in the western third of Australia. Maps can be drawn and interpreted in different ways. It is possible to map a path through life, find a way through a forest, traverse a desert or chart a sense of self and guide one's relationship to the natural world. Australia's First Nations mapped their world in terms of a spiritual and environmental relationship to country and an animate sense of being. The maps in European heads often explored ways to obtain wealth from the Australian earth. Many Maps traces both misunderstandings, and sometimes sensitive understandings of land and culture in a continent that we both inhabit.

Margaret River Stories

Compiled by Guy Jennings

Price: $55.00 + postage *

The publication of "Margaret River Stories" brings to fruition a lengthy but enjoyable exercise conducted mainly by historical society member, Guy Jennings, who tirelessly interviewed local people and families to produce many of the the fascinating stories included in the book. Together with these family histories are newspaper extracts, personal stories, and many, many intriguing old photographs. The book also includes, as long promised, the definitive account of why the Margaret River was so named, plus the quirky little account of how the town's name was changed - and changed back! Professor Seal's summary. This book brings together the history and traditions of Margaret River and its people. From the original Wardandi, inhabitants of the region through to the present, Margaret River Stories provides snapshots of the pioneers, timber cutters, the Group Settlers, surfers, winemakers and tourists who are all part of a unique story. Illustrated with a wealth of fascinating photographs often drawn from the families of the community, this book is nothing less than a treasure and a tribute to the work of local dedicated and talented Margaret River historians and writers. Margaret River Stories is a joy to look at and to read and a model of what a local history should be.

Pioneer Daughter

The diary of Frances Louisa (Fanny) Brockman (nee Bussell)

Edited and annotated by Gillian Lilleyman

Price: $55.00 + postage *

The diary of Frances Louisa (Fanny) Brockman (née Bussell) is in the J S Battye Library of West Australian History, where a copy is available to researchers on microfilm. The one volume ledger was donated to the library from the estate of Bussell descendant Athole Fergusson Stewart. A journalist, Stewart drew upon his great-aunt's record for articles about his family in the 1940s,and he described Fanny's diary then as 'a skeleton history of the Margaret awaiting someone to put flesh upon its bones'. Begun in 1872, Fanny's diary spans more than three decades. Her entries touch on the establishment of the South West timber industry, the development of the pearling and cattle industries of the North West, the discovery of gold, the rise in caves tourism and political change that led to Federation. With the research facilities now available, it is possible to fill in some of the missing detail regarding these and other events, and to profile many of the characters to whom Fanny referred. The advances in technology that enable this have distanced our present age even further from Fanny's than when Athole Stewart was writing 70 years ago, making her entries on purely domestic and farming matters valuable social history. Fanny's diary is more than a social history. It is a story of sisterly love and loyalty, and resilience in the face of adversity from a compassionate and indefatigable woman. It is time it came out of the archives and onto our bookshelves.

Purpose Built - The Making of Caves Road

Gillian Lilleyman

Price: $30.00 + postage *

In August 1921, the South-Western News reported that Busselton businessman Dave Gibb had piloted his Super-six Hudson from Karridale to Lake Cave without mishap, the first motor car to make the journey. Gibb's achievement was the culmination of an undertaking initiated 20 years earlier to link the caves in the Cape to Cape region of Western Australia by road. Drawing upon contemporary records, this book looks at the factors and people behind the inception of what is today an iconic drive, and provides an insight into the beginning of tourism in the renowned Margaret River region.

Recipe Book

Margaret River & Districts Historical Society

Price: $15.00 + postage *

The Margaret River & Districts Historical Society compiled this recipe book with original settlers recipes. Celebrating 100 years of group settlement (1922 - 2022)

Settlement, Struggle and Success

Margaret River and its Old Hospital, 1924 - 2024

Jenny and Bill Bunbury

Price: $45.00 + postage *

2024 marks the centenary of The Old Margaret River Hospital (now the Community Centre) which opened in May 1924 and has long been a much-loved and essential part of the Margaret River community. Bill and Jenny Bunbury's book tell the hospital’s story and the socio-economic development of the Margaret River district.

There's Gold In Margaret River

Tom Wenman

Price: $20.00 + postage *

Sold Out

The history of Gold Mining between Cape Leeuwin and Cape Naturaliste in the South West of Western Australia.

The Government's effort to keep mining out of the area in the 1930's lead to strict penalties for mining gold in group settlement leases.

The book includes a comprehensive guide to where gold and gemstones can be located complete with the geological make up of the region.

Tracker’s Lost Gold Reef in Margaret River

Tom Wenman

Price: $30.00 + postage *

Tracker’s Lost Gold Reef in Margaret River

All that is written within is a true story, backed up with facts from the mid 1870’s to the present day.

The story is ably supported by sketch maps of some of the key areas where Tracker’s gold reef may lie. Tracker’s story of luck and misfortune of finding and then losing the position of the rich hillside location in thick bushland can only be compared to Lasseter’s lost reef, but in this story death plays no part.

Tracker’s Lost Gold Reef features the many prospectors that have joined the search over many years to the present day, reliving their excitement of searching for the reef and in doing so discovering gold on their prospecting ventures in Margaret River.

Witchy Stories

Edited by Lorna Kaino

Price: $30.00 + postage *

Witchy Stories, edited by Lorna Kaino, is a collection of local tales linked to the historic John Teede’s Store.

It offers a snapshot of regional Western Australian life and storytelling, compiled by an editor with ties to University of Western Australia Press publications on cultural and craft traditions.

Subject to availability. Prices are a guide only and are subject to change. Use the contact form to contact the Historical Society to confirm availability, prices and postage, or visit The Old Settlement in Margaret River.